Base-model Aerodyne turbocharger
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s an Aerocharged Miata!
After about two years of "thinking about it" and saving for it, I finally made the big splurge. On March 20th, I joined the family of forced-air miatas with my most recent modification to my '91 base model miata, an Aerocharger FTD1 turbo kit purchased from Team Proscreen.
As many would agree, there are excellent supercharger and turbocharger kits available for the miata today but, there were a few final determining factors which made me decide on the Aerocharger over other systems. Probably the single most determining factor was the bang-for-buck measurement. I felt that if I were going to spend the money, I should at least try to get as much as possible for the amount I could afford. Perhaps equally as important as the bang-for-buck issue, I didn’t want to take away the great drivability characteristics that are natural to a normally aspirated miata. I wanted my miata to drive just like a normal miata... just more natural feeling power when I put my foot down. In addition, I wanted the strong power all the way to redline - traditional of turbos, while exhibiting excellent throttle response (low lag) characteristic of a supercharger. Another factor on my decision was the upgrade ability of the kit.
When I purchased the kit, I realistically knew that someday I would want to upgrade to even more power, so the ease, cost, and availability of upgrades to the kit were certainly considerations. Lastly, I was concerned about the installation of a turbo kit. How hard is the installation? Is it reversible so I can put my miata back to how it was before the install? Will I need any other items not included with the turbo kit in order to perform the installation? All of these issues were carefully considered before deciding on a kit.
The Aerocharger FTD1 turbo kit was the answer to all of the requirements. This kit is considered an "entry-level" turbo as it produces a conservative 6 psi of boost. The driveability is very smooth. The power is a nice swift push in the seat. For entry level boost, I am pleased.
Installation was certainly no harder than changing a clutch. Actually, the installation was not very difficult, just time consuming. Total installation time including a couple of hours sorting parts and carefully reading the instructions came to around 15 hours. I highly recommend having a friend help with the install especially after reading the instructions and after the parts have been sorted and accounted for.
So what are downsides to the Aerocharger? Overall, very little. Probably the only thing about the Aerocharger that I don’t like too much is the noise under the hood. It is faint, but when everything else is very quite, it’s noticeable. This is one of those things that varies from person to person. At the time of this writing, I have a stock exhaust (cat and muffler) so the sounds out the tailpipe are quiet.
Gas mileage is supposed to remain the same or go up slightly. However, with a heavier foot that "gee, somehow" comes with the turbo, aggressive daily driving has caused the mileage to go down a couple miles. No loss at all in my opinion. Certainly worth the power.
Power is contagious. I already want to upgrade to the Aerocharger FTD2 level which would put my miata around the 8.5-10 psi boost level. However, other miata upgrades are in the queue including shocks (to help keep the tires to the pavement) and exhaust (to help the turbo breathe easier!)
Please feel free to e-mail me (topdownmx5@aol.com) if you would like to know more specific details about my experience with adding a turbo to my miata. Hopefully, I’ll have a decent write-up on the installation and more details of my turbo experience at my website in the future at: (http://members.aol.com/topdownmx5/home1.html).
The Stage 1 Aerodyne turbocharger, as assembled and marketed by TeamProScreen
After two weeks of ownership, including 90 minutes of track time:
The kit consists of the turbo and associated plumbing, cold air induction, a hood prop rod, and the BEGI fuel pressure regulator. It is designed to run at 6 psi., but can be upgraded to Stages 2 and 3 for ~ $1000 per upgrade. These include intercoolers, larger injectors, MSD or J&S knock sensors, auxiliary fuel pump. Each upgrade is worth ~ 2 lbs of boost.
i was planning to install the kit myself, but R-Speed made me an offer I couldn't refuse, as they had never done a 1.8 before. TeamProScreen photographed the install in order to revise the manual for 1.8 installation, as currently the instructions are 1.6 specific. The manual is top notch, far superior to any I've seen so far. in retrospect, unless i just wanted to put th Miata on blocks and tinker with it for a couple of weeks, I would hire the install done in the future. It wasn't particularly difficult, only time consuming.
Initial problems when I picked the car up included a lack of low end grunt, and pinging at 5000 rpm. I found that they had set the timing to 6 deg to combat the pinging, and it had helped, but not eliminated the problem. R-Speed worked on the car that afternoon, but we were never able to kill the knock, even with the timing set ridiculously low. So we ordered a J&S. This allowed the timing to be set at 12 deg without knock.
Since the kit is sold without an electronic timing retard device, I have to believe that it can be run like that on some 1.8's, but it didn't seem possible on my car. And I've had my timing at 18 deg before with no problems. Anyway, if you have a 1.8 figure on bugeting another $130 or $400 for MSD or J&S with the Stage I. Fortunately, if you go with Stage II later, they will delete the MSD and you won't have wasted the money.
Of note: Hector at R-Speed told me to regap my plugs to .039. I put in new ones and gapped at .039, and this made a measurable impact on acceleration. I didn't write down the measurements and can't remember them, but it did help.
Driving Impressions: The turbo is so transparent if you stay off the throttle. Very smooth power delivery. i have found it to be almost an exact replica of a strong N/A car's hp and torque curves; not linear at all, but nice and rev happy. Above 5k rpm the power comes on with a rush. Nothing unsettling, but just there. At highway speeds, the feel of the engine in 4th or 5th is tremendously enjoyable. It doesn't push you back in your seat like a big V8, but there is noticeable acceleration.
At the track I ran three 30 minute sessions wide open. I have an oil cooler and oil temp guage on the car, and the oil never ran more than 210 deg, which is a little warmer than it was at the same track a month previously, but ambient temps were ~ 10 deg warmer. The water temp stayed the same as always. I was surprised and delighted by this. no hoses blew off, no pinging ensued, no fluids leaked, no strange noises emanated from beneath the hood. And after the first 5 or so laps, when I had learned the new braking points for my slightly higher terminal speeds at the end of the straights, everything was just as before. The power didn't upset the car's handling at all.
I am very pleased with both the product and the installation and support of R-Speed. It is a great wat to start in the world of turbos, and a great place to stop if you don't want mind numbing power. The car feels like a good factory turbo car from the Japanese. No complaints at all, now that the J&S is on and the tuning is done.
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