So guys, I joined the club just today after buying an 89 N/A FC!


It's pretty damn sexy, I just have a few questions for you guys.
The people I bought it from said it was street ported w/ a 4 Puck clutch and a lightweight flywheel. The people were pretty respectable and the clutch is nice and tight on the car, so I think that that part is legit, but is there any way to know for sure if the engine is actually street ported?

Also, it seems like the shift to 5th gear is really rough, and acceleration in 5th is super slow. Would this be the 3800 RPM thing or something evil about to pwn the hell out of my car?

I'll have pictures up for you guys after tomorrow, no light right now =]

 

Yea you could tell if its ported many ways but you wouldnt know the difference right now anyways. So if the thing is running sweet than enjoy the ride! Not sure about the tranny...it could be a number of things.

 

Yeah it runs great, I'm just worried that the problem in 5th could be something serious that's going to destroy my motor. It really doesn't affect the car until about 60mph, then the RPM's just kind of creep up really slowly.

 

5th gear could be shot. You can pick up a decent used replacement transmission. Dirt cheap for an NA tranny... but I'd go with a TII tranny since it's ported (TII trans can handle more power).

 

The same thing is going on with mine when I shift to 5th. I dono if it's just a really long gear or if I'm shifting up at low RPMs. What rpm do you shift at? I usually go at 3-3.5 at low gears at 4 I shift at 4-4.5

 

5th/reverse is harder for all FC trannys

 

Congrats... Tune up and replace fluids immediately PLEASE...

 

The reason your car seems doggy in 5th might be due to the fact that you have a n/a rx-7 with a transmission with taller gears. Getting teh car in proper working order would isolate the problem.

 

Welcome to the community. Rotaries like to rev., so shift to 5th a bit later, if you're looking for more acceleration. I basically just use 5th for cruising, to avoid lugging the engine. Do some maintenance, be gentle in 5th and you'll avoid paying for it sooner.

BTW, although the turbo tranny will take more power, you'd have to change the flywheel, clutch, starter and either get a custom driveshaft or also switch the rear end. Brush up on the FAQ, stickies and archive at the top of this section.

 

No no.

He says that the problem doesn't really affect anything until 60mph, when the 'revs starts to go up really slow'. Does this mean acceleration is alright in 5th gear until 60mph? Or does he/she mean that THAT is when he/she shifts into 5th gear?

I had an '86 GXL with a lightweight aluminum flywheel and a centerforce clutch. 5th gear was absolute rubbish after that. I wouldn't be worried at all.

Is it grinding as you shift into 5th? Does it grind as you shift into reverse? Does it drive fine in 5th gear after you've reached 65mph or faster? Just a little bit sluggish? Are you shifting by the Shift Up light's recommendations? If so, stop it. It saves gas and ruins the fun of the car. Shift at 3,500rpm and 4,000 from 4th to 5th. That's what I did in my car and it was fine.

 

He can go with the Turbo trans and use a driveshaft from a automatic FC and it will bolt right up, if he changes the rear end to turbo LSD he will need a turbo driveshaft and axles.

MDittz2ndGEN,

I have spare auto driveshaft if needed.

 

Geeze, my friend told me that you guys were helpful but I have to say I'm surprised


I'll give it some experimenting today, by "revs really slow" I meant after I switched to 5th at about 50 mph. I'm trying to keep the revs under 4,000 for the most part as I was told the rebuilt engine only has about 400miles on it and I'd like to break it in easy.

I might look into a TII tranny but Acesanugal's post gave me a little peace of mind. I'll get a tune-up done this weekend probably, and I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for your help

 

Yeah man, from what you just told me, your car does the same thing mine did with almost that same setup. Shifting into 5th at 50mph is what...2,000 RPM? That's REALLY low for a motor that doesn't develop too much torque. Your flywheel is also probably a lot lighter than stock. The factory flywheels are very heavy. So you've lost some rotational mass. This rotational mass helps keep things going longer, if that makes any sense at all to you. Where as the lightweight flywheel has less rotational mass and relies pretty much solely on the engine's power and torque.

I also bet that your car is pretty difficult to move from a stop. Lightweight flywheel and a grabby clutch forces you to over-slip from a stop to get moving without bogging it down and/or stalling.

Get new plugs. Change all your fluids. Change your belts. Swap out the thermostat with a MAZDA unit! Do NOT use Stant! These things should be done regardless of when the previous owner SAID they were done. Without hard proof, do them anyway.

Your car is fine.

 

The TII tranny is heavier and he'll spend some money at a shop to adapt it (driveshaft) and not to mention it's heavier. The NA transmission is perfectly fine for his application, TII transmission will have more intial expense and is complete overkill. Spend some time to actually make sure the transmission is fubar also, just don't things at random. I think you can spend money alot better elsewhere.

Anyways, I do agree with everyone else about 5th gear in these cars. Keep in mind that 5th in an highway gear with less then a 1:1 gear ratio, its not really made to accerate.

 

I was just letting him know that if he does switch to a turbo trans that he can use a auto FC driveshaft, it bolts right up to the turbo trans and the non turbo/non lsd. People always say how hard it is to adapt a turbo trans to a non lsd diff due to the driveshaft, this is a quick and easy fix without having to change the diff and axles.

 

I'm gonna go with Acesanugal's post, basically because he just described my car's behavior to the button. xD

Thank you very much guys, I appreciate the help. I'll get things cleaned up and remember to switch into 5th at a higher rev.

I'll get some pictures of my car in here tonight, I'm going out with a friend who has an FB in a little bit so we'll do some photo shoots

 

Checked ace's post, +1 to that. A car in stock form shifts only 500rpm lower than that. And it is for mpg. If you're having fun or cleaning the carbon off the engine, feel free to bring it quite a bit higher.

 

To me it's just added hassle. Plus things tend to break when messed with, I didn't want a person with a new car trying to do something he didn't need to do when he just bought the car. By mentioning the TII transmission the way you did, it implied as much.

Is the quick and easy fix needed? No, because he doesn't even need the TII transmission and therefore he doesn't need the automatic driveshaft you're trying to sell.

 

i got a serios problem with my turbo 2...im pretty sure all my running problems are related to my timing in the car...problem is that the timing marks are worn over on the pully and cant see where they are anymore...can anybody help?

 

Only one problem, I didnt mention that he needed it. I was responding to anothers persons post whom did suggest a T II trans. Grab your reading glasses and hit me back. I was not trying to sell it, **** he could have the danm thing.

 

welcome to happyness. I agree, shift higher. (after your break-in). The proper procedure i low RPM light throttle for the first 1 thousand miles, still light throttle, but ALL RPM RANGE up to redline to set the seals in place getting used to all engine speeds until the engine has 3K miles on it. After that, redline daily (or at least once a week, to clear carbon buildup on the rotor faces. Change oil & filter every 3,000 miles and she'll last a whole lot longer.

 

So I've decided that my car is now the love of my life. Super tight handling and huge pull when dropping a gear around turns, it's great. Got on the freeway, got up to 80 in 4th before shifting over to 5th and it pulled a lot better, thanks for all the help





More pictures to come when it's light out again.

 

Nice TII aero parts (the hood, spoiler, and mirrors are not stock). I love the s5 styling on a white car. A lip would set that front end off like crazy.

Also,(open question to anyone who wants to chime in) is that 5-lug setup stock? I thought non-GXL, TII, and GTUs had 4 lug with no LSD, or did all S5s have that?

 

Thanks, I love the look of the TII hood and mirrors, but I'm thinking about replacing the wing with the small aero wing from mariahmotorsports.com and going 30% tint all around.

Then on to the exhaust!

 

Quick question:

Does street port = 6 port?