Is the greddy kit actually worth the effort?
 

Hi Ive owned my miata for about four monts now. I am coming from 240sx's, Ive actually had two ka turboes, and living in California. One of the main reasons why I sold my 240sx's is because I found out I can legally turbo the miata, and not have to worrie about dealing with California police.

I honestly think the stock miata has decent power, its not fast, but honestly its not too slow. I was wondering if you guys that have used, or that are currently using the greddy kit; was it actually worth purchasing and installing? or would you have went a different rout?? Does the greddy kit make the car that much more than when it was in all motor form? Or does it give it just a little kick/ pull feeling? Is there a car power wise you can compare a greddy turboed miata to, power wise? Or how much faster than stock will the kit make the car?

Im debating on weather buying the kit or not, and im stuck hahaha. My set up would prob just consist of a greddy kit running about 5.5-6 lbs, fmic, bov, 2.5 inch exhaust, and walbro fuel pump. Ive heard from some people it is not even worth buying a greddy kit as the car will still be slow, so I wanted to ask you guys who actually have experience with it
thanks

Cliff notes
I don’t know if the greddy kit is worth buying
1. Is the greddy kit actually worth buying?
2. How much faster will the kit make a 1.6 miata? How much faster is it than stock?
3. is there a car with comareable power than you can compare a greddy miata to?

I don't have a greaddy kit but all things equal... 10psi is 10psi. My setup at 10psi will beat a stock Mustang GT or Firebird pretty eaisly. A turbo on a Miata isn't just a little kick it the pants. It makes it feel like an entirly different beast. Consider your going to about double your output of the engine.

Stock NA 1.6l = 98whp/88tq
Greddy w/2.5" DP and exhaust 5.5psi= 148whp/126tq

Should put a good beating on stock SN95 Stang GTs except from a dig. I lost to a stock 07 STi and 05 EVO8 w/intake (they were dead even) by 2 cars from 20-105, all of which was lost in 2d, then stayed the 2 cars back from 60-105.

It will make the Miata alot more fun to drive, power to go with the handling.

If you know a thing or two about turbos already I'd suggest piecing together a better kit.

You're right in that the base Greddy package is only good for about 5 PSI or so, however even that is an interesting kick in the pants for a 1.6 Miata.

The beauty of the Greddy package, in my opinion, is the amazingly low entry price. For $1300 you get a good turbo, an adequate manifold, a nearly-worthless fuel pressure regulator, and a CARB sticker which is worth several times its weight in platinum. Even if you have to pull off the IC and such every other year for smog inspection, it beats the hell out of having to completely de-turbo, or taking your chances with a "generous" inspector. The upside of all this is that as you begin to get the upgrade itch, you're not removing and throwing away very much in terms of equipment.

The FMIC and BOV are good first upgrades. The downpipe will not buy you a whole lot at this point (with the stock cat and exhaust) and may actually result in boost-creep while you're still down at 5 or 6 PSI, however it's a hell of a lot easier to install at the same time the turbo is going on than later. Actually, I've decided that if I ever have to remove my turbo, I'm going to detatch the downpipe, unbolt the manifold from the head, and remove the whole turbo / manifold assembly as one unit. There are a couple of bolts (turbo to manifold) that are genuinely traumatic to reach with the manifold already in the car.

One thing that comes in the Greddy kit which you'll want to immediately dispose of and replace is all the hardware. There are four bolts which couple the turbo to the manifold, and five which attach the downpipe to the turbo. Take the ones you get to the local hardware store (or even PepBoys) and purchase class 10.9 replacements for them, along with new washers.

One thing I didn't see on your list is timing control. Even with the FMIC, since you're running on CA 91 octane you'll need a means of retarding timing under boost. The instructions that come with the kit simply say to retard the static base timing a few degrees, but this comes with the penalty of robbing you of performance when not in boost. The Bipes ACU is probably the best performer for the dollar here, although down the road you may find yourself replacing it if decide to run a piggyback ECU (or even an Megasuirt full ECU replacement). Fortunately there's a good resale market on these- you can probably sell it here if you chose to replace it down the road.

Legally, any modification to the stock Greddy kit voids the CARB, so with the list of parts you have, you'll pretty much have Cali emissions issues. That being said, having the CARB sticker, void or not, just makes wading through those smog issues a bit easier since most smog techs aren't that ----. That's the main reason for starting with the stock Greddy as a DIY in Cali.

Otherwise, if you have any experience at all with turbos, you'd probably be better off piecing together your own DIY kit.

Yes they void carb but the tech is not going to chase all the wires as long as the kit has a fpr in and no other funny business ie bov/fmic/injectors he can drive low boost to the test and smog the car provided good healthy motor/cat/02 sensor and then drive home add a the fmic, injectors etc and be back at 8-10 psi depending on his power gaols. I find it interesting no one has mentioned MS he an do a parrallell install and the only needs to take off the fmic and a kinked line to the fpr and so long as his tune is good he can run his 500 600 cc injectors and pass with one less thing to replace when he is back home + this leaves less chance of loosing injector spacers and grommlets. for 700$ for the PNP and 300 or so for a DIY this is an incredible value for sure. Or am I missing something? Also to put it in perspective a good 200 whp miata with driver is the equivalent to a 250 whp or so 240 with no lightening done on either and driver included etc. But you wont get KA torque for sure. You might beat a few SR's though :D

Never mind parallel, MSPNP as a full replacement would probably go entirely undetected on a 1.6, so long as a simple time-delay circuit is built to drive the CEL for a few seconds at startup. '90-'95 cars do not support OBD-II diagnostics, so there is no plugin test for them. Unless the tech actually peels back the carpet and unbolts the cover plate, there's no way to know it isn't the stock ECU.

Although I think 550cc+ is overkill for most sane Miata turbo applications, 460s driven by an EMU will pass the CA proctological exam in a 1.6 car. I expect MS would have no trouble either. Before installing the injectors, just paint them black and cover them with grime.

Once you go this route, it is easy to open up the Vortech FPR and gut it so that it's a simple pass-through with no pressure regulation. Hang on firewall and pass fuel hoses through. Block the vacuum port with JB Weld and run vacuum line as normal. At smog time, pull the FMIC and re-install the AFM.

Get it. You know you want one. So, go ahead and get it.
We are here to help you if you need information on upgrades and installation. Buy a Bipes unit also, or something equivelant.

The stock greddy kit is wonderful and good bang for the buck. However with most systems you'll tend to want to upgrade (good power is addictive). The stock kit leaves a lot to be desired. The problem with CARB is that any modifications you make will void the CARB certification. That said... it's pretty hard for the inspectors to know what changes you've made if you've done it properly.

If you add a bipes timing controller, emanage or any standalone, they won't see it unless they take apart your car. There are no OBDII diagnostic plugs.

I don't think they will be able to tell if you've changed your downpipe.

Intercooler, you'll need to swap out for inspection.

Exhaust... wonder if you can find a carb approved exhaust?

With the car's light weight... you'll smack most cars out there in a straight line and on the twisties.

CARB certification is not required for the exhaust aft of the catalytic converter.

There are a few oddball rules about replacing the catalytic converter itself, but in practice so long as you have one there, no technician is going to question it.

i've had the greddy kit for a while now, but i upgraded mine becuase i dont have to deal with carb or whatever.

Q: Is the greddy kit actually worth buying?
A: yes, because its cheap as hell and easy to upgrade

Q: How much faster will the kit make a 1.6 miata? How much faster is it than stock?
A: when it hits boost, its much faster. it actually puts you back in your seat like a high hp car should. and when you are drifting, it seriously roasts the tires.
the drawback is the turbo lag. its way weaker than stock when you arent boosting. so always be above 4000rpm if you want to accellerate with the stock downpipe still equipped.

Q: is there a car with compareable power than you can compare a greddy miata to?
A: not that i can think of. the lag sucks ass, but the boost kicks ass. no stock vehicle acts like a greddy miata.

1. Is the greddy kit actually worth buying?
Depending upon wat power you seek.
I did not like the feel of the stock greddy kit because of the retarded timing but if you throw a little MS or EMB on there and boost 8-10psi it is awesome!

2. How much faster will the kit make a 1.6 miata? How much faster is it than stock?
Feels...uh...like a turbo car. Not fast @6psi but pretty quick if you think the stock miata is okay.

3. is there a car with comareable power than you can compare a greddy miata to?
HAHA...When I had my greddy kit up to 10-12psi I was stomping on stock Mustang GT's, STI's, Camaro's, 350z's, and even Flyin Miata turbo'd Miatas that were at 8psi. Cobras, upgraded Evos/Stis, and Flyin Miata's at 12psi would get me.

If I were to do it again...and probobly will! I would just use the greddy manifold and turbo. I would use better lines, downpipe, and get fuel/timing control right away.

This thread begs for an all-inclusive Greddy-only FAQ to answer just such questions. I think there was one at some point on another website... anybody feel like digging through some archives and assembling a couple posts worth of Greddy-only why's/how's/what's/if's...? These questions are basic and are answered often. I wonder how many other people have come through here looking for the answers and then just gave up wading through the hundreds of posts.

Maybe a 1-Stop-GreddyFAQ sticky like the FAQ in the DIY section... anybody feel like taking that one on?

Thanks alot for the replys guys :bigtu:

I am def going to keep reading, and decide if I am going to got he greddy rout, or just piece togeather a diy kit. The only thing really keeping me form going diy is the carb sticker, I know adding a fmic/ bov etc will void me at smog, or if I receive a state ref ticket, but those are not hard at all to replace, compaired to like my 240sx, I had to take pretty much every single turbo piece off the car hahaha

Thanks alot for the help guys I guess its time for me to search and keep reading hahaha

CARB EO #.

Also, I just got mine smogged, I'm burning oil somewhere, but it passed just so.

Legally yes, but if you have a mod friendly smog shop then you have some scraping room. I've got a full 2.5" turbo back with a 2.5" cat in the stock position. The only thing the smog guy winced about was fitting his 6'+ big boned butt into my Corbeau Clubman.

With my set up in the sig, on 7Psi I take Mustangs all day....
Ok. Not all Mustangs but I honestly havent lost yet.
Numerous Fox body's, auto, or stick.
Two of the SN95's
An 01 GT and an 03 GT
My tires are bald too...I mean, you should see em Haha.
But on the freeway, my car sucks, Because it tops out at like 125 Lol.

Well I went with the BEGI System 1 or whatever system it was ... came out to 3k with an intercooler, bipes, and a good fuel pressure regulator. I then upgraded to Megasquirt and bigger injectors, however I still need to call BEGi and get my CARB sticker for the kit ... doh. But when I do get that sticker I wont have to remove anything really and swapping back to stock + OG kit wouldnt be too hard either, maybe 4 hours of honest work.

Speaking of carb stickers.
I just got my greddy ones Today
:D