Jonoze

Can someone please help me with the following...

Which Australian RX7 models came with LSD's and disc rear brakes?

How much power can these diffs comfortably handle?

When did the stud patterns for these diffs change, what is the difference, and which models had which stud pattern???

Thanks...Jono.

FuLLsMoKe

Sorry--I don't know the answer to those questions, but I have been wanting to know if Australian cars have the steering wheel on the right? I think they are... BUT--how are the pedals arranged (is the pedal toward the middle or outside) and is 1st gear up-left? What about the signal/wiper levers?

Sorry! I was just dying to know!

Adsy01

the pedals are over to the right on rhd cars... its a real pain in the *** if you want to make speaker pod for aussie cars.. as we have to clear the "gas" pedal

the gear shift patterns are the same worldwide for mazdas....
the dash is a perfect mirror image the ingtion key is on the right as is the turn signal switch.....


LSD's only came out in s3 models in austrailia and there very rare, these also have the strogest 1stgen center in them and have disk brakes..
it depends on how you treat it!:lol
the stud patteren changed on the s3.. all aussie rotary cars had the same stud pattern until the s3. i forget the PCD but im sure someone else wil tell ya.

Powerslave

it varies on the model of Rx7 how the indicator wiper switches work, indicator is on the right for all 3 series's but the cruise control model has a different combination switch ofcourse.
Rear disc brakes on the series 2 Rx7's and series 3's are different again (which are ventilated rears like GSL-SE)

peejay

Those are both series 2's right? that's what it looks like to my american eyes 'cos of the rounded dash/round end vents and the shifter moved back pretty far.

Jonoze

Okay, i thought the s3 was the only one that came with lsd. Did any of the s2 diffs have discs? Can you get lsd centres for s2 diffs? And how much stronger are the series 3 over the series 2 diff. I would like approx power figures if possible.
Thanks...Jono.

Rotor Reaction

does every s3 in australia have lsd??
i have a s3 but don't feel it have a lsd inside.....

peejay

I think I have a magazine article that says the '81 models had discs/LSD in Australia... have to go back and check.

REVHED

I'm pretty sure only Series 3's came with LSD and only some of them at that. You can get bolt in LSD's for the Series 2 diff but they're pretty expensive. Last time I asked it was around $1500 for a fully rebuilt item. Also, keep in mind that the axles are larger on the Series 3.

Rotor Reaction

how do i know if there is a lsd on my car or not??
mine is the latest model, built 1985, limited edition.

Pele

iTrader: (28)

So everything's the same, just on the other side of the car it looks like.
Just have to get used to shifting with the same hand you use to activate the turn signals. Doesn't seem TOO hard... I think.

Felix Wankel

Its not. I drove a RHD Jeep cherokee to an auction once, I kept running over the centerline with the left side because I wasnt used to driving from the right side.

FuLLsMoKe

lol, I sat down and tried to shift with my left... AIIIII... I'd surely crash
My right hand has a mind of its own

Anyway... looking at those pictures made it feel even weirder--the left side is completely EMPTY!!!

peejay

here's what gets me though... not sure if the pans are different for RHD chassis, but on a LHD car, there is a ton of room in the driver's (left) side footwell... plenty of room for three pedals and a fairly large dead pedal. On the right side, there is very little room between the kick panel and the transmission hump, barely enough room for two feet! If you RHD guys don't have a different floorpan, I don't know how you do it.

BTW - I learned to drive 'stick left-handed. Friend of mine had an '84 Cavalier with a 4-speed, and I was 15 or so, and one day he says "well, you gotta learn to drive." so he's doing the driving, but i have to shift from the passenger seat. The fun part was he didn't tell me when to shift - I had to just know. And I did!

FuLLsMoKe

I just can't see myself steering with my right and shifting with my left... I can only imagine if the gas pedal was on the left side

REVHED

Bah! I think you guys have it all *** over tit. To me it makes much more sense the way we have it set up. Operate clutch with left foot and shift with left hand. Makes sense don't it.

peejay

That's like playing guitar left-handed

With LHD your left hand (usually the less able hand) only has to move in a fixed circle. Your right hand gets the tricky job of moving a shifter through its gates. That's kinda like playing a guitar - your left hand just moves on a fixed line and holds the strings, while your right hand does the hard part of hitting the right strings.

Maybe there are just more ambidextrous people in RHD countries. Explains all the good guitar players though...

Adsy01

the car with the blue interior is a series one.. if you look at the tachometer it has the volt gauge in the middle of it.....

all Aussie s2 had disc on the rear...
im 99% sure the s3 was the ONLY 1st gen in Australia to have a LSD and only a few of then actually actually had them anyway

peejay

Your S1s are much different from ours then! On ours the shifter is much more forward... the boot is more forward and there's a few change pockets placed on the aft end (none matching US currency of course) The easy way to spot the difference is where the vertical and horizontal parts of the center console meet... see, on our S1s it's right from vert to horizontal and the shift boot starts right there, that center console looks awful lot like an S2. The dash does look the same, can't really make out the gauges though. Our S2 gauges were almost the same as S1, except the lighting was green for S1 and yellow/orange ( ) for S2.

Toytoo

BTW, In Oz we shift with the left and turn signals are on the right in the RX7.
I'm an Aussie just returned from 6 years overseas, so have current driving licences for UK, Chile, Virginia and South Australia :-)
BBFN - Chris who also has beers from 4 continents!

Adsy01

peejay. your right about the gear shifter positon... I dint notice it at 1st but the s1 pictured above must have a later model gearbox in it and therfore the s2/s3 conslole parts being used in it too.... also the blue car has the s1 ashtray where the window switchs are on a s2/s3 (i will try and fine a pic of a stock aussie s1 interor)

the s3 and s2 had the same dash and console, ect over here we didnt get the fb type dash at all.

the s1 gauge cluster uses the tachometer as a voltometer when the ingiton is turned on but the engine isn't running, im the s1 and 2 both had the orange lighting i dont know about the s3 though as i havent been in one with the lights on! lol

thats my old s2 12aTurbo. the dash was origanlly brown, the door trims are form a jap model s2, the aussie ones were the same but with a chrome strip were the vinyl meets the cloth. :-)

FuLLsMoKe

Steering wheel on the left... You Aussies even drive on the wrong side of the road!!! (just kidding )

PaulFitzwarryne

The original reason for driving on the left Australian style derived from horseback days. When you meet on horseback you passed to the left so you could see if the oncoming person's sword was not drawn. If you passed to the right American style, they could be hiding a knife and stab you in the back without warning.

At one stage the Italians had it both ways, the cars had the wheel on the right and drove on the right! About 25 years ago I had to go to the Trucial Oman in the middle East. I looked up how they drove in the FIA yearbook. It said whether you drove on the left or the right side of the road was optional! When I got there I found it did not matter as everyone drove in the middle.

On a more serious note, the Australian RX-7s were a strange mixture of Japenese, UK and American components. Series 1, 2 and 3 were jumps in product development, but some batches had mid year changes so you can for example get a 2 1/2 series car.

peejay

straaaange...

BTW I always heard people that when people carried swords, it was better to pass each other on the left side of the road, because your swords wouldn't clatter against each other, and also if you had to draw your sword against the oncomer, being to the left on the road is a favorable position.

But when people carried guns, it was the opposite - when you draw with your right hand, you naturally draw a bit to the left, so you'd want to pass oncomers on the right side of the road.

It explains why Japan and the UK drive on the left side and the US drives on the right. (no foolin'!)

FuLLsMoKe

LOL, they pack silver stuff, and we pack lead?