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mystic511 · 08-14-2003, 12:47 PM

I just reread my post, I didn't mean to sound negative and condescending.

Mill, yea, reaching 400 horsepower on a turbo will require some heavy octane mixtures, but turbo is easy like that. During regular days when you're not racing, you can always turn down the boost. Even on 92 octane, i think 300 horsepower is reachable. Unless of course you really want more then 300 horsepower on tap ALL the time. I guess some people do.

It wouldn't be all that expensive to turbo a miata. Car for 8000, turbo kit for 3000, maybe rebuild the engine for another 3000. There's your 14k right there, and that's probably 250 horsepower to the wheels. Minus the extra 250 pounds from a V8, it's still pretty speedy.

I think reliability will be an issue. Obviously trying to mate an engine to a car that wasn't built for it will cause some serious problems.

The transmission will need to be replaced definately. Will the driveshaft be able to handle a V8's heavy instantaneous torque? Will the axles break?

Will it work with airconditioning or will all things in the engine bay have to be removed to make room for the bigger engine?

Will the ecu and electric system work or will all that have to be customized?

Will the miata's small gas tank be reasonable for the V8's extra fuel needs?

All this is ok if the miata is just going to a be a weekend warrior or something, but I can't imagine it retaining most of the daily driving qualities it would with a turbo. Of course, I didn't read through the link thoroughly. Maybe it can be done without much problems. But i've seen lots of car people trying to swap bigger engines into their 4 bangers and finding out they were in over their heads.

08-14-2003, 12:47 PM	#26 (permalink)
mystic511 Tilted	I just reread my post, I didn't mean to sound negative and condescending. Mill, yea, reaching 400 horsepower on a turbo will require some heavy octane mixtures, but turbo is easy like that. During regular days when you're not racing, you can always turn down the boost. Even on 92 octane, i think 300 horsepower is reachable. Unless of course you really want more then 300 horsepower on tap ALL the time. I guess some people do. It wouldn't be all that expensive to turbo a miata. Car for 8000, turbo kit for 3000, maybe rebuild the engine for another 3000. There's your 14k right there, and that's probably 250 horsepower to the wheels. Minus the extra 250 pounds from a V8, it's still pretty speedy. I think reliability will be an issue. Obviously trying to mate an engine to a car that wasn't built for it will cause some serious problems. The transmission will need to be replaced definately. Will the driveshaft be able to handle a V8's heavy instantaneous torque? Will the axles break? Will it work with airconditioning or will all things in the engine bay have to be removed to make room for the bigger engine? Will the ecu and electric system work or will all that have to be customized? Will the miata's small gas tank be reasonable for the V8's extra fuel needs? All this is ok if the miata is just going to a be a weekend warrior or something, but I can't imagine it retaining most of the daily driving qualities it would with a turbo. Of course, I didn't read through the link thoroughly. Maybe it can be done without much problems. But i've seen lots of car people trying to swap bigger engines into their 4 bangers and finding out they were in over their heads. __________________ One day, I will become Virtually Infamous.