Turbo Kits: DIY or Pre-made?

[—atank—]

I got 180 across the board on mine. Am I fucked?

Original new pressure on the 1.6 was 195, so you are difinitely good to go.

[—atank—]

With my factory MSM, it needed to breath and expell for the best performance, and still retain reliability; so DIY would be the way to go......

[— kung fu jesus —]

I have done both and Concealer is right, piecing together your own kit forces you to explore every aspect of the system and how you can improve upon it. In the end, you end up with something familiar, but a bit better, easier to diagnose and maintain.
Braided lines, hardlines for water, fueling upgrades and general "bulletproofing" of the ancillary systems can become an obsessive exercise in details, but you can say you did it yourself and wind up with a better, more reliable system.

The age of the motor shouldn't be as much of a concern as the health of the thing. 100k miles the engine is barely broken in. I actually think the b6 takes boost a *little* better than the BP because of it's original intent, cams and access points for oiling. Not to mention it's OBD1, 195 psi is stock compression results on the b6.

[Blueiii]

Personally I'd prefer a kit, however that's because I've never turbo'd a car. (At this point, though, I would require a second miata, since Camber is my autocross car.) I'm slowly debating, should I get back to being employed soon, picking up a second car - a 94 or 95 with a torsen, and building it without worries about autocross rules or being competitive for a particular autocross class.

[JonnyD]

I would imagine the FM kits are pretty good, they are a pretty meticulous shop. I'm guessing they take the time to make as much power as possible without causing reliability issues. I would like to boost my NB but I have a lot of other stuff I need to get fixed/modified on it before I take that step. So with that said if I went with a kit it would be from FM only.

[concealer404]

With a 1.6, you might want to think about swapping to a stronger rear end and/or transmission as well.... so there's some added cost for you.

[psulja]

I have thought about that a bit. Since it is not my daily I will get it running properly with the current diff. When that blows I'll upgrade it. Although if there is enough money left in the budget after finishing the turbo I could do it right away.

My sister's boyfriend has his gt2860rs (disco potato) from when he parted out his MSP build that I could get for $600. Maybe I'll base my build around that, but I'm worried it'll be too big for the 1.6l and cause lag issues. I'll look into the disco potato on a 1.6l tonight after work.

[iamdallas]

I'd still like to know compression numbers for 1.8 motors.

[iamdallas]

Finally found it.

182psi was stock. Anything above 128 is considered acceptable, with consistent #s across the board.

[— Phatmiata —]

where is the poll option for, im pressed for time, i want instant Boost in a boxed kit! I want a happy meal too!

I think it really comes down to experience here, if you are super skilled then yes DIY, but the average guy will by a boxed it.

[— Phatmiata —]

where is the poll option for, im pressed for time, i want instant Boost in a boxed kit! I want a happy meal too!

I think it really comes down to experience here, if you are super skilled then yes DIY, but the average guy will by a boxed it.

Im planning to get a FMii kit (provided I can stop buying other stuff I dont need)