Naturally Aspirated gains with a NB head and DIYPNP ,Tips??
 

Hello Miataturbo! I've recently pulled the trigger on my first engine upgrade in over 6 years of N/A NA ownership. I'm going to be using my original 96-97 block with a 99-00 head in my NA, a DIYPNP i think comparible to a megasquirt 2, an AEM wideband and a friend to tune it for the best pump gas i can get in my area..... 93 octane. (I briefly considered 100LL) The car already has a catback and a DDMworks intake, which i suspect either make no extra horsepower or may be worse than stock. I also have a lightened flywheel which was probibly the best upgrade i've ever done on a car, and is always a fun trump card to pull when some 1.6 cultist lets me know how freely their engine Revs.

If you have any tips for fairly inexpensive modifications i've not yet considered while i am at it, please share, and any tuning or building tips you have. I dont want to leave any gains on the table while i have it apart anyway.

Thank you for reading, and i hope i can become a good member of what appears to be a pretty cool online community!

K&N intake, Racing Beat header, and a 5A intake cam are really the only things cost effective if you're trying to avoid the deepest of rabbit holes.

Maybe shave the head a bit if you've already got it off.

With a good tune, should be looking at 140-145 honest whp with a good tune on pump 93.

Yep, skim some off that head. .020 ~.040. Clay it first to see what you can get away with. Might be a lot more.

You can get a lot more. Especially on an NA8 bottom end. But then added expense and hassle with adjustable cam gears.

Get a VVT head and a MS3. You will get a ton more midrange this way. 5x timing gear is worthless since you can control timing with the ECU.

I dont think im gonna do this, i already have a VVT head i am swapping for a 99-00. Its just that i'd need another ~$200 for a new COP setup, and a new ~$200 for a VVTuner, and another ~$200 to re-do my fuel rail to the later system. All that money and hassle isnt really worth it to me, i'd rather take a power hit and just bolt it up and re-use my NA coil and possibly fuel rail.

As for the MS3, the DIYPNP is already out for delivery to my house so its too late for that :D i did hear its better.

Return the DIYPNP and go with an MS3X to start with. It is worth the cost difference there, and if you are doing all the soldering, cost wise they are close. Trubokitty.com will have all the info you need on building either.

Your prices for the conversion are a good bit high. You can reuse the stock coils, you just have to relocate them and trim down the spark plug wires a little bit. The same changes need to be made for the fuel system for any NB head conversion into a NA. You need a 99/00 fuel rail and an older FPR. So no cost difference there. The VVT tuner won't be needed with the MS3X.

I pulled an entire 03 engine out of a junkyard for $600... sold mine for $300. MS3, Racing beat header, flat top intake manifold and the 3D printed CAI put me at 151whp on a mustang dyno. My header is/will be for sale soon.