Most 1st gen RX7 owners may have at least one loud backfire story.

Here's mine.

When I changed the alternator on my 1979 RX7 last year most of my backfiring was restricted to morning drives to work when the temperature outside was cool and engine was not fully 100% hot.

When I drove to the Irvine Spectrum last night after work to meet some friends for dinner and parked in the enclosed parking structure. Irvine Spectrum is a shopping center in Orange County, California.

So, a short driving distance, the night air was quite cool, and my engine was cold - perfect ingredients for an RX7 backfire disaster from hell.

When I parked my car and shut off the ignition that was a horrendous KAH-BLAM! sound from my car. The echo was deafening. I felt terrible because it scared a lot of people who must have thought it to be gunfire, including an elderly couple on their way to their Cadillac. Needless to say, I got a lot of looks of disapproval.
Next time need to warm up the engine properly, I guess.

Thank God it was the Irvine Spectrum parking and not Mission Hospital's parking lot. My RX7 could have caused a coronary.

 

^ And your question is?

 

Sorry.
My question: What can be done to prevent ear shattering backfires?

 

i didnt realize he was asking a question. i thought he was only sharing.

 

Well, if the car is stock with all the emission equipment on it then you need to start testing the functions of the emission equipment.

 

You can also test the theory that sharing=caring. I appreciated the story. I had a little back fire last night too, I think mine was due to some mexican food I ate earlier in the day.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with Rxdoctor on this one also, the 1st gen section is for 1st gen chat. Maybe he just wants to hear 1st gen backfire stories?

 

Haha, Ive had countless enjoyable moments due to afterburns.
Heres a few:

So, long long ago when I had just bought my first RX-7, I left school at lunch and decided to just take a nice cruise instead of eating haha. After running through the gears a few times I decided I best not be late for school, and roared back. My car was quite loud, so when I would roll up in front of school I used to get peoples attention. Anyways, I stepped out of the car and no sooner than slamming the door, I got one of those huuuge uncle buck style shots out of the tailpipe. Not only did I hear screams, and ooohs but when I went to my first afternoon class, the teacher was all excited and asked me about my car lol. I guess he had seen it all, and it had him curious.

This other time, I was just rippin around downtown one night with a buddy when we came between 2 really huge buildings. There must have been 25 people outside, so I sneakily reached down and shut off the engine with the car still in gear and the accelerator down. As soon as I turned the key again, an INSANE (louder than ever before) afterburn erupts. I bet 10 people screamed at the top of their lungs, and simultaniously sevral actually hit the deck. That had to have been the funniest one ever.

And lastly, I was out with this girl one time who really didnt believe me that my car would shoot flames. Rather than try to convince her it did, I just let it be and decided to sneakily drive by a big building with glass windows. I told her that the cars reflection looked sweet in the windows, and she looked over and agreed. At the last second I cut power to the engine and flipped the key back on. Im willing to bet there was 4 feet of flames out the tailpipe. Not only did she flip out, from that moment on apparently I had the sweetest car ever, and she probably told more people about the flames than me! haha.

Oh, the good ol days of flameshooting. They are gone now that I spend most of my RX-7 time in an -SE....
Luckily, next summer Ive got another 12a to romp around with!!!!! Flames, I cant wait to see you again! haha

 

What did you have done tothe 12A? Exhaust wise as well?^^

 

What are you disagreeing on? I asked what his quesiton was and he stated it.
How to get rid of the annoying backfire problem.

So, what do you disagree with? The statement that I said you need to test the emission question?

 

I had my own somewhat rigged nikki, no emmissions, stock exhaust manifold with 2.25" straightpipe back to a 3" straight through rice cannon muffler.
That thing was a fireball machine!

In fact the entire powertrain and exhaust is still sitting in my basement, and to this day I cant figure out why it was so prone to shooting flames.

 

My last backfire:

 

Hahaha You win the prize for best backfire EVER!!

 

i had just put my modifed nikki on previous day and forgot i didnt tune it.
Went for a drive to the shop and and back i was driving it really hard testing the improvement with my carb flew in the driveway shut her off.
i just was sittin there in the car havin a smoke listen to my exhaust going tink....tink...tink then kaboooom crickey what the **** me car blew up lol, kinda giggled a bit hearing the neigbourhood dogs howling away.
i decided to head to my friends and have a few beers n get stoned well he lives 1 1/2 blocks away and when i got there he was waiting on the front padio laughing at me i was kinda suprised how he could hear it from that distance