Hi,I'm an rx7 newbie,in fact I don't own one yet,I used to have a 1984 300zxt turbo,untill I got into an accident and totalled it.My friend who was helping me work on it suggested if I couldn't find a rolling chassis[the engine and stuff is fine but the frame is !@#$$ed]that maybe I could find an rx7 and do a v8 swap as another option.

My question is how would RX7 handle and compare to a 300zx?I loved my 300zx,it did have 200,000 miles on it and bad struts,but it still handled good[I'm comparing to the average car,I have never driven another sports car]and could take turn at a good speed where other cars had to slow down,and boosted to 10 psi with a k&N airfilter and a few other cheap mods it was also pretty fast.

I have about $3500 I was going to redo my Z engine rebuild,replace struts with racing ones,and turbo upgrades, intercooler ect,It would have had around 400 RWHP,and with the racing struts It probly would have handles great,[Everybody says Zs are one of the better handling cars]

The thing is I can't find a 300zx chassis,in MI at a resonable price,so my buddy was saying another option is to put ta v8 into an rx7 and I'd have a fast car,the thing that worries me is how would it handle?Would it handle as good as a Z?or would it be like my other buddies charger,fast but can't turn well.I know it won't handle a good as an rx7 with a rotary,but I'm not going to do any pro racing or drifting,Just bombing around and the ocasional road race[safetly of course]

So do you think the rx7 with a v8 would be what I want'?

Thanks

 

I think that this question should go into the "Other Engine Conversions" section. Noone will care to answer that question here as it gets beaten to death daily.

 

And that is why it got moved there

 

Most likely...

 

the v8 rx7 would rape the 300zxt...

 

$3500 could buy you the tools required to complete the project (but not the know-how). Then you can start saving up for the parts.

 

The RX-7 will be a whole bunch lighter than the 300ZX. Those were heavy cars. By that virtue alone the RX-7 will do much better in the handling department. I've only really heard that the Z32's handled well, the Z31 was really just a Japanese T-bird, a heavy luxury car that went ok. The FC was more of a GT/Sports car, whereas the FB and FD's were more Sports/GT cars. They all handle quite well, and are known for it. The FC and FB are very popular cars with amateur racers, whereas the 300ZX is almost never used. The FD is a very popular track car too, but classing keeps it from being used much. If you use an LS series engine, the weight will be very close to the same, and the weight distrobution will be practically unchanged.

A guy I knew had a Z31 300ZX (non-turbo) and autocrossed it and it wasn't very fast. He struggled against relentless understeer and the weight kept him from getting very fast. It was a loosing proposition, so he switched to a Miata.

To sum up, when it comes to handling an RX-7 will be better than a 300ZX.

 

hey, i'll make it easy on you... just buy my v8 FB.

 

My friend owns a non turbo 1984 300zx that he's put around 2k into and I don't think he's ever come close to beating my 7 or any 7 he's raced. Like everyone said they're heavy cars. His doesn't handle very well, though I will say that is likely because he hasn't put any $ into suspension. In fact I'd like to say my lowered Trans Am with its KYB AGX shocks/ struts, has much better handling than his Z.

 

Sorry I posted this in hte wrong section I guess I clicked on the wrong one,my Bad.

any way I Know 300zxs were not much stock,but are easy to upgrade.Thats why I said a souped up one.I know a rx7 with a decent v8 will be faster or at the least about as fast as 300zx,with 400RWHP which is very fast,but would it still handle Good?I mean would the swap unbalance it enough so that it loses it's ability to take corners?Where as the Z with that amount of power and Racing grade suspention will be fast and handle very well.[so I have been told by many Z people and have seen vids].would I get this from a v8 rx7?

As for the know how my buddy who is into cars[I'm just learning,as you can tell]said he thinks he could do it if he bough the kit from Granny's spead shop,and I have an uncle with a lot of tools[he's a prfessional machinest]that I could borrow,I don't know if he'd have everything but I could rent some and barrow the rest.

No_Rotor_RX7 where are you at?I'm interested if you live near MI or Can provide Shipping at a good cost,How much do you want for it?

Thanks.

 

How fast is a 400RWHP 300zx? Most rx7 swaps run high 12's to low 13's with a 90% stock v8.
The weight of the v8 motor isn't enough to effect the handling of the rx at all, and I'm pretty sure a stock rx7 will eat a z alive handling wise.

 

Well I have not seen one up close just people's videios and drag slips and what they told me.When I told the Z people what my car was and my budget was[3,000],I was given a list of things that I should do,stronger racing clutch,bigger turbo,better suspention ect,and was told that If I did these upgrades I'd have around 400-450 RWHP,plus a 75-100 shot of nitro,and that my run time[with drag slicks I believe]would be in the mid to upper 11s maybe the low 12s[with a good drag driver,not me]

I Have been doing more searching and I Believe It Now comes down to which car I find first 300zx or RX7, as I like the looks of both,and either one will have the powwer and speed to beat most cars around hear,it's a small town the only fast cars are a couple of new vettes,a souped up late 60s camaro with a super charger on it,[it makes the ground shake when he hits the gas]a porche,and a Viper.

Thanks for the info guys,great site.