However, anyone that knows me well, knows that I can't leave well enough alone haha.... and long term, I'm sure I'm going to want more power. However, since I would like to plan it as a long term build, I have plenty of time to put together a nice setup. Although, at the same time, I picked the car up for $2200, have already invested a decent chunk of change into it just getting it up to par, and am not looking to break the bank on a 21 year old Miata haha, so please keep that in mind.
At this point, I don't have any particular power number to hit in mind, but will say the stock 1.6L with intake/exhaust/wires leaves a good bit to be desired haha. I'm thinking if the bugger can break into the 14's at Bandimere, that would likely be enough to sate my desire for power LOL. To be clear, this will not be a drag car, I'm just using the 1/4 mile as a reference for power/weight.
The way I see it, while a Monster LS1 swap would be awesome, even long term, I think it's a bit more than I'm willing to spend. As such, I see 3 major viable options for long term power:
-Turbo the factory 1.6L, although I have little preference on the kit to accomplish this (FM, Voodoo, BEGI, GReddy ect). Either way, from what I've looked into, if I take this route, I would likely pick up a MegaSquirt PnP Standalone ECU (which I would purchase/tune prior to buying a turbo kit/use to run NA for a while).
-Fully built naturally aspirated 1.8L, likely out of a 99-01 as they apparently have a higher flowing head, and if I really wanted to get into autoX, this seems to be a really popular setup for NA Miata's to run in CSP. This won't make the power/torque of the other options, but there is something appealing about a high revving 1.8L in a car like the Miata. Although, I haven't taken the time to price this option out (not sure if I'm baller-status enough to fork over cash for ITB's ect haha).
-V8 swap, likely a Ford 302 or equivalent. I like the idea of the NA V8, but this also seems like by far the most expensive option available by a decent margin. I really dig Ron's car, but I have a feeling I wouldn't like to see how high the bill got up to on that one
So, I won't be doing any of the above overnight, or even within a couple months, but at this point, I think it's good to start putting a plan together to avoid buying parts I might not need/be able to use later on down the line (i.e. don't want to pickup something like a PnP standalone ECU just to have to ditch it later ect).
At this point, I'm leaning towards turbocharging the 1.6L, but would like to get the opinions of my fellow CMZC'ers. It would also be nice to maybe get a ride in member's cars that are running turbocharged NA's as well as V8 swaps.
If anyone has any alternate ideas, please feel free to share, and if you have performed one of the above and don't mind sharing approximate costs to give me an idea, it would be greatly appreciated
So, what thinks you?
Thanks in advance!
-Brandon
