mx5cartalk.com

Horsepower, yes. Cheap, no.

2 cars in Victoria. Warwick Gates (ex Perth) car had form in the Dutton events. This was the template for the Perth conversion kits (Speedworks?). Blue94T's car on this forum has been in the making for almost a year.

so is bolting up a turbo to the exsiting engine

Bluey wrote:Xspeed in osbourne park in perth makes a kit to fit an sr20 to an NA but i think they might have shut up shop now? still google the kit there might still be some floating around

Speedworks in Osbourne park helped develop the kit with a local engineer. The original owners sold the business and now I believe its closed.

I think one of my mates still has copyright over the kit and the ability to get them produced.

When he gets back from touring around the country i'll ask him.

If your serious I could probably get a price but they're NOT cheap.

These aren't a backyard job, they're properly engineered and include a new sump and keep the power plant frame.

I have some pics of Warwick Gates old car, I think it's now owned by the Gazzards.

Blue94t is having this conversion done as we speak....it may be nearing completion...PM him for more info.

Cheers,
Danny

It's much cheaper and easier IMO just to turbo the stock engine. You can get a good usable amont of power, since it doesn't need a bazillion jiggawatts to get it to move at a reasonable pace. If you go about it the right way it doesn't have to cost a fortune either, I added my total up, I estimate it cost me under $1500 in the end not including ecu since I already had it, but that is doing EVERYTHING myself, manifold and all.

I think one of the main motivations for blue94t's sr20 conversion is the strict/er emissions laws in nsw which we don't have to worry about here in qld for one reason or another.

Something else you may want to think about is what are you planning to do with the car? If you were drag racing them maybe it would be worthwhile? but I don't know if I would go through all the hassle and cost if it was just for street or track?

Cheers, Tim

THE FAT STIG wrote:any one out there put a sr20det engine in a na mx 5. looks like good cheap horsepower.

how much hp are you after? you can quite easily get over 400hp out of the bp (built of course) and it would cost quite a bit less then putting a foreign motor in your car. If you have deep pockets and want mega hp get a 2l stoker motor from the states. You can get 600 plus hp and it will still cost you less then a comparative sr20 motor. as long as your other bits are up to it you can chuck insane amounts of boost at the bp motor as its got an iron block. If bmw used 2002 turbo iron blocks in the 80's for 1500 plus hp i am sure you will be able to get enough power out of the bp motor. don't bother with the heart ache of a motor conversion - if all you are after is hp its just not worth it.

I am doing my conversion to maintain legallity in Vic and still make the horsepower I want. I am doing everything I can myself but getting a mate to fabricate the sump, intercooler, radiator, oilcooler and exhaust.
The SR has a lot going for it, it is a strong engine in standard form, it has huge aftermarket support (probably the best aftermarket support of any Japanese 4cyl with the associated lower prices), the std ecu is real time tuneable with the right mods, the gearbox is stronger than the MX5 box and you get the added torque of a two litre.
You may be abe to do a turbo setup for $1500 but if you want a quality setup that will survive hard use on the track you better budget closer to $10k than $1500.
My original set up was a turbo BP, they are a great motor. But I can tell you right now my conversion will cost less than buying a "built" Flyin Miata motor and landing it here. It will cost a whole lot less than a stroker motor, and it will make similiar power to my old BP turbo for similiar expense. The main difference being when I want to lean on the SR I will have no problems at all making the 250-300rwkw I want and I wont be popping the gearbox.
As for comparing motors, regardless of the car it is fitted too, you could build more HP/$ with the SR than a BP any day. Being a turbo motor to start with means you don't need to buy an exhaust manifoldand it has an extra 200cc.
I also know of at least two other SR MX5's being built in Vic and one in Qld. Hot5 is owned by a member of the forum.
Any other questions feel free to ask
Jake

You QLDers have got it lucky with EPA testing up there.
If I lived in QLD I probably would have spent the money further developing my BP as I would not have had to worry about running an aftermarket ecu like you do in Vic. So I guess the state you live in also can have a lot to do with the path you choose to take.
Jake

Nark wrote:AFAIK the S15 and NB8B-onward gearboxes are the same 6 speeder.

That gearbox is also used in the S2000 and IS200.

The 6spd boxes are all similiar, I will be running the 5spd as it is the stronger box. the Nissan 5spd a very easy box to get upgraded gear sets for such as the OS Giken close ratio gearset which you can pick up for around $4k and is rated for 600hp.

Jake

Blue94t wrote:

Nark wrote:AFAIK the S15 and NB8B-onward gearboxes are the same 6 speeder.

That gearbox is also used in the S2000 and IS200.

The 6spd boxes are all similiar, I will be running the 5spd as it is the stronger box. the Nissan 5spd a very easy box to get upgraded gear sets for such as the OS Giken close ratio gearset which you can pick up for around $4k and is rated for 600hp.

Jake

Blue94t - and don't forget the RX-8 too...

As for a stronger box, a mate here in WA kept busting boxes in his 180 so he ended up putting in a R33 gearbox. Involved cutting off the end of the 180 bell housing and welding it onto the R33 gearbox. A lot cheaper than purchasing a gear set. From memory his 180 was putting out around 450hp and the wheels. The rest just bolted straight up.

300zx box is also very strong.

Nark,
The BP weighs about 140kg, The SR about 150kg.
These weights are for a N/A BP and a SR20det so the turbo stuff makes up the weight that you save with the alloy block.
In my case as the BP in my car was turbo'd I expect the weight change for the conversion to be <20kg.
Jake