High mileage turbo (SE) - reliable?

zoomerang · Postby **zoomerang** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:15 pm

I'm currently looking at buying an MX-5 for use as a track car, and found the below listing for an 2004 MX-5 SE (Turbocharged).

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... =0&sdmvc=1

My main area of concern is the mileage - it has around 166,000km on it. This would obviously be nothing to worry about on a normal Mazda engine, but given the turbocharger should I be questioning whether it's potentially going to start being a money pit? (Keep in mind I intend to use this as a track car).

Thanks

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:49 pm

This car doesn't look to have any performance modz so has been running the stock 7.5psi boost. Most of us who mod the car run anywhere between 10 and 13psi boost very reliably on the track (and daily) and I'm only aware of problems when they've been run hard at 14-15psi for long track periods (it's pointless running them this high anyway since the small IHI turbo really runs out of puff at 14psi).

The IHI turbo is very reliable and very conservative so I wouldn't fret about the turbo being problematic - if it is, I can sell you mine (just upgraded to a Borg Warner EFR6258), it's done less than 50,000km

The SE with a few bolt-on options (CAI and MBC) will net you around 135rwkw for not a lot of money which really transforms the car and is a lot of fun without needing to upgrade your ECU and injectors.

The 17" rims are too heavy and OEM shocks aren't great for trackwork so you'll want to upgrade them eventually (if you're serious about trackwork, you'd do that for any car anyway).

For trackwork, the stock intercooler is ridiculously small and heatsoaks very quickly so you'll want to upgrade that. The eBay Cooling Pro intercooler is a good+cheap upgrade that you can DIY.

You should also visit http://www.mazda-speed.com/, a US site dedicated to MSMs/SEs - you'll find a lot of specific information there.

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 12:20 pm

On hot days have an observer at an uphill section to warn you of any pinging. Make sure you use decent fuel. Don't increase the boost until you've added at least stronger rods.

See this thread for why you should take the above on board:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=56652&hilit=whoops

but don't let it put you off doing what you're planning. Just be aware of my mistakes.

zoomerang · Postby **zoomerang** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 2:53 pm

davekmoore wrote:On hot days have an observer at an uphill section to warn you of any pinging. Make sure you use decent fuel. Don't increase the boost until you've added at least stronger rods.

Ouch, that looks expensive.

Is that likely to be an issue with a stock unmodified SE running 98 RON on the track (In the middle of a Brisbane summer)? I don't really intend to add any extra boost for the foreseeable future.

Presumably I'll need to upgrade the inter-cooler as well - do I need to get a blue plate (Or whatever the current NCOP clusterfuck is called) before that is considered road legal?

MrRevhead · Postby **MrRevhead** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:19 pm

I assume you're in QLD?

If you're prepared to make your way down to Syd, Vespa is selling his SE with lower KMs (96k) for a fraction more than the one you linked on carsales.

It might be worth considering.

http://mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=59281

davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:56 pm

zoomerang wrote:
davekmoore wrote:On hot days have an observer at an uphill section to warn you of any pinging. Make sure you use decent fuel. Don't increase the boost until you've added at least stronger rods.

Ouch, that looks expensive.

Yes.

Is that likely to be an issue with a stock unmodified SE running 98 RON on the track (In the middle of a Brisbane summer)? I don't really intend to add any extra boost for the foreseeable future.

No.

Presumably I'll need to upgrade the inter-cooler as well

Yes. See other reply re Cooling Pro.

Yes - do I need to get a blue plate (Or whatever the current NCOP clusterfuck is called) before that is considered road legal?

Dunno. Another post mentions other cars and you might consider ones with some sensible mods already done. I've also PMd you about a possible race-ready motor with all ancillaries.

timk · Postby **timk** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:48 am

If you leave everything standard it should be reliable fun. I started doing track days in a standard SE and never had any mechanical issues even during QLD summer, granted I'm not pushing the car as hard as some. I never heard any pinging or anything like that even with the postage stamp sized intercooler.

Cheers