We love Miatas. Doesn’t everybody? If your answer is no, keep it to yourself, because every car enthusiast should appreciate the humble Miata. So, imagine our surprise when we took a closer look at Joe Somers’ 1995 Miata at T365 St. Louis, and realized this pint-sized party car makes a whopping 450 horsepower, more than 100 horsepower output per cylinder compared to the original engine. As you might expect, that doesn’t come from an ordinary bolt-on Miata build. After fitting the Miata with a KBD kit, suspension, and paint, Somers decided to pull and build the Miata engine from the bottom up.
Today, the only original parts inside the engine are the crankshaft and cams. It's been bored out to 1.9L displacement and is boosted by a 2867R turbo pushing 30 psi. For his efforts, Somers was awarded an Editor’s Choice award at Tuning365 St. Louis, which we believe is well deserved!
ESSENTIALS:
Location: Florissant, MO
Horsepower: 450
Club/Team: Vaded Mob
SOCIAL:
IG: @joee_somers
ENGINE:
ACL Race rod/main bearing
ARP head studs
Wiseco Piston Shelf Stock kit
Injectors Dynamics 1050xds injectors
Ported head
Dual spring titanium valve springs
Boundary billet oil pump w/ 72psi shim
95 duro motor mounts
Supertech head gasket
ISR turbo kit w/ Pulsar 2867 .64 a/r turbo
Custom intercooler piping
ATI super damper
Skunk 2 (intake manifold, 64mm throttle body)
Flow Force coil on plugs
Radium fuel rail
AEM 340 fuel pump
Gates water pump
Mishimoto rad w/ SPAL fan set up
M Tuned coolant re-route
3-port electric boost controller
EXHAUST:
ISR Performance 3-inch exhaust
DRIVETRAIN:
6 speed NB1
ACT clutch and lightweight flywheel
Braced Torsen 4.10 differential
WHEELS:
Kosei K1 wheels
EXTERIOR:
KBD body kit
Custom livery
Carbon fiber trunk
Hardtop w/ roof spoiler
INTERIOR:
IRP shifter
Velvet door cards
HKS floor mats
Momo prototipo wheel
AEM (boost gauge, AFR gauge)
AUDIO / MOBILE ELECTRONICS:
Bluetooth head unit
