Andre of Sydney has become well and truly accustomed to open-top sports cars - amongst the ragtop machines he's tillered is a rare TVR, which he owned in England. Besides having wind ripping through his hair, though, the other automotive sensation Andre's gotten used to is speed - and lots of it. A background in State rallying (behind the wheel of an ex-works Daihatsu Charade GTti twin-cam turbo) confirms this bloke's not scared of having the scenery whiz past in fast-forward...
So what on earth is he doing with a gutless 10th Anniversary Mazda MX-5, you ask? Well, take another look, coz hidden under the bonnet of this sleeper is a powerplant good for generating some 153kW at the back wheels! This is actually Andre's second turbocharged MX-5. A few years back, he used to kick around in an early model MX-5 sporting a 'bitsa' turbocharger installation. "With about 120kW at the flywheel it went alright, but it's nothing compared with this car..."
The move from the early turbo MX-5 to this 10th Anniversary edition was prompted by the desire for something newer and more refined. Certainly, the 10th Anniversary model is also a pretty trick bit of gear - it's got the standard 6-speed manual 'box, beautifully sorted Bilstein suspension, front strut bar, a special interior trim and one-off blue bodywork and polished lightweight rims. Power wise, of course, the stockie 106kW 1.8-litre BP-series (non variable cam timed) motor was no match for the ol' turbo cracker.
After about eight months of driving - and with about 10,000 kilometres behind it - Andre then started sniffing out the best way to bring the new car up to, and beyond, the performance of his long-gone ol' friend. Back then, Mazda Australia was still dragging its butt with the MX-5 SP Turbo so Andre was completely out on his own. His lengthy investigations in the aftermarket ended the day he poked his head into Melbourne's AVO (Advanced Vehicle Operations) and asked for a fairly serious turbo kit - he wanted max power, but without the hassle and expense of a full engine tear-down.
AVO was keen and willing, but - since this was the first '99 update MX-5 model they'd seen at the time - it was agreed that the car would be something of a test bed. Apparently, the engine layout is slightly different to earlier MX-5 models. In order to achieve the amount of power Andre was chasing, the mods extended to a kit level now known as Stage 2.
Stage 2 includes nearly everything in the 'basic' Stage 1 kit, such as a 320hp Garrett ball-bearing turbo with all lines and fittings, dump pipe, front-mount bar-and-plate air-to-air intercooler, piggy-back Link ECU firing a fifth injector and a pod-type air filter. An AVO blow-off valve is also fitted to these '99-on MX-5s. In Stage 1 form, AVO set the turbocharger to deliver just 5 - 6 psi boost, which achieves a power output roughly 50 percent more than standard. For Stage 2, however, boost is upped to 11 psi and the fuelling and management system is uprated accordingly. A set of four Holden Commodore VL Turbo injectors are built into the lower section of the standard 2-piece intake manifold, replacing the single extra injector used in Stage 1. The same Link piggy-back computer brings the extra squirters on-line under high load.
Extra options also fitted to Andre's car include carbon fibre airbox to ensure the exposed pod filter only sucks cool air, and a new 2½ inch mandrel exhaust system with a high-flow cat, resonator and rear muffler. It's a very low restriction system with only a mild bark to it.
As mentioned, this little MX is no weakling. On 11 psi and 98RON pump fuel, it dances to the tune of 153kW at the wheels - some 84 percent more than the standard 83kW ATW output (which can be seen here plotted in blue). We're told that, to achieve any more power, the car would need a higher-flow fuel pump, upgraded clutch and - if any track work was on the agenda - a larger capacity coolant radiator.
As it is in 'only' Stage 2 guise, though, the car is oh-so nearly as docile as the standard vehicle. Amazingly, the original clutch lasted until nearly 50,000 kilometres and - realising he's on a pretty good day-to-day thing - the replacement clutch is only slightly more aggressive. As Andre says, it's still easy to ease off the line smoothly and your leg won't quiver if you have to hold the clutch down for any length of time. The sweet shifting 6-speed 'box remains untouched and whine-free.
Inside, Andre's reaping the advantages of starting off with the Anniversary model; with its blue-on-black and Nardi leather there's no need and, literally, not much room for improvement. Oh, except in the sound department - Andre now listens to the beats from an Alpine head unit, Pioneer 8-inch 2-ways, Alpine tweeters and V12 amp. There are no boost gauges or monster tachos to spoil the stealth installation.
It's a similar story on the outside - nothing's been changed, except you might notice the big exhaust poking out the back, the semi-concealed intercooler and a slight lowering at the rear. Andre fitted a full set of 1-inch lowered springs, but soon got tired of their ride and ground clearance trade-offs and went back to using the stockies on the front.
With its showroom looks, this 80 percent overpowered MX-5 certainly causes havoc in the traffic light 500. Weighing only around 1000 kilograms and with plenty of Torsen rear LSD traction, it jumps off the line like a hare. There are no official performance times, but you can rest assured it's a ripper - Andre claims he's even put the wind up a late-model Porsche!
So - having spent somewhere around 10 grand on mods - is Andre happy with the result? You bet. He's a long way from wishing he'd held off on the project and bought the Mazda Australia MX-5 SP Turbo. Actually, he can't wait for the opportunity to line one up so he can prove to himself - and the world - that the aftermarket approach is still by far raunchier!
With 150 flywheel kilowatts versus 150 rear wheel kilowatts there'll be absolutely no contest.
Contact:
AVO (Advanced Vehicle Operations)
+61 3 9584 4499
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