last night i was driving my car and after i had reved up to about 7000 shifted into 3rd like any other time only this time when i got to the stop sign down the street i could smell a bit of burning... and in the low rpms it had no power , and was sputtering horribly, however in an upwards of 4000rpm it had plenty... so i pulled over and opened the hood and what i think i saw was the catalic converter/header?? was absolute RED hot... i let it cool down and it was fine... so now i think it is time to replace the the whole shibang... muffler... header ect... i know i probly dont have to but i just baught the car and its completely stock from 1980... so i was just wondering if this part from RB would be alright

:
Road Race Header 79-85
RX-7 (12A)

i was planning to get a universal 3" racing muffler but i dont realy know of anywhere to get one, also a catalic converter if anyone can help me out id appreciate it

 

the 79-80 models had thermal reactors, not catalytic conveters. if you are in an area that doesnt require you to have a cat. just get a pre-silencer. i am not sure about putting a header on a 79-80 and keeping it emmisions legal. on my 79 i just put a pre silencer, but i have no idea about the legality of doing so. and if you are going to replace the whole shibang you might as well get a RB muffler as well, they are kinda steep but they are quality products.
for the sputtering you might want ot check out the carb and make sure its in good working order. it might be time to do a rebuild.

 

Not sure if the Canadian 79 had a thermal reactor or catalytic converter... is BC still doing the Orwellian AirCare annual testing? If so, get a cat. If not, get a header.

 

I got the catco highflow converter from summit racing and it cost about $70 shipped to my home and I bought the DTM 3" outlets and that ran threw ebay for $50 look at the mufflers that have buy now some are stainless steel I have one and it's not cheep!

 

on the island ( vancouver island ) we dont have to pass emissions so header it is ... im not worried about noise... hell im happyer the louder my baby is , I was thinking about glasspack, header and 3inch exhaust... can i do that. im reletively new to cars so if im missin something lemme know and the sputter was only when cat/thermal was red hot, but its not a 79 its an 80 if that is any different if anyone can recomend a good SS muffler 3" and a header. one that isnt super exspensive but not crapy ive seen Universal SS mufflers in some mags for like $100+(american) around 170 cdn... damn crap *** Cdn money...

 

3" is much too large. Plus the road race header you want is a dual outlet, so you either need to buy a collector or buy the streetable header that comes collected already.

 

Glasspacks won't last on a rotary-engined car, the packing will melt in very short order. There really isn't anything to gain with a 3" pipe on a stock port motor.
Is your air pump present and working? That cools the thermal reactor, keeping it from getting too hot. The Racing Bleat road race header is uncollected, meaning you either have to buy a collector or run a long-primary setup which isn't really appropriate for a stock-ported motor. Yes, I know it's the cheapest one they sell. You probably want the header specific for '79-'80 applications, the part # is 16008. RB also makes a "mini" presilencer to replace the heat exchanger in '79-'80 cars. Then the stock pipe bolts right up to that. There really needs to be a "sticky" thread on the subject of replacing the thermal reactor with a header, as this subject comes up about a half a dozen times a day.

 

kewl thanks for the info , guess im just some young stupid kid that doesnt know much about the mechanics of rotaries hehehe just thinkin big ...

 

although i do plan to street port, putting in a new carb, replacing flywheel with a lightend one, tuning up the engine , competely cleaning it, and whatever else comes along i have very big plans for my car, i love the thing so much even though ive only drove , im trying to go for durability not just power if i can

 

dude, Felix Wankel and WankelGuy are absolutely right! 3.0 inches is WAAAAY too big for yours, or any other non-turbo application.

just get a collected RB system!

 

yep i know now, im always thinkin too big thanks alot guys but im not stayin stock...