so those of you with a supercharged miata...
 

would you do it again or would you go turbo?

yeah yeah can get a bit more out of a turbo, but for those just wanting a fun daily is the extra 20 horsepower really worth it?

I have both and still prefer the turbo. Properly sized, turbo lag is not an issue and I like the power delivery. Moreover, I believe the turbo is a simpler and more reliable form of FI.

i actually kind of enjoy a bit of lag. i like the rubber band acceleration feeling associated with something that doesn't make boost until a bit higher in the rev range. yeah, i know that should probably put me in the turbo camp, but i've had 3 turbo cars so maybe i just want something a little different with the ability to keep my forced induction.

no doubt turbos are more efficient (that's just science, not opinion) as far as power production goes. reliability i think would have to come down to the build of either engine or setup i suppose.

i must say the crank problems on early cars do make me a little leery of a supercharger. overstated or not, it's a shitty problem to have to worry about.

20 hp! i daily drive my 250+ rwhp car. it's pretty solid. and lots of fun.

but have you ever driven a supercharged car? i haven't...i'm just curios as to why someone would go that route.

at this point if i was given a miata right now along with enough cash to add my perfect forced induction system i'd put on a supercharger. partly because there are tons of turbo cars going around and i guess partly to be different. that and with a supercharger i can still add some of the fun n/a power modifiers.

and can you honestly say a 230 or 240 hp car would be less fun? i see both sides here, i'm just playing devils advocate.

Ignoring all other factors, that a turbo serves as a muffler is one reason I'm so fond of them. My Miata, with only the turbine and one straight-through muffler acting to diffuse sound waves, is quieter than a lot of n/a cars which are much slower. The same exhaust on a supercharger would be near deafening!

that is something i have considered. i love the sound of a borla on these cars, but i figure when the time comes i can always tinker with the exhaust if it's a bit too loud.

My supercharged car is quieter than when it was N/A. I like the linear power delivery of the S/C.... makes it feel like a bigger engine across the board. My setup is 185 rwhp at about 6lbs of boost. No problems after 2 1/2 years and 15k miles.

I don't think I would switch my SC... would I do the purchase differently, probably. If still hotside, would have bought TDR (no it wasn't available when I bought my kit). Definately something 6-rib....

Would have probably gone with an MS as well.... 4 years makes a big changes in support, etc....

Might go coldside, but I'm not sure.

Driven a few turbos, and some of them, depending on how they spool are great to drive..... Make all those cool bov noises too.....

But I'm happy with what I gots.......

Dave,

I have both, and like both, so I'm not much help....

add a ls1 miata and your set!

GF already wants to get another lift (this one a 4 poster) for more storage, It was HER idea, couldn't believe it... Oh wait it's my money- why wouldn't she want to spend it... Damn the women that don't work and and damn the men even more for taking them in...

LS1...mmm...

I took rides in turbo and supercharged cars and drove both. My favourite was a nicely sorted FMII in a NB. But I went supercharged because I don't like the looks of all that heat blanket and shields that seem to end up filling the space over the exhaust.

I'd go turbo next time, but only because I've already had a charger, not because I don't like anything about it.

which would you prefer as a daily then?

I much prefer the turbo, I built my 'kit' four or five years ago, and it has never left me stranded... The turbo is pretty small but I get good mileage, there's plenty of power when I need to pass or play. It sounds cool, even with the Recirc BOV.

I originally bought the S/C one with plans to twincharge (I built a manifold, have a couple of extra turbo's kickin around and all the hardware) But my kids seem to take up more time than I have right now.

I will add I drive the S/C daily, and she drives the Turbo. I had some S/C issues w/ the original 4 rib belt setup, a few hours and some re-engineering fixed that. The S/C does 'go into boost' pretty early but the car doesn't really go any faster, Miata's don't make enough power down low til the cams wake up. The S/C has the MS, and I like playing with that.

Both of us think the turbo car is quicker, but it maybe just the 'rush' of torque the turbo hits you with over the gradual feeling of the S/C power delivery. One thing I have noticed, I frequent a two lane road where passing is only available in a few spots, the turbo car delivers it's power to the wheels much quicker than the S/C (and results in a lot quicker pass time)

Neither car has more than 200HP, Neither the S/C or Turbo are capable of it (even at 12psi)...

I like the potential of the Turbo cars more, but I have found on track for the 150-190 HP range I like the S/C more. The linear deliver of the power makes throttle moderation easier exiting out of the corner.

I'm going to turbo my miata because I've never been impressed w/ S/C miatas and I just enjoy turbos (never actually driven a turbo miata, ridden in a few...driven 3-4 S/C ones)

But I'm going to try and custom SC a 2.0 ABA hybrid motor in a GTI once I sell my 16v GTI as a daily...

well if your going to do that you could just drop a g60 in the gti and call it a day.


i'm really curious to hear how opinions would change if more people had supercharged cars with a bit more power. something with maybe 10 or 15 horsepower less than a well-suited turbo car. i need to get my hands on a miata followed shortly by the money to supercharge it.

I'll keep you updated. My goal is 215rwhp with my mp62.