Aus_S1RX7

Personaly i dont like body kits looking over some pics on the net the 1st gen looks real mean just with a nice set of mags

example




though i do like the rear wings that they put on them.. like this one... are they stock ? take the bodykit off that and i love it



what do u people think ?

LongDuck

This is what I built from bodykit parts (various). This reflects my tastes in both having something unique, and also updating the looks of the car so that it doesn't blend in with the rest of what you see in traffic;





I drove the car for years with no body kit additions at all, and while it certainly looks clean, I prefer to have some aerodynamic additions if only to appeal to the pilot in me. I have always imagined the airflow around the FB bodystyle as worthy of improvement.

wae

I'm not much for bodykits at all, really. But that Mariah notchback hatch is really slick-looking. If I ever put any non-stock body paneling on my car, it would probably start and end with that hatch.

Mills

iTrader: (1)

Aside from the wheels and the one missing piece of molding, that red one looks great!

Other than the discontinued Pacific/Pacific Avatar/whatever ya called 'em kit, I'm not usually too fond of bodykits on 1st gens. Selectmaz makes some nice stuff, though. Too bad the shipping is so much

red13brx7

I think the erebuni kit makes the front look more modern, thats basically why I got it. I think the cars with them, done right.. with soem wheels and a nice wing looks real good. Mine is almost done, I will post soom pics after wheel and paint.

red13brx7

I think body kits on first gens are the way to go. It makes the car look more modern. I like the erebuni kit personally. I will post some pics when I get mine done. Needs some paint, and just got my wheels. But waiting to get them on.

cosmicbang

If the parts actually do something, why not. A rear spoiler can reduce drag, but some of the add-ons are purely ornamental and can significantly reduce performance.

LongDuck

cosmicbang - you're right when you mention that as long as they're functional, that they make good additions. Throughout the past few years, I've been building on my body kit to function the way that I want to based on how I drive (and where I drive);

1) Airdam - when cruising at or over 100mph from time to time (my younger, and much dumber days) the FB body has significant lift from the valance under the front bumper. This angle is not offset by the upper valance and hood, so you generate lift here that tends to pull the front tires up and make steering loose - not what you want when driving at high speeds. The Airdam helps to kill front end lift, and makes a noticeable improvement in steer and stability at high speeds. It increases frontal area, however, so increases Cd.

2) Side Skirts - without lowering the car with springs (done later), side skirts help to make the car appear more modern and also cover up the factory jacking points that tend to get dinged up over time. They're supposed to provide better stability in crosswinds, but I think they 'catch' the crosswind more than without - but they look nice.

3) Rear deck - for me, this was a part that I always wanted to add. it changes the rear styling of the car, and even though it increases Cd by having that fast drop-off right behind the passenger headliner area, it also decreases total glass on the back hatch. I live in Phoenix, AZ where it routinely gets up over 110 degrees with no humidity. With the sun shining through the rear glass (even with tint), your car can be as hot as 150-175 degrees in the heat of summer - I'm not exaggerating here. This kills the 'oven-effect' by getting rid of some of the glass at the expense of a loss of airflow 'smoothness' over the back deck.

4) Rear spoiler - I am a fan of wings, but for the drag that they introduce, a spoiler (whaletail) is much better and mounts lower so that it doesn't obscure rear visibility. Mine is a Pacific T-Tops fiberglass part that molds very well to the FB skin, and gives a very flat deck when viewed from behind. The small lip here helps to keep a sharp transistion in airflow from stagnant air behind the car. The rear panel, taillights, and license plate all get very dirty if I don't wash the car for several weeks. This proves to me that the airflow is separated properly. Additionally, the rear spoiler kills rear end-lift at high speeds, since the stock FB shape is not that different than a side-view of a aircraft wing. Adding a flap increases drag.

Once upon a time, I was ticketed for 105 in a 65 (interstate), and can attest to the better high speed performance improvements that the right kit can make.

anthrax

I think LongDuck's car looks real sharp. the parts that have been added don't take away fotm the intended appearance of the car.

What I don't car for is Wide Body kits. To me all they are trying to do is make the RX7 look like sonthing it is NOT.

I just don't understand why people buy these cars and then try to Frankenstien them into somthing theyare not, nor where they ever intended to be.

But that is just my opininon.

Ludicrous

I generally like the original look of the car, although I like the "smaller" body kits - rear spoiler, smaller side skirts, from airdam - as long as they're more conservative. Maybe I'm old, but I like the rex to look like a rex.

d0 Luck

i like my simple body kit because it REALLY does give it an updated look, and not to mention the ladies seem to be diggin it as well (most are just in it for eye candy, but that's always a plus!)... i'm just missing a whale spoiler now

and yes, it seperates me from the 'others'

no widebody for me... i'm already trying to put her on a weight loss diet, and it's impractical for the street.. even then what i have now is good enough for track

'nough said..

anthrax

What I don't understand, (I am not trying to start a flame war here) is why people buy cars that a 19+ uears old, and try to make them look like they are much newer?

You don't see pleople buy 1954 Chevey Bell-Airs, and trying to make them look like new Lexus, they restore them and make them look the way they did when they were new.

Why can't the First Generation RX-7 get this kind of respect from the people that own them?

These are just my thoughts on this subject.

thricerx7

the red one with the bodykit looks real nice! i'd say bodykit, but i can't afford one.

red13brx7

Well I believe that most people do try to restore their rx7. But there are also 1954 that have CD players and big 20" wheels on them. I would say that is trying to modernize there ride. And plus the body kit was made way back in the day anyway for the first gen rx7 so its not a huge modernization that is done anyway. Just a simple add on for a little bit more sporty or you can call it modern look.

Snapshot

I have The Pacific IMSA kit. Not to look newer, but to look like the 7s racing in the Daytona 24. BtW, 7s won class for several years. Can you say,"Roger Mandeville"?

cosmicbang

Longduck,
My point was some stuff, especially the more extremes, is less than useless. I am very familiar with the front end lift in high-speed driving (now saved by statues of limitations) The FB does benefit from an air dam and spoiler. If the side skirts tie the styling together then why not? I have nothing against your car; it is tasteful and well done. I don't have wind-tunnel vision, so you would be the one to know from driving how well the whaletail works. The Maserati Merek/Bora-looking hatch would not be very practical for me because it eliminates the RX-7s large cargo capacity; the same issue I have with rear/mid-engine cars. But if you don't need that space it doesn't matter.

It says a lot for the basic styling of the car that it does NOT look old and dated after 25+ years. Porsche 911's are another car that did not change much in underlying body style over many years. There were wide body versions, whale-tails, etc and as long as they are functional they look fine. Because airdams and spoilers were in fact Mazda optional equipment, it's not the same as the 54 chevy analogy. For that matter wide-body RX-7s were common on the race track in the 80's. Wide body kits are fine with me if you need them to cover larger tires and/or race the car. Otherwise it just looks ridiculous, especially with a 100hp engine under the hood.

LongDuck

I think we're agreed on widebodies. They create huge airscoops on the car, increase frontal area, and can cause problems with bump steering and failing wheel bearings. Not worth the hassle, for me.

And, no offense taken at all - I like functional parts as much as the updated styling of a nice looking car. Until you get up into 300 hp, you really don't need a lot of brake ducting, intake inlets, etc.

cosmicbang

Hmm, adding a flap to an aircraft wing INCREASES LIFT, along with induced drag. The car does look like a wing but the spoiler needs to decrease lift or create down force, so it would be like an upside-down flap?

LongDuck

On any aircraft wing, when you drop flaps, you're increasing drag to increase lift. This allows for a higher angle of attack of the wing prior to stall to give a steeper approach path.

If you imagine your car as an 'upside-down' wing, then adding a spoiler on the top of the rear edge is like adding a flap to this upside-down wing. You're trying to break up the flow of smooth air over the car (which causes lift), and by breaking up this flow, you increase drag and increase negative lift - counteracting any lightness in the rear-end at speed.

If you look at some of the 80's and 90's IMSA racecars, the aerodynamic changes that they made look almost exactly like an airplane wing turned upside down - these cars require maximum downforce to increase cornering speed, but suffer on the long straights where the drag is so high that the engines can't push them as quickly. The ideal long-track racecar would have driver configurable aerodynamics to add 'flaps' through corners and the braking approach, and take off 'flaps' for the straights - I don't know of any cars that incorporate this other than some of the more modern cars (Porsche, Crossfire, etc) that deploy spoilers at higher speeds to kill lift.

IME, if you run a front airdam, you should also run some type of rear spoiler to help balance the car front to rear.

rotary emotions

I can't decide what I'd like most. My car is a 1982 RX-7, with Mariah widebody, which I find very attractive. It's the red car in the pics. The white one belongs to a Swedisch friend, pics are from his site.
My car has a custom interior, and will get a TII engine soon (engine is being prepared now) so nothing is original. I love the car, but my dream is still to own a red, factory original 1979 SA. I guess I'd like to own both a widebody and a stock one. I'll buy one someday Right now I have to cope with the widebody RX-7 and the NSU

cosmicbang

Yes thats what I was thinking, upside down wing. So the cross-section shape of the RX-7 with flat bottom looks like a right-side-up wing but the effect needs to be an upside-down wing to stay on the ground. Technically as far as the drag and lift of flaps it's the other way around, flaps add lift and hence induced drag increases, which results from production of lift. The net is the same however you describe it, and obviously when you lower flaps, the drag is what is felt.

RX783T

long duck can you post more pics of the kit you made but do it as a jpeg attatchment

Anthrax Mike

It seems to me that all of the wide body kits I've seen ruin the cars supine curves. And it no longer looks like a Mazda, its a 944. More German than Japanese.

There is nothing out-of-date about this car, except the black colored scuff strips around the body and maybe the tail lamps. If you look at other cars of this era, they are boxy and clunky. This car is pure sex amongst a time when every car had gone prude. I wouldn't do anything to alter it.

My last bit. I prefer sleeper cars. When I finally get the money to drop into this car. I'll let the performance do all the impressing. But thats a preference. I like body kits on other peoples cars, but at the same moment. I think its a shame when people dump two grand into aesthetics and ignore the internals.

Plus I like my car to be as small in dimensions as possible. So I can squirt in and out of traffic. Its dumb, but I can't help but to drive wreckless.

Aus_S1RX7

any nice pics of 1st gens with some ncie rims ?