snoopy

Hi Guys, I'm new to this site and have a few?'s
I pulled my motor to fix and repair a few items and I want to install a turbo system on the car while the motor is out. I'm limited to a budget of 1500.00 and I'm looking to gain 50 or 60 HP or so nothing drastic since I'm really not a racer just would like to have the power when needed.

Can I install a greddy 1.6 kit on a 1.8L my car is a 1995 with approximate 130,000 miles on it in great shape.

I know I would be required to fill with super but what kind of gas mileage drop would I be looking at when installing the turbo onto the car. Am I going to have problems getting the car state inspected when that time comes for emissions?

I definitely need guidance through this journey.... I have been looking around just way to many different things discussed here.

Thanks in advance Andy

shinobix

I don't think the greddy 1.6L turbo kit will work for the 1.8L...

but if u did have a kit installed you onlt loose fuel economy when you run it and boost. im running a greddy kit @12 psi. around town i get like 15-19 but when im on the highway i got 32 from Los Angeles to Reno, NV.

the greddy kit has a carb sticker that comes with it, but you can't modify anything on it. here in reno, nv they don't care what you do to your car as long as it passes smog.

hope this helps,
Scott

curly

iTrader: (25)

I think you need a new exhaust manifold to make it fit the 1.8 head...

you could dump the "?" pipe of the greddy kit and run your MAF right off the front of the turbo, then make a custom crossover tube, or buy one of the 1.8 aftermarket intakes that include a new crossover tube? you'd have to read into it.

snoopy

Where would I go to find out more info on the greddy Kits?

Is there another turbo setup that is in-expensive beside the greddy?
Thanks!

FHS

iTrader: (2)

Check out the DIY section. You can turbo a 1.8 DIY for around the same cost using superior hardware, but you'll probably have to piece teh kit together yourself. The big consideration for me when I first decided on the Greddy for my 1.6 was the CARB sticker, the fact that everything you needed to at least get started was in one kit, and the amount of support from the Miata community the Greddy had. It was easy to install and upgrade the parts when needed. 3 years later though, all I have left on my car from the original Greddy kit is the actual TD0H turbo. Everything else has been replaced. At some point, I'll replace that as well.

If you are bound and determined to install a Greddy on your 1.8, do a search for Darth Maulata.

Oh, and on two trips from L.A. to Seattle since replacing my stock O2 sensor with my wideband, I've gotten over 30 mpg highway. Still crappy mpg on the city streets but that's because I can't stay out of boost.

snoopy

I definitely need guidance with the turbo kits... I have no clue what I would even need as far as a parts list is concerned besides needing a turbo and exhaust manifold and special exhaust pipe I have no clue.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

Snoopy, read through the FAQ in the DIY section as suggested. Also, fill out the rest of your profile for us. Perhaps somebody here is near you and can come over one evening over beers and walk you through their setup... nothing like a hands-on tutorial to make sense of everything.

The problem with your budget is that it doesn't leave a lot of room to do your build correctly from the starts. You can certainly piece the parts together to make a kit at that price, but it's going to take some time and patience.

The basic mechanical parts to any Miata turbo kit are as follows:
Exhaust Manifold
Downpipe
Turbocharger
Oil Feed/Drain Lines plus fittings (oil is used to lubricate and cool the turbo)
Water lines (if the turbo is also water cooled)
Intake pipe+air filter
Intercooler and associated piping/couplers (or if non-intercooled, a crossover pipe)
Blow-Off Valve (BOV)
And there are a few other little things.

Now! That stuff only gets more air (boost) into the engine. You must add fuel as well. There are 3 ways (usually used together) to get more fuel into the engine. BIGGER FUEL INJECTORS. MORE FUEL PRESSURE (through the use of a fuel pump and Auxiliary Fuel Pressure Regulator AFPR), and INJECTOR PULSE LENGTHENING (through manipulation of the ECU signal driving the injector- can use a piggyback computer or full standalone replacement ECU). Typically, you must add fuel at the same rate you boost to maintain a safe Air-to-Fuel Ratio (AF). Just ask if you don't know about AF's.

Since all this added air and fuel is going to increase engine temperatures, cylinder pressure, and a few other things... you must also pull timing to prevent engine knock. This can be done easily by simply lowering you base timing... or using a small plug-in computer called a BIPES that will pull timing automatically for you.

There are literally dozens of ways to skin each cat with regards to putting together a turbo system... the above are just the standard ones around here.

Do some reading and hang around for a week getting to know the board and the lingo... it's a decent amount of information, but easily assimilated. Start looking through the classifieds and see what some of these used parts go for.

OH, and, the Greddy manifold and DownPipe are made for a 1.6 engine and exhaust and will not fit on a 1.8. Head on down to the DIY forum and start looking around in there. The Greddy isn't for you.

And Welcome!

miataspeed1point6

iTrader: (1)

With all the problems I have been having with my Greddy stuff, I seriously wish I had gone DIY. Although without owning the Greddy I wouldn't know what to do. The only thing the kit has done for me besides cost money and **** me off is teach me the basics of a turbo system. And hell, I could have spent 15 minutes with someone who knew what they were talking about and learned the same amount. Nothing fits, it all breaks, gotta replace most of it anyway just to call it a half assed install.....**** Greddy.

I know for some the Greddy kit has worked great. But for me, all it does is make me wonder why I even bothered. After college I'm calling Begi.

snoopy

SamNavy, Thank you very much for the info it was very helpful. Now i know at least what some of the components exactly due. I will check out the FaQ in the DIY section.

Well to tell you the truth I don't want a crap system so I will definitely do some research and ask some question here to gain more knowledge. Are turbo systems and components inter changeable with other turbo components?

I would imagine that a turbo that is also liquid is a better system to keep things cooler.. What does a BOV do?

Thanks

snoopy

Oops I forgot to mention I'm from Sussex NJ... I'm also a long time member on Miata.net under the same username.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

Cool!
A BOV:
If you are driving along in boost and lift off the gas (close the throttle body) the turbo is still forcing a ton of air into the intake, even though it's not going into the engine. That air will create a pressure wave that bounces off the closed throttle-body butterfly and travels back through the intercooler and "stalls" the turbo (called compressor surge). A BOV is a small device that is bolted to the intercooler piping to vent (blow-off) all that pressurized air so it doesn't stall the turbo.

You can simply vent the air into the atmosphere (VTA), or channel it back into the intake, behind the MAF/MAS, but before the turbo. The advantage of recirculating it is that the ECU has already added fuel at the injector for the air you just dumped overboard... so you run super rich for the split-second you're venting. '94+cars with MAS's compensate better for this than '93- cars with flapper-door style MAF's.

Some turbo system components, like BOV's, intercoolers, AFPR's, fuel pumps, the turbo's themselves can be swapped between systems. But, manifolds have specific flanges on them with specific bolt patterns for a specific engine. They also have a specific bolt pattern for the turbo... you can't put a T3 turbo on a T2 bolt pattern. Your DownPipe must similarly match the turbo and the exhaust system you're bolting it to.

FHS

iTrader: (2)

"You can simply vent the air into the atmosphere (VTA), or channel it back into the intake, behind the MAF/MAS, but before the turbo."

Hmmmm,

Suddenly I feel clueless. I have a tube running from the top of my Bailey BOV back into one of the fittings above the throttle body. Certainly after the MAF but wayyyy after the turbo. Am I recirculating, or should I move that tube? If I'm not recirculating, wtf am I doing?

Trent

iTrader: (11)

Well, you have three ports on a blow off valve. Two big'uns. One input and one output, and a small one for a boost reference source. You probably have a small line running from your IM to your BOV. That will be the boost reference source. For the BOV to recirc, you have to run hose (fairly large diameter, like 1 1/4" on mine, not sure on the bailey) from the output of the BOV back to a port in your piping between the turbo and the MAF.

FHS

iTrader: (2)

Sometimes the obvious ain't so obvious. I'm running a VTA Bailey. It's the BOV that came with the used Greddy kit I picked up originally. Since I vaguely remember reading that running a MAF = Recirc, I assumed that I was recirculating and never gave it a second thought with everything else I was dealing with on the kit. I guess it's the opposite?

How the heck is running VTA affecting my set-up? ARRGH! Doing a search now.

Trent

iTrader: (11)

you'll run rich during shifts and abrupt off throttle situations. you may have a slightly funky idle. It's not that big of a deal to some. I run VTA and have for a couple of years.

FHS

iTrader: (2)

Thanks,

Explains a lot of the funky behavior I've seen over the years. I'm glad I was clueless though. I had a crap load of idling/AF problems lately that were due directly to my AFM. Would have sucked to have blamed my BOV.

snoopy

Thanks Guys... I'm learning alot already keep it coming. Here is good ? what are the leading brands of turbo units on the market and what do you guys like about them?

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

Are you asking abou the actual makers of the turbochargers themselves, ie Garrett and Mitsubishi, or are you asking about "who makes turbo kits for Miatas?"

Check out these two websites. Read through everything. Read all the pages on both websites for a fairly thorough understanding about what's out there. Besides a Greddy kit, these two companies are really the only ones who make ready-to-install turbo kits. They also sell most of their turbo pieces seperately and a ton of other pieces/parts for performance.
www.bellengineering.com
www.flyingmiata.com

Another good place to do homework on wheels/tires/brakes/exhaust/performance/etc... is www.good-win-racing.com