Hey guys,

I dont have a rx7 yet, however i am getting one friday. It is an '84 GSL 5spd with 144k miles.

my previous cars have all been hondas, so needless to say im pretty clueless with rotaries. i have been reading as much as i can and i have a few questons:

1) apex seals.. these guys seem like a nightmare. do they go randomly? over time? does beating on the car kill them faster? i guess im trying to say how can i get the most out of em. my rx7 is going to be my daily driver for college.

2) porting. i am still just learning about rotary engines, and everyone is talking about porting porting porting and i am clueless. can someone give me the idiots guide to 'what is porting?' or point me to something.. also, are there any disadvantages to porting?

3) how much power, ballpark, could one of these make with a new (weber?) carb and a full exhaust system (i understand its ~100hp/tq 12a engine?)? do rotaries like bolt-on's or not much power gains?

sorry im such an idiot.
this will be my first carburated car, my first RWD car and my first rotary car.. should be a learning experience.

thanks

 

apex seals...yeah major component that goes on the motors...they are like piston rings

porting is enlarging the intake and exhaust ports on the motor, it can be done minor (street porting), or major (bridgeporting)..and you can make HUGE power this way....its like putting a race cam in your pison engine

a 12a with a full racing beat exhaust, and a really good carb can make close to 145 hp from what i've learned. that's with no porting

there's a guy on these forums with 680 hp out of a 12a!! :O

 

Now that your a rotor head you will confuse simple words like apex seal with sex apeal. Although it may smell like pepto MMO will do about the exact opposite to you. Never high five a fellow rotor head when your both going 140 in your rexs. Sterling is the carb guy so is carl. Do not feed the leg humpers... oh god dont feed the leg humpers. But all that aside welcome my new freind we now pwn you. Oh and PIIDB.

 

For porting, I suggest the engine building section at Nopistons.com. Probably more in that one section than you will ever want to know or use.

 

As far as the apex seals are concerned, just be sure to change your oil regularly and religiously, and warm the car up before you start stomping on the gas. These cars benefit from driving them hard. Don't be afraid to take the engine into the redline. This will actually help prevent carbon build-up which could make the apex seals stick and result in loss of compression. I'd check your stock tach against a "real" one. I had my car on the dyno a few weeks ago and found out that when I was hitting 8000rmp on my tach, I was only approaching 7000rpm on their computer. Also, it's a good idea to let the car 'warm down' ie drive the car a little more restrain for the last mile. Otherwise, you'll "put the car up wet" meaning that they'll be a major smoke show the next time you start it up.
Read throught the FAQ threads at the top of this forum. That'll help a lot.

Welcome to the wonderful world of rotaries. It's a FUN place to be.

 

Welcome to the boards.

You made a good decision to get away from front-wheel-drive grocery getters and get into a sports car. There is no substitute for rear wheel drive and front engine.

As far as engines are concerned; stock power is a bit low, but you can do a lot through modification to make more power. The Apex Seals are the least of your worries - they work for a very long time if you take care of your engine and don't drive it in the redline all the time. Remember that these cars are 20+ years old now, and if you want good reliability, they're going to take some effort on your part. Routine and preventative maintenance will keep your car going strong, and making sure that everything's in order will get you back and forth to school with minimal effort.

I can't stress enough how important it is to perform regular oil changes. The rotary engine injects a small amount of oil whenever the engine is turning, so you need clean oil to burn cleanly and to keep the engine from 'gumming up'. It is also CRITICAL that you NEVER allow the engine to overheat! Keep good coolant in it, and if it starts to go hot - pull over and shut it down.

Heat will kill this engine faster than anything else, including revving past the redline.

Take care, and let us know if you find a car that you think you want to buy - there are a lot of things to look out for when making a purchase,

 

welcome to the wonderfull world of wankel. im pretty sure you wont want to go back too hondas now(except when it comes to paying at the pump). i got away from rx7's for a little while years ago and in that time i had 4 hondas. now ill never leave again, this past week my clutch line started leaking so i had to drive my dads f150 and after 2 days i was missing the 7 so bad i couldnt stand it.

the most important thing about the rotaries is maintanance and proper driving. you should let it warm up before before driving (esp. driving it hard) every morning i usually start the car at ease across the street to the store and let it get to full operating temp before heading down the road, you should also never start it and then shut it off before you let it warm up. check your oil every time you get gas(which will be often).go thru all of the faq's and search alot(itll help out alot)
theres not really alot in the way of bolt-ons for this year rx7(not like a honda anyway) a new or moded carb and full exhaust will do pretty good, ditching the rats nest wont gain power but will make it easier to work on,e-fan and getting rid of air pump will free up power.

 

Post some pictures of your new acquisition! You've got one of the greatest cars every manufactured by mankind, an 84 GSL (I know, I have a couple of them myself). Get a Haines manual and ask lots of questions, rotary folks love to talk about rotaries and help people out and they know just about everything. And stay away from Mazda dealers and Mazda car shops, they know just about nothing. Course, most of the mechanics working at those places were born after these cars were made, so you can't blame them.

"this will be my first carburated car, my first RWD car and my first rotary car.. should be a learning experience"

should be a good one!

 

I got a question....how much oil do the stock 12a engines take in a oil change

 

Two and a half to three. Check your hood to.

 

uh oh....seems like i need to remove some then. I looked in the manual I had and it said 5.5 US quarts....only had 5 though

 

Ray- you are SO full of it... Obviously the 79-80 RX is the most beautiful, but you wanted to let the guy feel good...that's nice
Okaa-
Anyway, as LongDuck sez: oil-oil-oil - BUT the second half of the cooling doctrine is the Rad and water system. unless you know for sure (!) that the rad and block have had a recent and thorough flushing, get that RX to the nearest competent Rad Shop, have them pull and dunk the rad, powerflush the block/heater core and then replace EVERY cooling hose in the engine compartment INCLUDING the heater hoses. Cheapest preventative maintenance you can do on a 20-ish year old rotary (or any car, likely). Make sure they top off the system with at least 50-50 DISTILLED water/coolant and change it religiously every 2 years.
Enjoy and welcome-
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska