I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: upgrades
Hi guys I am frustrated with the lacklustre performance of my Mk2.5 sport. My reading seems to suggest that changing the air intake system makes no difference to performance, it has a pretty good manifold so changing that makes no difference, changing exhaust changes noise nothing else. BBR remap seems to offer very little change without a turbo.
Is there any way I can significantly change the power of the car without a turbo or V6?
This is my commuter car (not a ‘project car’) so reliability it critical.
Hi Craig, what an interesting conundrum.
Is your car running as it should but is simply not powerful enough for you?
If so I think you may already have answered your own question.
Low cost, reliable powergains are generally modest. Most give the impression of a faster car without actually upping performance to any great degree.
The sad truth of the matter is that many modern, “warm” hatches will see off most first and second generation unmodified MX-5s in a straight line drag race.
One of the best performance boosters on a pound for pound basis has to be forced induction and probably turbo charging over supercharging for the ultimate bang (whoosh, whistle and pop) for your buck.
Individual throttle bodies should offer performance advantages but they are extremely expensive by comparison and the gains aren’t as high even if some may feel that they improve the way the car sounds.
An engine conversion would work but again, potentially costly.
I wish I could think of some better alternatives to help you in your quest.
Hopefully someone will be along soon with a more satisfactory answer.
My advice is if you really need a faster car, buy a faster car. Everything else will cost you lots of money and reduce the reliability.
Get a 2.7 2007/2008 Porsche Boxster if you want better performance from a 2 seater convertible. I’ve owned loads of performance cars over the years and this is the only sensible option.
Yes the v6 into the mx5 makes it quicker and so does a turbo, but to do either properly isn’t economical on an mx5 imo
I agree with both chaps above and really you need to focus on this
The only reason you would modify an MX5 is because you want to keep driving an MX5. An MX5 is not about going faster its about having fun driving it in the countryside. Its about having fun going on trackdays with it and manage the available power into and out of the corners. Its not a difficult car to learn and it doesn’t have a lot of power so you will likely not end up in someone’s garden.
The best way to make a 2.5 sport ‘feel’ faster is to change the diff ratio to something higher. Your car currently has a 3.6, whereas a 3.9 will make every gear feel more zippy and responsive. You’ll be revving a bit more on the motorway but not too bad. Combine that with a nicer exhaust backbox and you should have a car that feels and sounds better, it’s not going to be hugely different but more fun, should cost you no more than a few hundred £ if you can spanner yourself and resell the existing diff.
(I would leave the induction alone if I were you, personal preference but I think it just sounds more buzzy than anything else and unless done with a proper heat shield causes heat-soak and can reduce power)
Next stop is forced induction as people say which to do properly and reliably is a good £5k+ Then there’s the ultimate which is a V6 or V8 engine swap but then you’re into the 10’s of thousands and that is only really done by those of us who have tried every other sports car and have an MX5 addiction
I’ve had many more powerful sports cars, but keep coming back to an MX5.
Thanks very much guys - that is clear then.
Just for others reading this chat: I also have a 2litre ND which is the MX5 equivalent of a Porsche. It is supper nippy and fantastic to drive so if you are sick of your slow older model get the 2.0 ND. . I only bought the NB because I love the ND so much I didn’t want to just clock up commuter miles on it. There is a BIG difference between the NB and ND performance.
well not sure that its “equivalent of a Porsche”, that’s a bit far fetched I’d rather say its better £ per mile. I have been in a 911 turbo and that machine defines physics - especially during braking.
Also I’d like to add only the ND can be frisky. My NC with a full BBR exhaust, K&N inlet and BBR remap spits out 186.9 bhp @7350 rpm and 156.7 lb.ft @4300 rpm. Yes I have spend a bit of money on it, and yea its a different base to the NA/NB but for me its more than enough to have fun.
if you have a normal air filter then change it to a piper cross or K&N
going from an old dirty and cheap filter to a high flow filter actually makes quite a big difference.
I’ve just done this and I was shocked by the difference.
another cheap boost good for about 3hp is having your exhaust wrapped! (manifold and downpipe)
you can also put a higher pressure fuel regular on the injection fuel rail (we used to do this on the mantas not sure if it’s still a thing tho)
also yes, changing the diff will make a difference (i did that on my manta)
these are the cheap things you can do,
everything from here on gets more expensive!
change your cams!
road legal sports exhaust
remap
and throttle bodies
taken together you could get up to an extra 50 to 70 hp
It’s a question of whether you want to “feel” like you’re going fast, or actually go fast.
IMO the MX5 is great for the former, but less good for the latter. To make an MX5 actually faster is almost certainly going to cost a lot and reduce reliability. For that, IMO, you’d be better off with a newish hot hatch or say a 3ltr Z4.
It is a common thing in MX-5’s for people to say they lack performance. I have lost count of the number of people I have sat next to when driving on track and I end up holding the gear lever to stop them changing gear at 4,000 revs. “I don’t like to rev the engine!” The best way to get them to go faster is to change down gear far more often and see that rev counter well above 5K. They are plenty fast enough to hit 100 on back roads, and that is by far fast enough for anyone.
Yes, the power is well up the rev range and iirc, Duratec on here reckons you need to rev duratec engines regularly up to 7000 rpm in order to avoid sticky oil control rings and thus high oil consumption.
Make sure the oil is good and warm first though.
I have a mk2.5 sport too - and have been embarrassed by, at its worst, a 2.0 TDCI Mondeo.
I since upgraded the suspension to MeisterR CRD’s, added chassis rails and a GCFabrications bar. The car is a hoot on the B roads now and I can exploit its power better. I’ve braided lines to the brakes, Millers race fluid and EBC pads to help stop beter - we already have the big brakes.
But… I’d still like a bit more poke for the straights. I had a drive in a R53 Mini Cooper S recently, running circa 200bhp and it was absolutely hilarious. However… a SC conversion done right is NOT cheap as said above. Doug from G19 Engineering reckons you can do it for <£1500 with his kit, original ECU and some tricks (uprated pump, fuel pressure regulator, tuned via wideband gauge)… but I would prefer a proper job and for that, you need £4k and that’s before your clutch starts to slip!
So, I’ve decided to keep mine as it is. Its not financially viable to boost it for me and if I can’t live with it, as said above, go buy a Boxster or Gen 1 Cayman. It’ll not cost you any more.
if you are capable why not supercharge it yourself i did my mk1 for a grand total of £384 i used an eaton m65 off a merc slk i got 2 circuit boards off enay for less than a tenner and a proximity switch to activate the electronic bypass valve on throttle position
plus i fabricated all the brackets and mounts myself
no adittional ecu the factory one works well enough power is up to around 180bhp which makes it a real laugh and the noise of the charger on boost is addictive
Duratecs (MZR really) are in the Mk3/NC. My 1.8 doesn’t use oil at all but it was properly run in when new to bed the rings and is now regularly revved to 6000rpm in 2nd.
. I only bought the NB because I love the ND so much I didn’t want to just clock up commuter miles on it. There is a BIG difference between the NB and ND performance.
I’d rather say its better £ per mile. I have been in a 911 turbo and that machine defines physics - especially during braking.