$3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Discussions relating to Turbochargers, Superchargers, Induction, Engine Mods, Exhaust Mods, and other items specifically to make your MX5 or Roadster put out more power.

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scooter
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$3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Post by scooter » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:22 pm

I have budgeted another $3000 to make my 1990 MX5 1600 go faster, I have no idea what to do.

Modifications so far:

Pod filter (with pipe ducting cold air from underneath car - not sure how effective this is)
Heavy Duty Clutch
Exhaust system - bigger pipe and new muffler
Shocks and lowered springs
front and rear lower suspension brace
1/2 rollcage
Wing

Using it as a club car a Ruapuna but also as a road car. I do plan on putting better tyres on it, but really want to use this money chasing horse power :D

What are you suggestions?

jif
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$3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Post by jif » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:19 pm

a basic turbo system offers a fairly good $/hp ratio and room to grow :D

Ian
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Post by Ian » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:07 am

Hi...

If you are chasing lap times, which I presume you are.... tyres should come first...I picked up a used set of yokohama race tyres on the facelifted NA rims (half inch wider than yours plus lighter) for $600 on trade me.
Then buy the bigger 1.8 brake kit currently advertised on MX5 Mart ($500+ from memory), and some Motul RBF600 fluid from John Crawford at Motorsport Solutions (Ruapuna) plus some front comp orientated pads - Mintex M55 via BTN ...about $1000 all up.
Then a race seat (narrow Momo to fit) plus 4 point harness.....say $550 upwards.....

Then, last but not least, $1000+ for some one on one driver training with Andy Neil at Ruapuna and your $3000 budget is gone. BUT, my guess is that your lap times will improve more than a $3000 HP increase...........

Good luck, Ian :)
93 1.8,intake/ex mods,Megasqirt PNP,torsen ,konis,GC coilovers,Nitto-01,cage,sparco seat,Schroth harness.

scooter
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Post by scooter » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:38 pm

I am going to buy better tyres. Probably just going for a track/road tyre so I can still drive it to the track legally, also for the likes of the hill climb that I entered over easter. This budget is just for chasing horsepower. I do agree with all of your suggestions but want some bang for my buck. I have actually recently been out for some driver training, in a different car, but have been shown the braking points and lines. Although I still have a lot to learn. If I am going to part with $3000 I really want more horsepower, I am under powered at the moment, it takes off reasonably quick but only reaching 160km/h down the straight, I really want to increase this, even if it is only for my satisfaction.

scooter
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Post by scooter » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:23 am

Another reason I am so keen on chasing more horsepower with this money is basically because I don't often have this kind of money to spend.
I am a single Dad trying to bring up my two daughters on my own, so I really want to get heaps out of this $3000. If I can make my car go faster now, then the rest can come slowly after that.

SLYDIT
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Post by SLYDIT » Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:29 pm

for that kind of budget the only way youll do it is with a DIY turbo setup...there are several options in this category..
OPTION ONE:
junkyard turbo off a subaru or nissan with a custom fabb'd steam pipe manifold, with a repco intercooler and a fuel pressure regulator to handle the fuel.(or go with an emanage but that s a bit more $$$)

option two: greddy manifold with used t25 from a nissan and then the above fuelling.

you dont Have to have an intercooler but it sis recommended..as an absolute minimum to run 5 psi id look at an un-intercooled setup using an afpr and back the timing off to 6 degrees, run it on 98 octane, then add an intercooler, then better fuel and timing management....

mu setup cost me a shade over $3K but it involved LOTS AND LOTS of my own labour to fab everything up.

maybe talk to don at autoway services as hes built a few no frills basic turbo setups for people in the club..
RED '90 TURBO.
SCARING PRIUS DRIVERS SINCE 2002

omaerep
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$3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Post by omaerep » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:24 pm

hi try don at auto way in hamilton,, down columbo st,, he is in the phone book .cheepish turbo conversion.

scooter
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Re: $3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Post by scooter » Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:06 pm

omaerep wrote:hi try don at auto way in hamilton,, down columbo st,, he is in the phone book .cheepish turbo conversion..
I am in Christchurch so that may make it a bit tricky. Also I am mechanically challenged, so will need whatever I end up going with done completely by a mechanic, otherwise I will lose horsepower if I touch it :)

scooter
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Post by scooter » Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:41 pm

I have ordered some new Toyo road legal track tyres fitted to a set of second hand Advanti 15 inch wheels :D

omaerep
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$3000 to make my mx5 go faster - what should I do?

Post by omaerep » Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:35 pm

find a machanic you trust and that knows his stuff to do with turbos,, tell him you have $3000 only to spend on a turbo conversion that amount should be plenty...this is what you need...

1.find a turbo that is in good nic ask around at a turbo machanic shop to find what is best dont go big go medium to small them try find a good second hand turbo if you can or buy new new if the price is right...2 find a turbo headers shop and get them to make you a set of turbo headers tell them you just want a very basic set up,,,or find some on the internet their are alot out there,beware of the shit ones,..3..you will have to make or get made custom piping for the turbo outlet that goes to the intake side of the engine it can be made out of lots of materials but mild steel would be excellent for you and cheap too and you can paint it to make it look good..4.. buy a blow off valve..5 modify your factory exhaust to join on to the back of your turbo the factory exaust wont need to be changed apart from the above..6..you wont need to change the computer in the car your factory airflow meter will handel 8psi boost so you can still use it but i woudnt go any higher in the boost as it will cause trouble 8 will be fine..apart from labour to put all this in thats about it for a basic turbo converion $3000 you should piss in easy..cheers


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Ian
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Post by Ian » Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:29 pm

scooter wrote:I have ordered some new Toyo road legal track tyres fitted to a set of second hand Advanti 15 inch wheels :D
NOW you are talking! Toyo RA1s or R888s?

I was concerned that as you are chasing lap times, you might think that an extra 100 hp will be enough to see off the 125hp/580kg Starlets at Ruapuna. Trust me, it won't. They have a power to weight ratio of about 200BHP/tonne, but that is only the half of it. They will seriously outbrake you (and my car!), so brakes need to be a priority, and grip/handling needs to be at its very best, you need to get as much weight out of your car as possible AND some extra HP will help.
My guess is that for on track work, a standard NA 1.6 diff will give up on you quite quickly with anything approaching 180HP , so you will need to budget for a 1.8 diff/LSD?, axles, driveshaft....Other 1.6 forced induction owners who race their cars will be able to clarify this for you.

The best of luck,

Ian :)
93 1.8,intake/ex mods,Megasqirt PNP,torsen ,konis,GC coilovers,Nitto-01,cage,sparco seat,Schroth harness.

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Post by Psycho_Dad » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:02 pm

Ian wrote: you need to get as much weight out of your car as possible AND some extra HP will help.
Ian :)
what hes trying to say is its time for you to build a chevron, use the mx5s drive train and suspension, then watch those starlets quiver as you break into their hp/kg league

but some steel and shout me a trip down, well get to work

PEace
PSycho_Dad

scooter
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Post by scooter » Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:17 pm

Ian wrote: NOW you are talking! Toyo RA1s or R888s?
Toyo R888s. Got them today. If the track is available on Friday for testing, I may go out and give them a run, just to see what difference they have made.
Might just get the headers done next. Then maybe follow your advice and lighten things up a bit and look at upgrading brakes. I have talked to my mechanic and he is going to put some ideas on paper for me to look at. I think I wont be going down the turbo road at this stage, because I am really keen to stay in the same class. Work with what I have got rather than what I haven't. Anyway, tyres and rims set me back a little more than I had hoped, $1400 for 4 new R888 and a second hand set of 15 inch advanti alloys. The guys at the tyre shop couldn't believe that I did the hill climb with my 14 inch kelly tyres, the said they are crap tyres!!

Ian
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Post by Ian » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:41 pm

Good one scooter...found my calculator - those starlets have a power to weight ratio of about 215hp/tonne v, your 115hp/tonne.
In saying that, I reckon an MX5 could do 1.43s with less hp than they have (you will have a torque advantage for a start).
I personally think Dean Wongs AE86 Corolla GT is something to aim for...from memory he does 1.43s with very mild engine mods. He has 13 inch wheels so modestly sized brakes but it handles and stops brilliantly...I think he did a 15.4 standing 1/4 so its not blindingly quick in a straight line.
There is plenty of info around on lightening an MX5...the soft top weighs 37lbs...air con weighs plenty, light flywheel, front and rear tie down hooks, passengers seat etc etc

Have you advanced your timing from 10 to 14 degrees?

Good luck with the project.

Ian
93 1.8,intake/ex mods,Megasqirt PNP,torsen ,konis,GC coilovers,Nitto-01,cage,sparco seat,Schroth harness.

Euen
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Post by Euen » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:17 pm

Another essential is a cold air intake. The standard intake location is hardly optimal and getting the intake air down a few degrees helps the performance. There are a number of options that can be achieved reasonably economically, the most popular seems to be ducting cool air from the area under the rear of the bonnet where the wipers reside when they are not in use. You my find a bit more info on this forum by searching on "cold air intake" or else have a look on miata.net (www.miata.net). The forum on miata.net (http://forum.miata.net ) has a wealth of information on ways you can improve your performance. There are similar questions every week so it is not hard to find a lot of info using the search engine on the forum.

Good luck
Euen
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Post by SLYDIT » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:47 pm

if you didnt want to go turbo then another great option would be to get an NB 1800 and a megasquirt setup. The Nb 1800 has a more advanced head setup then the 1600 and NA 1800..and you can ditch your afm and retune with the megasquirt ecu
RED '90 TURBO.
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Post by Kieran » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:05 am

Have you considered some overbore pistons and stronger con rods maybe even some more aggressive camshafts with oversized valves
A new ecu with a proper tune would be a great way to squeeze some extra horses out

Turbochargers do give you an instant hp gain but aren't the only option i am going to be using itb's

Hope this helps
Kj

brownie
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Post by brownie » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:11 pm

Light flywheel really livens them up,Put a Toda on mine ,Chrome moly .
Surprised the hell out of me how much quicker responses are in the car.
Won't add horsepower but get weight off the motor for quicker revs.
Better chuck a heavy duty clutch kit in for the circuit work as well.
How about before throwing money at the engine get it fully serviced including a compression test to make sure it's mint and not too tired for some hard times on the track.
At least then any bit's you get you should hopefully notice any power difference and you have a base line too start with,Is the Cambelt due? or been done by you ?,Simple stuff like that before you start chasing power.

My 2 cents worth,Lucky you to have saved some money to spend it.
:) .
Hope the family and home survived OK.

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Post by zippy2 » Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:59 am

FYI.. a few attempts to get faster lap times did not go as I expected.

Upgrading to the 1.8 brakes did give me better braking and helped with lap times - however had nowhere near the impact as good race / street brake pads. If you are not increasing HP (to overcome the extra weight of the rotor) I suggest looking at good pads first.

Be aware that the weight of the wheel and tyre will have a big impact on a low power cars ability to accelerate. At one stage I moved from a 185 14 track tyre to a 205 15 - on heavy rims (1kg per wheel and trye extra) and it cost me 3 seconds a lap at Manfeild (long straights) , while I could brake a bit later and hold a bit more corner speed the loss of acceleration was very noticeable. So I had to go out and pay for light weight CPO35 rims.

Weight is a very important component for non FI mx5 and un-sprung weight even more so, make sure you consider it in your decisions.

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