Force Fed - 2006 Mazda Miata

It's with little wonder that we've watched the popularity of the Mazda Miata grow over the years. Having recently sold more than 800,000 copies of its open-top roadster, Mazda reset the Guinness World Records' mantle for the highest manufactured number of open-top sports cars. There's no question how they accomplished that feat.

With a capable chassis, incredible handling and driver's feedback unlike any other car - in its price range or not - the Miata dominated the market. In the performance world, numerous tuners took to the platform with suspension kits, turbocharger or supercharger kits, engine swap kits and widebody transformations. It's not unlikely to see an early '90s Miata prowling the streets either boosted or with a mighty V-8 engine under the hood.

Continuing to solidify its reputation, the Miata went on to dominate the racing world. Thousands of amateur club racers the world over honed their skills in a Miata, learning the finer points of maintaining momentum when trying to make a pass on a Corvette with only one-third the horsepower. The ever-popular Spec Miata series became the de-facto No. 1 club racing series in the U.S. with its potent combination of low-cost racing, limited prep and a huge number of entrants. When the third-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata debuted, the SCCA Pro-sanctioned Mazda MX-5 Cup was not far behind. The Miata's performance pedigree continued.

When noted tuner Blitz got their hands on a 2006 third-gen Mazda Roadster, Japan's Miata, they knew exactly what to do. The Miata has always been a car that excelled in driving feel, braking and cornering. Acceleration was never one of its high points. The Miata won't lose any drag races to your mom's minivan, but it's no Viper-killer. Although first-gen Miatas only weighed 2,200 pounds, the 116hp output left one obvious area for upgrades. More than a decade later, the MX-5 Miata is still only blessed with 166 hp, and Blitz intended to change all that.

Blitz's research and development team spent late nights hard at work to create a fully bolt-on turbocharger kit for the third-gen Roadster's 2.0L inline-four engine. Based on an IHI turbocharger, the Blitz system also features the ability to use an optional Blitz front-mount intercooler system, with all the polished charge pipes carefully measured and ready for a simple bolt-in installation. The key to making a full bolt-on kit is the ability to keep many factory options. With numerous boxes, covers and reservoirs strewn throughout the engine bay, Blitz decided to snake its SUS Power air filter and charge piping through the space previously occupied by the stock airbox. The polished hard piping even runs directly into the stock throttle body intake tubing, using the exact same placement for the stock MAF sensor and wiring.

A new downpipe and oil feed lines are included in the kit, and Blitz installed one of their own SBC i-Color boost controllers to regulate the turbocharger's air pressure. Power output is now a healthier 235 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. Controllable from inside the cockpit, the SBC i-Color is joined by Blitz's disappearing face Mirror Drive Meter series boost, pressure and temperature electronic gauges.