Buying Supercharged 5?

[House86]

Hi

I've already got a Mk1 MX5 that ive owned for a few years now but going to see a Supercharged 1.8 Mk1 on Saturday, anything particular I should look out for when buying a Supercharged one?

Thanks

Tim

[pewe]

Based on buying my Mk1 s/c listen carefully to the front (nose) bearing on the s/c.
Depending on use they do wear out and will rattle.
A screwdriver or steel bar on the s/c nose will tell you a lot.
Allow c.£100 for a diy replacement.

Intake location can affect performance unless it's a cold-side s/c set-up.
Ideally you want a cold air box around the filter or best is an intercooler.

Some will tell you that a dual throttle set-up is required but mine seems to work OK on a single t/b.

Given its extra power up-graded brakes and suspension are a good idea.
Mine uses Mintex 1144 pads all round with braided hoses and Castrol R fluid.
Suspension mods like frame rails, poly bushes and MeisterR coil-overs would be a bonus.

Just in case you aren't aware of it be careful about chassis tin-worm on Mk2's - lots of posts on here and other forums.

HTH.
Best of luck, Pewe.

[House86]

pewe said:

Based on buying my Mk1 s/c listen carefully to the front (nose) bearing on the s/c.
Depending on use they do wear out and will rattle.
A screwdriver or steel bar on the s/c nose will tell you a lot.
Allow c.£100 for a diy replacement.

Intake location can affect performance unless it's a cold-side s/c set-up.
Ideally you want a cold air box around the filter or best is an intercooler.

Some will tell you that a dual throttle set-up is required but mine seems to work OK on a single t/b.

Given its extra power up-graded brakes and suspension are a good idea.
Mine uses Mintex 1144 pads all round with braided hoses and Castrol R fluid.
Suspension mods like frame rails, poly bushes and MeisterR coil-overs would be a bonus.

Just in case you aren't aware of it be careful about chassis tin-worm on Mk2's - lots of posts on here and other forums.

HTH.
Best of luck, Pewe.

Cheers i'll listen out for any noises.

Its got the Mini Supercharger fitted and has a front mounted intercooler fitted already.

Has Gaz Gold Coilovers fitted and has Yellowstuff pads so should be ok in that department.

[Richyvrlimited]

pewe said:

Intake location can affect performance unless it's a cold-side s/c set-up.
Ideally you want a cold air box around the filter or best is an intercooler.

Intake location has as much effect, if not more, on a coldside setup. There's zero intercooling, so the colder the air you can feed the blower the better.

With a chargecoled hotside setup the charge cooling will keep IAT's in check, but even then a good ambient air temperature feed will at a minimum reduce the heat in the blower.

pewe said:

Some will tell you that a dual throttle set-up is required but mine seems to work OK on a single t/b.

If you want to run a FMIC and don't want to pay for a TrackDogRacing intercooler setup, then yes dual throttles are required. The inlet trackt length is just too long for even the most advanced ECU and tuner to be able to compensate for.

Use a barrel A/W IC or don't bother with an IC at all and you're golden for a single throttle setup. In my personal opinion single throttle setups are far nicer, particularly if the car is a daily driver.

[J-Tuner]

haha this single or dual TB subject always comes up on nutz..

i run an intercooler with dual TB's and its great. There is no noticeable lack of throttle response and with a recirculating dump valve, snapping off the throttle is smooth as you would want.

No complaints from this side plus you have a bit of a safety buffer with the intercooler in place

Edited by J-Tuner on Friday 13th December 13:39

[MX-5 Lazza]

Mine has the TDC intercooler (which is BIG) so I have to have the dual throttles and throttle response is just fine. Never felt the need for a BOV of any sort though. As long as the 2 throttle are set up right it's pretty much silent.

[Richyvrlimited]

J-Tuner said:

haha this single or dual TB subject always comes up on nutz..

i run an intercooler with dual TB's and its great. There is no noticeable lack of throttle response and with a recirculating dump valve, snapping off the throttle is smooth as you would want.

No complaints from this side plus you have a bit of a safety buffer with the intercooler in place

Edited by J-Tuner on Friday 13th December 13:39

Show me where I said dual throttle has a negative effect on therottle response?

The entire point of dual throttles is a good idle and great throttle response with a long intake tract an Intercooler setup generally creates.

There is no free lunch though, they have their downsides.

Oh and FWFW an Intercooler doesn't add any safety 'buffer' you're only as safe as the tune on your ECU, IC or not. My coldside setup sees intake temps north of 150deg C on track. No det though, as the tune is safe.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Richyvrlimited said:

Oh and FWFW an Intercooler doesn't add any safety 'buffer' you're only as safe as the tune on your ECU, IC or not. My coldside setup sees intake temps north of 150deg C on track. No det though, as the tune is safe.

100%. That's why when mine was tuned I used cheap 97RON super and asked the tuner to leave plenty of safety margin i.e. go for a safe tune and not Max power. When I take it on track I use the best fuel I can find to add an extra safety margin.