mx5cartalk.com

Hi filo,

This is an old article but worth a read...

http://www.solomiata.com/CheapHP.html

Cheers

AK

How fast do you want to go and do you need nice mod cons? My lightweight non turbo 1.6 regularly outruns V8s in a straight line and I make 50m gaps every roundabout, passing on the outside. This is not uncommon for an mx5. If your willing to buy an early 1st generation mx5, then remove the...carpet, stereo, electric windows for manual, no air con, no power steering, which you def do not need in a 900kg car. Then you add a full exhaust with a nice air intake, shave the head and increase timing and you will outrun every atmo v6 you will find. Thats the very cheap way to do it. Something like 7 grand including buying the car. Or do you want faster than that? Mine owes me less that 13 grand, hks suspension and garret turbo included, and even without the turbo outruns v8s.

Dann

NitroDann wrote:shave the head

... Is this to increase comp ratio? How much by?

NitroDann wrote:My lightweight non turbo 1.6 regularly outruns V8s in a straight line

Stock NA mx5s do 0-100km/h in about 10-11 seconds, and v8 commodores do it in around 6 seconds. You must be putting out some decent power...

Stock na takes 9.4 seconds, stock group a vl walkinshaw takes 6.9. My car is stripped under 900kg, launch control, 6 speed, e85, big cams, high comp, and yeah it does make good power.

Im running 10.5:1 comp ratio

Dann

This would mostly be useful for the 1.8 but for your interest: Flyin Miata stroker, plus head work.
The Martini livery must be good for 1hp, too.

http://www.targamiata.com/images_lrg/fm ... -small.pdf

The cheapest way to go very fast is this.
11:1 pistons and a head shave
Familia solid lifters
300 degree cams with plenty of lift and ramp
Oil pmp gears
megasquirt
E85
Remove...
Carpet
Console
Heater
Fan
Air con
Power steer
Under dash controls and heater box
Bumpers, the bumpers not the body panels
All heat shields
Soft top
strip doors, just the handle and latch no glass.

Now you have a 0-100 in 5 seconds monster

Dann

Some seriously wild claims being made in this thread....

NitroDann wrote:Now you have a 0-100 in 5 seconds car which is not street legal

Fixed that for you.

gussy wrote:Some seriously wild claims being made in this thread....

Race me.
Patrick is selling his blown 1.8 with a haltech big boost pulley huge intercooler and like 30 grand spent on it. By 4th gear he still isnt in front of me. His rear bumper is still at my front wheel. Ask him.

And ill add engineering to that list, its all engineerable except removing the bumpers, the rest is fine. And seriously, whos car here is completely legal? You running exactly stock sized tyres? No? So you got them engineered right? No? Oh ok..

Dann

filo6667 has his head spining by now, wondering how his simple question got this far out of hand.
Obviously not a simple question i guess, i would think the link posted earlier on what you can do to tune a 1.6l has given him most of the answers.

NitroDann wrote:Race me.

No one here is after a race!! OP was just after "a bit more kick"! If you're talking about mods which require an engineers certificate of approval, why not recommend they just dump a whopping GM V8 into their mx5?! While your recommendations might be spot on for track work, they make for a disastrously uncomfortable road car. I really hope you're intelligent enough realise a lot of those mods are just plain idiotic to suggest for someone who's just after a bit of grunt from the line.

I wasn't making light of the fact that those mods would be illegal. Running 15x7" wheels or having white reflectors instead of orange is a completely different matter to removing air con, power steering, soft top, carpets, and all of the other things which make the car comfortable to live with.



OP, some simple ways of getting power are to advance the timing to ~14 degrees BTDC (you'll have to run high octane fuel to avoid detonation), installing some form of cold air intake (such as this one from MX5 Mania), and fitting an aftermarket exhaust. These mods aren't going to get you across the 1/4 mile in 10 seconds, but they'll give the car a bit more sporting feel.

But from a different perspective, you might want to spend some time mastering the driving dynamics of the car before you start looking at getting the curve higher. There are some drivers here in very lightly modified mx5s which give much more expensive cars a decent run for their money. Have a look at fitting thicker sway bars and stiffer suspension and getting a good wheel alignment done. I fitted just the front sway bar to my NA6 and it made a world of difference

lee wrote:

NitroDann wrote:Race me.

No one here is after a race!! OP was just after "a bit more kick"! If you're talking about mods which require an engineers certificate of approval, why not recommend they just dump a whopping GM V8 into their mx5?! While your recommendations might be spot on for track work, they make for a disastrously uncomfortable road car. I really hope you're intelligent enough realise a lot of those mods are just plain idiotic to suggest for someone who's just after a bit of grunt from the line.

I wasn't making light of the fact that those mods would be illegal. Running 15x7" wheels or having white reflectors instead of orange is a completely different matter to removing air con, power steering, soft top, carpets, and all of the other things which make the car comfortable to live with.



OP, some simple ways of getting power are to advance the timing to ~14 degrees BTDC (you'll have to run high octane fuel to avoid detonation), installing some form of cold air intake (such as this one from MX5 Mania), and fitting an aftermarket exhaust. These mods aren't going to get you across the 1/4 mile in 10 seconds, but they'll give the car a bit more sporting feel.

But from a different perspective, you might want to spend some time mastering the driving dynamics of the car before you start looking at getting the curve higher. There are some drivers here in very lightly modified mx5s which give much more expensive cars a decent run for their money. Have a look at fitting thicker sway bars and stiffer suspension and getting a good wheel alignment done. I fitted just the front sway bar to my NA6 and it made a world of difference

Wise words, probably the best input into this thread yet. I have done these exact mods to my car and it's brilliant to drive. Go down the path of young Mr. Dann if you want a track pig, otherwise, do what Lee has suggested. With all the mods i have done, it's still a brilliant daily drive, it also looks great.

Another problem with a stripped out car is carrying passengers (Girlfriends, Friends, Family etc). I know from my own experience, i want the passenger to be a comfy as i am. No carpet, A/C and no windows are not the recipe for a Daily if you ask me.

This is simply my viewpoint, i respect what you have done to your car Dann and i am sure it is an absolute blast to drive. Lets keep this tame shall we?

As a girl, im not overly bothered by comfort. ATM I am stripping my interior and making it super noisy.
If you do pull your sound deadening out, you'll save about 20kg and if you want to keep a stock look, the actual carpet doesnt weigh much so you can just put it back in.
Might be a touch loud without both sound deadening and carpet, but get a nice exhaust and you'll be sorted.

As for turbos, Garrett GT25-54R, or the new Borg Warner EFR 62-55, are both good options power without losing too much reliability as its not running stupid amounts of boost.

Im the only person on here that told him anything, and gave results. he just bought a sports car, you dont think he already knows to put an intake/exhaust and bump timing, none of those things are model specific, which is why i never mentioned them. Im sure he can decide if he needs carpet. For me , i dont even notice its gone, or my girlfriend for example.

Dann