2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

Converting from GXL to TII

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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 03:40 PM
  #26  
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I swaped motor and tranny and used a automatic drive shaft pressed the yoke out and put it into my NA shaft with new ujoints it costed me $90.00 and a lil bit more of my time
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 07:52 PM
  #27  
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Well, there's no way I would wanna put in the turbo motor and attach it to the NA tranny, mostly because then later I would have to get the turbo tranny and put it in, which would require me to pull the engine twice. Why would I need a different flywheel if I'm using the entire turbo engine? So could I do the engine, ECU, harness, and trans at one time, then do the driveshaft, rear end, and rear axles later? I don't really wanna do it all at once because I don't wanna have the car out of commission for a month or longer. Maybe I should just wait and get a turbo car.
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 08:03 PM
  #28  
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Woah woah woah! Slow down a second man. You're driving a Ferarri on a bumper car track. Just don't slop thoughts together of how many things to do or how long it'll take, just take a breath and create a game plan. Write everything down and go through it twice. It'll relieve alot of stress and you'll make more sense to yourself knowing that you didn't leave anything out.
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 08:59 PM
  #29  
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All in all its not too diffucult. If you do a T2 swap you'll need:

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/ro...rboconversion%

For a J-Spec engine try:

http://www.rotaryworks.com
http://www.speedmachineperformance.com (talk to Dave Gibson if you can)
And also check the For Sale Forums in this section and you may find a deal.

Try to get an entire parts car thats been hit or flipped, as long as everything is in good shape. (I think I found my TII parts car near Ames last year).

For the LT1 swap you would need:

All the LT1 **** (I'm not a fan of the swap personally so I don't know the details, I'm sure you do).
Custom driveshaft
TII rear end

Or:

Get the 1300cc turbo kit
Get a intercooler off ebay, find a used turbo (Stock turbos on eBay can sometimes be as low as $50!), and some fuel injectors and pump. But check http://1300cc.com for the exact details.

If you 6-7 psi of boost I'm sure the drivetrain would be alright until you could find a TII tranny and rear end.

I hope that helps.
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 10:32 PM
  #30  
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Alright, I gathered together the differences between the GXL and Turbo II, and came up with this.

The turbo model came with a twill interior, turbo hood, a different drive shaft, a viscous limited slip differential, different rear axles, different rims and tires, body colored mirrors, optional anti-lock brakes (S4 model only), optional manual steering (S4 model only), black leather or cloth interior (S4 10th AE only), boost gauge, higher MPH gauge, different tach, transmission, engine, different power steering system (S5 model only).

The GXL had the AAS, a voltometer, and optional anti-lock brakes (87 and later models).

I believe those are all the differences between them.

Well, I summed a lot of it up there. All I really need to know is my options for making this car faster.

There is the option to try and custom fit parts onto the NA engine, but this usually leads to a hacked up engine bay, and one very unreliable engine, not to mention this will cost almost as much as doing a turbo conversion. Not a very viable option at all.

The kit to turbo a NA costs 1450 from 1300cc.com, but you also need a few extras. This includes: turbo, exhaust manifold, intercooler, four 550cc injectors, and a blow-off valve, all of which can be stock. Aftermarket parts can be used also. But, in order to run this turbo set-up correctly, you will need an aftermarket fuel controller, but even with this, boosting above 10 PSI on the stock ECU is dangerous, not to mention the driveline may not be able to handle it. Also, it is strongly recommended to use an aftermarket clutch and pressure plate. From what I know, all of these parts added up may be quite expensive. I'm thinking around 2500 dollars or more.

Now, there's also the option of converting the car into a Turbo II. This can be done one of two ways.

First of all, you can use all of the turbo parts, but retain the NA drivetrain. It is highly recommended to use a aftermarket clutch and pressure plate, along with aftermarket boost gauge. Also, you need to bolt on the NA flywheel to the turbo engine. Other than that, all the stock turbo parts are used. This is a cheaper way of doing things, and it will be decently reliable up to about 300rwhp horsepower or so, which is what the NA driveline is able to handle. Costs is more dependent on what you can find for parts.

And lastly, you can do the true turbo swap, using all of the turbo parts and putting them into your NA RX-7. This will get you the most reliable set-up, but it is a little more expensive. Cost is more dependent on what you can find for parts.

Now, if you want, there is also the LT-1 swap. It involves using the LT-1 motor, along with the T56 6-speed transmission, the stock rear differential (NA or turbo), stock driveshaft (modified a little), and a few other aftermarket parts to work correctly with the LT-1 engine. This usually costs around 3500 dollars, but will give you an incredibly fast and fairly reliable car. It does take a few custom things, but the swap is pretty straightforward.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured I'd summarize up everything that I've found, and then you guys could correct me where I'm wrong and give me some more advice. Thanks a lot.
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 10:54 PM
  #31  
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Nothing would be unreliable about using Sonik's kit if tuned properly I would say (he told me this 100 of times when I was inquiring about it).

What I don't understand is that you would rather go LT1 on a NA rear end then turbo on an NA rear end. Its torque that would matter in that situation, and I'm sure an LT1 would put down much more torque that a rotary at the same horsepower rating.
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Old Apr 30, 2005 | 11:10 PM
  #32  
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I don't see how Sonik's kit would be that reliable. You're still boosting on an engine that was not made to boost, not to mention the NA driveline apparently isn't going to hold up to any sort of abuse after this kit is installed, especially not without the aftermarket clutch, pressure plate, and fuel controller.

I've been told numerous times that on the street, the NA rear end will be able to take anything you can throw at it with an LT-1.
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Old May 1, 2005 | 02:59 AM
  #33  
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keep searching before you make a decision.
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Old May 1, 2005 | 10:31 AM
  #34  
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I don't see anything else I'd have to search for.
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Old May 1, 2005 | 03:29 PM
  #35  
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well i notice you make assumptions about hack jobs and such and if you searched you would know that it all bolts on and no hack jobs anywhere.....good luck
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Old May 1, 2005 | 11:25 PM
  #36  
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There is the option to try and custom fit parts onto the NA engine, but this usually leads to a hacked up engine bay, and one very unreliable engine, not to mention this will cost almost as much as doing a turbo conversion. Not a very viable option at all.

That's the only place I mentioned a hack job anywhere. What I was talking about there is modifying the stock turbo parts to try and fit the NA engine and using different things to make it work. In no way did I say using Sonik's kit or converting it to a turbo II was a hack job or using the LT-1.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 12:45 PM
  #37  
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aaroncake has had good luck with his turbo n/a. it really shouldnt cost that much if youve got tools and are handy with them. its just bolting on a turbo right? advantage here is you have a high compression turbo, so i would want to make sure i had a good, very good motor in my car.
point on the driveline, youll need the t2 tranny. either way you need it. at the very least even in a low boost naturbo conversion youll need a heavy duty clutch anyways, so thats not even a cost that can be deducted.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 02:06 PM
  #38  
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i don't know if this has been said yet, i didn't see anything about it, but at www.osakajdmmotors.com they have TII engines with under 30000kms, for 650$ and it comes with tranny, and ecu and everything i believe! Also located in Canada, so i wouldn't know the shipping.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 02:21 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by canaduh
i don't know if this has been said yet, i didn't see anything about it, but at www.osakajdmmotors.com they have TII engines with under 30000kms, for 650$ and it comes with tranny, and ecu and everything i believe! Also located in Canada, so i wouldn't know the shipping.
awesome!!!! don't show my fiancee tho....she wants to go turbo in her GTUs...
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Old May 2, 2005 | 03:39 PM
  #40  
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I think if I'm going to turbo the car, I'm gonna do it right. I'll probably just get the whole TII system and put it in there. So let's see, my parts list is gonna include:

Engine
Transmission
Driveshaft
Rear differential
ECU
Rear axles
Wiring harness
Hood
Aftermarket boost gauge

Is there any parts on the NA engine that I could re-use for the turbo engine? I would think that you use the same radiator, fluid bottles, alternator, and things like that, but I wouldn't know for sure because I haven't really messed around with an RX-7 yet. Also, that's a pretty awesome site. Thanks for the link.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 04:06 PM
  #41  
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Arg, the complete list is in the link I gave you for a conversion from NA to TII.

And J-specs suck unless its getting rebuilt.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 04:08 PM
  #42  
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http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/

Tech > TII Conversion information.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 04:40 PM
  #43  
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You are doing the right thing ,I had no clue about rx7,s till I did a swap , every time I had a problem I would pay out the ***,at the dealer , now I can almost change and adjust every thing on my 7, don't forget 6puck clutch with a centerforce pressure plate,so its easy on your nee but when you let it out it screams,just a suggestion, if you have any questions on the procedure email me at dennisblackstock@tmail.com we love, swaps because rx7s is just drop in and bolt up,the forum is here to help any body
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Old May 2, 2005 | 11:06 PM
  #44  
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Alright, complete parts list there. Good deal.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 11:06 PM
  #45  
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Alright, complete parts list there. Good deal.

So you're saying that engine on the site sucks?

Also, thanks for the help Dennis, once I start the swap, I'll stay in contact.
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Old May 2, 2005 | 11:53 PM
  #46  
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Wow this thread is full of exceptionally incorrect information.

First, you can reliably AND quite easily turbo the 6port block. To begin, you don't NEED to run as much boost on a higher compression motor to make the same power as a lower compression vehicle, so what does this mean? 10psi is equal to about 13psi on a lower compression motor, so there is simply no NEED to run the higher boost. Also, it is true that you have a lower threshold for detonation, but this isn't nearly as 'bad' as people tend to think, it's all about how it's tuned.

As for the drivetrain, it can and WILL hold the abuse of a stock turbo, unless you throw nitto drag radials on it and do 7k rpm clutch drops. The N/A diff AND it's halfshafts are a weak point in general, I've ran 320rwhp through a n/a driveline and just broke driveshafts and halfshafts, so almost every arguement here is pretty much useless.
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Old May 3, 2005 | 09:08 AM
  #47  
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Even still Sonic, wouldn't it be better to just buy all the turbo stuff for about 1500 bucks rather than buy the kit and extra parts for around 2000 bucks? I'm guessing the NA turbo kit is mostly for those people with a perfect NA engine that don't want it to go to waste after they put in the turbo engine, correct? Also, like you said, running above 10 PSI on the stock ECU and with an aftermarket fuel controller is dangerous, I'm guessing for the reason because of fuel cut. Also, I'm guessing 10 PSI of boost is gonna run you into problems with the NA drivetrain not being able to handle a lot.
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Old May 3, 2005 | 10:54 AM
  #48  
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I've ran up to 14 (limit of the stock turbo) with the stock ECU and just a fuel controller. And generally, a turbo swap cost a LOT more than $1500. Just getting the engine shipped somewhere cost nearly that, then all of the electronics required and so forth bumps that up higher.
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Old May 3, 2005 | 04:00 PM
  #49  
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Also not to mention all of the "little things" involved with the swap, would tend to build up.
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Old May 23, 2005 | 08:06 AM
  #50  
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Alright, I've read through all of this again, and now my main question is this. If I do decide to turbo my car, I can buy a boost controller to turn the turbo off and save the engine, right? Also, is it possible to hook a turbo driveshaft up to an NA rear end and transmission? I figure once the U-joints go bad on mine, I'll put a turbo driveshaft in there to get ready for the swap and maybe put in the turbo rear end and axles.
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