Q My first car was a NA Miata ('89-97) with every suspension mod you could think of. The car didn't have a lot of power, but it could definitely handle the curves. I regretfully sold it a few years back, but an NB Miata ('99-05) has worked its way into my life. Right now, it's all stock. I plan to upgrade the suspension and add a rollbar in a similar manner to my NA. The extra power from the NB is nice paired with the 6-speed and Torsen LSD, but it's just not enough. I've been wanting to boost it via turbo but lately I've been thinking of an LS1 swap. I'm not looking for insane power, 350whp at most. I daily drive the car so I want it to be reliable. Which direction would you suggest I go?Chett Earnheart,Via the Internet
A Cause we're a bunch of lazy slackers, we'd suggest the ease of putting on a turbo kit. Plus we were once told boost gets you laid. In such a lightweight car, 350whp would be insane. Having 250whp in a Miata is plenty of power to be fast and fun. Because the BP engine is an offspring of a boosted Mazda engine, it still retains an iron block, which makes it the perfect candidate for a turbo. The 250whp range can easily be obtained with popular turbo kits such as Flyin' Miata (www.flyinmiata.com), and Bell Engineering (www.bellengineering.net). But if you really want a LS swap, check out Boss Frog (www.bossfrog.biz). They make complete conversion kits for fitting Chevy or Ford V8 engines into a Miata. But having such a large engine will cause the car to handle a bit differently, and just as well having daily amenities such as air conditioning might be a problem.
Q First of all let me start by telling you that you guys rock with all your know-how and snappy comebacks to all the people that hate on you! Now down to business, I just finished installing a new Momo steering wheel on my `96 Jetta VR6. Now the only thing is that I have the airbag light constantly on, obviously since I removed the airbag. So I've asked around about how to fix it and the general consensus is that I should find a resistor of some sort to put in the plug that originally went to the airbag. That's where I'm at now. I have no clue of exactly what to try and what to actually get. I'll appreciate any info you can shoot in my direction. Thanks for your time.
P.S. The models in the magazine have been getting hotter and hotter. Good stuff, I love the direction Super Street is headed!
Ricky Jimenez,
Watsonville, CA
A Although you drive a girly-man's car, we'll attempt our Euro knowledge anyhow. The easiest and cheapest fix is to just pull the bulb out of the cluster. Having the airbag light on will not hinder the performance of your car. But if you prefer to get rid of the code, you'll need to get a 4.7ohm resistor (0.5 watt, 5% tolerance), and stick it in your yellow harness. Tape it down, and then get a VAG-COM tool and clear your code.
Q Hey my name is Sumit and I'm living in Sweden. I want to ask you a question about a twin turbo Toyota Supra. I want to build a 1000hp Supra. How can I do this? Or can I buy a Supra with 1000hp from you? Can you ship the car to Sweden or not??? Thank you.
Sumit Singh,
Malmo, Sweden
A Sure, we have one of those lying around here somewhere. Just let us fill up the NAWZ bottle before we ship it out to you.