Supercharging an mx5: anyone done it?

sweep77 · Postby **sweep77** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:33 pm

Just wondering if anyone has supercharged there mx5? i know there plenty of turbos. thought it would be quite good since one good thing about the mx5 is the linear power delivery which would still remain with supercharging but with turbos its a bit trickier to drive. any thoughts?

Uncle Arthur · Postby **Uncle Arthur** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:42 pm

www.google.com - search 'supercharged mx5 miata'

Alex · Postby **Alex** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:12 pm

look it up, there is a very big thread on this forum which goes through all the in's and out's of it as well as pictures of the difficult parts of installing and all the parts required, I think it also has a bit on costs for everything,

just use the search function

AJ · Postby AJ » Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:50 pm

even better, just click on the forum sponsors ad up top there ^^^^

Fast Forward Superchargers :mrgreen:

timk · Postby **timk** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 4:58 pm

I have dríven both and prefer the supercharged car, but it depends what you want. I used to own a peaky turbo MX-5 and it was rather annoying to be honest.

Uncle Arthur · Postby **Uncle Arthur** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:07 pm

saboteur wrote:I used to own a peaky turbo MX-5 and it was rather annoying to be honest.

Read - 'he used to own an SE' :mrgreen:

Casey · Postby **Casey** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:11 pm

I have dríven a supercharged NA6A MX5 (a \"built\" motor with a very well engineered Lysholm setup with intercooler and Autronic) that was converted to a turbo due to drivability issues that couldn't be resolved.

Also have dríven two NB8B M60 Eatons chosen for their simplicity and low cost that have each gone on to cost the owner more then a decent turbo setup in the long run to get decent drivability out of them.

However I also dríven a Jackson M45 setup and a Z Engineering centrifugal setup (basically an engine dríven turbocharger compressor) - both on NB8As which were lovely to drive. Both needed a lot of revs to deliver, and a decent turbo (eg SP) offers the better performance at any revs.

My pick would be a turbo, but if you must go supercharged then the Z Engineering would be my pick for reliability (it uses the engine's oil unlike the sealed Eatons) and simplicity.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Sun Dec 02, 2007 9:30 pm

tk421 on the forums here has put a FFS supercharger on his NB8A. It goes pretty hard

Supercharging is definitely doable, and has definitely been done before. I'm considering doing it when I have a bit more money to burn.

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 8:58 am

never dríven a turbo mx5. i own a centrifugal supercharged mx5. supercharger brand is rotrex. to be honest it uses less fuel then the stock car and has not missed a beat in about 3000kms of pretty hard driving. That said its a big dollar kit - you get what you pay for!!!!! If you are in brisbane you are more then welcome to come for a bit of a spin.

mr_rotary · Postby **mr_rotary** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:50 pm

I am also thinking about going supercharged in the new year however will be purchasing an NB to do it in. The way the US dollar keeps dropping makes the kits cheaper by the week. I was thinking about the jackson Racing kit however after reading a few good reports, I may spend the extra coin and go for the 'FF' kit.

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:32 pm

16bit wrote:If you are in brisbane you are more then welcome to come for a bit of a spin.

Damn... wish I was in Brisbane

tk421 · Postby **tk421** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:42 pm

marcusus wrote:tk421 on the forums here has put a FFS supercharger on his NB8A. It goes pretty hard

Supercharging is definitely doable, and has definitely been done before. I'm considering doing it when I have a bit more money to burn.

Well what can I say but...Yes..yes it does :evil:

. Its better now it has some decent rubber under it as well Marcus (Bridgestone Adrenalins), I didn't realise how bad the dunlops were :oops:

I even got a thumb up in the air from the driver of a Manual XR6 turbo that couldn't get away on the weekend - and there I was expecting him to flip me the bird :mrgreen:

. I guess the sound of it must have sold him

Seriously though 16bit is right, if you want to do force induction right either with well thought out kits like ours (or a turbo frankly) it doesn't come cheap. To give you an idea it was a bit over 6k to get mine into the country once shipping and duties were done and this is before any of the work started. Personally I paid to have it fitted and added some some ancillaries along with the kit (radiator & clutch and had a CAI fabricated). This of course costs some dollars. That said Chris P fitted his FFS kit with some mates to his NB8B without these and its doing fine, all depends on your priorities I guess. I like the track so these seemed sensible.

I am very happy with it though. Has plenty of squirt as far as I am concerned though I already have a new bigger pulley and timing card that aren't fitted yet. I'll get round to it eventually!

Wasn't a particularly straighforward initial fit in my case but when all said and done it was a great success. Like 16 bit's kit dríven normally fuel consumption is pretty much unnafected, but when your in boost a lot it obviously goes up yes. No issues with reliability thus far with a few thousand k's covered. ChrisP has done far more than me with no issues as well. Sounds magic, linear spread of torque and power from idle to redline. Not much more I could ask for in an MX5 personally.

Cheers

Steve

marcusus · Postby **marcusus** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:01 pm

tk421 wrote:Its better now it has some decent rubber under it as well Marcus (Bridgestone Adrenalins), I didn't realise how bad the dunlops were

A bit OT, but I've been contemplating these tyres for my next set. Sounds like they're a winner if they go down well on yours. Now to play the waiting game for the Kuhmo's to wear out.

Casey · Postby **Casey** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:41 am

tk421 wrote:I even got a thumb up in the air from the driver of a Manual XR6 turbo that couldn't get away on the weekend - and there I was expecting him to flip me the bird . I guess the sound of it must have sold him

I reckon XR6T owners are a different breed. Had a very similar experience against a XR6T a while ago. After I backed off and he caught up he gave me a big smile and friendly wave.

Marador · Postby **Marador** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:49 pm

16bit wrote:never dríven a turbo mx5. i own a centrifugal supercharged mx5. supercharger brand is rotrex. to be honest it uses less fuel then the stock car and has not missed a beat in about 3000kms of pretty hard driving. That said its a big dollar kit - you get what you pay for!!!!! If you are in brisbane you are more then welcome to come for a bit of a spin.

Now that mines all better I think im gonna have to take you for a spin... then get you to take me for a spin