Exactly keith. Its a 2500 dollar salvage title nb thats painted with rustoleum. Its all about cheap gun on a daily basis. But doing it right at the same time.
Exactly keith. Its a 2500 dollar salvage title nb thats painted with rustoleum. Its all about cheap gun on a daily basis. But doing it right at the same time.
Keith Tanner said:The best SC option is the one you have. M45s do not change hands in the same price range as a Rotrex - and they have very different characteristics as well. We could have quite an entertaining discussion about what the best choice would be if the budget was 5-10 times what it is, but that wouldn't help Michael much.
"The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten"
I agree that it may not be the best for the OP's budget (high upfront capital investment), but they hold their value like crazy because they are in demand.
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
If low price is what you're after than this may work out for you. Those power cards are shady at best though, so it may be worth it to budget for a real ECU like a MS3. You can tune in a lot of additional safety features that can keep you from needing any costly (you'll like that part) repairs. In addition, I've found a well tuned MS3 car drives quite a bit better and safer than an OEM NA8/NB1/NB2 car on any "power card".
Powercards and their ilk can have trouble with positive displacement blowers, especially on the VVT motors. But if you're only looking at 6 psi, they can get the job done. I would add an O2 clamp so the Powercard and stock ECU aren't fighting.
A Rotrex has a very different set of behaviors than a positive displacement blower. They're more suited to the track than the street IMO.
What would be the typical cost for a ms3 with professional installation, including (I'm guessing here) 1 to 2 hours of dyno/tuning time?
I see Eaton blowers around, jy turbos, etc. It's the prospect of tuning the set up that intimidates me.
This car has to remain obd2 compliant. I also have a bad taste in my mouth from megasquirt already, and don't want to fight that fight.
Keith: what's the benifit of the 02 clamp, and do i actually need one?
Again, daily. All day, every day, everywhere. Just looking for a little more balls. Not track. Not looking for 11s in the quarter. Just want to win a drag race with a minivan every now and then.
The purpose of the O2 clamp is to mask what the Powercard is doing. When the stock ECU is in closed loop, it sees the extra fuel and responds by pulling it back out. Since the PC doesn't have any sort of O2 input, it has no idea this has happened. The result is a lean condition until you go into open loop, followed by a big slug of fuel. Superchargers are even more prone to it than turbos. It's the biggest difference between the FM Voodoo Box and the Powercard, the former has an onboard O2 clamp.
Standalone O2 clamp.
https://www.flyinmiata.com/fm-o2-signal-modifier.html
Dusterbd13 said:Just want to win a drag race with a minivan every now and then.
Yeah that still won't happen with this setup lol.
But to answer your other question, since you have an NB1, the "install" of a megasquirt is really just plugging it in. It's certainly no harder than to install the linked supercharger. Depending on the tuner it's about $500-1000 for tuning + dyno time.
Keith Tanner said:A Rotrex has a very different set of behaviors than a positive displacement blower. They're more suited to the track than the street IMO.
I'm curious what makes you say that.
Keep in mind this is a personal opinion based on driving these over the years in different Miatas and in different environments. We actually have a centrifugal NC at the shop right now and the last time I drove it was probably at Laguna Seca. So while not everyone will agree with my thoughts on the matter, they're at least based on experience.
A few things. Most of them center around the fact that they make boost in direct proportion to engine speed, so if you have 7 psi at 6000 rpm you have 3.5 psi at 3000 - assuming perfect efficiency. Yes, there are ways to work around that but they've always struck me as a bit of a hack.
The end result is a power curve that's very biased to the top end. They don't make a lot of extra torque down low which is what really works on the street. That boost rise also gives an odd behavior as you're leaving from a stop and the power climbs quickly with a set throttle position - I've found myself having to back off the throttle as the car starts to lunge across an intersection if I'm not careful. It can be really fun on a pull through the gears but when you're driving like civilian they feel out of their element.
On track, these behaviors don't matter and their higher efficiency shows over the PD blower. They're like a turbo in that environment but without the backpressure. There's still a bit of oddness due to that increasing boost level and you really have to be constantly flirting with the redline to get the most out of them, but it's something that works.
They also sound like they're self-destructing at idle, but that's only a factor if you care what other people think 
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