mx5cartalk.com

Well it didn't take long. Only had the NA a week and the missus has been driving it for two days. She came home last night and tells me we need to put a turbo on. I guess she's spoiled as her everyday drive is a Ls1 powered Stato with CIA, defilipo system and edit.

So the planned projects (which she didn't know about might have to start early.

My delema is whether to turbo this motor or not. I discovered that it has had the short nose crank repair carried out by a reputable Mazda dealer but who nose how long it will last.

As the turbo kit is different for the 1.8 I don't want to buy one for the 1.6 then in 12 months need to change engines and if I go 1.8 I have to replace the turbo.

So what to do first.

Option 1. Turbo this motor and if it dies try and find a long nose 1.6 motor.

option 2. As above but rebuild mine if it dies, question is can I fit a long nose crank into my motor and how hard are they to get.

Option 3. Be patient and find a good low kay NA 1.8. Freshen it up, Buy a kit for it and fit the whole lot together.

This car is not a daily driver so taking it off the road for a few week s is not an issue.

What to do ??

Probably the cheapest, quickest and best way to go, would be to sell the NA and buy another car which already has the turbo fitted, and all the hard work, and expense, already taken care of.

Even if you loose money on the NA, you'll loose a lot less than putting a turbo on it, versus buying an already turboed car.



Just my 2c.

If you are set on the 1.6 NA (who can blame you, they're great ) then just turbo that engine, provided all the other things have been done (clutch, brakes, diff).

Once that one dies, swap in a NB 1.6 (cheap enough from a Jap importer) and get lots of goodies.

The standard 1.6 clutch (and most marketed heavy duty ones) will not hold the torque of a turbo. So you have another decision to make there.

This is of course if you are not overse to doing work yourself, otherwise it will be cheaper to sell yours and buy one already done.

Benny wrote:Probably the cheapest, quickest and best way to go, would be to sell the NA and buy another car which already has the turbo fitted, and all the hard work, and expense, already taken care of.

Even if you loose money on the NA, you'll loose a lot less than putting a turbo on it, versus buying an already turboed car.



Just my 2c.

I've only had it a week.

In hihnsight (spelling) your probably right but I don't think that will be an option. I bought this car as a bit of a project to do with my young fella. The work I do will be done slowly over time so the cost should be spread out (all hobbies cost money) and not to prohibative (i hope). Just want to make sure I don't have to do things twice.

Cheers
Mark

ampz wrote:This is of course if you are not overse to doing work yourself, otherwise it will be cheaper to sell yours and buy one already done.

Yes I actually wan't to do the work myself and teach my son a bit along the way. Probably end up being a serial pest around here

We all answer these things based on our own views and outlooks. If you bought the car for a project- to restore it or mildly modify to improve all round performance then why ditch the plan after such a short time. Your young bloke may learn lots and enjoy the process and not cost a bomb. Turbo''s for cars that were not designed for them have lots of attendant problems such as components failing under stress to say nothing of the cost. Good way to burn money. If power is the goal there are lots of cars out there such as WrX or various Fords and Holdens etc. Options like buying later cars all mean more money and perhaps the resto process is less relevant ie you have a nice late NB cost say 17K or an older NA say 9K- which one gets the repair and fiddle treatment?

emexv wrote:

ampz wrote:This is of course if you are not overse to doing work yourself, otherwise it will be cheaper to sell yours and buy one already done.

Yes I actually wan't to do the work myself and teach my son a bit along the way. Probably end up being a serial pest around here

Sounds like fun!

Enjoy the challenge.

I'd love to do up and old NA myself, if I had the time and a place to do it.

i see in another thread that you mentioned you're going to sandown for a look and are interested in doing some motorsport with the vic club.

in that case i'd urge you not to rush in to modifying your car too much. especially by going to forced induction you are immediately in \"open\" or \"restricted open\" class.

best idea is to get a few track days under your belt and get a feel for what class you like the look of. eg there is some really good competition in standard NA at the moment. or you might decide that clubman or modified class looks like the most fun, and then build your car to fit into whatever class you like.

in my experience it is easier to come into those classes and be somewhat competitive from the start. to become competitive in \"open\" takes a lot more time and a LOT more money.

ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

but then again if you just want a rocket and aren't too fussed about track results then sure go for it. turbo mx5's are a lot of fun!

so anyway apart form the cost of the turbo system, on an NA6 you will also need to upgrade the brakes ( somewhere around $1000 - $1500 for parts) the diff (about $1500 for a torsen LSD) the clutch (and maybe flywheel) say about $700. you'll probably also need a bigger radiator if you're tracking it say about $500? and a bigger exhaust about $800. i'm sure there's other stuff i've had to do, can't remember it all . but yes all the above is necesarry.... so maybe i should have started with an NA8 eh? food for thought.

Some great advise there.

Fatty you have reminded me why I decided to go with this car. It wasn't to be all about power but rather about driving the car. Getting involved in a bit of motorsport that was affordable and getting to spend some quality time with the young fella and teach him a few things about mechanics and driving along the way.

The lists of costs you indicated are relatively cheap in comparison to what is required on other vehicles. For example I had a VX SS that I thought about putting on the track but at 3k just to put decent brakes on it the costs were too prohibitive.

She's already got some Gennie 4,2,1's high flow cat and custom 2' exhaust. The rest of the upgrades will come slowly but better do those mods before anything else.

We haven't been on a good run yet. Maybe when I take the missus on some good windy roads she won't be thinking it's too slow

Come down and talk to us at Sandown on the 25th. Sounds like your car would be in our 'Clubman' class now and there's good competition at affordable costs there now.

Fresh fluids, some tread left in the tyres, meat in the brake pads and a few bits borrowed from the MX5Vic Club and you're ready to go for the start of the new season in July.

Fatty you have reminded me why I decided to go with this car. It wasn't to be all about power but rather about driving the car. Getting involved in a bit of motorsport that was affordable and getting to spend some quality time with the young fella and teach him a few things about mechanics and driving along the way.

I bought my NA for similar reason. My car is stock but still heaps of fun on the track, yeah it would be nice to be a bit faster but there is still lots of fun to be had. I would have some fun with the car as is for the moment and then have a think about turbo later. I'll be at Sandown and hope to meet you there.

fundies wrote:Don't want to hijack the thread, but I was thinking about a supercharger for the NB8A. Nothing over the top required power wise, just after a nice kick and that cool whining sound. Has anyone done it, is it good?what does it cost?

there is 12 pages of reading here . knock yourself out. also note that FF are a forum sponsor, check them out at the link at the top of the page.

i have and there a few others. pm me for details.