Miata Mailing List: April 1999, Message #119

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	Folks:

	A couple of questions regarding the 1.8 engine.

	I am interested in playing, in search of more performance. The
number of performance engine parts is somewhat limited, particularly
compared to my old standby, the small block Chevy. There are some tricks
that are available for the intrepid shade tree mechanic however. Here is
what I am considering, and my questions:

	1. Boring. The 1.8 has enough meat in the cylinders to tolerate an
overbore.
         My question: Pistons. What are the largest available? I presume
there are
         some available from the dealer for rebuilds, but how large do they
go?
         Can I get +2mm? How about aftermarket suppliers? Are there any?
	2. Porting. Anybody tried porting the heads? Were you satisfied with
the
         results?
	3. Cams. Looks bad. Only found one supplier, and it is $900 for a
pair!?!?!
         Pretty stiff compared to $100 for a SBC cam. Anybody tried cams?
Who
         made them? How about a reground cam? There is a cam grinder here in
         Portland, I was thinking..... Anyone gone this route?
	4. Bigger valves. Limited by the size of the head, valve shrouding,
etc.
         Anyone tried this? Where did you get the valves?
	5. Header. Looks good. Several suppliers. A bit expensive, but not
bad.
	6. Exhaust. Ditto. Good choices here...
	7. Head shaving. Looks pretty promising, according to the FAQ. This
will
         be on my list.
	8, suspension. Really good. Lots of go fast parts here.....
	9. Gears. Anyone tried a gear swap? I have seen some stuff on torsen
         swaps. Looks like it can be done.
	10. Engine swap? The ultimate, but I am not a fan of stuffing a FORD
in
          there. How about a Mazda 2.0? Anyone tried putting one of the
          Aussie turbos in there? A Mazda V6?


	Lots of questions, so I apologize. But I though maybe I could get
started somewhere with some suggestions from the list.


	Thanks!

	Vance