Today was a good day for the seven. First, I put in the new drive shaft I'd ordered from Mazdatrix (w/ replaceable u-joints). Then she sailed thru the emission test running a non stock exhaust: RB header, custom cat, and RB Powerpulse catback.

Of course the old fart at the test station asked me "how many cylinders", and when I told him "none, it's a rotary", he gives me his best "WTF" look and then had to make a phone call to find out what to do

Then while I was testing, another GSL-SE pulled up in line behind me. So I said to gramps, "hey look you got another rotary". He looks at it, then looks back at me and says "great". looking like "what did I ever do to deserve this?"

After I got the test results sheet, I honked and waved at the other seven owner, and he did the same back.

 

nice scores.

what state are you in?

 

Wow. That's great. Washington Department of Ecology. lol

 

I want to get the same exhaust, and I wasn't sure how I'd do with emissions, but with your numbers, that is encouraging. I was going to start with the RB cat back, since my cat is doing well, but then when I needed a cat, I was going to get the RB header. Is there only one RB header? and where did you get your cat and how did you know exactly what size to order. Sorry if this is a dumb question.

Brad

 

Is it just me or do Inspection station employees not know **** about cars? i mean come on, how can you make sure a car if fit for safe road useage if you don't know how a car works? Rotaries have been around long enought and are so simple a monkey could figure it out. God it annoys the hell our of me that an idiot inspection station guy has the power to fail my car. Grrrr. Sorry had to vent

 

Hope they NEVER do this here, I bet there isnt one car I got, not to mention the whole damn street, that would pass this...

 

Brad, my setup is a RB street port exhaust, minus the presilencers(in my garage attic), plus an added O2 sensor and a custom made cat that collects the two header pipes into one larger pipe entering the cat. Then the pipe after the cat splits back into two pipes to match the twin pipes to the catback.


decent power gain, sounds good, is smog legal, and has lasted over two years now

 

Thanks for posting, branca!.. you've answered a lot of my questions, too. I want to get a header/high-flow cat/cat-back on my '85 SE, but will wait until after it's emission-tested this summer.

The only question I still have is whether "backfire" is a problem.. if it's more frequent or louder than it is with a stock exhaust system, and if this is manageable..

 

Backfiring is infrequent and not a problem. As for the overall loudness compared to stock, it's just like any header type exhaust on a rotary; significantly louder at higher RPM's or under load, but not so much at idle. I love the sound of my car

 

Thank you!..

 

Thanks for describing your exhaust. Where did you have the custom cat made and what brand is it?

 

A) I wish this was true all the time cause the last 2 times I smogged, they not only knew it was a 13B, but also that I had a modified CAT which was 1 piece instead of the stock 3 piece. I still don't know how that CARB # got on there but thank God.

B) I wish California would ease up on smog laws so we could add headers and most of the exhaust like the other 49 states. (We moved to WA for a year and one of the first things they make you do is re-smog your car, LOL)

C) Speaking of monkies:
I once had a serious brake job done at a Mazda Dealer in Monterey, CA on my "SE" where I found myself arguing with the mechanic that I had 4 disc brakes while he insisted no 1st gen had such a thing... ahem, guess again bunghole. They did do an excellent job after I asked for the manager to verify for himself.

I really need to learn how to repair my own brakes.