hey, im on one of teh biggest budgets you can think of...so since my car is a stock na, should i just tune it na, or find a 13bt?

 

Na's are turd buckets turbo them.

You're on a budged, oh ok, umm sell the car.

 

routene maintence= budget buster!!!
just wait till the budget gets bigger

 

Since I bought my first RX (91 na) in December and found this forum I've been exploring the same question.
My conclusion so far...if you want a turbo it would be so much easier to start with a turbo- the subtle (and outright major) differences are so numerous and pervasive that the transformation, especially if "budget" is in your vocabulary, simply doesn't compute.

Besides, I take issue with the concept that NAs are "turdbuckets".
Not every 7 is meant to be a weekend warrior/drifter/***** enhancer...viewed for what it is (and what Mazda marketed it as)- a refined GT (as in gran turismo, i.e., "sports luxury") machine, the NA is still a capable and desirable ride.

Go ahead, upgrade the brakes, suspension, etc., then get your engine rebuilt (ported too?) and you'll end up with most of the pleasures of the turbo at a fraction of the cost- mental and financial.

 

If you're on a budget (or even if you're not), the first thing you should worry about restoring on enhancing is your chassis and suspension (and body, in case you've got rust or damage), long before you need any more power. What good is 300 HP if the only things holding you to the road are shot? Not to mention a sports car with bad bushings, bearings, or tie rods isn't going to feel much like a sports car.

1. Inspect, adjust, and re-grease the front wheel bearings.

2. Get an alignment if you haven't lately... even if the car drives straight you might be killing the tires with a bad alignment.

3. Get new suspension bushings, and competition transmission mounts, engine mounts, and rear diff front mounts (preventative maintenance... if will almost certainly break if you drive hard...the others are simply because the stock mounts are going to be squishy by now).

4. Get new shocks, and a new set of springs you can live with (in terms of height, stiffness, and whether they're straight or gradual rates). If you get lowering springs, you will also need rear camber adjusters to prevent the rear tires from getting ruined.

5. Inspect and/or replace all the major parts of you suspension... tie rods, ball joints (not likely to go bad but check them anyway), etc... and tighten all the major bolts to spec with a torque wrench (having almost all of you bolts tight enough means nothing when one happens to be finger tight).

6. Get some chassis reinforcement bars... on a car as old as an FC, they're bound to help, although I don't have any personal experiences yet (I'm waiting until I can afford a Mazdatrix triangulated bar...).



On a side note, never underestimate the importance of minor interior mods... having a smaller, prettier steering wheel with a better grip, and the ability to change it's location with spacers... the fun of driving goes way up with the right steering wheel and spacer. Also, having a wider gas pedal makes heel and toe easier... I also like to take off the rubber pedal covers and put skateboard grip tape on them. Gives you a few more MM leg clearance (it makes a difference...), has better grip than rubber (even when wet), and is just more racecarey (race car pedals don't have rubber covers...)...and it's much, much cheaper than buying aftermarket pedals.

The same goes for shift *****... ie, if you like to shift from the top of the ****, or you have too reach a bit too far for 5th gear than you'd like (especially if you have long legs and arms that aren't that long), you could use a low-profile shift **** (namely, a ball-shaped type...old school design, but it works) and a short shifter (ie, modified Miata shifter).

Either way... my suggestion is to fix every little thing you don't like, if you know how. If not, buy a part that fixes it. As of now, I still have plenty of little things that bother me... namely the crappy steering rack (too slow and locks up during fast turns)...

There are a lot of cheap mods out there that give you some new sort of ability, but require a bit of effort... such as putting washers on the inner toe rods to give you more steering angle (which could be used just as easily for parking as it could be for drifting).


Also: TIREEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS... the most important mod in existence... the only thing that'll make you car several seconds faster for less than 1000 dollars (well, race tires will...)...hahah


Even better if you get wider wheels too.

 

Actually it would be cheaper to purchase the TII engine, and in fact its even cheaper then your idea of a fractional cost for porting a Naturally Aspirated engine. The TII's go for about $700 to 900 dollares, but again you would have to change a few things around, such as the trany, and drive shaft.
Those items could still be brought for cheap, amounting the entire package to no more than $1800. Even still, i can understand this owners desire in holding on to what his/her car came with originally. I too fight the same demon's.



pic: http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...g/Myrxy014.jpg

BUT, as said by YOU, the n/a could still be made into a desirable ride, BUT will never match up to what a turbo could offer..... POINT BLANK!!! and i dont care what you have to say!!!

 

These N/A people probably havent driven a Turbo II. Almost six months ago I was in your same position. Since I could not afford an FD or an RX-8 I decided I wanted to go faster with what I had... but an N/A GXL isnt going to do that so easily. I did the T2 swap and you have no idea how much more fun it is to drive. Course thats assuming you dont have any major problems that need solving first. Oh right and Turbo FC + Budget dont really go well together.

 

And what DO YOU mean by this reply? What budget? Wouldnt you find it more expensive to maintain something thats DOGED through coercion??? I mean lets be real, use common sence buddy!

Everybody knows that any engine force induced would create more ware than any n/a engine, in original state~~ T2 versus GXL~~ What ever, get a clue!
Your just trying to promote the T2 (hopefully, because i would really "Hope"-lol- that you really didnt mean that).

 

ok, so 'll just work mainly on the chasies before i leave for ait, so that way wen i get back i'll have made bank (thanx uncle sam lol)