The Car Talk brothers disapprove of V8 swaps.

"JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7" (jayzayeighty)
10/26/2013 at 14:44 • Filed to: miata, v8 miata, swaps, car talk

I was listening to some old car talk this morning (I guess none are new, though) and a midlife-crisis guy called in asking if he should do a V8 Miata. They reprimanded him harshly and teased him about it, telling him he'd be an idiot to do it. The best cars all are idiotic! Besides, I don't think a certain paralyzation is the fate of every V8 Miata driver.

Unless you wanted to convert your W123 to fry grease power or fix your old Subaru with chewing gum and paper clips, you shouldn't have called Car Talk.

DISCUSSION (31)

ddavidn > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 14:46

I mean, if you are calling in to car talk asking about it... you probably shouldn't. Just my opinion.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > ddavidn
10/26/2013 at 14:47

Kinja'd!!!

Bird > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 14:49

Here's the thing about Miata v8 swaps...they're usually not faster. They may be quicker, but if you compare lap times, modified Miata's (v8 or turbo'd) seem to have a tough time reaching the bar set by Spec Miata's.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Bird
10/26/2013 at 14:52

Very true, but they are an exercise in futility I can get behind. (Getting behind it...)

Kinja'd!!!

There! I love those taillights.

All the same, if you want a fast miata just build the engine and supercharge the thing.

Bird > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 14:53

Oh I'd still love to have one...You can't roast tires nearly as well with a 4 banger...

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Bird
10/26/2013 at 14:55

Especially with the open dif, haha.

desertdog5051 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 14:56

I always wondered why people call in to a stupid show like that when they can ask normal people and get a normal answer.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 14:56

Why not?

It's your car. I don't care whatever you'll done with it. Plus engine swaps are kinda cool in my book.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 15:04

I think the only occasions where I might (emphasis on that) go against an engine swap is when the engine itself is what gives a car character or differentiates it from lesser trim levels.

I mean, I've entertained a few engine swap ideas for my car already, but, at least here in Brazil, the engine is the absolutely main feature that differentiated the Sedicivalvole from the 1.6 8v Tipos, not to mention it's a very competent engine in its own right, so I probably would be better off modifying it than swapping it for a Lancia V8, for example, which will fit right in.

But that doesn't mean other people shouldn't do it, or that they're idiots for doing it.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > desertdog5051
10/26/2013 at 15:07

Very true. Just for 5 seconds of fame, I suppose. I never found anything remarkable about it, but I listen to it whenever my dad has it on.

desertdog5051 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 15:12

Have not listened to it in a while. It is still on then?

Bird > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 15:14

LoL...I've got a Miata with the VLSD and a Miata with an open....the open diff car has Dunlop Direzza's and I hardly ever break them them loose, so it's less noticeable. The VLSD car has really shitty stock size tires...I do mad dorifto's every time I hit a puddle!...It feels great!

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > desertdog5051
10/26/2013 at 15:15

In a way—they retired, so NPR just plays old episodes (if they can be called that). You have to wonder how they are so popular with people who have no care in the world about cars and don't like goofy humor.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 15:44

I think the greatest thing this generation of Jalops is doing is all the engine swaps. Despite all the computer and electronic controls people still steam forward with all kinds of V-8 and turbo'd 6's in all kinds of cars. I appreciate everyone of them. The car talk guys need to get out of the radio studio and look around.

GhostZ > Bird
10/26/2013 at 15:46

Depends on where you're racing. On the street or a drag strip, they're certainly faster. Around corners, not so much unless you change the suspension and everything else too.

Turbo 4-cylinder or rotary swaps that don't add weight however...

GabeCee13 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 16:01

I'm a fan of engine swaps, the bigger the better......but those people pulling their rotorys out of RX7s need to get hit with a very big hammer. Come on man.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > GabeCee13
10/26/2013 at 16:09

Agreed—those are the worst kind. They are what gives the 7 its handling capability, character, and beautiful sound.

Bird > GhostZ
10/26/2013 at 16:17

"...they're usually not faster. They may be quicker..."

Yeah, drag strip is different, most anything can be fast on the drag strip with enough HP. That's why I pointed out lap times, and Spec Miata's. Even turbo'ing and supercharging, don't get you as much on a road course as you would think. I was really just pointing out the Miata factory design has amazing balance.

FalconHoon > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 16:52

Kinja'd!!!

Some companies, like Bullet Cars Australia, even made a business from it.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > FalconHoon
10/26/2013 at 16:55

I know, I think it's pretty cool. Here, you can get a company called Flyin' Miata to stuff a CTS-V drivetrain into a miata and redo everything in the car (chassis, electric, suspension, etc.) for $25,000+. A company called Monster Miata will do Ford 5.0 Miatas for a hefty fee, as well.

PS9 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 17:09

Fuck those guys, then.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > GabeCee13
10/26/2013 at 17:11

I don't oppose it if said RX-7s have been deprived from their precious 13Bs for a start. But only in that condition.

specialist59 > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 18:22

dozens if japanese engineers, working decades to design and fine tune an automobile, probably have a good handle on things. i'm with the car talk guys on this one.

zadtheinhaler > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 18:45

I've seen the Monster Miata in person, and it's a beautiful thing.

LSXforYourSuperCar > JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7
10/26/2013 at 19:01

I listened today also, but they were talking about installing an aftermarket supercharger not a V8 swap.

I agree their advice was asinine but I suspect they were just trying to be more entertaining than informative.

Squid > LSXforYourSuperCar
10/26/2013 at 19:43

Anyone who says FI is bad on the BP motor is just plain fucking stupid. They were built for boost and handle boost very well to around 250 wheel horsepower. People are strange when they think they know everything.

ArtPhleming > specialist59
10/26/2013 at 20:22

The Miata is deliberately underpowered, for the sake of insurance and its image as a fun car, not a dragster.

ArtPhleming > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
10/26/2013 at 20:24

I hope if I ask for your opinion, you'll give me good advice in my interest.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Bird
10/27/2013 at 00:18

If you correctly mod the suspension to deal with the weight it actually will handle almost as well. There is one by me and i can tell you it still can hang in the corners.

Bird > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
10/27/2013 at 01:05

They most certainly can still hang in the corners, but it doesn't actually improve lap times like you might think. It seems like if you double the cylinders and triple the horsepower, that it should walk all over a stock engine car. But it won't. Not on a road course at least, drag racing is different.

It's a complex issue. Just one aspect is that Miata's suck aero wise. At a certain point you really need aero mods to make effective use of high power levels. Also, once you bump to that horsepower level, you'll need wider tires to put down the power. The wider the tires, the more of an aero penalty...go with flares and you totally kill your aerodynamics.

Let's imagine you take two stock Miata's with hypothetical identical drivers. One car you mod the suspension and put in a v8. The other you mod the suspension, basic aero, and driver instruction. I would bet that, on a road course, the non v8 car would turn faster lap times than the v8. It'd probably cost less too.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Bird
10/27/2013 at 02:15

Yes if a experienced driver in a lightly modded miata will keep up with v8 one with amateur driver. I have been followed by a ls swapped miata that is by me, and believe me it hangs in corners.