1997 Mazda MX5 STO review from North America

I have added a large Garrett turbo and am making around 300whp (about 330-350 crank). Although I upgraded the clutch to compensate for the increased stress, nothing has broken and the car doesn't overheat or break down. The engine, transmission and rear differential are completely unmodified.

The spark plugs and plug wires wear out slightly faster than on a normal car.

I had to wrap the brake reservoir in insulation after adding the turbo.

Otherwise completely bulletproof.

Stock, the car could hold its own around a track against much higher hp cars. The car handles incredibly and loses very little speed going through even the sharpest corners.

The car's only real weakness is a lack of accelerative ability. Cars that are much slower through the corners can still pull away from a stock Miata very strongly.

With the hp tripled, there are few cars that can keep up on the straightaways and thanks to racing tires, still fewer that can keep up in the corners. The car is a monster.

My only complaint is that tire sizes are limited due to suspension geometry and fender size and the car has poor aerodynamics, becoming slightly unstable above 130mph. Still, there aren't any comparable sports cars in this price range. Total cost to complete car (including car itself) was about 15000 American dollars.