BOOTMOUNTED TURBO!

After being featured back in NZPerformanceCar issue 256, Philip Huynh’s 1UZ-powered MX-5 wouldn’t spend much time on the road before being pulled back into the shed for even more wildness.

“The 1UZ is a great engine, with plenty of torque in the light MX5 (NA) chassis, but it really falls on its face post 6000rpm. We were out one night having fried chicken with the boys, talking cars, and the idea dawned upon me: ‘Why don’t I throw some boost at the MX-5?’,” Philip tells us.

Supercharging a 1UZ is a pretty popular option, even though, as Phil explains, the 1UZ is very squashed in the engine bay to start off with and leaves very little room for activities. The blower and pulley would need to sit outside the bonnet, and that was a firm ‘no deal’ for Phil. Turbocharging it proved difficult with the pop-up headlight assembly, which ruled out an engine bay–mounted turbo. The question became: where else can you mount a turbo? The answer: in the damn boot!

Running a Holset HRC40RS and supporting parts from Turbosmart, the charge piping is oval tube in order to maintain the current ride height, and it will use a custom stand-alone oiling system that will allow better control. The motor itself will remain stock internally, with the only additions being Cometic 2.3mm head gaskets for 8.8:1 compression, ARP head studs, 660cc injectors, and a fresh set of seals. The idea is to see roughly 300–350kW, which, according to Phil, in a chassis like this is already mental. The exterior will undergo a complete restyling to suit.