My RX-7 mods, to inspire you all :-)

Here is a link to pics of my current progress with my FD3S single turbo conversion, mainly brake, clutch and flywheel stuff. I post it to

show what sort of stuff I do, and maybe inspire Toyota owners to do some custom stuff of their own, or to get me to do do it for them :-)

The brakes,  AP racing 14 inch front, 13 inch rear will all fit within a 17 inch rim. The comparison pics are with stock front calipers, pads and discs.

These should be "adequate" on a car weighing under 2300 ponds wet.

The fuel system pics show the Holley low pressure lift pump, the fuel

swirl pot, and the big Bosch Motorsport high pressure pump.

The clutch is 5.5 inch, ultra lightweight, titanium cover twin

plate. The dual, bias adjustable brake cylinder set up replaces servo

and the ABS is removed. Car is RHD Japanese import spec, 1993.

Click on the thumbnails for bigger copies.

http://www.formula3.demon.co.uk/newparts/thumbnails.html

Had an RX-7 kick my ass only the other day!

"I wasn't trying" is the official line.

Quote: from Flipfinger on 12:01 am on Feb. 23, 2002[br]Had an RX-7 kick my ass only the other day!

 

"I wasn't trying" is the official line.

Stick to it, we believe you

What sort of performance do you expect from the RX7,  when you have completed all the work?

Quote: from Phil Wall on 12:16 am on Feb. 23, 2002[br]What sort of performance do you expect from the RX7,  when you have completed all the work?

Better than stock....

I've got an itch for an RX7, or maybe a Skyline M-spec.

As regards to the RX7, is there anything i should know, like reliability etc. Oh, and another thing is: Is it 2xrotary = 2.6l, or is it really only a 1.3l?

Thanks in advance for the help Chris, and sorry for hijacking your thread

You were quick with that car before, I cant wait to see how quick it is now.

JB

Quote: from Syed Shah on 12:54 am on Feb. 23, 2002[br]I've got an itch for an RX7, or maybe a Skyline M-spec.

 

As regards to the RX7, is there anything i should know, like reliability etc. Oh, and another thing is: Is it 2xrotary = 2.6l, or is it really only a 1.3l?

 

Thanks in advance for the help Chris, and sorry for hijacking your thread

It's a 1.3 (2x653cc??) but its equivalent to a 2.6L cylinder engine. Thus showing you how effective the rotary system is, shame no one else has gone into it, they are light, low and powerful but the economy is shockingly bad!!!

(Edited by Alex Holdroyd at 12:42 pm on Feb. 23, 2002)

Quote: from Syed Shah on 12:54 am on Feb. 23, 2002[br]I've got an itch for an RX7, or maybe a Skyline M-spec.

 

As regards to the RX7, is there anything i should know, like reliability etc. Oh, and another thing is: Is it 2xrotary = 2.6l, or is it really only a 1.3l?

 

Thanks in advance for the help Chris, and sorry for hijacking your thread

The RX-7 list people wet themselves when I say this, but they are NOT relaible as standard. The problems are nearly always associated with their overly complex twin sequential turbo CONTROL system, Mazda use something like 80 odd vac hoses, most in very hot areas of a very hot running engine, so they harden, split, crack or blow off, and the solenoids which send vac and pressure to and from them also succumb. Mechanically they are very well made, and the chassis is an absolute peach, even a stock one handles like a dream. They hate wrong offset wheels, the first one I ever drove was on none stock 18 inch wheels, which suited the car and looked gorgeous, but the car handled like a dog and I couldn't understand people raving about them. A racer pal said try another, stock one, and I rate his opinion, so I did. Revelation! I liked it so much I spent ages looking for a cheap one at auction. I kept it pretty much stock (water injection, Apexi power FC ECU to richen it up, and decnt pads and fluid, and just started doing track days with it, thrashing it mercilessly. The second turbo never made the boost it should and despite rigorous checks i couldn't see why. the reason became clear when the second turbos turbine wheel milled it's wy down the downpipe, cutting the O2 sensor in half, at Oulton. proper job, smoke screen covered the circuit, oil fire, blah blah. I have now converted to single turbo (it will have a lot more lag, but the simplification of the turbo control system is amazing, 2 hoses instead of about seventy, and only one solenoid, for boost control,

too!

If you want an amazingly smooth, different, pretty car, that weighs not a lot and handles like a dream 9the stock car on a sick second turbo was one second slower round Oulton than my fairly heavily suspension modded R33 GTr V-Spec) then the RX is worth looking at. Be prepared to spend hours tinkering though. If you utter reliability, but the feeling of driving a VERY fast and VERY capable truck, get the Skyline.

That is great, wish I had your job rather then hitting a keyboard all day.

Chris, soon it will stop as good as a Ferrari

p.s. I got a 355 berlinetta instead of a GTS in the end.

Quote: from Brian Jackett on 1:27 pm on Feb. 25, 2002[br]That is great, wish I had your job rather then hitting a keyboard all day.

 

Chris, soon it will stop as good as a Ferrari

 

p.s. I got a 355 berlinetta instead of a GTS in the end.

Very nice! Hope you enjoy it, they do have a certain cachet, don't they ?

Chris,

I`ve had the yearning for an RX7 for a long while but have only ever heard bad things about them,you posting this makes me think that they might be worth looking at again.

I envy you doing the kind of work you do and would love to "tinker"(if this is the right word) with nice motors all day!!

P.S. giz-a-job!!!!!

A jobs a job, I often envy clean hands and regular hours :-)

The RX-7 is not everyones cup of tea, I would be lying to say they are very reliable. If people did what they get away with on the MKIV TT engine to a rotary they would have a very expensive boat anchor on their hands. Think of them as fickle 2 stroke race bike engines, and you won't be far wrong. iI am NO rotary expert, but forgetting abyssmal fuel consumption and a rather fragile nature, there is NOTHING to touch them, BHP per pound weight, short of F! technology or, GP 2 stroke bike engines. Be aware that owning one is a labour of love, I have excellent facilites and good patience, but this thing is testing both, every day :-)

sorry to semi-hijack this thread, but i have to say i am in agreement with Chris on 2-strokes.

They are great.

I race 2-stroke karts and you just get great power from small cc and fantastic throttle response and noise.  also the engine's are very simple and not much to them and so are small and light.

does anyone know what the largest capacity 2-stroke engine installed in a road-car is ??  or a race-car ??     i would love to try a light road-car with, say, a 2 litre 2-stroke engine.      I know, I know, loads of pollution and loads of noise, and porbably a pain to start and bad fuel consumption and high maintenance costs, but wouldn't it be great for a low mileage screamer ??

Quote: from Doughie on 8:30 pm on Feb. 28, 2002[br]sorry to semi-hijack this thread, but i have to say i am in agreement with Chris on 2-strokes.

They are great.

I race 2-stroke karts and you just get great power from small cc and fantastic throttle response and noise.  also the engine's are very simple and not much to them and so are small and light.

 

does anyone know what the largest capacity 2-stroke engine installed in a road-car is ??  or a race-car ??     i would love to try a light road-car with, say, a 2 litre 2-stroke engine.      I know, I know, loads of pollution and loads of noise, and porbably a pain to start and bad fuel consumption and high maintenance costs, but wouldn't it be great for a low mileage screamer ??

A very good friend of mine has built a race car based on the Esprit shape, but on a full aluminium monocoque chassis, using 2 Krauser side car race engine V4 barrel

sets on a common V8 crankcase. The cranks are geared together. He ploughed about 100K into this engine and it was showing immense promise when a SERIOUS accident at Mallory in the car nearly killed him. He won't race again, and although the car was rebuilt to sell, i think he may still have it. That is the largest (2 litre) 2 stroke car engine I know of, but 2 stroke diesels in ships, plant et cetera go to immense capacities, but are inustrial engines, rather than performance.

The engine gave about 320 / 340 BHP. The guy who builds the World Champ sidecar chassis in the UK, whose name I forget, built the monocoque, the engine was shared amongst many specialists.

A work of art with eight tuned pipes sticking out the back. i can personally vouch for just how quick this thing was :-)

Some good poop there CW. Good luck with the car. I envy you. I've owned a 1st-gen and 2nd-gen RX, and I loved them both. Always wanted a 3rd-gen. Like you said, sometimes start up was rough and you had to tinker a bit, but I've never owned a car that was such a virtual smile-factory like the RX. Had a skyline in Okinawa and then the Supe fell into my lap via marriage *bonus*. The rotary begs to be revved, screams when it does, and the car was incredibly easy to drive sideways. I think the key is doing it right, which it sounds like you are. Concur with the going single route, makes things much easy. I had a buddy in Okinawa making 700 RWHP (single) with one in Okinawa. He'd wax-@ss on most anything on the island and even made the young guys drifting look bad. When I was stationed in Oklahoma, we used to frequent a dragstrip called Thunder Alley. Back in my civic days (hey, everybody has to learn somewhere). There was an event held there with a Puerto Rican team running a heavily modded 2-stroke rotary in a stretched Red RX-3 (I think) on a big shot of juice. Car was red with a mexican name like "little pepe" or "chalupa" or something or other. I recall it running an 8.30-ish quarter! just a testament of the insane power that little motor can make in such a light car. Shocked everybody.

Ooops...I guess you are not used to checking the dates on the threads eh? CW last wrote about the car 3 years ago!

Yep, followed a link to the thread from another newer RX-7 thread then in the heat of the moment replied without going back to the original thread the link was on. Sorry. Fighting Jet Lag. Just came back from Michigan. Do you know how depressing it is to drive around all day and see nothing but American cars?

is it almost as depressing as not seeing any good looking women ?

Just came back from Michigan. Do you know how depressing it is to drive around all day and see nothing but American cars?

.... How true.... worse still.. driving american cars. Two weeks ago I drove down highway one through Big Sur in California, in a rented Chevrolet Cavalier. What a piece of merde (c**p). Now there is a a road made for a Supra!

A serious lack of hot women is a much great problem than crappy cars. Fortunately, I had my wife with me. Yes, you'd think she's hot too. I rented a midsize in Flint and was upgraded to a fullsize... an 05' Ford Taurus. Let's just say I was missing my 540i, nevermind the Supra. The roads there were like driving in Turkey. Can't imagine driving anything but an SUV in that town. There are few new American cars I'd want to own, save limited production models and the vette, although the GT (circa GT40) looks promising, it's still a Ford. The classics will always have a special place in my heart, and when I say classics, I mean 69 and earlier when cars were still cars and often referred to as "Automobiles".

Bejeeeeeeyzus thats some thread ressurection!

I mean 69 and earlier when cars were still cars

SIXTYNINE duuuuude! [fake air guitar motions]

Bejeeeeeeyzus thats some thread ressurection!

Yeah I was on the phone to Chris earlier and not realising how old it was mentioned the link was down. As if I haven't made a big enough fool of myself already with my completly backward thinking regarding engine work then I think that did the job !!.