I'm sure someone will tell me to do my own research and direct me to the Newbie FAQ's...but I have done some background research and am more or less asking the easiest\best answer from experience. I was gifted an 88 n\a with the motor removed. I have the motor, what's left of it after a blown apex seal(I'm told) and one rotor and housing are scuffed indicating this to be true. I want to strip the vehicle to bare street legal necessities and get close to 300 horses out of a motor. My questions start with how easily attainable is 300 hp from a n\a motor? Is this more desireable\less expensive than swapping in a T2 motor with mostly breathing and cooling mods? I want fun to drive and reliability with possible solocross in the future. I'm not made of money but I have about $3k to get going. The trans is still in the vehicle, should I get a new one with the motor or is it ok to re-use? It's been sitting open to the elements for a long time it looks if that matters. Thanks in advance and nice forum

 

Well in short you will not be able to get 300hp on an N/A without extreme porting which wouldn't make your car streetable at all, and an almost unlimited pocket book. If it is even possible. Now you can do this no problem if you swap in a turbo engine and drivetrain. Upgrade the turbo, get supporting mods. Many people hit 300 or more and are able to drive it on the street still. Do a search for turbo swap or something similar and you will be given a wealth of info on the subject. Good luck and welcome to the club.

 

How much drivetrain should I replace? How can i find out what model rx7 I have to know if I have LSD or not? How important in twisty backroad driving not drag racing is an LSD? Is 300hp going to be a handful in a car that weighs nothing? I don't want to drift or anything, I want excellent handling\grip and just enough power to keep me smiling without lowering the longevity of the motor.

 

if you do the turbo motor, you should do the entire turbo drivetrain. so tranny, driveshaft, rear end and axles.

lsd makes things a lot funner, go for an S4 turbo lsd because its a clutch type. the S5s are viscous.

check the list of options for an 88 rx7 to determine what model you have. the thread is a sticky on top of this forum.

 

300hp in a rx7 is a lot different than 300hp in like a mustang or something. We have much less weight, and we get slightly more of that to the wheels. A 300hp rx7 turbo2 is bordering on not streetable, or not streetable if your going for longevity. Not saying you couldnt daily drive a highly modded t2 around, it just wouldnt be optimal.

What exactly are you trying to obtain speed wise? What kinda car are you thinking you wanna be comparable too? Any rx7 is gonna handle like its blessed by the gods of physics. Any rx7 is gonna be fun to drive. My lightly modded NA rx7 is quite fun actually, my stock turbo2 is just plain fast. Both of those are sub 200hp.

 

I like the feel of the new (06) RX8. Maybe just a little more zoom zoom than that. I want to pass sportbikes on mountain roads. Do you think the stock suspension is going to be acceptable after sitting for so long? Will a good set of tires and lighter wheels be enough to satisy these goals with a T2 swap? Is the swap straight forward enough for someone to figure out as I go with a reference sheet from rotary resurrection?

 

A lightly modded turbo2 will be enough power to match a rx8. You can do it with much less than 300hp too. Generally FCs have worn out suspension. Your gonna want to get some good replacement struts, replace any bushings that dont look nice and tight, some good tires, that alone and you will be handling pretty damn well. If you want to go even further you can get some lowering springs and sway bars, wheels if you want i'm not sure how much lighter they would actually be tho.

But yes, with a turbo motor you can outperform a stock rx8 without too much work. I'm not 100% sure cause im new to turbos but knowing that a stock rx8 is doing mid 14s i think a good intake/exhaust set up would be enough. Someone correct me if im wrong.

 

Also for comparison. The rx8 has about 250hp and weighs about 3000lbs. The 2nd gen rx7 weighs about 2500lbs.

 

Where can i find detailed motor\driveline instructions? Should I scour junk yards for a donor or ebay everything? Some Japan imported motors I've found on ebay seem nice, how do I know if they are as good as they seem? I read I need a silver box (ecu?) from behind the T2 glovebox...what if this or the wiring harness does not come with the motor?