Hi G40Steve
Yep i`ll post any trackdays and let you know how it goes,what specifically do you want to know?
I`m taking my car to BBR next week for the Turbo Conversion but due to work and holiday dates, it will be mid september before i can collect it,
I will be at Sandringham at the end of september though.
Bought a No. plate to go with the Conversion MX5 BLOW ok the B`s an 8.
And We thank you for it just to think you will have th first turbo’d NC in the UK . ( apart from the test and development cars i suppose)
Didn’t the original mk1 BBR manifolds have a reputation for cracking?
What has this got to do with a MK3/3.5 turbo conversion?
Whilst there is obviously nothing from a 20+ year old MK1 used in this conversion, yes, after 10-20 years use (look how many OEM manifolds from this era crack in this time)! Problem mostly caused by the map sensors calibration drifting after a few years in the old analogue ecu.
Things have moved on an awful lot in over 20 years!
Just caught up with this thread and thought I’d get my twopen’th in…I had the S/C conversion expertly installed by Neil at BBR just over 2 years ago, and I can honestly say that it was the best thing I ever did…it hasn’t missed a beat in those 2 years and still makes me grin like a loon every single time I get behind the wheel…I’ve done some track days, some before the S/C and some after, and the difference in power is amazing…I use the car every day for a 16 mile commute to work, and driven under normal road use she behaves perfectly…the after sales service has been faultless, and I would thoroughly recommend anyone who is thinking of going down the S/C route to have a chat with Neil…so speaks the voice of experience…I’m sure the Turbo conversion will prove to be just as, if not more, successful.
It all becomes a bit pathetic after a while, mention FI on a Mk3 variant and outcome the naysayers wearing their billboards telling us all the end is nigh, the engine will blow up, set your hair on fire and run away with your wife!! Why do they do this? Well, a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…… Cosworth marketed a supercharger for the Mk3s that was really not quite fit for purpose. They failed badly to develop suitable software to run the fundamentally ok hardware, although as Neil at BBR has said, there were some hardware issues in the mix, the net result, tick tock, tick tock, a bit of a time bomb just waiting to go off and yes, it did go off on a number of cars and resulted in quite a few cars being reduced to almost scrap value overnight.
That was then, in a new world where a highly respected tuning firm that has had alliances with Mazda in the past; yes, that would be BBR, took on the ashes of the supercharger kit, they worked hard and long and came up with a proper software package, ironed out the hardware issues, ran many thousands of miles in the car, and re-marketed it as the BBR-Cosworth supercharger kit for the Mk3, this gained rave reviews from the motoring press. Move the clock forward further and BBR have refined things further to the point where the OEM ECU is loaded with the correct MAP and it runs like a little sweetie.
So, Chinese whispers eh, how do they keep going then, well, it’s simple isn’t it, it’s just like the game, you start off with one story and by the time it gets circulated by a few people the story has changed out of all recognition, the problem is that the whole old story is dead, if there are so called Chinese whispers lingering then it is by design rather than anyone listening up to what is new. Hell, I even had some recent discussions with someone who, given the position the hold in the world of MX5s should have known much better to drag the old story out from the bottom of the barrel. When are people going to give themselves a kick up the backside and bring themselves up to date?
I carried out a self install of the BBR charger kit onto my Sport Black in April this year, sure, the job is not for the faint of heart or faint of spanners, in other words, not a job for the weekend mechanic, if you are going to attempt a self install, make sure you know what you are about, then double check that you know what you are about. Anyway, I planned two weeks for the job based on a number of disabilities I live with, there were a few days where I would only spend an hour on the car before I had to stop and rest up, I suppose it is one of the benefits of having been retired early, I had no need for the car over that time so there was no stressing over needing the car. Anyway, the moment came when everything was complete, and I had come to the end of the installation, now the moment of truth, turn the key and off it went, first turn of the key and running just as it had before with just a little more mechanical noise due to the charger being turned over. This is an indication of the quality of the kit provided and the instruction manual.
Since then it has run extremely well, just like the OEM car but very, very quick, I’m firmly with BK65 in the camp of this is the best thing I have done to my car. Trackdays, funny that old chestnut has been raised again!! OK, let’s put this on the line, not everyone who tunes their cars either via NA or FI will be tracking their cars, this does not mean that they will as has been posted before by a trackday hero mean that we all will just be using the cars to toddle down to the shops, I think that was the phrase used anyway. No, I have mine charged because it is a hobby car for me that is also a daily driver, it remains as tractable as the factory car ever was from light tickover to the limiter, no funny torque curves due to trick cams etc just a linear shove all the way through. So, trackday, sure, living a mere eight miles from Knockhill the temptation was strong and I did take it up for a performance driving day. How did the car perform? Suffice to say that on the day the little BBR MX5 proved to be the fastest car on the track on the day, there was a Ferrari 360, a Vantage V8 and any number of disparate ranks of purpose built track cars, all getting a bit peeved at the green MX5 coming round to pass them again. The instructor himself took the wheel and pulled into the pits with a rather daft grin on his face, yes, the MX5 did its work on him to, he referred to it as a genuinely quick car, note, not a genuinely quick MX5 but a quick car. I’ll take that from a guy whose job it is to drive some pretty awesome machinery round a demanding circuit such as Knockhill.
But what am I talking about, this thread started out as a thread about the BBR turbo conversion, now, I have had a few chats with Neil over the past few months and I know one thing for sure, this is a guy who has an eye for detail, he knows how markets tick, he also knows how fickle people are and that the whole Cosworth supercharger thing sticks like the brown stuff to a blanket or as the saying goes, steal one sheep, sheep stealing barsteward, (insert whatever option you wish to replace stealing, I didn’t as it would get filtered out anyway), that however is simply down to people not taking a re-boot when the supercharger system did, in other words, stupid people love to keep the pot of shit stirring without refering to current facts. This turbo conversion will be awesome for those who wish to take this route and there are a number of options to even take the car to 300+ bhp, impressive indeed and would certainly be an interesting proposition in a car wieghing a little as the 5 does. Would I think twice about fitting the kit, simple, no I wouldn’t. Neil would be the first to come forward and tell you that I had 101 questions to ask before I commited to buying the S/C kit for my 5 and along the way I got a very good feel for just how meticulous Neil and BBR are when they are selling to the public, I reckon the turbo conversion will be a winner for them, certainly if the doubters open their eyes and see just how big the S/Cs success has been for BBR they may well be surprised, there are more of these wolves around than they might think just doing their thing for some very happy owners.
Rapidratchet, you are going to have a ball with your car, just ignore the naysayers, they are simply living in a world ranging from 20- 5 years ago, things move on.
p.s. we plan to do a Euro tour in the charged 5 next year as others have done with theirs, is that being overconfident in the car’s reliability, well if others can and have done it then I’ll take that as a no.
Steve, thanks for a very balanced, objective post. I have been lurking for a while, having owned several MX5’s in the past.
I too have spoken to Neil at BBR, and his enthusiasm is contageous.
I will be contacting him in the not too distant future for a test drive in the turbocharged NC.
I am currently looking for a sport black in green to have converted - if only Mazda did yellow! Then the fun will start…
Steve some of you keep your cars standard to just pop to the shops & the occasional top down drive.
Myself at least like to spend my time tearing up our fantastic race circuits while we still have them in the nanny state we live in, have even ventured to European circuits.
So my question for me is still valid, as what I want from my car is different to most.
For now I have stayed NA as this gives me what I need, but we always want more 
Will be following this as the turbo for me is a better option.
Hi to BK, Steveti, Paul Ch & g40steve
Thanks for all your support and advice etc you have each given, just a quick note to say that i have taken my car to BBR on saturday for the Turbo conversion
and a link to the Autocar roadtest on the BBR Turbo http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mazda/mx-5/first-drives/mazda-mx5-bbr-gti-turbo-first-drive-review take a look through the Autocar pics Cheers
Fully accepted Steve, the issue I have had in the past is that you have failed to accept that not everyone wants to track their cars, some of us want to have cars for fast road use where the conditions allow.
There is a huge void between a full on track day car and a fast road car, some comments you have made on various forums inevitably come round to your exclusive track day use,the comments about popping down the shops and the occassional top down drive may well apply to some but certainly not for the majority of enthusiasts on the forums I speak of. Further to that your comments are generally put forward in a derogatory way, usually alluding along the lines of if you are not tracking your car then all you are using the car for is popping to the shops etc, which if you look around many MX5 forums you know full well that this is far from the case.
Of course you are interested in the use of the various routes in gaining more power from the MZR units for your track days, you obviously prefer the naturallyaspirated route but you know it’s limitations, to develop 200bhp + from these engines you do lose tractability at lower rpm, this won’t bother you as you won’t be taking the car to the shops of course, I am however quite happy to have installed the BBR supercharger kit to mine along with their complete exhaust system making circa 260bhp, it runs as if it just came out of the factory, is as smooth smoother than the factory 158bhp model but, should I want it, the power is their immediately, perfect for my needs on the road and as it turned out at Knockhill, pretty handy on the track but certainly not a full blown track day car.
What I question is why you continually put down, or this is how it comes across so apologies in advance if this is not your intent, any other route other than NA and in particular your comments about the BBR supercharged cars, note please BBR and not Cosworth, the Chinese whispers that you yourself perpetrate should be well and truly silenced in 2013.
As I say Steve, if this isn’t your intent then you have had my apologies but every time that BBR get mentioned on any forum you seem to be there to put them down and plead your case of NA being the only way, I really don’t think you do Roddsons any justice by doing this time and time over.
Just saying what I have seen and don’t want to be getting into any catfights.
I think we already know you are not going to regret this for a minute, keep us informed of progress and of course the results.
Best regards.
Lets compare Sputnik with the International Space Station while we are at it.
BBR in R&D terms and reliable service / installation delivery has absolutely nothing to do with anything that has gone before.
It would be much simpler if some people wake up to that and smell the United Kingdom based BBR coffee.
Omg! At last
Neil - in event you pop your head back in here can the Turbo sit alongside the Super 180?
Cheers in advance 
Please get your facts right. I dont just pop down to the shops. Its the Hairdressers I pop down to. Never forgot, its a Hairdressers car that we are driving NA or FI.
Very important that.
VO5Jo Im sure Neil will be able to do a turbo add on to the 180 either diy or BBR fitted, when i talked to him on saturday he was going to use my car as he converts it, for the pics for the diyers.
Paul Regret I saw a brill mx5 sticker at japfest it said “NO HAIRDRESSING TOOLS OR EQUIPMENT LEFT IN THIS CAR OVERNIGHT”
I just wanted a wolf in hairdressers clothing sorry sheeps
Hi Jo, yes our 2.5" exhaust is exactly what we use with our stage 2 turbo/supercharged conversions and gives approximately 20BHP gain. The only problem is you’ll need a clutch with the extra torque, a small sacrifice for 285/290 BHP
Looks like you’ll be quickest hairdresser for a while. We have changed your clutch and dyno tested as standard today to give you a before and after, 159BHP so a healthy engine. Also plan to dyno before the exhaust change (stage 1) to back up power graphs from our prototype car. Turbo spools a little earlier with production manifolds and was making 290BHP when last tested in stage 2 trim, so it will be interesting. Also be good to get some pictures of our production heatsheid, airbox and black powdercoated pipework etc. Enjoy your break!
Saw your car while I was being dyno’d at BBR last week…nice looking motah…look forward to hearing your thoughts once the Turbo is in…
if you like i have a 1.8 you can use as a tester/demo ;)
We’ll look after you on fitting as it will save us removing our S/C from our 1.8. The 1.8 is a very sweet engine with FI and the overall gains are better than the 2.0, we may change the turbine A/R or comp wheel that we’ve found best suited on the 2.0 for the 1.8, would need to test spool first.
Cheers Neil
With the Super 180 already in place and, obviously, your exhaust system (other than backbox) is the work reduced slightly?
And, what is the output on the 1.8 with 180 plus turbo?
(doing a few sums… eek!)