The BBR Mazda MX-5 Turbo Kit Will Give Your ND Miata A 5sec 0-60

UK tuner BBR GTI has revealed its new turbo kit for the ND MX-5, which will boost the roadster's 2.0-litre engine to a healthy 245bhp
The BBR Mazda MX-5 Turbo Kit Will Give Your ND Miata A 5sec 0-60

Last year, we popped down to see the lovely folk at Brackley-based BBR GTI. We drove the tuning company’s Super 190 MX-5, and while we enjoyed the N/A-tuned ND very much, we were a little more interested in what the team was secretly working on at the time: a new turbo kit for the current Miata.

After three years in development it’s now here, and it sounds incredibly promising. The ‘Stage I’ version of the kit consists of a twin-scroll turbocharger, a new exhaust manifold and downpipe, a new intercooler and a reworked ECU, among a few other bits and pieces. Have all that fitted, and the power from the 2.0-litre SkyActiv unit jumps from 158bhp to 245. Torque is at 236lb ft, meanwhile. Lovely.

The BBR Mazda MX-5 Turbo Kit Will Give Your ND Miata A 5sec 0-60

That’s enough poke to see the little Mazda charge from 0-60mph in five seconds dead, on to an electronically-limited 155mph top speed. It’s not even that expensive: BBR will fit the whole shebang for £4995 (plus VAT). The newfound poke will probably make investing in some suspension and brake upgrades worthwhile, though.

The reason for a turbo, over a supercharger? According to BBR’s Neil Mckay, a supercharger is not a good fit for the 2.0-litre SkyActiv unit. He said:

“Very early on during development it became clear that use of a supercharger, with its high parasitic losses, would work against the Mazda SkyActiv-G engine’s ultra-efficient ethos. Significant boost levels would be required to deliver considerable power gains with a supercharger, which would be incompatible with the SkyActiv-G engine’s high compression ratio.”

The BBR Mazda MX-5 Turbo Kit Will Give Your ND Miata A 5sec 0-60

If you live in the USA, you’ll be pleased to know you’re not left out. Colorado tuners Flyin’ Miata - the nutters who’ll shoehorn an LS3 under the bonnet of an ND for you - are US distributors. So that leaves us with an interesting question to ponder: would you have a V8-engined ND Miata, or a turbocharged one? Let us know in the comments…

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Comments

Anonymous

The LS engine is built from aluminum and as such a very light and compact engine: that is why they are so popular. A turbo generally has poorer throttle response and and LS engine low end TQ >350NM makes for very good out of corner acceleration. Also the skid pan limits on any stock Corvette exceeds any stock Miata. That is because of the center of gravity due to the compact and light LS engine. The front-aft distribution in a Corvette are perfect due to the fact that the transmission is placed in the rear. Corvettes are therefore not only faster in a straight line … they are much faster on a track. Peace to you!

04/22/2017 - 07:36 |
0 | 2
Anonymous

Wait… just 90 hp from a turbo install? Why not save the money and get a 370z?

04/22/2017 - 07:41 |
0 | 4
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

YOU’RE BACK! :D

04/22/2017 - 10:45 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

for one figure out the weight differences
than find each cars weight ratio then
realiaze its a 90 hp with the kit on a safe tune and made for a stock engine
then come back and make a stupid comment
then come to realize you cannot install a turbo nor do anything =]

04/23/2017 - 18:29 |
0 | 0
Dat Z Guy

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Now we’re talking. I totally agree with you.

04/24/2017 - 10:37 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The turbo in the kit is good for 480hp. They said something about needing new internals to make more power.

05/04/2017 - 19:04 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

We need it for the Toyota GT86

04/22/2017 - 08:05 |
2 | 2
Inverted GBA

Needs more LS3.

04/24/2017 - 14:12 |
0 | 2