Woops I think I've broken it - Now what do I do

[MrsB]

Hi All

Hoping to draw from all of your opinions, experience and wealth of knowledge.

I cracked the my radiator (NA6) at Sandown today and left the entire contents on the track. The car got really hot and then cut out. Not sure what damage I've done but either way it's probably time for the motor to come out.

I have read posts on this forum in the past about what to do with my motor and even considered selling and looking for an NB8 but now it looks like I need to make a decision on this one.

Do I stay 1.6 and rebuild?
Do I find a 1.8 motor and build?
I've looked at SC v's Turbo or do I stay naturally aspirated.

I'm totally confused

I had planned to put a Quaife LSD in if I kept the car so I guess I'll do this at the same time.

Opinions pros & cons appreciated
Thanks in advance
Chris (MrsB)
ps car used for track only

[SuperMazdaKart]

whats the budget?

[Okibi]

Step 1) get a new radiator

Step 2)see if current engine is buggered

Step 3)see if it's a cheap fix or if you should put a 1.8 (and ecu) in.

[MrsB]

whats the budget?

Its coming out of MrB's motorsport budget seriously though I'm prepared to spend whatever it costs me to get the best result for my ability. Just really trying to make the right choice. A lot of non MX5 people have said go turbo but then others have said that it's either there or it's not. I want to keep it driveable with the ability to improve as I do.
Thanks

[RawSouth]

Perhaps think about going supercharged?

Great driveability and more power

[tbro]

Hey Chris,

Really depends on what you want to achieve.
Are you willing to spend heaps of $$$$ to try a be a front runner, remember that being a NA thet a turbo will automatically put you in 2A, running against the big boys, if you fit a 1.8 you'll need a new ecu or update and retunes, plus extractors, fitting kits etc. Stay with the 1.6 and you won't be ultra competitive unless you spend a fortune and then you run the risk of reliability. Mildly work the 1.6, keep reliability and have fun,but if you can pedal the car you'll still be a mid packer, as Boags proved in his std engine car.

I'm just looking at having fun, learning the car and tracks and then maybe, just maybe I'll look at more horsepower.

I'd do what Dave said and think on the bright side, these thing will take a fair bit of punishment.

Good luck

Terry

[Fatty]

Step 1) get a new radiator

Step 2)see if current engine is buggered

Step 3)see if it's a cheap fix or if you should put a 1.8 (and ecu) in.

agree totally.

if the current engine is fine, why spend money on un-needed modifications / improvements.

if the engine is rooted, just chuck in another 1.6 (cheap option) or think about the 1.8 (more expensive).... but i don't think it's worth even thinking about this until you know the state of the current engine.

1.6 vs 1.8... obviously the 1.8 has more potential but i don't think the difference is that great... the difference is small enough that driver skill will have much more bearing on lap times than the .2cc difference in engine capacity (i'm talking stock engines here)

regarding turbos and SC's, i've been down that road and it is more trouble than it's worth for a track car until you have the driving skills to compliment it. since returning my car to n/a i have found it much easier to drive , more enjoyable to drive, and easier and cheaper to maintain. once i have improved my driving skills i might think about forced induction again, but that is a long way off. have a look at the lap times of some of the better drivers in the club and it's very evident that you don't need forced induction to do good lap times in an mx5 - driver skill is where it's at. i won't even consider going down that path again until my times are within 1 or 2 seconds of the better drivers.

i read a post by "hellmun" recently (a gun driver from the NSW club) where he said his time improved a lot when he stopped modifying his car and just concentrated on learning to drive it, as is. sorry to sound like a broken record here but i just hate to see people throwing money down the drain on car mods that they don't need!

[manga_blue]

x2 with Fatty and Okibi.

Check out your exisiting engine first. If it's broken then you could find an NA6 one for $600 and fit it in a few hours, an NA8 for $1,000 but it'll need an NA8 ecu and some smarts to wire it all in, or an NB8A for $1,800 and more wiring issues. The NA8 doesn't really deliver better times and the NB option is a major job with small gains.

The sad truth is that NAs become money pits when you start to modify them much, especially when you do things like force feed them or change motors. Much better to hone your driving skills and then exchange it for an NB8A or NB8B later. Our cheapest competitive cars are now NBs. Obviously NBs are not nearly as good as NAs but if you lower your standards you'll find that NBs are less time consuming, more reliable, quicker, cheaper to run and still have resale value at the end.

[NMX516]

Obviously NBs are not nearly as good as NAs but if you lower your standards you'll find that NBs are less time consuming, more reliable, quicker, cheaper to run and still have resale value at the end.

Hey!! I read that!!

FWIW, as others have said, investigate the condition of your present engine first - it might not be too bad.

Put it this way, if you hadn't had this problem now, would you have otherwise spent money in the near future to drop in a bigger engine, or turbo or s/c etc? If not, minimise your losses, get a replacement 1.6 for ~$600 and continue along the path you were going along

[wun911]

either way you might want to get a larger aloy rad seeming you like to push the car around the track, and it might help if down the track you do decide to turbo or sc it...

[MrsB]

Obviously NBs are not nearly as good as NAs but if you lower your standards you'll find that NBs are less time consuming, more reliable, quicker, cheaper to run and still have resale value at the end.

Hey!! I read that!!

FWIW, as others have said, investigate the condition of your present engine first - it might not be too bad.

Put it this way, if you hadn't had this problem now, would you have otherwise spent money in the near future to drop in a bigger engine, or turbo or s/c etc? If not, minimise your losses, get a replacement 1.6 for ~$600 and continue along the path you were going along

Hi NMX516

I had been planning to do something, I just could'nt make up my mind on what. I have been rather conscious that the motor had done 300,000k and Mr B's been giving it a push while he finishes his own project so this was really just a matter of time. It's just forced me to make a decision. I think even if I picked up a replacement 1.6 I would give it a freshen up before I put it in the car.


Hi wun911 - Will definately be putting in a new radiator. I've been told about someone in Berwick who custom builds alloy radiators. It was sooo hot at Sandown yesterday. A lot of cars were overheating and I think the turbos & sc's were having a tough time.
Car is off to the workshop first thing Wednesday (long weekend for Melb Cup) I'm taking up your suggestions of seeing what damage has been done & we'll go from there. Will keep you posted.

Thanks again for all your feedback
Chris

[Benny]

One thing you should know is that driving a turboed, or supercharged car on a track is more difficult than driving a normally aspirated car.
In fact, I know of someone who turboed their car, and it took a few track days for them to match his previous times!
An NA MX-5 is a joy to drive around a track, but when you've got a lot of power, you have to really learn how to control that power so you don't spin out on every corner.

Radiators don't last forever, and if you've goten 300,000k's out of the old one, I wouldn't be bitching too hard that I had to replace it.
As far as your engine goes, after the fluid came out and you were running it while overheating, did the engine seize up at all?
If it did, throw it in the garbage, but if not, it can probably be saved without spending a fortune on it.
If you decide to put a 1.8 in it, you will also need to get all the gear that goes with the 1.8 like the gearbox and clutch, diff and rear drive shafts.
For the improved performance you would get, it's very expensive.
Just stick the 1.6.

[93_Clubman]

It might not be as bad as you think - similar thing happened to 1red5's NA8 midish last year:

Reason:
Heater hose blew whilst on the track, did about 2laps / 3mins with an air-cooled engine.
Temperature gauge was all the way to the right when I stopped at the pits.

Everytime I stop after a drive, I pop my head under the hood and check levels, and check the radiator for contamination. So far el zippo, I think I dodged a bullet. *knocks on wood*
I've had the engine oil tested too and no fuel or coolant contamination.

[sweep77]

same thing happened to me and i had to have the whole lot rebuilt with a new crank! alloy heads dont like getting hot.