Hey, i'm a kid with Not a **** load of extra money, i want to know what i can do to my 86 N/A that will get some good power but wont cost me to much.... There is a guy that i need to beat... not for anything special, mostly pride and bragging rights, so i need to kick his ***. It would be much appreciated.

 

Well, first, what type of car is it that you want to beat? I mean, you need to be sure that you're setting realistic goals

Anyway, here goes: (my "cheap mod" list)

1/4 tank of 87 octane
home depot straight-shot AFM relocation w/ cone (~$25 for adapter from http://www.k2rd.com + ~$40 for a K&N filter)
gutted cats ($0)
p/s and a/c belts removed ($0)
TB mod ($4 for JB weld)
all emissions gone ($5 for fuel hose and clamps)
ACV removed ($5 for the block-off plate)
ADD LIGHTNESS (no stereo, passenger seat, carpeting, storage bins, etc) ($0)

Total spent: ~$80
...and your car will be a good bit quicker. Some good tires would help, too.

Brandon

 

First of all, welcome to the board!

My .02:

Make sure your car is properly tuned. A well-tuned Rx-7 better accepts any power mods you add, as well as adds to the longetivity of your engine... meaning you can take that money you'd spend on a rebuild and put it into go-fast stuff.

Once you get it properly tuned, look at aftermarket intakes and exhausts. A K&N setup, for example is relatively inexpensive, but yields pretty good gains. Might as well look into a single pipe exhaust while you're at it. More air in is more air out = more power. Not a LOT, but some. Corksport has one for under $300, I think.

Most of the seasoned members here will tell you you're gonna have to pay to play. Power costs money so start saving!

- JB

 

I just spent about $1,000 on my exhaust, and should see a gain of hopefully 20hp at the rear wheels. You can get small gains like 1-5 horses from the above mods, but the best way to get cheap power is to remove weight. Every 100lbs you loose is .10 of a second you will be quicker in the 1/4 mile. Also, do simple maintenace. Change the oil every 2k miles. New fuel filter every 6 months. Good tires, and replace worn shocks will help plant that hp to the pavement. And DO NOT spend more than $40 on an air filter!!!! I spent over $200 on mine, and the K&N one still flows better!! Have fun!!

 

Welcome to the forum!!!!!

There's a lot of guys with actual technical expertise and hand-on experience with rotary engines on this forum. You'll find this forum the most helpful.

Anyways, I'm still relative new to the forum as I'm only on my 2nd FC. I've had a T2 and now I have an N/A. The common problems that I find consistantly with these cars are that it's built by Mazda. What does that mean? Mazda is owned by Ford. Still don't get the picture? The build quality of the Mazda cars are very poor. They start breaking down after years. It's not Honda or Toyota by any means. Also the RX-7s, especially, being the sports car of the era, mostly likely have been abused in one way or another. And combination of these 2 facts are killing our beloved rx-7s.

First mods, you should do is, in my honest opinion, to bring the car back to its original working condition and then worry about more mods. Trust me. It'll take you a quite a long time and money to do it good. My first FC, the t2, cost me around $1000 just to FIX the damn thing, not to "Fix-it-up". I'm having the same issue with my N/A rx-7. Sooner or later, you get to start hating the power options. They're just nothing but a headache on these cars.

To make the long story short. Do a search for the maintenance and do that first and then do the power upgrades.

Hope this helped.

Jay Kim

P.S. I just noticed that I've been a member of this forum longer than a lot of people, yet have very few posts compared to them. Hmmm...oh well!

 

Another great upgrade is learning how to drive. Now I am not being an ***. I thought I knew how to drive my rex, till a buddy of mine took the wheel. Don't shift till 7500RPM. Slip the clutch in a little at launch b/c these bad boys have NO torque. Now, I have to disagree w/ kim307. These cars are more reliable then we give credit. Any car will become less reliable when you modify it. I have seen MKIV Supra w/ a 2JZ-GTE blow rods w/ a 100 shot of N20. If you modify smart, have lots of fuel, and keep an eye on the temp, gauge, an RX-7 will be just as reliable as any Hon-duh on the road!! Have Fun!!

 

A great free mod is the search function. FREE, easy and in the end it will help you more than anyone. hehehe, relax! Here is the "Freebie Mod Thread" lots of good FREE info.

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...t=free+and+mod

 

Check tension of the throttle cable...&nbsp Cost nothing but some elbow grease and a few wrenches.



-Ted

 

Exactly how much tension should be on the throtle cable? Mine has some slack in it.

 

?

?

I'm confused. FC's were built before Ford bought a controlling percentage of shares in Mazda. Build quality on the cars are superior to most domestics. No yota or honda? Any car breaks if it is not cared for. Any car that is cared for lasts. Do a search for all the 150K+ mile FC's. There are plenty. No car lasts forever. If they did, then the car companies would be out of business. As far as breaking down goes...my bro owns a 94 H. Accord. He's had to replace the entire exhaust system due to crappy metal used. He's had weird electrical problems. Ignition cylinder now has to be swapped. Of both my RX-7s I have NEVER had to replace the ignition. Hell my 83 GSL was a god send compared to a 740 Volvo turbo.

 

i think he's talkin about all the cold solder joints... i mean.. damn.. thats a pretty big stuff up... its even in the series 5! That's my only prob with them.

for everyone that compares a performance sports car to a family sedan and expects the same longetivity... "you dumbass"

 

Just give it enough slack so it doesn't cause the throttle plates to crack open - this mean very little!&nbsp A lot of the cars have too much slack, which causes the throttle plates NOT to go wide open when you're mashing the throttle.&nbsp This is about as free as it can get.



-Ted