New To The FC, Help With First Mods
 

I'm totally new to FCs and rotory performance. Old car was a certain popular 4 banger that everyone and their mom has. I know very little about rotory performance and want to learn some more, if someone could steer me towards a few sites to read up on what I'm getting into that'd be great.

Now, I want to do a full 3" Exhaust from the down pipe back, keeping only one cat, no resonators and the dual muffler set up. However I don't want any boost spikes so what should I do to avoid this? In other words what mods should go with the exhaust.

first off. what year is your car and what not

Obviously a TII, since he is talking about a turbo in the 2nd Gen forum, so I'll take this for granted:

1) a nice exhaust (turbo-back and keeping the cat) is a very good move, and will probably give you another 20HP or so. Of course if the old components are also clogged to death, then the difference will be stellar ;)

2) Also improve the intake (you will have to after the exhaust). If you want to keep the stock box, just drop in a K&N, or BMC, or Green or whatever filter. If you want to take it further, you could make a nice hood-scoop right above the box, make the appropriate hole in the box, and seal the contacts ;)

If you want to go open filter, remove the box, mount a nice cone filter, and make sure you make a cold-box (DIY or brand).

Thats it for the first mods. All the above after of course you have made sure that the car is running perfectly ;) After that, you can a) install a boost controller, b) install an FD pump, c) upgrade the injectors, d) install a AFC, e) upgrade the radiator and the intercooler..........


.........only the sky is the limit :D

As for sites,
http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/
http://www.teamfc3s.org/
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/
http://www.fc3s.org/
http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com/
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and many more

WARNING.: Before you think about modding a T2, get a fuel cut defender or make one yourself, I have no idea how they work but do a search and you will learn.
Check the 2nd gen archive

1SxyRXy: It's a 92 Turbo 2.

The Ace: Thanks for the sites and nice.

Kim: I found a how to on how to do make a home made FCD. So I'll do that first.

I'm going to install the Apex'i intake and a DIY cold-box. Next I'd like to get some gauges in this thing to know what's going on. Most importantly a boost gauge, I hear the Apex'i is the best any truth to this? What other gauges should I run? EGT, oil pressure, air/fuel, etc?

Then a turbo timer (this will be first actually), what brand?

After these are out of the way I'm going to do the Rad and fan and install a nice fmic so that's taken care of before any big power or changes are made.

In my last post I meant to say 90, not 92.
Help, please!

Won't you run lean with just a open filter?

lol
I don't think that just a cone filter will make you run lean.

Well if you stock filter was horriblely dirty then it would run a bit leaner but not that any that would damage the engine. My friend's S13 is running leaner with the K&N panel now but his stock filter was black, dirty as hell. Been a few weeks and no problems at all.

Any help with my questions guys/gals?

From what I've read if you just add a cone filter and exhaust that it's bad for your engine (w/turbo). Wouldn't you need to change your fuel pump and/or fuel lines?

Guys, I can understand why you are so frightened about running lean, but you know what ? Rotaries arent made out of sugar :D . They can withstand a lot of abuse, and also *some* detonations. Also, you can up the boost quite a bit before having to worry about running TOO lean and risking detonation anyway.....

A cone filter, a DP, and a catback (keeping the main cat, or installing a race cat) WILL NOT increase the boost that much to risk detonation (except of course if your fuel system is malfunctioning). You can hit the fuel-cut off easilly, but you wont run lean. Even installing a FCD (like I did), and not adding anything to the fuel system, will work just fine.

Its the immediately next mod that will put you into "dangerous territory", because this is usually either a midpipe (ditching the main cat), or a boost controller. From then on, you also need a fuel pump (FD pump will do just fine), and *maybe* bigger injectors (again, FD will do just fine). In order to tune of course, you will need a fuel computer as well (piggyback, easier to setup and cheaper ;) ).

As for gauges:
1) you need a mechanical boost gauge, and a rather good at that, in order to keep an eye on your boost levels. The stock is pretty decent, but its electrical, and a very old one ;)
2) you need a good water temp gauge. The stock is not very accurate, and does not follow water temps very closely. Its usually "cold, working, too hot/too late". :D
3) If you are very anal retentive, you can get an oil temp gauge. Useful, but not too much on a moderately modded RX. Installation is the same as for the water gauge.
4) You can also make a A/F gauge yourself, because the "brand" ones are WAAAAAYYYYYYYYY too expensive for something that you can build for 10 bucks ;)

Dont mess with EGT, pressure gauges etc etc.....You dont need them, and you dont want them.

EDIT: on a more personal note, during the time that I was running without a wastegate :eek:, I was hitting 1bar (14.5psi) repeatedly (with cone filter, catback, FCD), and the engine was running like a charm. After I fixed the wastegate problem, the engine measured the exact same compression numbers as before. This is of course not a universal standard, but it shows that a rotary can withstand serious boost before needing any modifications :bigthumb:

u are not right about gauges Ace

EGT, fuel pressure, oil pressure etc are always helpfull even u are not going to be crazy with tuning...is much more informative than ENGINE light or what not when it comes to some problem..

Ace:

I agree about the cone intake not raising boost to the brink of possible detonation, however, if it sits unshielded in the engine bay, it CAN raise intake temps to a point where detonation can occur.

Aye, you'll need a fuel cut defender (You can buy one from rx7.com) if you put an exhaust and cold air intake on. A downpipe and catback for exhaust unless you have liberal smog rules or someone who will not check for emissions, if so, get a cat replacement pipe and chunck the cat. (FYI: If you believe auto emissions cause holes in the ozone layer i've got some ocean front property i'll sell you in Nebraska)

As for intake, i just stuck a cone type K&N on it. Makes a huge difference. The more air you can get in an out of the motor, the happier the motor is.

Thanks guys.

What a about a turbo timer? Is any one of them good or does it differ from brands?

They all do the same thing: keep the motor running for a specified amount of time after you turned off the engine with the key. Thats all.

So, just buy the cheapest one you can find, and you are set ;)