So I bought my car around two years ago, and since the day I picked it up, I knew I wanted a turbo. I also was NOT getting rid of my power steering and A/C. Those are two things a street car needs, or atleast to be enjoyable, imho. Just recently, I threw in a MK Turbo kit with a Reverant MSLabs ECU. It pulls hard and is just as fun as I expected. I still have some issues I need to sort out though. Anyways, here's a little write up of my progress.

- Cost breakdown -

MS3 - ~$950
Innovate MTX-L Wideband O2 - $151
A pillar pod and boost gauge - $90
MK Turbo kit (full 3 inch exhaust, t3 manifold, turbo, oil lines) - $1685
Ebay Type RS BOV - $38
GM IAT sensor - $30
Flow Force 640cc injectors - $300
Intercooler (24x11x3 w/ 2.5 inlets on top) - $172
Universal intercooler piping kit - $83
Spectre air filter & 2.5" to 3" coupler - $30

Misc parts (drill bit, tap, thread sealer, rad fan mounting kit) - ~$150

TOTAL - $3,800
(rounded because I'm probably forgetting stuff)


Before I started


I installed the Megasquirt several months ago, and I learned how to get a rough street tune.


Not long after, I contacted Lars for a MK Turbo kit, and put in an order as soon as I could. He is a super nice guy, and really helpful. He even drove several hours to hand deliver my kit, which was pretty nice. The kit I purchased was $1685 because I also bought the oil lines with it. It consists of a 50 trim ebay turbo (the legendary Braineack turbo), 2.5" to 3" downpipe with an O2 bung, 3" midpipe, a Magnaflow muffler, EGR block off plates, oil feed and return lines wrapped in fire retardant sleeve, all the needed fittings and hardware for mounting the turbo and lines, and 3 v-band clamps for the exhaust.

In the time I was waiting on the MK Turbo kit, I went ahead and ordered 95% of the other pieces and tools I needed (All listed above)
I installed the Flow Force injectors around 2 months ago, and they've been great. They handle the boost I'm pushing like a champ.

Then it was time to go under the knife

Let me just say now, knowing someone who owns a lift and was willing to let me use it was a life saver. This project would've taken double the time it did.
In this picture, I just started yanking all of the stock unneeded pieces off. The entire exhaust system and air intake system was removed, and the radiator was about to come out.

The only modifications to the frame are shown here


Here are some crappy drawings of the intercooler mounting brackets. The are just flat metal pieces that were bent and bolted on the backside of the radiator support frame (?) The bottom of the intercooler is supported by the black plastic air guide in the bottom of the mouth. I drilled a couple holes and put some big washers to hold it in place.

I went ahead and tapped the oil pan with the old greasy drill bit trick. Then I tightened of the return line and fittings on the oil pan and the turbo.
As for the oil feed, it tees off the oil pressure sender, which is under the intake manifold, next to the oil filter. The line goes up behind the engine and up to the top of the turbo. I ran the line behind all of the heater core hoses, etc, to keep it away from all the hot exhaust pieces.

Believe it or not, the radiator and A/C condenser brackets are bolted in the stock location. The brackets were extended about an inch and a half though. I just just the brackets straight across and had a steel sheet welded in between. Of course, I forgot to take a picture, so here's a crappy Photoshop -

Also, I believe slim fans are needed to do this. The stock ones may fit, but it would need some massaging, plus I already had two 14" Spal fans that I got for $25 each (family special)

For the IAT sensor, I drilled and tapped the intercooler end tank and just screwed it in. I did have to take the intercooler back out to thread it in with it plugged in. It is a very tight up against the side of the frame. This is where I tapped it -

For intercooler piping, it is pretty simple. the blow off valve right off the intake manifold to a 90 degree coupler to the intercooler. On the hotside, it is a 180 pipe cut to length and angle to a 45 pipe to a 90 coupler in to the turbo. For the intake filter, I would've just ran a 90 coupler to the filter, but I didn't have enough. Instead I just cut a 90 pipe and used a regular coupler. One thing that did get in the way was the power steering fluid reservoir. I ended up mounting it back in the stock location and just bending the pipes out of the way.



The exhaust did have and still does have some fitment issues. The midpipe hits the bracing under the car, even after jacking it up and bending it down the middle. Decelerating in gear, it rattles pretty annoyingly, but I'll get it sorted out. Also, I believe the kit was make for an NB1 not an NB2 and they may have some differences. For example, the rear left hanger on the muffler had no place to be hung on my car, so I had a hanger welded to my frame. Overall, the exhaust wasn't bad, but doesn't fit perfectly. But really, with any kit, you're going to have to modify something to fit properly. It just comes with the project.

As of posting this, the car is sitting in my driveway, and it has a pretty bad oil leak, which I think is coming from the oil feed near the oil pressure sender. Tomorrow, morning when it's light out again, I'm going to check and see if the oil pressure sender, the fitting, or the AN fitting is loose. It's definitely possible I didn't tighten something all the way, due to all the different pieces that screw together. I also think I need to get a catch can of some sort. The crankcase filter I have on is filled with oil and probably not breathing very well anymore. I think that may have led to the valve cover leaking some oil out the side as well. Another pretty big problem is the wastegate. I did port it a little, but it doesn't seem like it made a difference. I believe the wastegate spring is adjusted to 5-6 psi, but at higher rpms, it hits 11 psi, which is my overboost protection. I need to figure out what the deal is with that. If anyone has suggestions, I'm open to any help.

If I left anything out, let me know. I made this thread to return the favor and help some people out.

 

I've sent you an email addressing a few of your issues. Looks good overall and I'm glad you are enjoying it.

 

A bunch of us have ported the wastegate open to ~22.5mm diameter. The factory WG hole is offset under the flapper, so you have to offset the material you remove to keep the hole under the flapper. This resulted in less than 1 PSI creep on the dyno.

https://www.miataturbo.net/build-thr...6/#post1383638

 

I'm definitely going to need to do this. I adjusted the wastegate arm to around 8 psi from 5, and the creep doesn't feel as bad, but it still hits my 11psi overboost protection.

 

For the leaking issue, I found out is was leaking power steering fluid, on top of the oil. When I installed the kit, I had to take out the reservoir so I had room to work, and the rear line is dry rotted and wasn't clamped down tight enough. I slid that hose back up and tightened it down, and I think its solved for now.

The oil leaking issue is still present though. I can't really pinpoint a location, but I'm about 75% sure its from the oil feed from the oil pressure sender and 25% the return at the oil pan. I can't reach down to feel around the hoses and fittings with it on the ground. I guess until I can get it back on the lift, I'll just add oil as I drive.... Hopefully I don't hurt anything.