Mazda Miata 5-speed

[DRW]

Which year Conquest was it? I raced an 88 Conquest a while back and it was incredibly fun! It has buttloads of low end torque! Basic upgrades are cheap for these cars since they're related to the 1990-1994 Eclipse/Talon/Laser.

[Project84]

It's the '87 which to my knowledge, is the lowest BHP car they brought to the U.S. in mass quantities (87-89).

It has a weird problem though where it seems to be loading up under 3k RPM and when max boost hits in at 3k RPM it feels amazing until you shift.

mods include ported/clipped 18g turbo.

the guy selling it has totally messed a bunch of stuff up after the turbo swap. He made "custom" turbo pipes which won't even clear the factory hood, so he had to remove the hood. He also states he replaced the injector wire connector ends because the OEM ones are prone to dry rot... so I'm thinking maybe when he did that, he re-wired something wrong.

this has gone way off topic... sorry.

[kamesama980]

EPA figures aside, in my time driving one (granted it was a 91 so the lightest by 200 lbs) I hit 22 mpg with a dragging brake and horribly out of alignment front end driving it like a madman (it's so hard not to). 25 mpg was what it got around town whether I beat it or babied it and over 30 on the highway.

I've heard good things about conquests too. like they're really toyota starlets rebadged and repaneled. but that's just what I've heard. chrysler has a long standing relationship with mitsubishi, not toyota so I dunno.

[Project84]

They are the same as the Mitsu Starion this may be what you're thinking of... but on the Toyota thing, anything is possible..?

I'd rather get a turbo car because my buddy just found a 323 GTX and I want something to compete w/ him since my Z28 will mop the floor w/ his '87 Supra Turbo. It's just friendly competition.

When not beating it, I'd have MPG goals in mind... so this does apply to GS.org hehe

[DRW]

It sounds like the car you drove might have had a boost leak. It's common on older turbo cars, not too hard to fix. That'll cause the power to sag just before it hits boost. Another clue is that the turbo doesn't spool up until 3krpm with the 18g. It should hit boost around 2300rpm.

The car I raced had a 14b off a stock DSM. It spooled up around 1800rpm.

Since the Conquest is a turbo car it'll suck up the gas when driven hard. If you can restrain yourself (good luck!) you might be able to get the same mpg as your current ride.

Here's some good threads: http://www.starquestclub.com/forums/...f1fd3884a33845
http://www.starquestclub.com/forums/...er=asc&start=0

And here's my favorite thread. It gets better as you go. http://www.starquestclub.com/forums/...ic.php?t=62234
Sorry to tease you so hard,
also send my apologies to your friend with the 323GTX

[kamesama980]

yes, mitsu starion. or whatever. thats it.

[GasSavers_Dust]

When I was looking into Miatas, I read that that the MSM 6 speed would fit, but the cost wouldn’t outweigh the little increase in mileage, as the final gears aren’t that differet. I also remember reading about the rear end being interchangeable with a Mazda TurboII. Don’t know what it entails, but I don’t ever remember much being said about them being good on gas. I think I quit looking because the LS1s had about the same FE numbers.

I really would like to see someone hypermile an F-body. I think that the amount of power it can make down low would more than allow very low gears to be used, and the PCM cracks that are available, could get some very good tuning. How about an LS1 miata hypermiler?

[Project84]

I'm the owner of a '94 Z28 6-speed and I have to tell you... although my car is slightly modded and has a PCM tune to make more power, it only averages 15 mpg city and on a 500 mile round trip, I averaged 22.3 mpg on the 250 miles there, and then I REALLY tried and only got 22.9mpg on the way back.

So... LT1 cars are just too "old school" to get any mileage.

LS1's are still too expensive for me. I agree though that an LS1 w/ a 2.73 rear and a 6-speed would get great gas mileage. Remember though, that the LS1 isn't a conventional SBC and its peak hp and tq numbers are higher in the RPM's.

The LT1 makes peak torque at 2000 rpm (325 ft. lb)

LS1 peak torque is 4000 rpm (340 ft lb)

I've heard from an LS1 Rx7 guy that he averages 39mpg highway

[Jim T.]

If maximum gear selection is the goal Currie enterprises makes a Ford 9inch that fits the Miata. Every gear ratio on the panet available for a 9incher.

Jim

[tucsonron]

My first thought for a hypermiler was a Miata. I always wanted one, and they were designed to be simple and modifiable. Almost everything that makes a car a good race car also makes a car a good hypermiler... low weight, aerodynamically slippery, racing transmission, different rear-end gear ratios. All these things can just easily increase fuel efficiency as acceleration and top speed. And all of these types of mods are available in many forms for the Miata.

And it's a classic design. And again, the early ones at least were meant to be tinkered with.