Hey, whats up guys. I'm about to get into the rx-7 game soon. I'm picking up a 88 NA w/ 90k on it for a good price. I'm a Nissan guy (SR20), currently own 2 Nissan Nx2000's & had 2 '91 Se-R's, so i'll def be asking some newb questions being new to Rotarys & all. What are the 1st things I should do before driving the car on a daily basis(it's started on a regular basis already) ? What are some cheaper mods I can do without sacrificing dependability ? What are the things that I should really beware of ? And the last question.... What do you think is faster stock, a 2nd Gen n/a RX-7 or a NX2000 ?..... I'll know soon.

 

The very first thing you should do is read the 2nd Gen FAQ and the 2nd Gen archive. It will help you out greatly and spare the rest of the FC forum from useless threads where nothing but flames will occur.

 

im sorry to say, but there is a faq ath the top of this forum, but im not an ******* so ill tell ya.

get a full tune up
get a haynes manual ( not a full shop manual )
replace the clutch line with a stainless steel clutch line. can be had for 18 smackers at mazmart
replace the pulsation dampener with a banjo bolt so it doesnt potentionally burst into flames.
replace the coolent and change out the thermoustat for a stock mazda one only.
shange the oil. make sure there are no vacume leaks. run some chevron with techron, and then drive the living **** out of the car. and when i mean drive the **** out of it, dont be afraid to take it well above the inner sanctome of the redline district. it likes the hookers there, where the needle is fully erect. ermmm.... anyways. yeah. do all of the above. just dont go drifting and kill yourself.

plus, read read read read read read read the faq and archives.

 

at first when i read he first sentence i thought you said they came out with a rx7 video game.. must mean i need some sleep

 

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/newowner.htm

 

I read most of the FAQ already, just thought I should ask anyways because sometimes people have different things to add....but thanks. I'm on SR20Forum, Nissan Forums, etc....could care less about being flamed. Cocky vetern members are everywhere so, that's life. Nobody wanted to guess which ride is faster I see.

 

If you don't know the car's pedigree, then yes do a full tune up and replace all the fluids. Oil, xmission, rear end and radiator. Like SirCygnus said replace the thermostat with a Mazda OEM one. Rotaries hate to be overheated so always pay very close attention to engine temp.

Change oil and filter. You live where it can get quite cold, so use 10W-30 in winter, 20W-50 in summer. The oil of choice seems to be Castrol GTX. I use Havoline. Don't use any oil additives like STP. Rotaries, by nature, behave a lot like a 2 cycle engine. They automatically inject some crankcase oil into the combustion chamber to lubricate the internal seals, so you will probably have to add a quart in between oil changes. The oil change interval is shorter too. Change every 2500-3000 miles.

Plugs and plug wires are important. Make sure they're in good order.

As for mods, the quickest and easiest is to replace the stock air filter and filter box with a cone filter. Then build a heat box around the cone filter to keep engine heat out as much as possible. Aluminum flashing, sound insulation material and aluminum tape work great.

There is probably not a topic or problem you will encounter that hasn't been discussed on this forum. Learn to use the search function and you can learn a bunch about the RX7. Once you go rotary you'll never go back to pistons. They're addictive!

 

replace radiator if going for new mods.
don't wanna overheat.
at least the weather's chaging.

 

Theres nothing really special for the most part (that especially hasn't already been mentioned in this thread) you need to look out for in particular, if its just a normal N/A rotary. Take care of it, do normal tune ups/maintinance, and don't be afraid to redline it every time you drive it - many will debate that it is beneficial to do so.

 

Rotaries aren't afraid of high RPM's. If you granny drive it, excess carbon can build up inside and that ain't too good. Running it to near redline from time to time keeps the carbon build up down. There's a procedure you should probably do once or twice a year to help cut down on any carbon build up. You actually run water through the combustion chamber of the car. It basically steam cleans the insides. Do a search on performing the H2O trick.

 

Wonder is H2O would do anything bad to a turbo car? guess by the time It reaches the turbo its already a fine vapor so I doubt it

 

Awesome, a car that actually benefits from high R's. I'm used to revving high, the SR20DE likes high revs too. Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it. The car has 90k on it, needs a clutch and exhaust (have both). It was parked for years but started & run weekly. When replacing the thermostat, are you guessing that the one it has now isn't OEM ? thanks again for the help.

 

Sorry to jump in on this guy's thread, but if my thermostat is made by someone other than Mazda, but is made to original factory specifications, am I all right? I bought the thermostat at Auto Zone, and they said it was about the only one still available for the car.

Also, is there anyone who would reccomend NOT redlining the car occasionally?

thanks for tolerating us n00bs

 

redline is good and fun. Do it. On an N/A its better to shift just after 7k if you are looking for the best power though. After words the engine has a hard time breathing and power drops off fast.


BC