4 Things I've Learnt From Owning A Boosted MX-5

Imagine walking into the Playboy Mansion. Now delete the dirty old man and countless girls who should have stayed in college from the scene, and swap these for a sin-free mansion with 10 rooms. Behind each locked door you’ll find cool stuff like go karts, car parts, quarries and drag strips. You can hear and smell all the fun, but you can’t enter because you don’t have the right key. That’s what being the owner of a standard MX-5 is like. I’m inside the fun house, and I know the potential that’s behind those closed doors, but I’m stuck in the hallway, just inches away from having the time of my life.

Now imagine being handed the key that unlocks all of these rooms. That’s what being the owner of a boosted MX-5 is like because what boost does to a car like the MX-5 not only open the doors, it blows them down and reveals a world so exciting, that it makes you wonder why you didn’t go all Django Unchained on the place and blow s**t up from the start.

You see, the MX-5 is a fantastic car, even in its most basic state. But when you do a few mods and inject the engine with proper power, you’re in for the ride of your life! Here’s what the experience of driving a boosted Miata has taught me…

Many of you will have seen the video above of an early dyno run while my Mazda MX-5 (aka Phil) was being mapped at Skuzzle Motorsport. The graph revealed a very impressive power figure, but this was not the final figure. Not by a long way. In fact, the power and torque that Phil’s now producing (full parts list below) is nearly double that of what the car rolled out of the factory with.

This means that acceleration is mental (approximately 5.5 seconds to 60mph) thanks to a power-to-weight ratio that would rival that of a BMW E46 M3. For that reason, I can now overtake anything in my path without having to plan days in advance, and the vast increase in torque equates to fewer gear changes at lower speeds. What’s more, I can now keep on the tail of most 350hp+ sports cars (up to a point) which, seeing as my car doesn’t look too race car, makes this a great little sleeper!

2. RIP clutch

With increased power comes the necessity of upgraded parts, particularly suspension (done), brakes (to do), and the clutch (too late). As you’ll see in the next Project MX-5 video, we went a little above and beyond what the standard clutch could handle, so had to reduce the boost pressure a little to preserve the clutch which still slips in third and fourth when I’m not being shy with the throttle. Despite the slipping clutch, and despite the fact that Phil hasn’t reached his final form, he’s still immensely fast. With a strong clutch and a Torsen LSD (ordered), he’ll be mega fast and will be going sideways when every opportunity arises.

3. Boost is totally addictive

My time owning a turbocharged MX-5 has taught me that there’s nothing better than boost. As the revs climb sharply, the horizon is sucked towards my face like the Millennium Falcon. As for the noise? When the wastegate opens under boost, I get the so-called fizz in my man garden. It’s addictive to wind the turbo up, and with every hard acceleration, I love the sensation more and more.

Surprisingly, the power and torque curves are smoother than I was expecting, so it’s not a case of ‘nothing, nothing, nothing…HOLY COW, HOLD ON!’

4. Fitting a turbo was the best decision ever

There’s only so far you can go with a naturally-aspirated engine before you get a little bored and begin to look elsewhere for that power kick. Sure, you can tune the suspension, fit individual throttle bodies, a racing clutch etc, but a turbocharger is the most exciting thing that you can do.

A road-ready kit like the one I’ve got fitted will cost you around £3500 with fitting at a place like Skuzzle. So if you factor in the cost of the car (around £1100), good suspension (£700 max), sharp new brakes (£550), a full exhaust system (£400 approx), safety bars (£300) and a good set of tyres (£250), your final outlay is getting close to £7000. And while that does seem like a lot of money to spend on an MX-5, what you’re getting/building is a car that handles like a dream, goes like stink and that will be the most fun you’ll ever have in a car with your clothes on. Guaranteed.

Turbo build parts list:

• Upgraded TD04 turbocharger: Turbo Dynamics
• ME221 ECU: Motorsport Electronics
• Radiator, intercooler and boost pipes: Fast 5
• Turbo manifold and downpipe: Black Cat Fabrication

Remember, the new ‘Project MX-5: Remap, Dyno And Turbo Test’ video goes live on Wednesday 17th February! Below is the turbo install video: