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pwrofturbo's Turbo NB Build

33K views 127 replies 43 participants last post by  Mazduh 
#1 ·
So I've had this car (2000 LS) for... 5 years now. Progression of modifications went from full bolt-ons (+2whp), to simple suspension (H&R Race, KYB AGX), and then added the FM Extreme happy meal. Car was still slow as balls, but very fun to drive. I've decided I want more power. Coming from a DSM/Evo background (other car is ~350whp DSM), I'm no stranger to boost, and the Miata seems like the perfect platform for some turbo fun.

So thus my power build thread.

First a list of what I have to install or already have installed that are relevant:

Corksport MSM front mount intercooler and intake
MSM turbo (+ full AN lines)
MSM waterpump inlet
XEDE 99-00 Ecu
Synapse Engineering Synchronic BOV/CBV (+ recirc fitting)
Hallman Pro manual boost controller
MSM 6-speed transmission (pickup this weekend)
FM Extreme happy meal clutch and 10lb flywheel
RB Race connecting pipe and Roadstersport 3 muffler (temporary exhaust)
New rear main seal, random cleaning and re-rusting to do on the subframe and chassis

Exhaust will quickly be replaced with a Begi MSM downpipe and a custom 3" v-band system that I can reuse when I upgrade turbos down the road. Also on the list to purchase is a new set of injectors once I'm comfortable with turning the boost up past wastegate pressure.

Anyways on to the pictures. I've already started so you're not going to see any pre-build pictures (sorry) but I'll do my best to capture this as I go along.

Engine out, time to get to work.


Engine bay, needs some de-rusting and I'm going to weld the pinion in my depowered rack.


Engine out, still has the markings from FM salvage on the cover.


Relatively clean in the back, going to hit the rest of it with some brake cleaner to get the gunk off.


Oil feed takeoff, forgive the **** filter.


MSM waterpump inlet.


FM Extreme happy meal, could use a light resurfacing but I'll probably just deal with it.


Should be able to handle the heat from anything I ever upgrade to.


MSM Turbo, replacing the drain with something that actually fits this week.


Back side of the turbo.


Pile of random parts, wideband, filter, fittings, BOV, MBC, etc.


Dash, Defi metric boost + JDM tach. Going to try to re-crystal mod this car when I get my wideband installed, hopefully when I move to the GT2560 or something I'll be able to make power up there.


And that's where I'm at so far. This weekend I'll be picking up the MSM 6-speed from a forum member in Kentucky, then everything goes back together and I'll start harassing Begi for a base map.

:twisted:
 
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#4 ·
Yeah I got lucky in the FS section and picked up the full JDM gauge set for like $50, I've considered changing the speedo as well but the jdm kmh panel has a different scale (ie. 62 mph is not the same distance as 100kmh, so it would be less accurate the faster I went).
 
#7 · (Edited)
MSM 6 speed transmission (thanks dustinlib)


Repaired speed sensor (hint: make sure all connectors are disconnected when ripping drivetrain out)


Tomorrow I'll mock up the turbo drain, drill and tap the pan, and repair some wiring harness damage in the trans tunnel. Also going to remove my steering pinion and take it to work for welding to remove the center slop, and order new exhaust manifold studs and nuts as the stockers just pulled the studs out of the head and are now one solid piece.
 
#10 ·
Oil drain fitting installed, pan cleaned, and everything torqued up.


Turbo attached for line fitting.


How the drain is routed, I'll fab a bracket to make the line a solid downhill slope.


Coolant lines, yes they're a bit long, but functional..


Oil feed, probably should have gone with a strait end to have the adapter be at the ideal angle, but this will work fine.


So on tomorrow's list, I've got a bunch of wiring to repair, and the transmission to reattach. Slowly but surely making progress on this thing.

Trans wiring is screwed, have to strip the harness here and extend the connectors.


Oil pressure sensor... just ends. Stupid connector got mauled off, so get to fix that too. Also going to roll the car out and hose this **** off the subframe, then do some rust stripping and repainting.
 
#12 ·
Yeah the 6 speed did have one, though IIRC the speed sensor is final drive dependent and I have a 4.3 rear end, so I'm fairly certain I need to reuse mine. It works fine, I've already tested it previously and just now sealed it up to protect the wiring.

Later this evening ill have an update.
 
#13 ·
Turbo is in the final position, lines hooked up and turbine outlet attached.


Installed my new rear main seal, a mild pain in the ass but I'm hoping this will be fine for another 100k+ miles.


Coolant line feed and return, anyone see anything wrong with this routing?


FM Extreme + 10lb flywheel reattached.


Andddddd.. the best part, 6 speed trans is bolted up and ready to go.


Going to drain the trans/shifter, finish the wiring repair, and then drop this stuff into the car and pray later this week. :slayer:
 
#16 ·
I'm going to start with wastegate pressure at first, which should be around 7psi or so. Once I get my exhaust fabbed up and some injectors in the next month or two my goal is 15-17psi and ~250whp. Should be doable, maxing out the stock MSM turbo, but that's what I'm hoping for this year. And yep, stock internals, block has ~80k on it.

Chicago is really stepping up the game lately. I love it :)
Thanks! I haven't been around to any of the local meets since winter time (that stupid cold meet we had in November ish), so I'm really looking forward to some autox and maybe a trackday or two this year. This season is mostly a shakedown for the car, once I'm happy with that I'm going to sort the brakes and suspension out. And get a rollbar, which is next on my list actually.
 
#17 ·
Small update, got some little things sorted out.

Repaired oil pressure sensor, wrapped it with electrical tape after this and hopefully no more problems here.


Small surface rust problems, I sanded down the stuff that looked bad, and just sprayed everything else with Krylon rust remover black.





Then went and did the same with a couple brackets and the driveshaft, all of which looked nasty.


Hoping later I'll get around to finishing up the prep and tomorrow I'll start putting the engine back in.
 
#19 ·
Thanks, I've been waiting a long time for this. :)

Engine is ready to go into the car here.


Mild clearance problem with the dipstick and the coolant return. I'll rape it into position.


Speed sensor installed.


Wiring repaired. One of the two connectors that was messed up (the large, two prong one) was ruined so I just said screw it and cut it off. It's either the neutral switch or the reverse switch, both I can live without.


Reassembled the rack.


Going in, this is a serious PITA with one person.


Where I sit today. Tomorrow I'm having a friend stop by with fluids and a spare set of hands to get this thing in and bolted up.


Turbo!


Looking forward to this running, have my base map from Begi and XEDE is installed, hopefully I'll get everything good tomorrow and start enjoying it. :cool:
 
#20 ·
New co-pilot and shift knob.


Engine bolted in and everything hooked up minus intake piping.


Synapse Engineering BOV


Coolant leak problem, the MSM outlet is longer, making the cross-over tube not fit on the exhaust manifold, so it pops out and leaks. :(


Needs to line up and it doesn't, getting this welded in place on monday.


Moar shift knob.
 
#21 ·
I noticed a few things from your pictures that might help you.

1. you have a few hose clamps missing from the small water hose that your using for your feed lines.

2. The coolant tube will fit you can bend it ever so slightly and get it over one of the studs. This will keep you from having to weld it up. Other wise get a msm coolant tube which has some ports on it for water feed all ready.

Just some suggestion.
 
#25 ·
Thanks guys, I ran into a few minor problems from not having a few small parts that I'll need, so I'm mostly waiting on shipping ATM.

First serious problem, Corksport FMIC routing for the MSM apparently uses this hole behind the driver's headlight, but the MSM headlights are much shorter where the 99-00 lights are longer, meaning I can't use the drivers side headlight until I get NB2 lights.


Also missing this coupler for the turbo inlet, apparently they expect you to reuse the stock part, which I don't have. Have a 90* on order..


Need new exhaust bolts to put this back together, in my infinite wisdom I lost the old bolts. Off to lowes... (don't hate my stock downpipe, it just wants to love you)


Last problem I can think of, is the BOV and the air-return for the Corksport intake are 1.25" and .75" respectively, and it's 100% impossible to find a silicone coupler this size, so I ordered a PVC reducer. (can you tell I own a DSM?)


Hopefully that crap will be in tomorrow and friday so I can fire it up and drive it around a bit.
 
#26 ·
Maybe you should be thankful that you don't have the old exhaust bolts anymore. Good time to upgrade to stainless so when you change something (and you will change something, I'm sure) they will not be rusted together. It is still a good idea to put it together with aluminum-based anti-seize because stainless has nickle and chromium and does not have the carbon content that makes ordinary mild steel slide easily.
 
#27 ·
Got some more work done today, lots of little stuff I needed to take care of.

Re-welded coolant pipe tab behind the turbo, now this thing actually stays in place, and at least doesn't leak coolant anymore. (at least while the car is off..)


BOV in position, we'll see how I manage to pull off the air return..


Stupid MSM intake temp sensor hole is where I want to source boost only for the BOV's Port C, clearly I cannot find the right connector for this. (you try finding a m8x1.25 to 1/8" hose barb, I dare you)


Boost controller ready to control the raging torrent of power from my tiny turbo.


AHA. I found a plastic thing that nearly fits, came with the BOV. So I carefully covered the threads with sealant and screwed it in. Think we'll be good here until I can figure out something more legitimate.


Yay fitment problems. Corksport made the FMIC piping about 3" too long. Awesome.


Nothing a little hacksaw can't fix!


'Ah' you'll say, 'the coupler has no lip to grab on to anymore!'. Feast your eyes on some JDM as **** JB weld beads, I'd take better pictures but I don't want anyone copying this lost art.


Stupid headlights. I'm going to rock the pirate look for a while I think.


At least the FMIC piping looks good, and actually fits after I remove all of the stupid MSM-specific brackets with a sawzall.


FMIC piping fixed and in position, mailed a dead horse's head to corksport for the trouble. (actually that sounds like a solid idea..)


So slowly getting there. Probably be ready to go on monday as I need to wait on a few small hoses and **** to finally ship.
 
#30 ·
Well hopefully we'll have more than one meet this year. :lol:

very cool, you have inspired me to not turbo my miata lol
It's not so bad, I suspect if you did it right and used a kit from FM or Begi you'd be fine. I'm far too stubborn, and cheap, to pay 4-5k for something I can do myself for under half the price. Granted my turbo hardware is weak sauce, but I have the foundation to upgrade next season if I get bored with this.
 
#32 ·
It's true. And that's another thing I talked with them about, not having an allowance for aftermarket TB couplers as the stock one is useless and typically one of the first things you'd replace. I assumed they would include that coupler with their 'full' fmic setup, but I was incorrect, and assumed the FM part I did have would work fine.
 
#33 ·
Flashing the XEDE with my crappy trendnet USB-serial converter.


Uploadingggggggggg


Burningggggggggg


Yay, Lowes had metric bolts. :eek:


Rear O2 sensors are for bitches, wrapped up tight and will sit there for another 2-3 years until I need it again.


New oil filter, which is a bitch to put on with the engine in actually. Probably about time, as the last one had like 20k on it. :|


Battery with my awesome tie-down method.


Waiting for another 2.25" coupler for the FMIC, BOV tubing, and that should be it. Minus the new headlights of course, but those aren't necessary to test this out.
 
#36 · (Edited)
It's on the list, at the top. DP and full 3" are in my near future, after I finish this stage anyways.

Or replace that radiator. My old radiator started looking that color and then finally burst. A mishimoto radiator + fan shroud & slim fans definitely cleans up everything and eliminates the bursting possibility.
Didn't think of that, but I've got a spare rad so I'll put it off for a while. :woolery:

Still waiting for hose clamps, couplers, and my reducer to arrive from summit/ebay... :roll:

Just cranked it with no ignition, oil pressure looks good and I fixed an oil leak I had at the turbo for the oil feed, it wasn't tightened down.. Got one of the couplers for the BOV in, sadly none for the turbo inlet or FMIC piping, so I won't be able to start it until that stuff comes in.
 
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