Does a factory scoop on a 2nd generation GTU mean turbo or what? Ive noticed some with and some without the scoop. What was the difference?

Thanks!

 

The turbo scooped hood is popular because, like the convertible's, it is aluminum and much lighter than the steel NA hood.
The GTU was a NA car, the hood doesn't necessarily mean anything.

 

ok so scooped hood=aluminum hood.....

and scooped hood from the factory did not mean it ahd to have a turbo then?

Also as I understand it, a GTU with an aluminum hood is not nessacarily an "s" model right?

was there EVER a turbo GTU?

thanks again.
Im an FB guy t hinking about buying an FC....

 

I don't know all of the history of the "GTU's" but I do know it's a flat hood that is aluminum.
I do know its 4.30:1 rear gear instead of the traditional 4.10:1 of the TURBO II.
The GTU's is the best N/A car you can get from the factory.

From Wikipedia:
GTUs (1989-1990)

In 1989, with the introduction of a face-lifted FC RX-7, and to commemorate the RX-7's IMSA domination, Mazda introduced a limited model labeled the GTUs. Starting with the lightweight base model GTU, which came with manual windows, no rear wiper, the sunroof and A/C was dealer optioned, the GTUs added items found on the Turbo model such as four piston front brakes, rear ventilated brake rotors, vehicle speed sensing power steering, 1 piece front chin spoiler, cloth covered Turbo model seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, 16 inch wheels, 205/55VR tires, and a GTUs-only 4.300 Viscous-type limited slip differential (all other FC LSD's where 4.100). This allowed quicker acceleration from the non-turbo powered 13B. Mazda built 1100 GTUs's in 1989, with the last 100 re-stamped as 1990 models.

 

Normal N/A's= flat steel hood
ALL factory turbo cars= scoop aluminum hood
Convertibles i believe were either aluminum OR steel, just depended on what hood they put on at the factory
IIRC GTU/GTUs all came with a flat aluminum hood

And no, no GTU/GTUs came from the factory turbo, they were N/A only, only "TurboII" models were factory turbo

 

the turbo was the only model in the US to get the hood with the scoop, as the scoop feeds the intercooler. it is a popular swap.

the GTU only came NA, the turbo only came turbo.

 

the verts, and the GTUs's came with the AL hood for sure. most of the rest of the NA's were steel hoods, although it is not 100%

the turbo hoods are mostly AL, i have seen a couple of steel ones. in Japan the AL hood only came on the GT-X, the other models had steel.

 

Not so sure because I have a vert with a steel hood and no tilt steering.

 

i have 89 t2 with steel hood. bought from germany.

 

THe one im looking at has the scooped hood, and no sunroof...the wheels, however, are not the turbo wheels but the other variety that was available in '89. So it sounds like the hood might have been an add on at some point. To feed that giant turbo that the previous owner put in Im sure. lol who knows.

I pass this car every day on the way to work, and Ive always admired it sitting there in the yard for the last 8 or 9 years....then a few days back there was a for sale sign on it....

I think I might stop by today and look at it a bit closer. See what else it has or not. It does not run, been sitting a long time. So the wrestling match Im having with myself is whether I would rather keep my FB which is sort of junky, but it runs well even though there is 236,000 miles on the clock....it's only a couple hundred dollars away from being a solid car albeit with a flat black spray job.....or get this FC and have the headaches start all over.


Performance differences aside, the FC looks sexy as hell to me....but then again so does my FB.

I think I can say that to buy one of these that wore out long ago and has been sitting... and to rebuild it properly, even if the initial purchase of the car is
stupid cheap, overall one is better off buying one that runs and drives.

 

yes. i'm not sure about the Euro cars, as there is no documentation on them, but in the US the AL hood was standard on the turbo, although a few steel hoods snuck in. in Japan, the AL hood only came on the GT-X model, the rest had steel turbo hoods.

presumably in Europe, you got all steel.

the only reason we got AL in the US, is that there was some weight class for the gas guzzler tax they were trying to avoid, so the US models are more weight conscious than other markets. for instance the hoods in Japan are mostly steel, and the JDM mirrors are metal, vs the US plastic. the US got AL pedals, Japan is steel, etc

 

i asked a friend, his s4 also has a steel hood(euro)

 

My 91 has a steel hood.
One thing I noticed is that they are Really Good!!..at smashing your glasses when you drop the hood!..it literally annihilated them!

 

^hahaha yup I remember the steel hoods being super heavy! I would say the aluminum is half the weight or maybe even less!

 

I have no idea how or why my hood is steel. I do know the bumper and passenger side headlight cover are from a red rx7 as the previous owner had a tiny fender bender. The hood is definitely not a repaint from what I can tell, but it is definitely steel.

I chipped the paint on my hood by raising it when the windshield wipers where raised why cleaning the car and I didnt see any underlying red paint.

My vert also has all of the options too, but for whatever reason there is no tilt steering.

One off franken vert?

EDIT: No verts came with tilt steering...lame. It is the perfect angle for me fortunately but it makes it a complete bitch to get the binnacle off without removing the steering wheel.

 

The FAQ exists for this reason, check it out. It will be faster than waiting for people to respond!

 

Same with my euro s4 TII

 

Obviously hoods can be swapped over the years, oem flat alum hoods were around $1400 if i remember right, so steel hoods were a common swap after a collision especially considering aftermarket companies sold steel hoods at about $150.
You used to be able to buy a steel aftermarket TII hood from the same companies for under $200, but they did not come with the scoop itself.
I know this well because i almost bought one when i painted my car back in 1995 or so.

Weight savings aside ( more than double the weight ) a steel hood is 10000% straighter then the piece of crap aluminum hood, i really miss the arrow straight appearance lf my steel hood.