Bought a Miata Because Exocar

[Monochrome]

[quote=""ChargerX3""]I thought Greg had endless amounts of cash? Need to make the wife work more. [/quote]

Its not that I have deep pockets. ...I'm just not a Jew.

[DCIV]

[quote=""Monochrome""]The cost to use a V8 is out of my budget. Even if it were something I wanted to do.[/quote]

Bull shit. Used v8's are cheap. Prob even cheaper than the engine in that car.

Don't buy a built one right off, build it after it's running and driving and you find where you need more power.

End of the day you will spend less getting more power out if a v8 then that motor. If you don't want to then that's fine, but v8's are cheap if your just looking for a simple running 302.


Coop

[Jeff V.]

Don't buy a built one right off

Are you kidding? Greg is as bad as I am with this stuff. He won't dive in until he has a 900hp twin turbo setup planned on paper with a detailed bill of materials. Then he'll spend the next 2 years dropping $20,000 on parts and spending a thousand hours building and powder coating the thing.

"Incremental" isn't in his vocabulary.

[Chris95RT]

The guy next to me here at Ford just picked up a red one with a hard top, which are pretty saught after I guess?

Anyway, I keep picking up turbos/exhaust parts from the recycling bins downstairs and putting them on his desk- he said he refuses to mod it, but I think I'm winning.

[Jeff V.]

You have a recycling bin full of things like turbochargers, and you didn't tell us?!

[Monochrome]

WTF Chris! Hook me up with a "spare" 2.3L ecoboost motor.

[Chris GTO TT]

[quote=""Monochrome""]The cost to use a V8 is out of my budget. Even if it were something I wanted to do.[/quote]

Seriously people don't fully understand how expensive a proper V8 swapped Miata is to build.

Flyin' Miata's kit of parts is like $10k and you are responsible for sourcing the engine, transmission, drive shaft, and axles.

[Jeff V.]

Flyin' Miata's kit of parts is like $10k and you are responsible for sourcing the engine, transmission, drive shaft, and axles.

LS1 ~$250 all in.

http://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/2G1FP22G8Y2161307

[Monochrome]

[quote=""DCIV""]Bull shit. Used v8's are cheap. Prob even cheaper than the engine in that car.

Don't buy a built one right off, build it after it's running and driving and you find where you need more power.

End of the day you will spend less getting more power out if a v8 then that motor. If you don't want to then that's fine, but v8's are cheap if your just looking for a simple running 302.


Coop[/quote]

Its so much more than just a motor... I would still need:

Custom V8 front subframe
T56 trans
Clutch/flywheel/starter setup
Custom wireharness and ECU
Custom drive shaft
Ford rear with diff mount
Customer half shafts
Some custom manifold/exhaust setup (no the miata ones won't work)
Somehow engineer a transmission mount as the Exocet has none

Do the math and tell me that all that is less than an FM2 with a happy meal. No way no how.

The goal is a very simple and easily attainable 250whp. This is a 1500lb car! The HP/weight ratio is Hyper car territory! That is plenty fine for me on a run at Gingerman or just the country back roads.

[Jeff V.]

Even with "only" 250hp, you're still looking at sub-4 second 0-60 times and the very tricky task of doing traction control with your right foot

[green-lantern]

Yeah that thing is so light that it wouldn't be fun with a 500hp V8. This will be a go-cart with 250hp. It's going to be fast as hell.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Even with "only" 250hp, you're still looking at sub-4 second 0-60 times and the very tricky task of doing traction control with your right foot [/quote]

Against what people advise I decided to go with the FM adjustable front AND rear sway bars so I can "tune" the chassy to behave in a matter that I'm comfortable with. IE mild (forgiving) understeer. The coil overs will have only 300lb springs and be setup for driver comfort on the street. I'm hoping the tires and away bars will give me the tunability I need.

I'm hoping the rear wing with its 100 way adjustments can be fine tuned on the track to compensate for driver bravery.

[Chris95RT]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]You have a recycling bin full of things like turbochargers, and you didn't tell us?![/quote]

Oooppssiiee, I meant to say, I found one... on the side of the street...


The one he has currently sitting on his desk is a Garret (looks a little bigger than a 9B), just doesn't have a waste gate plug in it.

But the rest of it is sound, pretty solid no shaft play and water/oil cooled.

[Jeff V.]

Score me some cast off Sync parts :suspect2:

[DCIV]

If I v8'ed it on the cheap I wouldn't have a computer to run that v8. There is 1000 buck savings right there. Yes some of those others you can't skimp on but I'm willing to bed your resourceful enough to make it pretty cheap.

Just my .02


Coop

[Jeff V.]

If I v8'ed it on the cheap I wouldn't have a computer to run that v8. There is 1000 buck savings right there.

Again...Pick n Pull engine with computer. ~$250. And then whatever an HP Tuners license costs.

[Chris95RT]

Coop, where would you put the refrigerator compressor you repuropsed as a super charger?

[Monochrome]

Here is a small list of common power/weight ratios so you can really get a perspective on just how serious this simple setup is:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html

There are various Exocet setups in there. Some NA 1.6/1.8s. A few turbos a few V8s. I should add cars like Rays and some other dyno monsters in there.

If I put a V8 into this thing, then register at competitive events, it puts me into the top teir qualifiers in divisions like SCCA (which do recognize the Exocet). I'm sorry but I'm just not comfortable in my driver skills to compete at that level. Hell, even with the planned setup, it might be too much for me. We will see. I can't imagine what a Audi R4 style 54/46% weight balance (probably would be worse than that) in such a light weight 2WD traction less wonder would be like to drive.

Other than the image of having a v8 and the illusion of it supposedly being cheaper/easier, I see no reason to go that route.

[ChargerX3]

So not going street legal? Have a trailer?

[Monochrome]

[quote=""ChargerX3""]So not going street legal? Have a trailer?[/quote]

Definitely will be street legal. Title, registration, plates, insurance... The whole deal.