Hey guys,

Been reading in the forum for a while now, and I can't figure out the exact difference with fb, fc or any of the other designations.... It probably sounds like the biggest newb question in the world, but what are the specs and what do they mean?

Thanks,
Jon

 

Okay, here it goes..

SA 1979-1980 Rx-7
FB 1981-1985
FC 1986-1991
FD 1993 on

The SA's and the FB'S are also know as first gen's. The Fc's are 2nd gens. FD's are third gens.

Hope this helps.

Kent

 

The letters come from the vehicles' serial numbers in case you were wondering if we just made them up or something.

 

We should have a sticky with all the basic terminology, a glossary for the rx7club.com. I'm sure all the abbreviations we throw around can be intimidating for a new poster.

 

The subject of this post kicks ***.

 

They are the offical vin numers for registration in the USA. Some other coutries continued to use SA as a vin for all Gen 1s. In Australia the Rx-7 ran from Series 1 to Series 6. Production continued in Japan with series 7-9 with the 280hp REW engine.

 

I liked the subject too... that's the only reason I even bothered opening it...

but I agree, when I was a n00b a year and a half ago, I was very confused..

what's a:

BOV
FB
SA-22C
12A

etc, etc, etc

there's lots more... I'm just too dumb right now to remember.... maybe it's the Pepsi Twist....



Jeff

IMHO

 

Yeah, make a newbie glossary/dictionary. Ive suggested it before, but no one ever did it .

~T.J.

 

RotorMotorDriver--Rather than suggest why not do it yourself?

 

i was wondering the same thing for a while. i think a golosary is a good idea, more like a key (like a map has)

 

The two letter designation (SA, FB, FC, FD) is shorthand by rotorheads to denote models. It is based on the two letter designation encoded within the Vehicle Identification Number specific to RX-7s.

Interestingly enough, Mazda doesn't call them FBs, FCs, etc. but P642, P815, P130, etc...

http://www.rotorhead.ca/ref_VIN.php




Want to know where and when your car was 'born'? It's actually pretty simple. If your car is a North American 1979 to 1980 model or Australian model, your VIN might look like this:

SA22C900001
SA - model code (SA = RX-7 1979-80)
2 - 2 door
2 - Engine Code (2=12A)
C Body Code (C=coupe)
900001 = serial number


In 1981 Vehicle Identification Numbers were standardized to the 17 character format. Though there is still minor variation between Asian, European, and North American based manufacturers (passenger car might show as '1' or '3', for example), virtually all VINS can be decoded using the above chart.

 

I agree. Best subject line from a newbie. Ever.

Right on Vipernicus42!

Right on.

 

I think this site should be the first stop for the new rotary owner. It's got all the basics so that all you n00bs can get up to speed on what you've gotten yourselves into. When I bought my first RX-7 in 1999, that site was the first one I found, and I found it quite enlightening. You can also go tothis site.

 

Yeah, I've learned loads from this site over the months. I don't think I'm an RX newb as much as just a car newb in general.. but I'll tell ya, with a car as beautiful as the RX-7, I had to read that shop manual through-and-through.. and www.rotaryengineillustrated.com is really cool for newbs.

Thanks for everything guys, but does anyone have a carb hehe

Jon

 

YEA

 

Your forgetting FE which is the designation for the RX-8

 

BOV = Blow off Valve. Releives excess pressure from the intake of a turbocharged car. Prevents the pressure from back spinning the turbo when you let off the gas.

Waste Gate = Also on a turbo charged car. Relieves excess exhaust pressure from powering the turbo when maximum boost has been attained.

AST = Air Seperation Tank. Removes air from the cooling system. Found on 3rd gens. The stock units are plastic, making them prone to cracking. Upgrade to aluminium for reliability.

IC = InterCooler. Cools intake air, usually on a turbo charged car. Cooler air is denser, meaning you can cram more air in, meaning you can add more fuel... All this adds to more power, hence more fun.

FMIC = Front Mounted InterCooler. Exactly that.
SMIC = Side Mounted InterCooler. Ditto
TMIC = Top Mounted InterCooler. Duh. 2nd Gen Turbo II's come with this stock.

I'll come up with more later.

 

12a and 13b are the two types of engines found in 1st and 2nd gen cars (and 3rd I believe, don't hold me to that)
The names are roughly based on their size in L (1.2 for a 12a and 1.3 for a 13b roughly)
Found this one in the Heynes

Naturally Aspirated - Refers to carbureted engines, where gravity and natural air pressures suck the gas into the engine. In fuel injection, there is no carb, but fuel injectors.

C'mon guys, let's keep the post going. If I get a chance, I'll grab a word doc and start jotting down all of these, we can get the admin to make a sticky of it

Jon

 

um... naturally aspirated doesn't refer to carbs, it refers to air intake without compression outside the engine, i.e. an engine with turbo or supercharger is not naturally aspirated as it pre-compresses the air before taking it into the combusion chamber.

You're right about fuel injection engines having no carb, but carbs mix air/fuel whereas FI injects the fuel into the intake manifold and has nothing to do with whether the air is naturally aspirated or not

 

Newb question, the 12A is 1.1 or 1.2 L ?

Thanks
Max

 

The 12A is 1146 CC, so if you're rounding, it's a 1.1 by a hair.

 

Yea technically a 12a is 1.1, and yes FD's are 13b's, as is the rx8 for that matter, although the ports are totally different.

 

Another interesting point is !2a or !2A. In the original Japanese documents there is no upper or lower case. In the first Enlish translations which dealt with the L10A upper case was used.

So should we refer to the 12A and 13B?

 

LOL well first i'm pretty sure its not "!2a" or "!2A".

I'm sure it has to be "12A" thought considering thats how it's printed on the engines themselves...

 

So is the new renesis engine classified as a 13B or does it have another engine code. Isn't it supposed to be a N/A with peripheral port, I heard somewhere that it was going to push about 250 HP