On Saturday I had a gentleman in front of me take an exit then last minute decide that he really didn't want to. Ended up putting his right rear into my left front. Thankfully no one hurt and we both drove off after exchanging info.
This morning I went to see the adjuster and she stopped adding up once she got to $3500. So I'm looking to replace my stock 96 Miata with something else. I thought about being reasonable and getting a sedan but I got a divorce for a reason so no need to be sensible.
I really love the Miata but would like some more power. Started searching Craigslist and all the turbo Miatas are boy racers that look rode harder than Debbie from Dallas.
I did find two supercharged Miatas. The first is an NA M edition with a Magnuson supercharger and Jackson Racing install kit. Has all the things I want but higher milage at 150k. Owner says the IAC might need replacing and research says that JR had idle issues. Should that be a concern or not?
Other one I found is a NB but with a BRP supercharger. No real mods I wanted other than the supercharger. Main problem is owner says it spun a bearing 300 miles after build and is selling as is. Do these share oil with the engine and would I need to worry about metal shavings getting into the supercharger or throw a cheap long block in it and maybe build up the original engine while I drive it. This one has the low (65k) miles that I like.
Are there turbos out there that are worth it or am I right in that the supercharged cars seem to be more pampered by the owners?
Stampie, meet Keith, Keith, meet Stampie.
(Keith will likely be joining the conversation shortly, however if he doesn't find his way to this thread you can use the following link to contact him: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/community/Keith/ )
Oh I've stalked Keith from afar like fatal attraction but I don't think Keith and my wallet will ever be able to meet.
In reply to Stampie:
there are worse things to have happen. Miatas secretly all scream out for boost until they receive it, like a radio contest having won a live animal prize.
they're playing that boost song again.
I suppose if you make a really broad generalization, yes, the supercharged cars tend to be more pampered, for better or for worse. You could make some pretty general statements about the kind of people that own supercharged Miatas vs those that own turbocharged Miatas, but there's so many exceptions to the rule that it's not really constructive.
There are good turbo cars out there. I know of one in WV right now that i would suggest over either of the two supercharged cars that you mention. It even has FM parts on it. 
It's hard to really suggest which to go for in your case. If you want a turbo car, buy a turbo car. I've been in a couple supercharged cars, and i've seen a bunch of them broken on the internet. I've been in a bunch of turbocharged cars (and owned three) and have seen a bunch of them broken on the internet.
None of the old supercharger kits were super incredible awesome from either a reliability or power perspective. (The FM Ubercharger seemed like it might be different, but there's not many of those out there i don't think.) On the flip side, the FM and Begi kits have been around for awhile with no crazy changes other than management, and they seem to be reliable with good fit/finish. (On the FM side at least. No comment on the Begi side.)
Stampie wrote:
Oh I've stalked Keith from afar like fatal attraction but I don't think Keith and my wallet will ever be able to meet.
I think you'd be surprised. At least initially. Then once you're hooked...
I don't know what your budget is but there is a turbo car local to me that looks well put together and not abused.....1994 turbo
I truely won't know my budget until I figure out what I'll get for my old one but that one will be outside of it I know. The spec list got me hard but as expected the price while very reasonable also reflects the work done. I'm more of a sleeper guy and that yellow doesn't qualify.
Stampie
Damn I'm looking at it more and thinking well maybe I can stretch the budget if I take the kid out of private school.
How bad was your Miata hurt?
I know of somebody with a turbo NA turbo Miata they might be willing to sell, but it is in North Carolina.
If your Miata isn't hurt too badly and you don't mind mismatched panels and a salvage title, get the kit for yours. You already know all of the maintenance you're caught up with or behind on.
Derick Freese wrote:
How bad was your Miata hurt?
Front bumper, both headlight buckets, hood, passenger fender, radiator support. Biggest problem is the crash missed the bumper support on the passenger side and crushed the frame in about 6 inches. There's about an inch gap between the frame and fender above the tire on that side but the fender follows the hood line which isn't damaged in that area. They said it needs a front apron which from their looks was a bad thing. I have a very severe vibration above 65mph now. New tires Friday so it's from the wreak.
I thought about buying it back but it's just too much risk. I'd be better off making my 94 Challenge Miata a street turbo car after the Challenge.
Sending a PM on that NC car.
Sounds like it might be above my skill level to fix, then.
Pretty much all of the positive displacement Miata superchargers had idle issues. General consensus on various forums seems to be that it was related to moving the throttle body so that it was mounted on the blower, thus increasing the "throttled volume". It was made worse by adding an intercooler. JR, BRP, Moss; M45, M62, etc. The centrifugal blower cars should theoretically fix this, but I don't like the boost curve on them for a street car.
Having owned a turbo Miata for over a decade now, I don't really recommend one as your sole car. It's not a "set it and forget it" kind of thing, and I find it very stressful to be working late on Sunday night try to get the car fixed so that I can drive it to work on Monday morning. Of course, part of that is because I suffer from the commonly malady of project cars in that I can't leave well-enough alone. As soon as it's relatively stable I usually find something else to do to it that destabilizes it again...
As for budget, I wouldn't recommend looking at $4K cars, a decent used turbo Miata is going to start at $6-8K. I'd recommend reading a bunch of threads on miataturbo.net for background info, there's also a for-sale forum on there that's not a bad place to look.
If I were looking for a Miata with a bit more power but wanted DD-level reliability, I'd go for a mildly-modified Mazdaspeed car, rather than an extensively modified NA/early-NB.
I turboed mine earlier this year with a fm kit. Its amazing how it transforms the car.
I havent had any problems with it. Starts right up everyday and runs great. I wish i would of done it sooner.
How about a naturally aspirated exocet ;)
I love how I ask about a DD FI Miata and end up with a berkeley it just build an Exocet. OK fun 20 mins spent on their page again but the redneck in me likes this more.
But it's not a DD. Thanks for the leads guys. If anyone else knows of a clean turbo Miata please let me know.
mrhappy wrote:
I turboed mine earlier this year with a fm kit. Its amazing how it transforms the car.
My Mazda is a fuel injected, bridge ported 13B 1st-generation RX-7. It isn't super mega fast but it does run mid 13s with crappy 60' times, so you can extrapolate from what what you wish.
A certain GRMer's turbo Miata scares the bejayzus out of me. It's lighter and seems like it is quite possibly more powerful.
Seems to break a heck of a lot less, too.
