Supercharged MX5

[Andymx5]

Hello,

I looking into Supercharging my MX5. Moss are selling Jackson Racing Superchargers really cheaply at the moment.

But, by the time I've Supercharged my car, fitted decent suspension, hood, wheels and possibly brakes, we're talking about spending £3.5k on a £4.5k car.

So, at 8K in total, would this car be worth the cash or would I be better off spending a bit more money and buying an Elise, for example?

[cptsideways]

The car will never be worth much more, but the kits are always in demand & are really easy to remove. Keep all your original bits to re-fit.

Its heaps more fun in stealth mode

[jazzybee]

I would agree that its not going to increase the value of the car much, if at all - your better off removing and eBaying the parts when your done, or selling through the club.

Also, take a look at the MP62 supercharger that Performance 5 fit. Seems to be the supercharger of choice these days.

www.performance5.co.uk/

[Andymx5]

Moss (JR) Kits work out at < £1400 at the moment

[tuttle]

cptsideways said:

The car will never be worth much more, but the kits are always in demand & are really easy to remove. Keep all your original bits to re-fit. Its heaps more fun in stealth mode

Agreed,sad fact of uprading is,you have to do it for your self.The upside here tho,as previously written,the MX5 s/c kits are in demand at resale time.

[benjc]

Be aware that it is a slippery slope, once you SC the 5 you will get used to it very quickly, and this is where the trouble with the M45 blower systems come in.

To get anywhere near 200hp is going to cost not only with tinkering time but with spondoolies. So in the long run it is a bit of a false economy, the same goes for the Greddy turbo kits (a similiar price to the JRSC).

The system I went for is twice the price of the JRSC, but worth every penny, it has a link ECU looking after the engine (measuring air/coolant temps, listening for knock, and pulling timing automatically if need be), a large turbo and a big intercooler delivering 12spi (a safe number for an unbuilt bottom end) of pure fun.

You are right to want the suspension uprated, even with my stiff setup, due to the lightness of the car under HARD accleration if you encounter a bump the wheels will lose traction. The true life blood of an FI 5 is being able to fly through the twisties at speeds quick enough to blow your clothes off, the only way your are going to do this is with an adjustable stiffer setup.

Now the cash factor..........hmmm....no probably not worth it, if I had all the cash i spent on mine in a pile in front of me I would buy an Elise, but then I have had my 5 for a while now.....anyone consider a swap?

[Andymx5]

I was worried that would be the case....

I'm used to the speed/acceleration of a Zx6R ninja, so any cars in my price range will seem pretty slow.

Am I right in thinking that a 180hp Mx5 is faster then a standard S1 Elise?

Do you know if it's faster then a NA VX220 ?

[benjc]

Andymx5 said:

I was worried that would be the case.... I'm used to the speed/acceleration of a Zx6R ninja, so any cars in my price range will seem pretty slow. Am I right in thinking that a 180hp Mx5 is faster then a standard S1 Elise? Do you know if it's faster then a NA VX220 ?

I don't know the perfomance figures for an S1 or a VX220, but do you mean in a straight line? A 180hp 5 (at the fly) will be about 6-6.5 seconds to sixty, but as before that isn't where these cars shine.

At 240hp I can be at 60 in about 5 seconds (depending on how sympathetic I am feeling towards my drive train), but I have had to swap my gearbox once, clutch twice and my LSD aint long for this world!

Also I would say 180 from a bogo JRSC is optimistic.

[Andymx5]

It's a 1.8S... I will be disappointed if it doesn't even make near 180 at the the flywheel after the JR Supercharger.

I know these cars are for quick blats around twisty roads, but if you dont have the horsepower to get passed all the slow moving traffic, you can't enjoy the twisties!

Oh well. I'll go away and reconsider my options again.

Thanks for you advice,

Andy.

[PJLarge]

I've owned both a supercharged MX-5 and a turbocharged one with the same kit Ben has. At £1400, the JRSC is not bad value and will give a nice performance boost. You'll soon get used to it though (the kits only run 6psi with rudimentary fuelling mods and no timing control or knock sensing). Upgrades are very expensive and offer diminishing returns the more boost you run, but I was thinking this exact same question over to myself on the way to work the other morning. I decided if one came along at the right price, I'd still probably buy it. You're not going to be getting 180rwhp out of it (more like 130 odd at the wheels in a 1.6 or 150 at the wheels in a 1.8) but it's quick enough to make a significant difference. The new Moss price will have an adverse effect on second hand JRSC prices too (which is a good thing if you're in the market) - to me a used JRSC is worth no more than £600 nowadays.

Hope this helps,

Phil.

[PJLarge]

Andymx5 said:

Am I right in thinking that a 180hp Mx5 is faster then a standard S1 Elise? Do you know if it's faster then a NA VX220 ?

No, and no. (that's from someone who's owned a SC'd 5 and now owns a 111s Elise (and a bog standard 1.6 MX-5))

Phil.

>> Edited by PJLarge on Thursday 12th May 15:58