Skeese's 1993 Single Turbo Build AKA The Houston Rocket
11-24-14, 02:57 PM
#1
Skeese's 1993 Single Turbo Build AKA The Houston Rocket
Hello all!
I’m finally getting around to starting a build thread as my car is about to undergo some intense changes. I've got a ton of respect for all you guys on the forum and have definitely benefited from the mass of information on here. First, would like to say thanks to Sean (known as socks on here) whose input pretty much kept my car the first year while I figured out what was going on.
To start at the beginning… I had always wanted a FD RX7 and being a mechanical engineer I was intrigued by the rotary engine. I had initially wanted to LS swap it for lack of understanding the 13b, but after driving a boosted rotary became addicted to all things wankel.
After much searching, I finally pulled the trigger and picked up this 1993 RX7 that I found in Thomasville NC. The car had 44k miles on the original motor and the following mods: Power FC, Blitz FMIC, Fluidyne Radiator, Greddy Pulleys, 3” Downpipe w/ High Flow Cat and Apexi N1 Catback, No PS, No AC.
Fast forward 10 months to the present day…
I moved to Houston Texas for a new job and after a few months broke down and had the car shipped from Georgia. I've deleted all emissions, looped the ps lines, installed a hks tp ignition booster, cleaned and refinished all interior plastics, and pieced together all the missing interior parts that the car didn't have.
I'm currently 4 months into the A-Spec single turbo kit wait for a PT6266BB setup with twin wastegates and a 1.0 housing. End goal is to make mid 400's.
I've also picked up an Adaptronic Series 6 ECU to replace the PFC which should be going in over the next few days.
I'm looking forward to getting on with the single conversion and will be posting my progress as I go! Thanks for looking!
-Seth
I’m finally getting around to starting a build thread as my car is about to undergo some intense changes. I've got a ton of respect for all you guys on the forum and have definitely benefited from the mass of information on here. First, would like to say thanks to Sean (known as socks on here) whose input pretty much kept my car the first year while I figured out what was going on.
To start at the beginning… I had always wanted a FD RX7 and being a mechanical engineer I was intrigued by the rotary engine. I had initially wanted to LS swap it for lack of understanding the 13b, but after driving a boosted rotary became addicted to all things wankel.
After much searching, I finally pulled the trigger and picked up this 1993 RX7 that I found in Thomasville NC. The car had 44k miles on the original motor and the following mods: Power FC, Blitz FMIC, Fluidyne Radiator, Greddy Pulleys, 3” Downpipe w/ High Flow Cat and Apexi N1 Catback, No PS, No AC.
Fast forward 10 months to the present day…
I moved to Houston Texas for a new job and after a few months broke down and had the car shipped from Georgia. I've deleted all emissions, looped the ps lines, installed a hks tp ignition booster, cleaned and refinished all interior plastics, and pieced together all the missing interior parts that the car didn't have.
I'm currently 4 months into the A-Spec single turbo kit wait for a PT6266BB setup with twin wastegates and a 1.0 housing. End goal is to make mid 400's.
I've also picked up an Adaptronic Series 6 ECU to replace the PFC which should be going in over the next few days.
I'm looking forward to getting on with the single conversion and will be posting my progress as I go! Thanks for looking!
-Seth
good luck with the build 
11-24-14, 09:30 PM
#4
I've talked to Steve about tuning it when I go single and push it but given all the tuning aids the adaptronic has I'm pretty sure Ill be able to manage a safe tune for the twins for now while I wait on the turbo and finish putting together my fuel system
11-25-14, 09:19 AM
#6
Here are some of the before and after of the door panel cleaning from this week. I used the McGuire's Blue Leather and Vinyl cleaner for the panels and then simply sanded the old scratched up coating off of the plastics and re-coated with plastidip. I also installed the passenger door grip handle which was nearly impossible to find.
I've got time off over the next week and plan to complete the adaptronic swap as well as install the aeromotive 340 fuel pump. Since dash plastics are already coming out I'm going to tackle the bouncing tach needle issue as well.
I've got time off over the next week and plan to complete the adaptronic swap as well as install the aeromotive 340 fuel pump. Since dash plastics are already coming out I'm going to tackle the bouncing tach needle issue as well.
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12-08-14, 12:58 PM
#8
Not too much progress as of now. I've mounted the HKS twin power, removed the airpump for the pineapple idler, installed the Innovative MTX-L wideband, and ordered a matching MTX water temp gauge and G3 boost gauge which which will soon be mounted in one of the pro-sport tri-gauge dash pods. I've searched high and low for a flyrx7 pod but can't seem to find one. As I'm going adaptronic in the near future I'll be losing the commander readout. I've only plugged in the adaptronic once and tried the initial startup which had some issues with the idle, but that is all another thread.
TP mounted in the common place as suggested on here.
Airpump gone! Apparently there were turbos under that thing
And lasty here's a shot of my *shop* . Being stuck in an apartment complex until march I've taken up residence on the 5th floor of the parking garage which is completely desolate other than my car, daily driver truck, and occasionally the girlfriend's suv.
Still waiting on the A-Spec call regarding the turbo setup, hopefully sooner than later.
02-10-15, 11:11 AM
#9
Update!
Finally a real update! I've been documenting my build on a more day to day basis on a local Houston forum and will only be updating here when I have more substance.
I'm now fully up and running on the Adaptronic. Special thanks to James Paventi on here for continued support in all matters tuning and Zach @ Addicted performance for shooting me his number and helping me trouble shoot my initial startup. I can honestly say I knew little to nothing about the tuning process when I bought it and have since learned SO much about it all...I'm possibly more addicted to tuning information than my rx7 in general, which I didn't think possible.
I did have a mishap with the twin power where I noticed smoke coming from under the hood after a long drive, pulled over, and found my twin power harness to have melted and pretty much destroyed the unit.
I'm still not entirely sure why this happened, however after removing it from the ignition system the car is running and firing fine. I'm going to be going direct fire AEM coils in the near future anyways...so if anyone wants an *as-is* charred/destroyed hks tp for next to nothing let me know.
I picked up a used exedy twin disc on the forums for a steal and plan to rebuild it with new discs, new intermediate plate, and new front floater plate as soon as the tax refund gets here.
And here's some shots of the car after this weekend's wash/wax session.
I'm still chasing A-Spec for the single turbo delivery...we've gone through few back and fourth calls about when it will actually ship, but I still don't know when it will happen. Last week marks the 6 month mark from order and I'm getting anxious.
I'm now fully up and running on the Adaptronic. Special thanks to James Paventi on here for continued support in all matters tuning and Zach @ Addicted performance for shooting me his number and helping me trouble shoot my initial startup. I can honestly say I knew little to nothing about the tuning process when I bought it and have since learned SO much about it all...I'm possibly more addicted to tuning information than my rx7 in general, which I didn't think possible.
I did have a mishap with the twin power where I noticed smoke coming from under the hood after a long drive, pulled over, and found my twin power harness to have melted and pretty much destroyed the unit.
I'm still not entirely sure why this happened, however after removing it from the ignition system the car is running and firing fine. I'm going to be going direct fire AEM coils in the near future anyways...so if anyone wants an *as-is* charred/destroyed hks tp for next to nothing let me know.
I picked up a used exedy twin disc on the forums for a steal and plan to rebuild it with new discs, new intermediate plate, and new front floater plate as soon as the tax refund gets here.
And here's some shots of the car after this weekend's wash/wax session.
I'm still chasing A-Spec for the single turbo delivery...we've gone through few back and fourth calls about when it will actually ship, but I still don't know when it will happen. Last week marks the 6 month mark from order and I'm getting anxious.
02-10-15, 02:36 PM
#10
Tuning and Time Slip
I also wanted to make mention of my tuning progression on here as it has consumed much of my time working on the car as of recent and document what I've learned. I honestly knew little to nothing at all about tuning when I purchased the Adaptronic.
I installed the unit and loaded the base map that was provided with the latest version of the Wari software and after verifying all my outputs were triggering correctly fired the car for the first time. It didn't want to idle right and I had to work the throttle constantly to get the car to hold idle. After a quick conversation with Zack of Addicted Performance (The Goat on here) he helped me figure out that my OEM MAP sensor was so far off calibration that I couldn't even adjust the offset to get me close. I swapped to the internal 4 bar map sensor in the Adaptronic and presto...perfect start up and once warm it settled a 850 rpm idle. My old PFC idled around 1000 and I never made and effort to change it, but this low idle sounds awesome in comparison.
After much reading, I borrowed a fuel and timing map from James Paventi on here that he had put together for his stock port sequential BNR setup on 14lbs with WI. Setting my WG duty cycle to 60 in the primary range (>4k rpms) and 64 from 4k-8k rpms yielded a 11-9.5-12 boost pattern on my stock twins while keeping me safely between 10.3-10.9 while under boost. I have since removed fuel from the map in the boost region using logs as a guide and now see 12-10-12 and 10.8 - 11.1 AFRs when in boost.
Now that the car is functional and running well I'm going to focus on closed loop idle control and the different idle efforts triggered by the electrical inputs.
I see no reason to put a ton more time into this fuel map as I'll be going single and doing this all over soon, but by spending my time on the other functions I'll be able to get a better handle on the workings of the entire system.
On a side note, I found my best time slip from last year at the 1/8th mile track in SC. 60' was crap but given it was done on 235's on probably my 5th pass ever I'm happy with it. 1/4 mile times are soon to come.
I installed the unit and loaded the base map that was provided with the latest version of the Wari software and after verifying all my outputs were triggering correctly fired the car for the first time. It didn't want to idle right and I had to work the throttle constantly to get the car to hold idle. After a quick conversation with Zack of Addicted Performance (The Goat on here) he helped me figure out that my OEM MAP sensor was so far off calibration that I couldn't even adjust the offset to get me close. I swapped to the internal 4 bar map sensor in the Adaptronic and presto...perfect start up and once warm it settled a 850 rpm idle. My old PFC idled around 1000 and I never made and effort to change it, but this low idle sounds awesome in comparison.
After much reading, I borrowed a fuel and timing map from James Paventi on here that he had put together for his stock port sequential BNR setup on 14lbs with WI. Setting my WG duty cycle to 60 in the primary range (>4k rpms) and 64 from 4k-8k rpms yielded a 11-9.5-12 boost pattern on my stock twins while keeping me safely between 10.3-10.9 while under boost. I have since removed fuel from the map in the boost region using logs as a guide and now see 12-10-12 and 10.8 - 11.1 AFRs when in boost.
Now that the car is functional and running well I'm going to focus on closed loop idle control and the different idle efforts triggered by the electrical inputs.
I see no reason to put a ton more time into this fuel map as I'll be going single and doing this all over soon, but by spending my time on the other functions I'll be able to get a better handle on the workings of the entire system.
On a side note, I found my best time slip from last year at the 1/8th mile track in SC. 60' was crap but given it was done on 235's on probably my 5th pass ever I'm happy with it. 1/4 mile times are soon to come.
02-11-15, 01:35 PM
#14
It may have been. I'm completely new to clutch internals, I understand how it works, but not what internal tolerances/finishes are acceptable. It may not need to be replaced...any input is much appreciated!
02-11-15, 04:15 PM
#16
DM09DA - disc A
DM09DB - disc B
IM01 - intermediate plate
PP02 - front floater plate
Can anyone comment on the generation/age of the clutch? The cover plate assembly and bolt pattern appears different than that of the new exedy twin multi plate kits I see on here. Plus a friend of mine who has one swears his is a different design and that each disc has its own hub.
03-10-15, 06:38 PM
#17
Update! moved to place with a garage...
It's been a while since I last updated, but I've made some good progress. For starters, I moved to a house with a garage so I can finally start making big moves!
Its not huge, but im going to build a space shuttle in it.
I got tired of waiting on my flyrx7 pod and just picked up a prosport and got it read for install. I haven't seen a flypod but I'm happy with this...and still have the other on order. I didn't realize until now that the boost gauge bezel doesn't come off so I'm stuck with silver unless I can find a way to make it black without looking lame.
Wiring...my favorite...
This was before I put the clips on, it sits straight now.
While wiring my gauges I discovered that the previous owner had wired the head unit in by stripping the wire ends, twisting them together, and then taping it together with electrical tape. SO i have since rewired that with butt splices and heat shrink for good measure.
Before
After
Its not huge, but im going to build a space shuttle in it.
I got tired of waiting on my flyrx7 pod and just picked up a prosport and got it read for install. I haven't seen a flypod but I'm happy with this...and still have the other on order. I didn't realize until now that the boost gauge bezel doesn't come off so I'm stuck with silver unless I can find a way to make it black without looking lame.
Wiring...my favorite...
This was before I put the clips on, it sits straight now.
While wiring my gauges I discovered that the previous owner had wired the head unit in by stripping the wire ends, twisting them together, and then taping it together with electrical tape. SO i have since rewired that with butt splices and heat shrink for good measure.
Before
After
Last edited by Skeese; 03-11-15 at 07:38 AM.
03-10-15, 06:47 PM
#18
Fuel System/FMIC Removal
I ended up selling that used exedy twin I had picked up as I realized that I'd never get to where I actually needed it unless I handled some of the more "single turbo essential items". I got a good deal on a FFE/ID fuel system from my friend who blew his motor and decided to go semi p port.
ID 725 Primaries and ID 2000 Secondaries
I also pulled the trigger on a defined V-mount. I've been wanting one forever and pretty much poking defined on facebook to make me one since the group buy here ended. They finally messaged me back and agreed to make me one which has shipped out today.
Out with the Blitz
Its already spoken for and on its was delivered to a friend in GA today.
I'll post my next update when its installed and ready to go!
ID 725 Primaries and ID 2000 Secondaries
I also pulled the trigger on a defined V-mount. I've been wanting one forever and pretty much poking defined on facebook to make me one since the group buy here ended. They finally messaged me back and agreed to make me one which has shipped out today.
Out with the Blitz
Its already spoken for and on its was delivered to a friend in GA today.
I'll post my next update when its installed and ready to go!
03-11-15, 07:52 AM
#20
As of now I'm still on oem boost control solenoid and controlling the boost by manually setting the wg duty cycle in the wari software. "If you treat the stock boost control solenoids or alternatively the MAC valve as you would when using the PFC, you'll do fine." - James Paventi, was later confirmed by Andy of Adaptronic to be correct.
When I go single I'll upgrade to the MAC valve. I'm looking into the closed loop boost control now so even when the required wg dc is set, the ECU will be able to adjust the wg for things like temperature change. For example if it's colder out than you are tuned for and boost therefor spikes higher, the ecu will auto-adjust your wg duty percentages to keep the boost at the desired level.
Please take everything I say regarding tuning with a grain of salt, its functional, but I've still got a long way to go.
03-19-15, 12:10 PM
#21
V-mount arrived and Aspec called
Big moves happening this weekend.
The defined vmount kit arrived yesterday and A-Spec called stating that the turbo kit was done and ready to ship.
This weekend the plan is to remove the twins and all related twin turbo stuff no longer needed, install the fuel system, and get all of the mounting hardware for the I/C and rad kit installed. Will update this weekend with progress and pics!
I'll be starting a going single thread with everything I no longer need. Hopefully will go quickly as everything is in perfect working condition with only 48,000 miles.
The defined vmount kit arrived yesterday and A-Spec called stating that the turbo kit was done and ready to ship.
This weekend the plan is to remove the twins and all related twin turbo stuff no longer needed, install the fuel system, and get all of the mounting hardware for the I/C and rad kit installed. Will update this weekend with progress and pics!
I'll be starting a going single thread with everything I no longer need. Hopefully will go quickly as everything is in perfect working condition with only 48,000 miles.
03-20-15, 02:54 PM
#23
I got all the defined stuff unpacked and ready for install and began mounting all the hardware. I'm going to try and pull an a late night to get this in the car by tomorrow so I can take her out to TX2k15 on Saturday and give the twins one last good run before yanking them.
Ha also...my driver side seat's locking mechanism is broken so it wants to lean all the way back all the time. My helmet usually stays behind it and props it up quite nicely during normal driving but it sucks being at the track with it on and launching the car in full gangster lean mode. This is the next thing to be addressed when I quit bleeding money for turbo stuff.
Got this from my dad. He bought it for his motorcycle thinking it would help people see him...then he realized it would just blind them and they'd nail him instead. Soooooo being that the goal of my car is to be as obnoxious as possible I figured all chrome helmet suits the package
Ha also...my driver side seat's locking mechanism is broken so it wants to lean all the way back all the time. My helmet usually stays behind it and props it up quite nicely during normal driving but it sucks being at the track with it on and launching the car in full gangster lean mode. This is the next thing to be addressed when I quit bleeding money for turbo stuff.
Got this from my dad. He bought it for his motorcycle thinking it would help people see him...then he realized it would just blind them and they'd nail him instead. Soooooo being that the goal of my car is to be as obnoxious as possible I figured all chrome helmet suits the package
04-15-15, 08:54 AM
#25
Update!
Been a while since I last posted but I've made some awesome progress. While the Blitz was out I took the time to fully delete the A/C and P/S. The previous owner had just taken out the pump & compressor and simply left all the lines. So it is now much lighter and cleaner overall! Those being half-removed has bothered me since the day I bought it.
THE DEFINED V-MOUNT LOOKS AWESOME. I had a great experience buying from them and the final product is outstanding. When the fans come on and the car is idling in the garage it moves so much air it literally creates a breeze in the garage pulling air through.
This is what the engine bay looked like the day I bought it...
Defined Install:
And 1 year later we have this!
I was hesitant to wrap the pipes with the gold tape at first, however I figured if the stuff performs half as well as everyone says it will be worth it, and after the fact I actually really really like the gold on black look.
I picked up the synapse BOV on here and so far am really happy with it. It is definitely LOUD but doesn't sound ricey...I'll make some vids of this soon.
Lastly, Sean @ A-Spec is supposed to be shipping the single turbo this week!
THE DEFINED V-MOUNT LOOKS AWESOME. I had a great experience buying from them and the final product is outstanding. When the fans come on and the car is idling in the garage it moves so much air it literally creates a breeze in the garage pulling air through.
This is what the engine bay looked like the day I bought it...
Defined Install:
And 1 year later we have this!
I was hesitant to wrap the pipes with the gold tape at first, however I figured if the stuff performs half as well as everyone says it will be worth it, and after the fact I actually really really like the gold on black look.
I picked up the synapse BOV on here and so far am really happy with it. It is definitely LOUD but doesn't sound ricey...I'll make some vids of this soon.
Lastly, Sean @ A-Spec is supposed to be shipping the single turbo this week!
