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Basic Horsepower Upgrades



 
 
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  #11  
Old October 8th 05, 01:26 AM
Lanny Chambers
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In article >,
pws > wrote:

> I am sure that the people at Flying Miata would disagree that turbos for
> miatas are a waste of money, or that a turbo is installed only to make
> the car a drag racer.


Sorry you're having a bad day, Pat. Feel free to take it out on me. At
least you didn't call me anything worse than an idiot.

Tomorrow, you'll realize that I meant spending *less* than the cost of a
turbo on a Miata engine is wasteful, whereas spending the same amount on
suspension offers good value. If a Miata owner is looking for useful
power, $1000 worth of intake, headers, and exhaust is practically
guaranteed to disappoint. The original questioner didn't seem ready to
spend the $7000 or so required for a high-boost turbo, clutch, cooling
system upgrade, and all the other stuff that makes a successful FM II
installation. I was advising him not to make the same mistake so many of
us did (while I could afford it, perhaps he cannot).

If I were interested in making my Miata faster, I'd jump on the
Ubercharger in a second. But after a lot of thought, I decided I like it
better the way it is now: using everything the car has to give, and only
popping the hood to check the oil every month. So far, every turbo Miata
driver who's tried to keep up with me in the Ozarks has made me stop
every couple of miles so he could catch up. I think I'm going fast
enough now. If I lived in Colorado, forced induction might have more
appeal.

FWIW, I bought FM Duals for their looks and sound, not for any claims of
more power. De gustibus non disputandum est.

---
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html
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  #12  
Old October 8th 05, 02:11 AM
pws
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Lanny Chambers wrote:

>
> Sorry you're having a bad day, Pat. Feel free to take it out on me. At
> least you didn't call me anything worse than an idiot.
>
> Tomorrow, you'll realize that I meant spending *less* than the cost of a
> turbo on a Miata engine is wasteful, whereas spending the same amount on
> suspension offers good value. If a Miata owner is looking for useful
> power, $1000 worth of intake, headers, and exhaust is practically
> guaranteed to disappoint. The original questioner didn't seem ready to
> spend the $7000 or so required for a high-boost turbo, clutch, cooling
> system upgrade, and all the other stuff that makes a successful FM II
> installation. I was advising him not to make the same mistake so many of
> us did (while I could afford it, perhaps he cannot).
>
> If I were interested in making my Miata faster, I'd jump on the
> Ubercharger in a second. But after a lot of thought, I decided I like it
> better the way it is now: using everything the car has to give, and only
> popping the hood to check the oil every month. So far, every turbo Miata
> driver who's tried to keep up with me in the Ozarks has made me stop
> every couple of miles so he could catch up. I think I'm going fast
> enough now. If I lived in Colorado, forced induction might have more
> appeal.
>
> FWIW, I bought FM Duals for their looks and sound, not for any claims of
> more power. De gustibus non disputandum est.
>
> ---
> Lanny Chambers
> '94C, St. Louis
> http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html


Tomorrow, I will probably continue to realize that part of what you said
to the OP,(I can only tell what you say, not what you mean, I am not
gifted in mind-reading), who wanted to add some power to his car, and
even mentioned that he was not looking to make it a racer, was, and I
quote, "If you wanted a drag racer, you should have bought a Mustang."

Telling someone who is looking to add a few hp to their Miata but is not
looking to race that they should have bought a Mustang if they wanted a
drag racer is something that I consider idiotic, I apologize if that
offends you.

Not that bad a day, just pointing out some facts.

Pat
  #13  
Old October 8th 05, 02:32 AM
pws
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Lanny Chambers wrote:

> If I were interested in making my Miata faster, I'd jump on the
> Ubercharger in a second. But after a lot of thought, I decided I like it
> better the way it is now: using everything the car has to give, and only
> popping the hood to check the oil every month. So far, every turbo Miata
> driver who's tried to keep up with me in the Ozarks has made me stop
> every couple of miles so he could catch up. I think I'm going fast
> enough now. If I lived in Colorado, forced induction might have more
> appeal.
>
> FWIW, I bought FM Duals for their looks and sound, not for any claims of
> more power. De gustibus non disputandum est.
>
> ---
> Lanny Chambers
> '94C, St. Louis
> http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html


Come on Lanny, admit it, you are just happy to have another chance to
brag about your tremendous driving skills. It must suck to never have
any competition like that. Is your ignition timing advanced? If so, why?
If anything, you should be taking the power down to make things more
challenging, sort of like increasing the difficulty level in a video
game. I would consider putting a stock 1.6 liter engine in your 1994
model, anything to give them at least a small chance of winning just
once. :-)

BTW, how often do you max out your car, and where are these stretches of
road where there is no other traffic, no wildlife, and no police speed
enforcement to worry about?

And you thought I was having a bad day..... ;-)

Pat
  #14  
Old October 8th 05, 05:30 AM
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The Miata is a tremondous reliable automobile as buillt.
Most drivers never know the potential of the engine and suspension
because they are reluctant to rev it as it needs to be revved and drive
it as it was meant to be driven. When my car was new, I was always
wanting more power until I realized all I was needing was already
there. I just had to push a little harder to find it. That is where
the fun is. Not many cars connect you to the road like this one can if
you let it.

To the original poster, take it out with the top down, find a good
road and have fun. Glance in the rearview mirror and see the smile on
your face.
Someone will beat you off of a light in the city, who cares.
I have had mine for 11 years and it is as much fun now as it was when
new.

I do suggest the timing bump to 14 degrees. It really made a
difference for me. That is a totally free mod.

  #15  
Old October 8th 05, 05:30 AM
external usenet poster
 
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The Miata is a tremondous reliable automobile as buillt.
Most drivers never know the potential of the engine and suspension
because they are reluctant to rev it as it needs to be revved and drive
it as it was meant to be driven. When my car was new, I was always
wanting more power until I realized all I was needing was already
there. I just had to push a little harder to find it. That is where
the fun is. Not many cars connect you to the road like this one can if
you let it.

To the original poster, take it out with the top down, find a good
road and have fun. Glance in the rearview mirror and see the smile on
your face.
Someone will beat you off of a light in the city, who cares.
I have had mine for 11 years and it is as much fun now as it was when
new.

I do suggest the timing bump to 14 degrees. It really made a
difference for me. That is a totally free mod.

  #16  
Old October 8th 05, 06:35 AM
Lanny Chambers
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In article >,
pws > wrote:

> BTW, how often do you max out your car, and where are these stretches of
> road where there is no other traffic, no wildlife, and no police speed
> enforcement to worry about?


In case you actually wanted to know:

In the Missouri Ozarks (Mark Twain National Forest). No cops, no
traffic, no houses, no intersections for miles. Critters are an issue at
night, so I only play in the daytime. I don't "max out" anything; I
always leave enough reserve to deal with surprises. Perhaps my setup has
more reserve grip than most--that's one of my goals--or perhaps I'm more
familiar with just how much is left, thus comfortable with using more of
the expendable part. If I squeal the tires, it means I made a mistake
and had to use some of the reserve. That's bad form, and doesn't happen
often.

When I started paying attention to how much throttle I was actually
using in corners, I was startled that it was rarely more than 50%. You
don't need much power to go fast, you just need to plan ahead and not
use the brakes much. I hardly ever go over 80 mph.

FWIW, I was autocrossing successfully over 35 years ago. Nothing magical
about it, cars are simply tools with predictable behavior. Anyone with
motivation and opportunity can learn technique, it just takes
instruction and practice. You also need to know when and where NOT to
drive fast.

And yes, my timing is advanced...I like the snappy response in town.

---
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html
  #17  
Old October 8th 05, 12:24 PM
pws
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Default

Lanny Chambers wrote:

>
> In case you actually wanted to know:


Well, I still don't "know". Hard to believe that they would build a road
just for you and a few other racers to play on, seeing how there is "no"
traffic. Perhaps you meant "little traffic"? If so, these are still
unknowing and at-risk participants in your public road races where you
have to keep pulling over every couple of miles to wait for those turbo
miatas to catch up to you. (yeah, right)

The main advantage to not telling lies and making up stories is that you
are not required to have a good memory. Of course, you have nothing to
prove to me, you were autocrossing before I was born, yada yada. Believe
me, I have heard it all before for many years, but none who have said it
ever went on to become professional race car drivers, hmmm.....

Have a good day Lanny, mine is starting out quite well, but then, I have
already been out driving my miata that the previous owner ruined by
adding all of that power. The turbo comes off today, what the hell was I
thinking? Having minivans out-accelerate me at lights was so much fun in
my last miata.

Heh-Heh

Pat
  #18  
Old October 8th 05, 04:20 PM
XS11E
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"ritchiekidd" > wrote in:

> I'm a rookie mazda owner.
> I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions about how to increase the
> horsepower via minor/inexpensive changes, such as exhaust or air
> filters?


Dunno about "minor" or "inexpensive", these are relative terms. For a tweak
that will improve performance check he

http://www.diamondmotorsport.com/greenmiatas.htm

  #19  
Old October 8th 05, 05:45 PM
L Bader
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Ritchie -

As one of the earlier posters noted, we only get to make one first
impression. To which, "Welcome to the group! Enjoy your Miata!"

One of the first steps you need to take is head to
http://www.miata.net -- There you will find more information than you
will most likely ever use.

For "go fast" parts, start with:

www.flyinmiata.com
www.miatamania.com
www.good-win-racing.com
www.mmmiata.com
www.gomiata.com

Bottom line, the Miata was designed to be a QUICK (not fast), superior
handling sportscar.

You can gain increases of power, but most will cost more than a few
dollars. -- But don't forget power without control is useless.
Tires, suspension and brakes are critical. Then look at increasing
power.

To improve the performance, without heading the forced induction
route, you will need to increase the ability for the engine to breath.
-- This means intake, heads, exhaust and cooling. By replacing the
intake, putting a freer flowing exhaust (from the header to tail-pipe)
and gettting headwork done will run you $2,500 to $4,000, depending on
where you go and what you do.

IMHO, quite often headwork is overlooked when folks look for power.
-- There is additional flow (power) available, that would have been
cost prohibitive for manufacturers to produce. But done right, it's
not "cheap".

Regardless, use the 'Net, ask your questions, welcome to the Legion of
Miata-philes and enjoy the ride...

- L


On 7 Oct 2005 07:51:22 -0700, "ritchiekidd" >
wrote:

>I'm a rookie mazda owner.
>I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions about how to increase the
>horsepower via minor/inexpensive changes, such as exhaust or air
>filters?
>
>I'm not looking to make my car a racer, just a little bit more balls,
>without sacrificing reliability.
>
>Any specific part names/numbers and/or vendors would be appreicated.
>

>
>thanks in adavance


'97 STO, "Chouki"

// Change TEJAS to TX to reply via eMail //
  #20  
Old October 8th 05, 06:39 PM
Scott
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You don't mention which year Miata you have, but this is what I have
done with my '91: headers, exhaust, timing advance, cold air
inductionwith high performance air filter and vented light lid, spark
plug wires, and (very important) RX7 air flow meter. I noticed a very
nice improvement with these modifications...not like forced induction,
but a nice improvement. Couple these mods with slightly lowered
springs, sway bars, bracing, Momo Competition steering wheel, higher
performance brake pads, metal brake lines, and slightly larger Panasport
wheels...and I would say that the driving experience is greatly improved.




ritchiekidd wrote:
> I'm a rookie mazda owner.
> I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions about how to increase the
> horsepower via minor/inexpensive changes, such as exhaust or air
> filters?
>
> I'm not looking to make my car a racer, just a little bit more balls,
> without sacrificing reliability.
>
> Any specific part names/numbers and/or vendors would be appreicated.
>
>
>
> thanks in adavance
>



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