McHack

Well, sort of new.. I joined quite some time ago, & have resigned myself to lurker status the whole time.

However, I wanted to throw some questions out there, & see what kind of feed back I can get.

I have an '87 base RX-7. It has over 120K miles on it... has an automatic trans. is in very good condition. It does NOT suffer from recurring flooding, & generally seems to have a good amount of pep, consideirng its an automatic. Oh yea, there have NO modifications that I am aware of.

Mechanically, there are a couple of issues...
1) Needs a brake job.
2) The front u-joint went bad, & kind of mashed the transmission mount in the process. The driveshaft has been replaced, but the transmission mount situation allows a some play & vibration in the drive line.
3) There is a significant amount of slop in the shifter mechanism.
4) A substantial amount of heat is penetrating thru the floorboard, coming up thru the tunnel where the transmissions sits. So much so, that the arm rest & shifter housing becomes surprizingly hot to the touch.

1 & 2, I know NEED to be addressed. 3, I've been living with since I've had the car, & its not getting any worse. 4) Is this really a problem. I understand that rotary's generate more exhaust heat, but THIS MUCH HEAT?

I do desire to ultimately start performing minor mods to the car, because the body is in good shape. I realize, that w/ the automatic tranny, I'll never get GREAT performance out of it... Its my daily driver & I just want to have a little more zip. So, I'm limiting my mods to relatively few.

1) Suspension, shocks, springs, tires, etc.
2) Exhaust
3) Some intake. maybe a filter.
4) I'm open to other bolt-on suggestions. Something I was wondering about are blower kits... for other engine types, blower kits tend to be VERY bolt on... What about for a rotary? Is there an detailed info avail, where I can learn about such options?

I guess... what I'm getting at is... 2 fold. First, I need to know HOW much heat coming thru the floorboard is normal, & then consider my options if I have a maintenance issue. Secondly, because I do plan SOME upgrades... I need to know whats easy & results in good perf gains, w/o sacraficing ease of use.

Any insight is GREATLY appreciated.

Syonyk

1. The brakes are very easy to do, IMHO. If you're not doing any track work with it, get cheap lifetime warranty pads at your local parts shop. If you need new rotors too, they're expensive, so hopefully you haven't let it get that far.

2. You can get transmission mounts cheaply enough from various places.

3. You'll want to replace the shifter bush... er, automatic. n/m. No clue.

4. There should be some heat shields over the catalytic converter to help prevent this sort of thing. Alternately, if your state doesn't require emissions sniffer tests (or you feel like swapping exhaust system parts every year or two), you can replace the cats with a Racing Beat presilencer & cat replacement pipe, reduce the heat dumped into the car, and free up some power in the process.

5. Check your 6th ports and make sure they work.

-=Russ=-

McHack

Thx for the reply... I'm in Ohio, so there's no type of smog checking... based upon the level of heat I'm describing, is that indicative of a catalytic converter problem?

And, what do you mean, 6th port. I'm a rotary n00b. I'm handy, but hardly a car expert.