i stumbled upon a used flying miata turbo kits ,but not sure if i should just buy a new one. was there any major problems with the older flying miata turbo kits?

 

Mine was on my car for 7 years and over 50k HARD miles without an issue.

 

While I'm no expert on the subject, to the best of my knowledge there have only been two significant generations of FM turbo system.

The first was actually the old Bell turbo system, as FM was the sole-source reseller for Bell prior to somewhere around 2007 or so (my memory is hazy here). The first-gen Bell turbo systems were typically sold with the Link engine management.

After the Bell / FM split, FM designed their own system, which is essentially the same as what they sell today. There have been some revisions to the downpipe / elbow, but they've kept everything compatible and interchangeable.

Neither of these systems, so far as I know, have any serious history of chronic problems insofar as the hardware is concerned. I've heard of some problems with the Link system on the NBs (specifically related to the mechanical reliability of the rail and fuel supply for the secondary injectors) however this is a fairly minor point, and not relevant if you intend to use any EMS other than the Link piggyback (or if you have an NA.)

 

I'm mid-stroke on upgrading from the old FM system to the newer setup on an NB. Joe is right, the Link piggyback is a huge piece of crap. Steer clear of it. The second issue with the old system is the original bypass valve is notoriously unreliable (straight from FM). Other than some really funky IC routing, it's a pretty good kit.

I upgraded to the new IC and routing. The significant issue (which I think is the cause of my now blown motor) is the wastegate actuator bracket. When I mounted the new bracket to the turbo, I had to stretch the WGA rod to reach the wastegate. I *think* this caused an overboost (everything was set to 6psi) that the Link couldn't save.

 

this kit comes with the voodoo kit and it is for a 99 to 2000 it has flying miata stamp right on the manifold

 

what do you think its worth?

 

99-00 voodoo kits, completely brand new from FM are $3k. I'd say a used unit should stay in the $1k range. Things to consider are that every part listed on FM's site is still included, is there any rust? What condition is the turbo in? Is the intercooler beat up?

If you can get any pictures it would really help us. Just saying you have a "used" kit doesn't tell us much.

 

If it says FM on the manifold, it's of the second generation that Joe mentioned.

Your best bet is to call up FM tomorrow and ask them about it, they ought to be able to tell you what parts it came with, how current they are, what improvements were available later, etc.

--Ian

 

Mine does this, and wasn't the issue to my overboost.

I had to port a channel to the wastegate hole. I think mine was set to 6psi and i was spiking past 15.

FM says to add restrictions to the exhaust, which is stupid.

 

Interesting. I also changed to the divided cast outlet and noticed the wastegate didn't seem to open all the way.

I will definitely address this before slapping it back together. I'm also moving to an MS2 w/ ID1000's, so I should be ok when it overboosts. Granted, that won't help when I revert to "emissions testing mode".

 

Once you port out the channel on the hot side, the wastegate opening half way will be plenty.

Make sure you take out the washers too. They don't need to be there, and once they are removed you'll see 10ish wastegate psi. Then you can control from there.

I can't find a picture of my port at work, i'm sure someone has one.

/threadjacked

 

I saw a pic somewhere on here of the port work. Time to burn out a dremel!

 

Here's a few pics when I did mine last month:
https://www.miataturbo.net/diy-turbo...stegate-69813/

Right now it has the stock amount of washers that FM puts on the bracket, and it holds 9-9.3 psi under all conditions I've thrown at it (all gears, ~35 degrees ambient is the coldest temps I've had it in) running a full 3" downpipe/exhaust.
I think I'm going to try taking out one layer of washers, as long as it's still holding some tension on the wastegate actuator I think it'll do fine, and hopefully will bring it down to ~7.5-8psi. From there I'll control boost via EBC.

 

I guess we're not getting off topic, this is all relevant.

Here's what mine looked like. I did a complete port / polish of my entire manifold, turbo, and cast turndown.

No one ever posts before shots, so i'll include that too.





I mean, you can only reach in so far, so that's all that got done.

 

thanks for the help guys i appreciate it