NC Miata mods
NC Miata Mods:
What Actually Adds Power.
On our dyno, the mods that clearly add power on an NC are a tune, cams with a matching map, the 2.5 swap and forced induction; bolt-ons move peak power far less.
How it works
A tune alone gave +16 hp on stock 1.8s and +14 hp on one stock 2.0; a 2.5 swap with cams has a median of 219 hp, and turbo cars in our data run from 255 hp up. All figures are crank, on our own dyno, not remote cars, with small samples. Different rows are different cars, so read them as direction, not as the gain from one part.
Stage 1: a tune
The cheapest measured gain. Stock-hardware 1.8s went up a median of +16 hp / +17 Nm to 147 hp / 181 Nm (3 records, possibly 2 cars), and one stock 2.0 gained +14 hp / +10 Nm to 177 hp / 195 Nm. Outside the EU: $480. EU: €450 + VAT (€558 incl. VAT).
Headers, intake and exhaust
Small on peak power in our 1.8 data: 152 hp with bolt-ons against 147 hp without, in different cars. On the 2.0: 186 hp / 209 Nm (3 cars) against 177 hp on a single car. We have no isolated number for an intake or exhaust alone.
Stage 2: cams
The biggest NA step without changing the engine. A 2.0 with cams makes a median of 203.5 hp / 225 Nm (2 cars). On a 2.5, cams move the median from 190 hp to 219 hp. Cams need a matching map. From €550.
The 2.5 swap
The clearest NA upgrade, and the torque is what you feel: 250 Nm median on stock cams against 181 Nm on a tuned 1.8 and 195 Nm on one tuned 2.0.
Turbo
The most power, with the most supporting work. Medians of 290 hp on a 2.0 and 344 hp on a 2.5, with wide ranges driven by boost and hardware. Our normal kit limit is 380 hp.
Power targets
Questions
NC Miata mods
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