BEGi turbo kits

[scandmx5]

so i have 3 friends with BEGi kits, one an s1, and two s3. Im considering the S2...any reviews, comments?

[MeFryRice]

For something like that, I would check out miataturbo.net.

What are you goals with car? Any track use? If so, will it be a road course or auto-x, etc? Those are determing factors as well.

If you want comments on the kits themselves, Ben (Ben91) has a BEGi kit on his car and I'm sure he'd be willing to give you his opinion.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Yeah, Ben has an S4 kit (tubular manifold), I have their standard log manifold and divorced gases SS downpipe with a GT2871R turbo. If you remember my car, it had the old FM/BEGi turbo kit, that was when Flyin' Miata had Corky Bell help design their parts.

Overall, they make some nice, well thought-out parts. Overall fitment lately has been hit and miss, and their quality control has been next to none (meaning they've not done well in making sure that everything is in the box or that parts are made correctly the first time). My downpipe went back and forth between me and them multiple times over the course of almost 10 months, and it's still not technically right, but it will fit and work, so I'm tired of messing with it and won't be sending it back. I'm more hesitant now to buy anything else from them and if I do consider something (like the nice intake manifold they're designing), I'll wait until the complaints die down.

MiataTurbo.net is definitely a great source for all things turbo, just please make sure that you read the stickies, the DIY Turbo Guide, and do some searching in there before you start asking questions. Almost everything has already been asked 3 times. If they see that you've done your homework, you will be taken seriously, if not, they have a great reputation for hazing the hell out of you until you leave. :lol: BEGi and Flyin' Miata are both vendors on there with their own sections, and both do a good job of answering questions and responding to complaints.

[ben91]

tough to get detailed on my mobile, but i've had nothing but positive experiences with BEGi. Steph & Corky are extremely warm and willing to go the extra mile. When Eric & I picked up my car from TX on a fri evening, I was given Bell's -personal- numbers in case we ran into any issues. that was even after I told steph that we weren't picking the car up until 9pm and were driving back through the night.I would recommend at least the S3 kit. the extra stuff it comes with you really want/need. S4 spools better than the S3 with tradeoff of potential mani cracking later. fwiw the s4 mani is warrantied 2 yrs currently, but corky did at one point publicly ask if people wanted a lifetime warranty. imo, if corky can think of possible lifetime warranty, then it's a fairly solid bet that the mani will live long and happy. and of course a cast mani isn't indestructable either.my 99 s4 pulls pretty good to redline. with a couple hours spent tuning, it would be a real rocket. Bell is estimating 230 whp or so at wastegate 10-11 psi. the only time it's been to dyno it made 210 and was climbing but the clutch gave up. this is untuned mind you.

[scandmx5]

ok, ill be quite honest, this is all new to me...and i don't know that much about cars. my last one was $45,000 and came with a low pressure factory turbo, all i did was pay a grand for an ecu, and another grand for exhaust. it rolled out even though it was 4600lbs. out of my miata...im not gonna lie, i want to hit 150mph on 95, scheize on some m3's, evo's, and wrx's. a guy i spoke with who has a 2003 w/ begi s3 topped his out at 162. id also not like to hace CEL every day. Ripley when i remember your car, you had to put oil in every time you got gas or something??

[blk95r]

Just my 2 cents, miataturbo.net is going to be your new favorite website.

I have a BEGi kit and wish I had shelled out the bigger money for the better kits. I put together a BEGi-S kit that I planned on building up later. Seperated gas downpipe, GT2860RS ball bearing tubo, braided lines all around. I have a '94-'95 PNP Megasquirt and wideband LC1 waiting to be installed. But I have to agree with the above post about quality control. Granted I bought my kit a year ago, and things have likely changed. True the folks there are very nice, but I think I spent over a month trying to get everything they told me I'd get in the first shipment. On top of that we had fitment problems galore (we had to notch my hood bracing for the outlet from the turbo to fit). I like the added power, the quality of the parts is second to none, but it was a PITA all around. Again my first statement holds true, buy a better kit to start with, the Bell folks do know their stuff. I tried to piece together a kit on my own and it ended up a mess.

[scandmx5]

Just my 2 cents, miataturbo.net is going to be your new favorite website.

I have a BEGi kit and wish I had shelled out the bigger money for the better kits. I put together a BEGi-S kit that I planned on building up later. Seperated gas downpipe, GT2860RS ball bearing tubo, braided lines all around. I have a '94-'95 PNP Megasquirt and wideband LC1 waiting to be installed. But I have to agree with the above post about quality control. Granted I bought my kit a year ago, and things have likely changed. True the folks there are very nice, but I think I spent over a month trying to get everything they told me I'd get in the first shipment. On top of that we had fitment problems galore (we had to notch my hood bracing for the outlet from the turbo to fit). I like the added power, the quality of the parts is second to none, but it was a PITA all around. Again my first statement holds true, buy a better kit to start with, the Bell folks do know their stuff. I tried to piece together a kit on my own and it ended up a mess.

funny my pal on facebook who got the begi said it took 3 months for everything to arrive!!

[Doppelgänger]

I have a FMII, although I didn't install it, everything is top notch. I have had to pretty much pull it all apart at one time or another and have never had any problems. If that counts for anything.....


Although I did manage to crack a cast iron FM/BEGI manifold :) I know the FM Voodoo kit has a higher initial cost, but it includes the fancy silicone charge pipes, an intercooler, a well fitting exhaust downpipe (with a pretty nice seperated exhaust elbow)...it's a FMII minus the hydra and injectors.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Ripley when i remember your car, you had to put oil in every time you got gas or something??

No, I had to check the (or add) oil. When you saw the car that time, I had leaking CAS and valve cover seals. After that was fixed, no problems.

You also need to make sure that you address the other parts of the car to support the addition of the turbo kit. Things like suspension, wheels/tires, clutch/flywheel, and fuel pump just to name a few. For your car, you'll either be going full standalone ECU and will have to swap parts out for emissions, or you can wire in an aftermarket ECU parallel to the OEM ECU.

Read that Turbo FAQ on miataturbo.net. It'll get you rolling in the right direction.

[ben91]

i want to hit 150mph on 95, scheize on some m3's, evo's, and wrx's

you got the wrong car champ. GFL getting the car past 130, let alone be able to sustain cruise, with a S2 turbo kit.

a guy i spoke with who has a 2003 w/ begi s3 topped his out at 162.

sure he did

[RotorNutFD3S]

Agreed. The GT2554R that is standard on the S2 is too small for good, strong top end power. However, my old FM kit with the GT2560R was powerful enough to pretty quickly get to and hold at 152mph (GPS verified) just under 7500RPM.

However, as Ben points out with his response, 162mph in an '03 is almost impossible unless certain modifications were done. If that '03 had a 5 speed, 162mph would come at ~8200 RPM, so no go there. If that '03 had a 6-speed, it's a little more possible, but still probably not true, 162mph would come around 7800 RPM, which is probably floating valves too. But that's also dependent on tire size, etc. There is either more to this than what is being told or that guy lied to you.

[scandmx5]

hmmm

well i can say mine is stock, and i have had it like 2 notches past the 130mph mark. which brings me to my next question- how accurate are NB speedo gauges? bc it didn't feel like 130 in any other car i have rode in? it felt slower, i actually thought it would feel faster being the size and weight a miata is?
hmm, i also thought all NB miatas were 6 speed. the guy with the begi 3 is the one who got it to 162. Myspace search Matt Kock. he has had several miatas...would my goals be achievable with an s3?
---zoomnorwegian has a lot to learn

[Doppelgänger]

:facepalm:

[MeFryRice]

hmm, i also thought all NB miatas were 6 speed. the guy with the begi 3 is the one who got it to 162. Myspace search Matt Kock. he has had several miatas...would my goals be achievable with an s3?
---zoomnorwegian has a lot to learn

um.....no to all the questions above.

[scandmx5]

****, there might be a red nb up for sale soon, ill be going back to the volvo dealership