Picked up an 05 MSM with thrown rod.

[txsilverado]

This is my first post & I am diving right in. I found an 05 MSM in Black Mica with a thrown rod. This is a project I am taking on with my youngest nephew who has recently become a Miata enthusiast. We currently have the drivetrain out and are stripping the motor down. He wants to do a rebuild on the original motor with Eagle rods, aftermarket forged pistons "Wiseco?", & ARP studs. I am currently discussing balancing the rotating assembly with him as well. Anyway, he wants to do a replacement Garrett turbo setup with stock ECU for now. I am for this, however can he save any $ by buying something other than the FM kit? Keep in mind, I am a decent mechanic. However, I am NOT a fabricator!

[SeanE]

Originally Posted by txsilverado This is my first post & I am diving right in. I found an 05 MSM in Black Mica with a thrown rod. This is a project I am taking on with my youngest nephew who has recently become a Miata enthusiast. We currently have the drivetrain out and are stripping the motor down. He wants to do a rebuild on the original motor with Eagle rods, aftermarket forged pistons "Wiseco?", & ARP studs. I am currently discussing balancing the rotating assembly with him as well. Anyway, he wants to do a replacement Garrett turbo setup with stock ECU for now. I am for this, however can he save any $ by buying something other than the FM kit? Keep in mind, I am a decent mechanic. However, I am NOT a fabricator!

First of all, welcome. If you decide to keep the stock ecu, you'll soon discover how much it sucks. if you're taking that much time to rebuild the engine, i'd invest in an aftermarket ecu. Either Hydra or the plug and play megasquirt unit for our cars. The stock turbo will put out adequate power with a capable ecu.

As far turbo kits, FM is the name everyone goes to. It may cost more than putting together your own kit, but like you said you're not a fabricator, and the fm kits come with everything you need.

I'm on two other sites: mazda-speed.com which is a site just for msm's and miataturbo.net which is a great site with lots of information. mt.net won't tolerate stupid newbie questions so like our site here, search and read. You'll learn everything you need to know to do the turbo build the right way.

[Code Monkey]

Welcome.

[Neverlift]

Do not put any other turbo on that car without a standalone ecu, and larger injectors. The MSM has 265cc injectors. Yes, the same size injectors as your run of the mill 100whp Miata. Not to mention, the ECU does not go into open loop until 5k, meaning, there is already a lean spot between when the stock turbo reaches full spool, and when the ECU starts giving the motor adequate fuel.

No money can be saved once you upgrade the turbo, you are looking @ 2k+ just for the ECU, injectors, and tuning. It is quite a can of worms with regards to the oil drain back from the OEM catch can, and the intake system, the tiny intercooler, the useless rubber throttle body inlet and fmic piping. Lots of supplementary modifications need to be made to get that motor over 250whp, reliably, so good luck.