If i get forced induction for my Mazda MX-5 2002 model does it improve the acceleration or top end on the car, or is it all round improvement for the engine? And is there anything i should change also on my car to go with the forced induction??
Thanks
A supercharger will make the engine seem like a bigger one. It gives mainly increased torque, which can be felt from low revs. A turbocharger doesn’t give much more “bottom end” torque because it has to spool up, but will increase the top end performance.
In simple terms, if you wanted a good track day car for a twisty track with short straights, a supercharger would give an advantage. If you wanted to run on a circuit without many corners and longer straights, a turbocharger would be better.
The above statement isn’t truly correct, you could get a small enough turbo to start boosting under 2k revs so you’d have lots more lower down grunt than in NA spec. To be honest the OP clearly doesn’t know what forced induction is to be asking the above question.
Your top end speed will be increased due to the car having more power to overcome drag at high speeds, but if you’re able to max out your gearing in NA spec then you won’t get the car to go any faster with forced induction, you are mechanically limited with your gearing!
What FI WILL do is make the car accelerate quicker.
Lots Of NA info here, but the cars an NB (2002) Top end cannot be increased, as the engines limited to 7,200 rpm. (redline). Forced induction is good for track use, but as it needs increased fuelling it’s a pain in the wallet area when it comes to road use. I’ve considered it, but then I learned how to use the gearbox properly, which makes me fast on the road, but slower against Forced induction cars on track. Having said that, I’ve caught a few up on track corners, as they charge into a corner and don’t know how to use the gearbox to get out of it. (tyres and brakes get a hammering). If you want FAST acceleration, then change gear at not less than 5,500 rpm, when the torque becomes effective.
Only option I would have considered is a clutch related drive to a S/C (aircon clutch should do the job?) as it then becomes controllable, but you still need bigger injectors for when the S/C kicks in.
So - for track use, you will need bigger - or better - brakes, and possibly suspension mods too, so the bill keeps going up, and tuning becomes a problem too, as you need a separate fuel controller to get the best out of the engine. My advice - for road use, forget it it. YMMV.
Oh - p.s. - it gets B***** expensive too! (never mind fuel costs)
of course if you use an aftermarket standalone ecu then the rev limit issue no longer applies.
But you still need to have the power to overcome the drag at high speed to be able to hit 7200rpm in 5th or 6th gear. Not something you’re likely to do in a standard car!
I can do that now. Not in a standard car, but we’re talking FI here, granted gearing is a limiter, but that can be overcome too.