Is Turbo Miata the Answer?

Turbo Miata, seems like the best solutions right? Well, maybe not depending on your budget and goals. In this episode we share some of our experiences this year with going turbo. Is this the best option for our Miata, verdict is still out.

BOFI Racing; How to keep your Turbo MX-5 / Miata Alive

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - Cost
2:46 - Goals
4:08 - Ownership
7:43 - Recommend it?

#turbomiata #nappmotorsports

[Mok_]

I think if you plan on tracking the car at all, Naturally aspirated is really the only option. The person at the track who has the most fun is always the guy who does the most laps, not the 400hp turbo car sitting in the pits fighting issues. Best of both worlds is a k24a2 swap.

[RogerWyatt]

Just my $0.02: Everything you said is accurate. Getting into a turbo Miata can be a huge pain in the derrière. BUT if "you" are willing to endure the pain, you just might come out the other side with a different outlook on the entire process and possibly a re-evaluation of what's important to you. I've gone through just about every stage of Miata-dom; stock, M45 supercharged, FM kit, DIY aggregation and multiple rebuilds. Where I'm at now is "borderline race car" - and I'm not done yet.

(Here comes the "re-evaluate" part) Once upon a time, I wanted a fun, cheap sports-car that I could drive around without having to think about it. Now, I've devolved(?) into a power-hungry, performance-at-all-costs maniac. My car is loud, uncomfortable, vibrates like a paint-shaker, occasionally leaks noxious fumes and is generally not ready for prime time - but I drive it every day (and wrench on it every weekend) and I wouldn't trade it for anything and I won't drive anything else. And when I break something in it and have to drive my wife's Lexus, something inside me dies a little.

So what's the point? If you want to be a normal human being, DON'T turbo your Miata (don't modify it at all). You will regret it eventually because it will not be a reliable, comfortable, sensible vehicle. But if you - like me - want to challenge yourself and accept the consequences of your decisions, then...welcome to the club.

[gvandiv]

I watched this while sitting in my garage at the Glen. I’ve been staring at overboost error codes all weekend. Not a Miata but thinking of the simpler days of NA engines. Dealing with all the issues you talked about in this video I think you honestly know what you need to do, you just don’t want to give up on that original turbo goal. Good luck. Hoping to see you in the garage next to me next year!

[occamsracer]

Part of a Miata’s charm is the lack of power, patting the center console and urging the car to go faster; “C’mon baby, let’s GO!” Motor swaps and turbos may be faster, but IMO, it’s missing the point of a Miata. A perfectly tuned 150 hp 1.8 is the sweet spot. You know this, you just lost your way. If you want more entertainment, use all-season tire. Now ITBs might be a fun challenge, but I’d personally put that time and money into track time. Great video!

[johntechwriter]

I’m on my fourth MX-5, some taken to extreme states of tune, and I appreciate this guy’s honesty. The nicest setup I’ve driven that is both trackable and real-world drivable is a friend’s 2019 ND2 Club, stock powertrain, and the suspension upgraded with stiffer sway bars and a premium coil-over kit using Ohlins shocks. For back-road sport driving the car is incredibly responsive, and thanks to the upgraded 181 hp engine and close-ratio 6-speed, this car does not feel underpowered. (Car & Driver report 0-60 in 5.7, 1/4 mile in 14.4, 140 mph.) Body roll is pretty much eliminated yet the suspension remains very compliant and comfortable even on California’s trashed secondary roads. I wouldn’t change a thing.

[Soy]

I have a 300 whp rotrex miata. Highly recommend the supermiata sport clutch. Its engagement is like stock
Light and easy to modulate couldnt be happier. And it can hold 290ft pounds of torque.

[djmandrick]

No idea how i got here as I have neither a turbo car nor a miata. Great honest viewpoint though and nicely presented. I've sent this and the K swap video to a friend who was asking me about my EP3 I bought end of last year. Added some bits, and a rolling road remap. He is asking himself your very question - turbo or kswap for his MX5. Im sure he'll find these invaluable. I'd take a K all day long for reliability, power and round town fun with the remap to drop VTEC. 224BHP / 190WHP / 190 torque. Feels like a totally different car so can only imagine what that'd be like in an MX5 or with cams in it - eek!! Gonna check some more of your vids.

[Izanami]

Thanks man I’ve just began tracking my Miata and I think your absolutely right I’d hate to have it be forced to work on my car all the time as you said. I think I’ll stick to NA and maybe swap to a 1.8 VVT in the future

[Michel]

I have a NA with VVT engine and Jenvey ITB's. It's so much fun and reliable.. can just hammer on it any time I want. No nightmares and thinking about when it'll let you down next time.. you'll love it.

[bigtymeclutch]

I have had my 215whp turbo 97’ as a daily and track car with no real issues over the past 7k miles. Only part that I broke so far was a Wideband sensor. I’m planning later this year to go up to 250whp which I have been told is still a very reliable setup but this videos is kind of making me look back.

[baltod]

This video earned my sub. I own a FM S1 NA8 and it's still on the FM piggy back- but I do have a PNP MS3, 640cc Injectors and GM Coils in a box I've got waiting to throw on it. I'm afraid that even after all that work/tuning and only being able to make possibly 250hp/tq out of it- all that cash has gone down the drain when compared to a K-Swap. Almost like I arrived to the the Boosted Miata party too late, and I'm just relegated to picking up empty pizza boxes and beer can's after the fact... just like almost everything else in life, lol.

[ryanconforti]

A lot of recommendations for a k swap in here and frankly I don’t see the value unless you do want to turbo it or go full blown ITBs and fall down the same rabbit hole that you would with a BP…only difference is you’re spending tons of money and time up front just to get the power plant in the car.

A k24Z3 is making 209whp right out the gate with just the kpower kit and your 10k. Or stick with the BP, spend less, have more options for N/A bolt-on modifications, and in the case of Quinn at 192whp; get within a stones throw of what the K24 is making with arguably the same reliability. I think the answer is pretty obvious. We need more ITB miatas in the states. Great video as always

[kyleneujahr]

I have a vvt swapped 96. running ms3, racing beat headers, rosdstersport 3 cat back, and a custom intake. I dyno'd at 151.6 and i love it. it absolutely rips. was debating going turbo, but right now i love what i've got naturally aspirated

[Beardchanics]

Nice one, was the plan for ours but bless it, it hasn't progressed much in the last few months!

[camphabenero]

1990 1.6 FM kit here. Megasquirt idle is just very flakey, FM happy meal has caused noise on deceleration that is very annoying. I run 12-13 psi of boost, and it is so much fun to drive. However I also think a the 180HP ITB maybe the ideal spot especially if you want to track a lot. The extra stress and complexity of turbo has me nervous about thousand mile road trips or track days. That being said I don't regret my project at all. The car always puts a smile on my face.

[sickmiatabra]

You already know how I feel! I just see modding miatas at investments. So it's either stay stockish and happy or swap (this is for the show/street/track car). Otherwise you're always chasing a tune issue or maintenance issue and time is priceless to me. I spent so many hours/days of my life playing on a laptop to make a setup decent. But overall, there is some success out there but it's muffled under the abundance of setups lol.

Good video ❤❤❤

[ConnorsCorner]

I WOULD say I have had no issues with my setup, but it's been turbo'd 8 months and I've only put 5000 miles on it. It's been on jacks more than it's been on the ground. I've spent countless hours tuning the car, and it's finally at a good reliable point where I feel comfortable driving it every day. I will say with a brand new 2560R, spool is insane and I have no issues with bearings. My FM happy meal is also great, its definitely grabbier than stock, but not bad at all. Very much a daily-able clutch setup.

Recently I took the car apart because I thought I blew the headgasket. Car was drinking coolant, white smoke out the tailpipe, so I took the head off and had roughly $1200 parts on order to fix it and rebuild the head. Turns out some of the intake manifold hardware had backed out, specifically cyl 1 & 2, causing coolant to leak out of that jacket and into the ports in the head, had nothing to do with the head gasket. Still ended up rebuilding the head, MLS gasket, head studs, new water pump etc.

RIGHT after that, heater core broke. Not necessarily related to the turbo, but this led me to pull the dash, which led me to doing a wire tuck, etc.

[miatasta]

thank you for this very honest video! I just finished my vvt swap NA last month and I'm more confident than ever to go ITB after watching this. I really appreciate your honesty! TY <3

[dimosthenisioannou]

I have one NB1 bp4w 1.8 stage one with standalone ms3 mini foully stainless 4-2 exhaust and cold intake and I enjoyed every day with no problems

[hillbillysportsman]

Thanks for your honesty……. I think I will keep my 02 miata motor mostly stock. I have the Flyin Miata suspension and enjoy driving it hard an not breaking things. I have had highly modified muscle cars an worked on them more than I got to drive them.