So I've just about finished my car waiting for my IVA re test and Im thinking put a turbo on or supercharger. I have a Mazda Mk2.5 1.8vvt engine. I'm not going to do it straight away but going to buy bits as I see them and to the mods over next winter. We all have to have something to do on those dark long nights.

So pros and cons and what would you go for

I have a supercharged car on the road, I love it lots of constant power, feels like a large capacity n/a engine.

I have a turbocharged track car, it's mental as the power leaps in so feels more exciting, but....... Come out of a corner and a tiny bit of lag is very noticeable when you floor it.

Turbo is much easier and cheaper to do, I would invest the extra and supercharge but as a BEC getting the power off the crank is an issue.

Turbo'd Vauxhall engine. Smallish turbo, boosts from 1800rpm so no noticeable lag. Nearly 300bhp and over 300ftlb

http://www.g19engineering.com/

they have done a lot of mx5 converstions

I think you're on the right lines with forced induction as N/A tuning the MX5 engine seems expensive for little gains. In "bang for buck" terms it seems the favoured route is turbo, I had a turbocharged MX5 engine in a kit and it is a lot of fun. There are a few options now with people making turbo kits for not a lot of money, search 'black cat fabrication' on Facebook. My advise would be to pay special attention to the material used in your turbo manifold, get a cheap mild steel log manifold from someone like Black Cat or prepare to spend a lot more money and get an equal length tubular manifold made in 321 stainless. Lots of people will make you a log or tubular manifold in 304 or 316 stainless but this is the wrong material and they will crack due to something called carbide precipitation in which the metal changes properties through the intense heat cycling that happens with turbos. When this happens the manifold is scrap.

Alternatively you can supercharge which will avoid the above manifold considerations but brings its own set of complications nonetheless. I'd probably be looking towards the Eaton MP62 in this situation. Again, take a look on Facebook for 'RedSeven Auto Engineering', he's done some S/C installations in kits.

Not driven turbo or supercharged petrols so can't really comment on those. I have been driving turbo diesels for many years (can't currently due to epilepsy) and found them to be really very good. Yes you have limited rev range with diesel, but the power delivery is very good and the engines pull hard. That said the manufacturers probably spend a lot of time and money to make it work as well as it does.

A close friend of mine has recently acquired a VW Golf, which I believe is a turbo and supercharged 1.4L petrol. He's very pleased with it and from memory likes to get a move on.

Thanks for that gents.

russtik
just had a look on Facebook and some good work. Ill be going to Stoneleigh and having a good look around turbo/ supercharger car.

The only down side is my car is not going to be registered in time to take

Don't know if you've seen garyt's build? He's just finished a supercharged vvt engine.

http://locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/50/viewthread.php?tid=191346

I've got a mk1 1.8 mx5 engine in storage that I've been deliberating over what to do with. I'm torn between the blink motorsport 160 package or turbo/supercharge. If going forced I'd actually swung towards turbo ing using an Ickle tdo4 turbo. Purely because it's a bit easier to package and cheaper. Using this turbo I've been assured that with correct mapping it'll be on boost by 2000rpm so no issues with lag.

quote:

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Originally posted by sdh2903
I'm torn between the blink motorsport 160 package or turbo/supercharge

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If you actually break it down with what you get its actually bloody good value considering it transforms the engine. But yes I agree the scope for higher power is limited and with forced induction the rods then become the limiting factor.

quote:

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Originally posted by russtik
take a look on Facebook for 'RedSeven Auto Engineering', he's done some S/C installations in kits.

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Turbo is by far the best most cost effective way to more power on an MX5

As already linked manifolds are available for Subaru Turbos

Megasquirt pre built or kit ECU's are available from many places. I used a Reverant ECU (from MX5 NUTZ) Highly recommended. Lots of others are available.

I went with a specific MX5 MP62 supercharger kit and although it was great it was probably 50% more expensive in the end than going turbo and made slightly less power. Doing it again I would turbo.

Neither way is cheap to do, but i will say they are fun. I have a 2.0 pinto with a turbo on and its fun.

haha do it DO IT,
thanks sdh2903 for the pointer, don't know exactly what she is making yet once properly on the road I will get her on the rollers and see, just waiting for a reg number grrrrrr
but yes there are heaps of photos in my build archive , but to summarise;
Eaton m45 s/c
mini bypass valve
vw Passat intercooler
mx5 t/b without electrics
cone air filter
std injectors
std mx5 mk2.5 (2003) ecu

I started by making a 6mm steel plate and mounted the s/c on the handy redundant bolt holes in front of the nearside engine mount as I didn't want any holes in the bonnet . Make sure it is aligned parallel with engine centerline and the (smaller) nose pulley aligned with the pas portion of the crank pulley

Once mounted I made up the s/c outlet, fairly straight forward fabrication, take care making the flange then add the main outlet and then the bypass inlet to the rear of it.
make up the s/c inlet adaptor make a flange to suit and then ovalise a piece of tube at one end to suit flange opening (hit with big hammer to ovalise )
so now working backwards a 90 deg silicone bend then goes up in front of the bulkhead, to the t/b / bypass take off. The T/B was mounted just above the footwell, piped to the O/S to the std maf and cone filter to collect cooler air

so now going forwards

I used an S silicone hose ( 2 x 90 deg) to connect to a vw Passat I/C mounted to just fit under the nose cone . The air intake temp sensor was now installed in the I/C outlet and this connected up to the main T/B on the plenum
(The I/C was installed as such just over the and behind the rad at the approx. 30deg as such there is no restriction to the rad airflow and the hot air exiting the rear of the rad should create negative pressure behind the I/c thus pulling air through it. at least that's the thinking .....lol)

tensioner ........

this was made up very simply with the parts from the pas pump and a bracket made up to mount it where the pas pump was

exhaust............

again working backwards and to get the best breathing that I could, exhaust with a 2.5" inlet /outlet, a 2.5" inlet/outlet sport cat (mounted inside the bodywork) angled up and forwards at approx. 45 deg.
this then left a gap from the cat to the exhaust ports mmmmmmm
so this is the creative bit, take 1 std exhaust manifold and chop of the pipes at the flange then I used some 2" pipe and bends to make up the manifold and a 2.5" 90deg bend to align to the cat, ovalise and shape the manifold end, once happy mark out and cut the hole where they meet and weld up . You then end up with a manifold similar to a miata turbo one

With that lot connected and tidied I then added an innovate wideband O2 sensor to keep an eye on the fuelling and a boost gauge aswell so that I could see with the 2 that the std ecu was coping (nb the mk 2.5 ecu IS very different to the earlier ones)

In all I am very happy with it , it sounds great and drives out of this world she is so quick

If any one wants more info / sizes / pics let me know and I will do my best to help out. What I would say again is....... DO IT

The answer, of someone who got bored of a turbocharged car, is compound super-turbo