Hi, this is my first post. I just took my car to a 1/4 mile track for the first time. My best time was a 16.541@85.47 MPH. I remember reading that these cars get low 15's stock. Something must be wrong with my car because I didn't even get into 15's and my car has a few mods. Here's the info:

1988 Turbo 2:
HKS Intake
Hollowed precat
Straight pipe in place of main cat
Racingbeat catback

I got an autometer boost guage and it maxes out at about 6.5 PSI but I'm not sure how accurate it is.

The car seems to run fine. It idles properly and stuff. These are the times I got at the track:

1st Run
reaction time: 1.014
60': 2.795
1/4 time: 17.073
MPH: 83.73

2nd Run
reaction time: .632
60': 2.704
1/4 time: 16.844
MPH: 82.86

3rd Run
reaction time: .647
60': 2.639
1/4 time: 16.541
MPH: 85.47

It really sucked cuz I got beat my two Integras and a Neon. Do you guys have any idea why I got crappy times? I'm thinking that there's something wrong with my car I don't know about. It was my first time at the track, but the last two runs I made were pretty good as far as my shifting and launch. The previous owner of the car drove it for more than a year with clogged cats. It was only boosting around 3 psi max. I got rid of the cats, but maybe the engine was already messed up. Well, thanks for any help.

 

first you need to work on your reaction times! ...jk

well, with the little you have done it still seems like you should be running faster than 16's. my stock civic does that

first off get rid of the pre cat, and go order a bonez 2.5" down pipe from rx7.com. even though its hollowed its still a restriction.

if you get a aftermarket down pipe you will also need a fcd (fuel cut defenser), because you will probably hitting fuel cut by then. you should be now with what you have anyways. and if you are dont be revving it high you may blow your engine.

i think once you get a downpipe your problems will be solved. thats of course your car is well kept. what year is your car? miles? it helps us help you if we know that.

if you havent already, change your oil/filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, and plug wires. you must get the basics down before you can start hauling ***

brandon

 

The car has about 109k miles on it. I do regular maintainance on it. New, plugs, wires, oil/filter, coolant. It seems to run fine.

What kind of times should I be getting with my setup? Shouldn't I be getting low 15's or even high 14's? Would a downpipe make my performance a full second faster? That would still be around 15.5 which is not even faster than a Integra GSR. I thought Turbo FC's were better than that.

 

well, if your motor was mainted perfectly say your running 100% perfect with no mods, i think you still should be faster than what you have now.

so something has to be up. a dp should actually add 1-2 psi. i have no idea why your boosting so low with no cats? do you hit fuel cut? im thinking you need a fcd and then you will override the ecu and get some more psi.

 

dont even worry about the reaction time. the 2.7 and 2.6 60' foots are more your problem. get those down to 2.2 or better and it will make a HUGE difference. im not sure how you are launching, but if you are really concered with getting a better time buy some Nitto Drag radials. the 245/50/16 hook bad ***. you can get in the 14s with the 6.5 psi with a really good 60'. as far as why its boosting so low, i have no clue. but the drag racing i can help you out with.

 

Hey you run the nittos. I saw them in a mag for a little over 100 bux. Are they the ones with a little bit of tread. How much did they help? I think I might go with the same set up. 245/50/16

 

LOOK at THOSE 60' times!!!

My 88 GTU got about 2.4 with only and intake (16.4 E.T. at that time) your car with tose mods SHOULD be in the mid 14's or lower.

15's should be outa sight on all your times with those mods.

By looking at your 60' it seems that your lauches are very badd. Do you get a lot of wheel spin?? If so, try to launch at a lower RPM. If not, try to lauch at higher RPMs. I say about 4.5 to 5 K.

 

Hah, ok. I guess my launches are bad. :p I'll work on that some more. Man, I must really suck if it's my fault that my car is getting 16.5's but should get 14's.

 

what rpms? you dropping at?

what i do i go in a parking lot and practice dropping the clutch at different rpm's. try to find the highest rpm with the least wheel spin. this will give you the best results.

the reason highest is cause you need to get that turbo spooling. i havent got a chance to do this in my rex yet, so i dont know the optimum rpms to launch but try to start out arount 3500rpm and go up from there.

good luck
brandon

 

I think there is sometihng going on other than poor launches.
6.5psi boost only?

Stock is 8.6 psi, and with those few mods you should be a little more even. Check all your intake plumbing for leaks could help.

 

I run Nitto's and launch at around 5500 RPM after a good burnout.
Here is my best run so far.

 

I'm pretty sure that stock boost on an 88 is around 5.5. I think the 8.6 is only the 89+ .
Either way you should be much faster.

Mike

 

Get a compression test!! That will tell you what you want to know. If the numbers are low or your bounces are not equal then you found your problem (Your engine). If it isn't then replace that precat with a Downpipe.

Go here:
http://teamfc3s.org/info/articles/compression.html

Good luck

James

 

yeah stock boost is is only 5.5 on 88, but 6.5 seams kinda low with your mods. you can't go any higher without an FCD or ECU though.

and stock time for an 88 turbo is mid 15's. so get your 60' down to 2-2.2 and you'll be doing much better.

 

Check out this link for more details on it
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/dec98/techtips.htm

 

WHat should our second gen rx-7 be having in terms of the compression.....what psi should our rexs have?

 

hey whitecomet, where in cali are you?

 

What RPM's were you shifting at?

 

87-88 is 5.5, the 89+ is 7psi


my nitto's helped out quite a bit. i got mine at discount tire, they were 130 a piece. i do have the 245/50/16. the NT555R they fit pretty good.

when i launch, i rev it to about 4500 and one the second to last light i floor it, and drop the clutch. launches bas ***.

 

I run 15.337 at 90 MPH flat with a full tank of gas, spare tire, and all my work stuff in the back @6.9PSI in my 89-91 but it still has it's main cattalytic converter and a make shift down-pipe, soon I will be running in the 14's no problem, and could already get 14's easily considering for every about 100 Lbs lighter your car is you gain about 0.1s on the 1/4 mile...

Although I looked at a 3rd gens times and at a 1/8 mile and 60' I get the exact same results....just lowers in the higher end.

 

correct me if im wrong but shouldnt whitecomet swap out that 28 lb. fly wheel fo a lighter one....that should speed things up a bit. i have a 12 lb. aluminum one and it makes a hell of a difference from that PIG of a stock flywheel.

 

How hard is it to have a lightened flywheel for a daily driver? Thanks.

 

revs drop fast if you stop hard and fast.....what i usually do is let the engine drop revs on its own (to about 2,000 rpm) then push the clutch in at a stop. its very good as a daily driver and in traffic. i have had mine for about 9 months now and it is sweet, last night i was crusing from the car hang outs and at a light i ran up on a civic si. as soon as the light hit green BAM i was gone i must have had 5 car lenghts on him
i guess he got pretty pist off cause after i blew him away he raced past me after i let off the throttle of course...boy did it feel good. i really dont know if he punched it off the line though??????i was already down the street, he he.

anyways if your thinking about getting one do it!!!!!!

 

Ok, first off, let me say that yes, your launches are BAD. Don't worry about reaction time, it has NOTHING to do with your ET. Yes, reaction time matters when you are racing... but not as much as you think.

You are hitting 2.6-2.7 60' times... those HAVE to improve. Let me give you some numbers to compare to. I drive a heavy (3000+ lbs!) slow, naturally aspirated convertible. I hit 2.3 60' times pretty consistantly, and frankly THAT sucks. I'm also running 16.1x at 85.xx mph. In other words, my pig of a convertible would currently beat you. I'm not saying that to bash you, just to let you know where we are going here.

First the launch.

If you have half-decent tires (not drag radials) you can still get a decent launch. To start with, do you have a tire pressure gauge? GET ONE. When you are going to race, drop your rear pressure to about 20 lbs. Make sure the fronts are fully inflated- on the street I run 42 front 32 rear... on the strip 42 front 18-20 rear. Drive AROUND the water-box. Rev it, dump the clutch and step on the brakes to do your burnout. No need for a big smokeshow, just warm them up and scrape any debris off with a quick burnout. Stage, and take your RPM to about 5k. On the last amber, release the clutch quickly while flooring the throttle... you may have to feather the throttle a bit if you spin too much, although a quick chirp or a little slip is good.

Second, shifting.

What are you currently shifting at? Your MPH is WAY low- you should be at 90+ at the very least with a TII. I shift my 'vert at 7600-7800, but I don't recommend that on a TII. My guess is you don't KNOW what you are shifting at- the tach is there, USE it. Shift when you reach redline, or when your boost begins to drop off, whichever comes first.

Third, about your car...

You do NOT want to run MORE boost than you are running now without some increase in fuel, so don't worry about "only" running 6.5 lbs. Yes, you see a lot of people here saying "I run 8-9-10 lbs..." BLAH... you also see a lot of folks saying "boo-hoo, somebody help me, I blew my motor..." or "RX-7s are a POS, I blew my motor..." all because they don't listen about the fuel issue.

Good luck!