Some questions for turbo first gen owners
 

Are you happy with your project ?
Is it ever quite finished ?
Is it a black hole that swallows all your $$$'s ?
How does the car handle the power ? did u have to upgrade brakes, suspension etc ?
Do you have continual tuning problems....or once set has it run fine ?

YES
NO, but most of my work now is unrelated to the drivetrain, ie. interior/body
NO if you don't let it and plan your swap
Great... Stock -SE brakes, tokico HP's, ST spings and sway bars.
NO, stock ECU at this time.

In other words don't turbo the rotary LOL.

aha ! you're the man with the nissan sr20det motor in the first gen.
and u say your first gen handled the power ok....other than those suspension upgrades you did ? wow, thats impressive

Yep, no issue with the power... keep in mind to in this same car I had a Chevy V8 that had enough torque to pull away from most cars in 4th gear @1000rpm. First Gen rears are very stout, also I don't abuse it... to much.

1......Love it....bugs me sometimes,but Im too deep in to ever really hate it.
2......Yes,for the most part.Some minor things still remain,but the car is 99.9% done...Took 10 years.
3......Of course it did.Thats why Im so happy now,it DID...but no longer DOES!
4......I did all the suspension mods and brakes first,so I cant really say if it would have been safe with just the power infusion.That said,if your going to be making 3-4 times the stock power,youd have to be crazy or very ignorant not to do some upgrades to the rest of the car.My suspension system is mild by race/all-out standards and my brakes are substantial,but not earth shattering.No need to spend thousands and thousands to make it safe.
5......No tuning issues other than regular maintenence.Thats the main reason I choose the stock EFI.Standalone guys will have to endure some inital tuning sessions,but speed density EFI is very predictable and stable once set.....provided you dont tinker and upgrade constantly,and thats the catch with turbo engines....theres always the desire to push harder and tweek it a little more.Im pretty restrained and content with my current,well-balanced vehicle,so the desire to push it harder is not an issue.

there is nothing better thab enjoying a boosted rotary, no matter what the cost, and its never finished!!!

steve, as usual well said!

1. Very happy, that is why it is a daily drive in both desert and snow conditions[minus 10 to plus 44 degrees C].
2. No, the annual cost is far less than just the depreciation on any modern sportscar of similar performance. Just compare the running costs of a Gen 1 with a Boxster S, 350Z or Z4!
3. Handles the 220rwhp well but needed lowering, better shocks, springs and bushes to match handling with the power.
4. Mine is efi, with absolutely no problems maintaining tuning with a Microtech and 12AT dizzy.

[QUOTE=craigw1]Are you happy with your project ?
Is it ever quite finished ?
Is it a black hole that swallows all your $$$'s ?
How does the car handle the power ? did u have to upgrade brakes, suspension etc ?
Do you have continual tuning problems....or once set has it run fine ?[/QUO

1 very happy, nothing has ever passed me on the street
2 I replaced alot of stuff drives like a new car
3 power make the car a blast to drive
4 RB springs and tokiko 5 ways make a big difference, remember most of our car are 20 yrs old
5 I just change plugs alittle more often.

I dont have a first gen but I have a 12a rotary in my baja. it ran great NA, but I decided to turbo. well since I can't get it to run worth a shit(carb or timing???)it floods constantly and is a PITA to start(if it does). I decided to go to the v6 nissan engine in my baja. It took me a hour of wiring and a few curse words but the v6 turbo fired right up and is going to be in the back.

I really wanted to go rotary so now I will probably sell all the 12a stuff and find a 13bt. pisses me off but whatcha gonna do??? :Kill1:

Very Happy

Its a hobby car, and I am a nitpicky SOB so no its never done, there is always something to play with :)

Not really, I budgeted first, searched for parts over about 2 years and then got busy.

My car has a fully race prepped suspension so no issues, the brakes just got upgraded to T-II with racing pads, but prior to that it was OK for the street, just couldn't hack the circuit course stress, hence the upgrade.

Power FC w/datalogit, currently it is set up as stock so know issues whatso ever, however when I swap up to the bigger turbo (To4E , or maybe IHI C-7 ) then it will get funny for a month till I retune it.

If you go carb turbo, you will have to re-tune on a regular basis, try it its fun, if you don't want to mess with tuning constantly then go EFI get it tuned once and you will be very happy.

for the total cost you could probably buy a very nice FD. but then you would be just like any other caffe lotte sucking yuppie that owns one.....

kenn

PS I personally have owned at one time or another every model of rotary car that Mazda sold in Japan with the exceptions being the original Cosmo Sport, the rotary powered bus, and the REPU (repu was never sold over here) and my all time favorite is the SA/FB platform, it is closer to being a pure sports car than any of the others including the fc (bloated pig) and FD (yuppie mobile).

almost forgot
 

Pick up the rx-8 for the wifey next month, so I will get to compare it next :rlaugh:

kenn

Most of the time
never
at first
pretty good, I'd recommend it
always tuning, maybe if I dyno tuned it It would be more of a set and forget about it.

saltyslug you put all that time and effort into putting that 12A in and now your gonna throw in a V6? I can understand a couple complications that would set you back, but take a step back and realize what you've accomplished. If anything take a week off away from your car, relax, and then dive into any problems. You could be overlooking such simple little problems but being pissed and so close to being done you might be missing them. Then again to each their own but you added awesome pictures and info that otherwise we wouldn't have seen anywhere else but the first gen forum baby!!!!!

Bet you haven't owned a Roadpacer.

Hh,heh....dont even mention the word "Pacer" to anyone in the U.S.!!

O'course,Im sure it has a whole other meaning for the rest of the world,unless God forbid, AMC exported that abomination!

i agreee totally it probaly not to hard to fix

flooding can be float,fpr
etc etc

Nah, in the 1970's GM USA had Holden Australia send over a boatload of Holden Premiers to Mazda Japan in exchange for technical information on the rotary. Mazda proceeded to swap the 3.3l 6cyl for a 13B rotary and market it as the Roadpacer. The result was an underpowered 3500 pound pile of shit. :)

http://mrec.rotary.net.nz/articles/roadpacer.jpg

as claimed all mazda produced except bus, cosmo sport, and repu. I am quite aware of the roadpacer, Mazda used a number of its styling cues on the rotary powered Luce, but it was not made or sold in numbers, and I honestly don't remember any of them making it down to Okinawa, though one or two might have slipped through the cracks.

However I should have mentioned the rotary familia, it was the older verison of the 323 with a 10a rotary engine. weighed absolutley nothing :) dropped a 13b in that one with a side (street) port and piled it up on route 58 about halfway to Nago city. It was a lot of fun for straight line as it weighed less than the RX-3 by a chunk.

kenn

Gawd......eck!
Looks like a brick with wheels.What the hell was wrong with people then?Did they forget everything we learned about aerodynamics over the last 50 years?!
I have seen a couple of the 12AT Luces from the 80's(not in person) and they actually look pretty nice....square like an 80's Stanza or Sentra.....but nice.