I was thinking about this subject the other day, and I came up with three cars I would want to use:
an 1987-1992 Supra Turbo, 1989-1994 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, or a Gen 2 Turbo II RX-7...
now my question is that since it will not be street driven (do to the fact I could never afford insurance on a car, let alone a car and a truck ) what should I do the make it fast and reliable?
I want to set it up for road racing, auto-crossing and drag racing......I've check out rx-7.com already, but what would you guys suggest?

 

You're talking about choosing between a 3400-lb RWD GT coupe, a 3000lb AWD car which has its engine entirely over the front wheels, and a well-balanced 2700 pound car with a lower polar moment. If you want a handle-mobile, the RX-7 is the only way to go on a budget.

Brandon

 

Road racing, auto crossing, and drag racing? Either you can do one of the above well, or all 3 at a mediocre level. Those are three completely different design requirements.
-Matt

 

If you cant afford insurance on a car you better forget about racing completly. Just dream about hot chicks laying on those cars.

 

Which one of those cars do you think was designed with the track in mind? That's not a biased opinion, it's fact. If you want I can try to find the link for a Motortrend article from '89 where all three plus others are compared. If you want me to cut to the chase, the TII whopped 'em good.

Since you're a fellow Londoner I can tell you that insurance will be ~$2k/year for you. (I'm basing that on your age) Why would you want to drive a TII and a truck? Check out the Canadian section, someone can probably help you find a nice TII.

 

what are you talking about! you can do 2 of those things very well. They even have a spec class for the rx7!

 

well I wouldn't want to drive the TII on the street anyway because I would be afraid of it getting stolen, hit, vandilized, and speeding tickets ...and I already own a truck now, so If I slightly modify it I can used it to tow my dad's trailer and trailer the TII to races.....

oh and it costs me 2K a year now for the truck, so the TII would be like 2 or 3 times that damn insurance....if it wasn't for that I would drive it on the street....

 

here is a viable shopping list of stuff, tell me what you guys think:

Non-drivetrain:
-gutted interior
-light but strong wheels?
-fairly sticky tires?
-autometer gauges and tach
-racing seats, pedals and shift **** (Momo or Sparco)
-carbon Fiber or Fiberglass hood?
-body kit? (mainly front air dam- RE Amemiya, Erebuni, Kaminari, Wings West)
-roll cage?
-big brakes (?) or upgraded pads and rotors (bonez, Powerstop, Power Performance, Metal Max, VGX)
-brake lines? (goodridge) and master cylinder (Tokico)
-chassis bushings (Prothane)
-strut tower bars? (cusco front, rear and rear lower)
-sway bars? (suspension tech or eibach)
-coil-overs? (HKS, Weapon-R or Ground Control)
-strobes (eurolights)
-color gauge face (Indoxone)
-aluminum wing (apc, apr)

Drivetrain:
-bigger apex seals?
-ported housing?
-bigger intercooler? (hks or greddy)
-intake? (bonez, HKS, K&N)
-turbo header? (Hks w/ external wastegate)
-wastegate? (Tial?)
-test pipe in place of cat (custom, bonez)
-downpipe? (bonez, hks, or Tanabe)
-catback? (greddy, hks, apex'i, Bonez, Tanabe or pacesetter)
-ignition? (jacobs) and igniton computer (Apex'i Super ITC)
-spark plugs (NGK, Denso, HKS) and wires (NGK, Jacobs, Magnecor, Bosch, Accel, Nology, Vitek)
-intake? (Weapon-R, Apex'I or HKS)
-BOV? (hks, greddy, apex'i, blitz or turboxs)
-boost controller? (turboxs, greddy, Apex'I)
-turbo timer and harness? (blitz, HKS, Greddy)
-underdrive pullies? (unorthodox, rotory pefromance)
-short shifter? (neuspeed, dc sports, mazdaspeed)
-fuel computer? (Apex'i Super AFC, Venom/Python) or engine managment system (Haltech)
-clutch? (Bonez, ram, centerforce, clutch masters, unorthodox)
-flywheel? (exedy, bonez)
-water pump and block off? (Meziere)
-radiator? (fluidyne)
-e-fan? (summit)
-thermostat? (mazda, motorad)
-rad cap? (greddy)
-oil and fuel cooler? (flex-a-lite)
-fuel pump? (holley in tank, BBK), RP fuel cut defender
-injectors (Bosch, ND)
-fuel pressure regulator (SX)
hell maybe even a NOS 40/75 kit or Nitrous Express 35-50-75 kit

thanks for you help.....

 

"Woah thats a big list..." (gone in 60 seconds) -Gabe

 

I hate to be the pesemist but, wouldn't all that cost a whole hell of alot?

You are on the right track though.
I know alot on all three of these cars, my brother owns a 87 supra turbo, and I have been reaseaching the GSX for 6 months for my girlfriend. For road race handling it would be the RX-7 hands down. For drag race it would be the supra hands down. To do both fairly well it would be the GSX hands down.

BTW, the first year of DSM was 90.

 

well said!

- James

 

I thought we couldn't afford insurance, that's one hell of a list. I mean $2k for liability only. RX-7s aren't trailer queens.

First off, what kind of performance/power are you looking for? Second, I thought you're building a racecar, what's with this stuff above? TII has an Aluminum hood so you don't need to spend money replacing it. (unless you want a Al, n/a hood to go with your FMIC) I'd suggest taking it one step at a time figuring all this stuff out before jumping into anything.

 

also don't start modding your car right away no matter what car you choose because you are going to find out real quick that some of the things you plan to do or have already done will make you inelligable for your target class.

can you build a race car that will be competative in road racing, auto-x, and drag racing? Yes, but you have to do your homework ahead of time to know where you want to go with yout project.

 

Yea, I'm thinking right now that if you can't afford the insurance then you should just forget about racing.

 

When you are building a race car, each of those venues requires a completely different set up on the car. Granted, there is some cross over between autocross and road racing but a dedicated autocross car will never be competitive on a road course and vice versa.

As to that list. Are you building a race car or a rice rocket? That sounds more like a show car list than a build list for a real race car.
-Matt

 

To answer the original question... RX-7.
This is unbiased - I love the DSM also, and I don't even own an RX-7!

It will be hard to have a good car at all of those things, but the car which will be best overall will be the RX-7.

 

If this is a track only car aren't you going to ditch the lights? You should have no need for a body kit or a spoiler(I don't think that it helps much, if any and it adds weight) or colored faced gauges. Might wanna spend that extra $$ on some more trusted gauges(don't wanna hear it about autometer, we've been through it).

 

OK, first of all, stop reading those show car magazines. Their entire purpose is to showcase good-looking, trendy cars which try to convince the readers that they need all that glitter for their car to be fast, in an attempt to sell their sponsor's products.

Next, try to decide whether you want to drag race or road race (road race includes autocross and rally). As mentioned earlier, you cannot do both well. Then, see which cars are doing well in their class, or ask the drivers which car they think would do well in that particular type of racing. Money is a big factor, so be sure to try and get an accurate estimate for the initial and annual racing costs before you get yourself into a bind.

Then, read the rules for your racing class. This will determine which cars and modifications are allowed. For example, the SCCA IT class doesn't allow an automatic transmission RX-7 or the TII RX-7, so this would be good to know BEFORE you buy a car. Also note that most racing classes require the sunroof to be removed, replaced, or bolted down, and the sun roof doesn't allow for as much head room when wearing a helmet, so it it usually better to get a car without one. To be competitive, you will need nearly EVERY modification allowed in the class, because that's what the leaders will have. You don't need to start with every modification allowed, but just understand that you will get waxed until you and your car are faster. Adding modifications other than what is allowed will either make your car illegal, or force your car into the next higher class with an even more diverse and expensive modification list.

Finally, buy a car, go back to the rule book to make your safety modifications, buy all your race gear, and go to a good driving school.

BTW, your race car WILL get damaged, your paint WILL get scratched, your expensive race brake pads WILL eat your expensive rotors, your tires WILL wear out faster than you would ever believe, and SOMEBODY please tell me that Weapon-R doesn't really make coil-overs for the RX-7.

 

Hey, if they're just cheap knock-offs of ground control they might be a pretty good deal if the dampers and springs are any good. (yeah that's a big IF)