500hp

[Benny]

My SP puts out 180+RWkW (around 275RWhp) and it is really overpowering the chassis, and I have top notch suspension and tyres.

Many people have said that my car is scary fast, and these are guys who now own V8's, so I think this is about where you want to go.

While I have't tried it, I know that similar 5's to mine are running around high 12's-low 13's for the quarter, and as far as I'm concerned, that's plenty fast for a daily dríven car.

I had a friend that had a couple of old Falcon hardtops which were built for show and go, and I drove the one he had that was putting out near 600RWhp, and it was diabolical to try and drive.
You only had to breath on the throttle and the rears lit up and the car went sideways, and with manual steering that was 6 turns lock to lock, it was impossible to recover from unless you backed off completely.
I doubt anyone would enjoy driving such a monster. I know I didn't and had a sweaty brow after only 5 minutes of it.
He also offered me a go of his other Falcon, which was very similar ot the other one, but it had a GMC671 supercharger on it, and this was the first car ever that I didn't want to drive!

There's a lot more to getting fast quarter times than just engine power however.
To get a better result, you will also need to get a lot of suspension work done as our rear ends like to axle tramp with lots of power and one of the guys on this forum had to resort to putting in an old solid rear end with a Ford 9" diff to keep the rear end on the ground.
That certainly won't help going around corners................
I know that even with my car, if I dump the clutch at anything above 3,200 revs, I get a lot of axle tramp, so if you had 500hp, you may get the rear end airborn!

If you're in Sydney, drop me a line and I'll be happy to take you for a drive.

[two40]

If you want a drag car with the numbers for show, just buy one already built and registered/engineered. You can find a well sorted 500hp car for under $15k any day of the week. Some of them are around the same weight as the MX5 and contrary to what some have said, the power to weight ratio is not that bad for straight line stuff. You will certainly get used to it and even want more. The only problem is it's just not the most practical car to own. It will also be an ongoing cash burden which means you'll have to sell your ass to fund the addiction.

Having said that, dreams are there to be chased. Good luck.

[mito]

i wish i could drop down in sydney to sit in the car with u with sucha powerful car.
i just said 500hp as a tip of a hat,wasnt a goal from experience or knowledge more random than anything.


i really want to attain 300hp soon but i think i should buy a nb8 bc its got some items already i want...

[Blue94t]

You will be struggling to reach 300hp for $10k.

For 500hp you would need closer to $100k and then you would have very little hope of keeping the car road legal.

LS1 conversions can not be registered in Vic (Unfortuneately)

I hope to have my NA going in the next month or so and it should make around 200-220rwkw pretty easily

I am more than happy to take you for a ride but you better be wearing an adult diaper as I don't want to have to clean sh*t off my passenger seat

[broady]

I am more than happy to take you for a ride but you better be wearing an adult diaper as I don't want to have to clean sh*t off my passenger seat

[mito]

yes please! Dw ill wear 2 sets of underwear haha

Well let's scratch out 500hp becauseI aint got no 100k.

[deviant]

There is a saying when it comes to building cars "Fast, Cheap, Reliable....You can pick 2!"

A reliable and drivable 300BHP is not going to happen for $10K unless you can do a lot of stuff yourself and to a high standard.

Also don't bother buying the flashest car out there. You will end up binning most of it when you go ahead with the project.

Honestly for your budget I would concentrate on learning to drive properly and saving your money for a bit and then buying a car someone else has poured cash in to. Boring I know but cars are expensive!

[RawSouth]

LS1 conversions can not be registered in Vic (Unfortuneately)

Can one be registered in any state? (NA or NB donor car)

[zossy1]

Just found this thread... hmm.

You have $10K. OK, so what can you do for that? It is probably best at first to define what you probably CAN'T do (at least if you are going to go the forced induction route):

* Get much more than 220rwhp out of your 1.6L;
* Replace your transmission with a stronger unit;
* Replace your diff with a stronger unit;
* Rebuild your engine with performance components.

FACTS:

* The stock 1.6L bottom end will do a hand grenade impression very quickly if you try to get more than 250 rwhp out of it.
* The stock 1.6L bottom end will not last very long if you put any more than 220rwhp on it - especially if it already has a few miles on it, and i'd be willing to bet yours has;
* If you push much more than 160rwhp out of your car, you WILL need a Stage 1+ clutch (around $400+ plus installation, plus flywheel resurface, etc);
* If you plan to engineer this (and I get the impression you don't), then you will probably need bigger brakes if you go much further than 160rwhp - though TBH this really depends on your engineer.

So - assuming you are not going to engineer this (call me a pessimist), and also assuming you are not going to do any of the work yourself, here are your options:

http://mx5mania.com.au/product846.htm
This is the GReddy turbo kit. Cheap and nasty, but it works. Expect somewhere around 150-170rwhp. Add an intercooler, aftermarket ECU and an exhaust for a bit more power. With installation, an exhaust, a new clutch (say an XTreme, Exedy or an ACT) and an inexpensive intercooler kit, you are looking at $5,500 MINIMUM and if you are lucky, you might push 175rwhp if you're lucky. If you add a Megasquirt and tuning, the cost will go up to at least $7000 and you might reach 185rwhp (again, if you're lucky). MAYBE. You may be able to save a few hundred bucks here and there if you find some second hand parts.

http://mx5mania.com.au/product1029.htm
This is the AVO kit. Nicer and more expensive. This might get you to 200rwhp with bigger injectors and aftermarket ECU, but with installation, clutch and exhaust you will be looking at around $9,000+.

There are cheaper kits available from the USA if you are prepared to go to the trouble of bringing it in. Shipping will be expensive, you will have to pay duty and GST, but you may save a little. Google BEGi or Flyin Miata for more info. And, you will still have to find someone to install and tune it.

None of this takes into account the money for brake and suspension upgrades that you will need after making these mods.

Here is the sad truth though:

* 300rwhp is NOT POSSIBLE for $10,000. Your engine will blow itself to pieces long before that. To build an engine capable of pushing this kind of power will probably cost you your entire $10,000 or perhaps even more, leaving you no money for the turbo kit, clutch, exhaust and installation.
* 200rwhp MAY be possible for $10K, provided your existing engine is in good shape and you find a good mechanic and dyno tuner.

You might also consider a supercharger - google Fast Forward Superchargers or miatamania.com for more info. These will have to come from the states unless you buy a second hand kit that is already here.

And now I am asking myself why I even bothered feeding the troll.

[Caffeine]

I've dríven an MX5 with approx 450hp (based on the fact has more than triple the rwkw of my stock car, which is rated at 155hp)

It's a hell of a lot of fun, but you have to be extraordinarily careful with it.

This car is a no expense spared project, with a lot more than just the engine work... If you have 8 times your budget you might get close.

[Benny]

You can also think about it this way.

An F1 engine is 2.4 litres and they produce around 700hp + or -, which is around 290hp/litre.

A BP engine is 1.6 litres, so to get 500 hp, it will need to produce around 312 hp/litre, which is more than an F1 engine.

An F1 engine costs around US$1Million to buy, depending on the actual engine, but the BMW engines are worth around that much or even more.

If the F1 guys, with all their money, experience, time, staff and equipment can only get around 290-300 hp out of a litre of capacity, and these engines have to rev to around 19,000RPM to do this, it seems illogical that any of us here could produce over 300 hp/litre for $10K.
Obviously we are talking naturally aspirated over forced induction, but I think you can see where I'm coming from.

If all you want to do is impress your friends, don't even bother to hot up your 5, just learn to drive it well.
Go to advanced courses, skid pans and track days, and then you'll discover that you don't really need a lot of power to go really fast.
Learing to drive well will be of great benefit to you for the rest of your life, but a hot car will only be a drain on you, and eventually you will sell it and lose a lot of your hard-earned money.

I've seen guys with stock MX-5's doing better lap times than guys with turbocharged cars so power is not everything.
Look at Mania's naturally aspirated race car.
It is lapping faster than any of the turbocharged street MX-5's around Wakefield Park (it does around 1:09's from memory), so outright power is only usefull in the hands of someone who knows when and how to use it, and downright dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn't.

When I was about 15 (a very long time ago), a friend of mine's brother was given a brand new Monaro GTS 350 by his parents for getting a really good pass in the HSC, and I remember having my first ride in the GTS.
Now my parents always liked having V8's and they were quite quick in their day, but this GTS really had me hooked as far as powerful cars go, and I decided there and then that I would also have a very powerful car someday.
However, I also decided that if I was going to drive a high-powered car, that I had better learn to drive it too, as I didn't want to kill myself.
So, when I got my license, I strated enrolling in various advanced driving courses and learned how to handle a car (and I was driving around in my parents' V8's at the time) properly, rather than just trying things out myself and getting killed.
Mind you, 35-40 years ago, you could actually try things on quiet roads where you can't today.
After I had done a number of courses and felt as if I could now handle fast cars, I started doing some track days and learned a hell of a lot more, and I still go to driving courses (mainly drift days now) and track days and I am still learning.

This is what you should do too as learning to drive properly is one of the foundations of staying alive on the roads today - especially if you have a high-powered car.
While not as obvious as having a hot car, being a good driver can bring you many kudos too, and you will find that girls will prefer to be dríven by you, because you are smooth and comfortable to drive with, rather than going with some hottie who thinks it's fun to light up the rear tyres at every red light, and who changes gear so roughly that your passengers think they are nodding dogs.
Any idiot can buy or modify a fast car, but not too many can drive it well.
Good driving and having a good feel for a car is the foundation of being able to drive fast.
Learn how to go around corners properly, with the right lines and correct entry speeds etc., learn how to change gears without your passengers being able to even feel that you are, take off at the lights like the car was an automatic with no clutch slip, drive smoothly and think of the comfort of your passengers.
If you can do all of these as second nature, then you will be a good driver and your friends will be amazed by you and you will get far more respect from them than just having a powerful car.

[cshaks]

Well spoken Benny.
I couldn't agree more.

Chris

[Mr Morlock]

Benny remarked "Any idiot can buy or modify a fast car, but not too many can drive it well". I would endorse that comment. Today's modern cars provide yesteryears GT performance- your E type would not keep up with a Golf GTI etc. MX5 put more emphasis on agility and handling and in the hands of a good driver that makes a very big difference. Best place for guys that really want the speed buzz is an environment removed from ordinary motorists- a race track.

[Guran]

You're not wrong Mr M. I recall the first series of Top Gear Australia, when an original GTHO Phase 3 was slower around their test track than rental-spec Falcon XT and Commodore Omega!

[Benny]

You're not wrong Mr M. I recall the first series of Top Gear Australia, when an original GTHO Phase 3 was slower around their test track than rental-spec Falcon XT and Commodore Omega!

It's amazing to think that what we now think of as economy hatchbacks, are actually FASTER than the V8's of old.

What will our grandchildren be driving?
For them, if it does 0-100k's in 5 seconds, will it be considerd slow?

When I was a kid, any car that could do 0-100k's in under 10 seconds was considered fast, and 6 seconds was almost unheard of, as even top of the line Ferraris could only manage it in around 7-8 seconds, and Porsches were lucky to break 9 seconds!

The Tesla does in around 4 seconds, and all in complete silence too.

If you look at the times of the old American V8 muscle cars, anything that could crack 160km/h over the quarter mile (400M) was considered to be amazing.
Now our ordinary V8 Commodes can do that.