0verb00st

I am dedicating Thanksgiving weekend to my car. It is completely stock up as it sits right now. I have been working on it to maintain it and keep it running. I replaced the starter (went out on me) and thermostat (wasnt opening at the right time) and flushed the radiator. I will change oil again this weekend. It is running good, and im not a dumb rice boy that spends money on performance parts when my car isnt running right. I have around 500 to play with (after ordering the tiers mentioned later in the post). I am posting my project thread this early because I am ordering everything right now to make sure everything gets here on time. I am going to college and left my car at home. Thanksgiving will be the best time for me to work on it. I just bought Falken tiers, but am open to other mods. My stock exhaust is rusted through. I dont have the money for a nice RB, Borla, or custom exhaust so I am thinking about buying the corksport catback (my car is completely stock, with all emissions in tact so it shouldn't be too loud). I am trying to decide between buying the mazdatrix short throw shifter, or fixing the "loose" shifter problems by ordering the bushing kit which would leave me money for buying the corksport strut bar. I am hopefully buying s5 tail lights (the shadow lights suck...what was mazda thinking?). My ftp light cover isnt doing it for me, they are dirty and dull. I am debating on just taking them out, polishing them somehow, or putting led lights behind it (I read the archived diy). What would you recommend? Is there anything that you would do differently? Did I leave something out? Let me know and leave your feedback, I still have some time before I have to order everything. Thanks in advance.

mothy

sounds good but i say you save more and get better parts, you'll be a lot happier in the long run ive been saving for about a year now, and im finally getting my tII swap (will be done in a week) and then i have 3 more g's to spend on aftermarket parts / tires and rims so yea, it all depends man. but other than that it seems like you know what your doing.

0verb00st

Im planning on doing the tii swap this summer when I can focus on work and my car. Right now I just want my N/A to be fully operational and cosmetically clean. I might end up buying a clean roller tii, dropping a tii engine in it and using my GTU as my DD. I love my seven.

0verb00st

Im hoping that the moderators chime in, I always look forward to hearing Icemark's professional responses and RE-Teds short concise answers.

TheDarkRacer

Well, i would say you got a good plan. Deff get a short throw and newcatback, and for the ftp lights, id say just get some stuff from autozone and see if that will work good. Its like 15bucks so it wont hurt if it doesnt turn out like you want it. um... id say save the $$ ur gonna spend on the s5 tails unless you are gettting a deal so you can get a highflow cat or maybe used headers(you got a while to look). Just my opnion, hope it helps

freemanrx7

GUT the first 2 precats. YOU don't need em. Buy new gaskets!
Hollow out the intake elbow right before the throttle body.
Def fix the bushings in the trans. Getting a short throw is much better.

I'm sure with rest of the money you could have a custom exhaust made. Just shop around.

You could also do a CAI. Some like it some don't I enjoyed mine right away.

staticguitar313

iTrader: (2)

corksport sounds nice if the cats are intact go with that

mothy

im putting a tII in my GTUs ; / people will most likely hate on me for doing it but w/e.

0verb00st

My plans got fucked but I still need your suggestions. I took the seven in to get the new tires put on and balanced and they told me:

1. Right Rear has a broken stud and bad lugnut
2. Rear disc brakes are almost metal to metal
3. Rear struts are out

Here is their estimate for the breaks:

Brake labor: $109.95
Rear Disc Brake parts: $180
Wheel stud: $4.50
Lug nut: $3.00
Brake rotor L $120.50
Brake rotor R $120.50

Total including Tax: $588.55

Here is the estimate for the struts:

Strut R $111.79
Strut L $111.79
Labor $61
Special Application Gas Shock Spring Seat: $159
Special Application Labor: $77.50
four Wheel alignment: $76.50
shipping charge for Struts: $25
tax: $55.53

Total: $679.46

That is over 1000 dollars, I only have around half of that. They just replaced my front breaks, they should have thoroughly checked the back ones too. WHAT THE ****! They said it is metal to metal. I dont have the money to fix everything, either way my Thanksgiving plans with my car are blown. I was planning on getting after market suspension down the road, so im thinking about holding off on the struts for now and getting the breaks fixed. What is your input?

Juan

iTrader: (28)

Dont sweat it. You can get replacement parts for much cheaper than theyre quoting you. You can find good used brake rotors on the forum for cheap. The hardest part of your rear brakes will be the stud replacement. You can remove the wheel hub and take it to a shop for them to press in the new stud or you can do it yourself with some ingenuity.

You can find some upgraded shocks and possibly springs on the forum for less than theyre quoting you. Its easy to replace those things. You'll need an alignment afterwards as well. Browse the for sale section and ebay for parts. You'll find some great deals out there.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

PS.

If you can't find any brakes, I have everything you need from a car I'm parting out. I can sell you a package deal on pretty much everything you need for your brakes and the wheel stud. PM me youre interested. Just keep in mind I'm in California and these things are somewhat heavy. Shipping may or may not kill you but you'll be paying much much less to fix your brakes than what the shop is charging you.

freemanrx7

You have to do the work yourself if you wan't to spend less money. For that amount of money you could buy all the parts and tools and still save money!!!
Def shop around.

imloggedin

get rid of the rx7 if you cant do your own brake work. gahd

texFCturboII

iTrader: (17)

Safety first. You shouldn't be modding to get faster if you can't slow down. Fix your brakes and all that first, find parts on here and do it yourself. Replacing some studs and struts really isn't that hard and will save you lots of money!

Blackfc3srx7

iTrader: (1)

I would say that you should go with a miata short throw off of ebay instead of the mazdatrix short throw and there is a write up I believe in the 2nd gen archive. It is really way to simple to make it work. I like my corksport just as long as you have your cats still intact I think you will like it. I gutted my so its loud around 3 grand.

But since you gotta do brakes and struts definitely shop around or do it your self. I would say that you don't have to get brand new spring seats just recommended look at what condition they are in first. I would say you could save money by doing it yourself if you can, but its you dd so depends on your free time. Good luck man.

0verb00st

This is common sense. Thank you everyone for helping me out. Im thinking about buying the suspension off of a stock tii for now and getting breaks off of corksport. I got a quote from the Mazda dealership just to see how expensive it would beand they quoted me at 700...**** that. Im going to listen to you and do try to do my own work even though I have never done breaks before. I have a GTU and the dealership said it needs special breaks, not the regular N/A ones. Does this mean I have the same breaks as the tii? Will aftermarket tii rotors from corksport work?

http://corksport.com/store/item/a5c7...7-91Turbo.html

freemanrx7

Your brakes are just an upgrade. You have 4 piston caliper brakes. I think the rears are all the same though.

You should find someone to help you out who has done some tech work before.
Go buy a haynes manual or if you wan't to spend the dough buy a FSM. You can find the FSM on this site somewhere.

Juan

iTrader: (28)

Definitely do your own work. A brake job is pretty easy to do. Pick up a repair manual at your local auto parts store and you should be good to go. You can also download the factory service manual which also guides you through the whole process. Suspension work is the same.

It's been a while since I've owned an FC but turboII brakes are the same as all 5 lug, 4 piston caliper (front) FCs. Some FCs came with vented rear rotors while others did not. Maybe this is what they were talking about when they said the brakes were different.

Changing your wheel stud is going to be hard if you don't have much experience. It can be done at home with basic tools and some elbow grease but the easiest way is to have a shop press them out/in with a shop press. This requires that the hub be removed from the car. When you're ready to do the work, post in your regional section of the forum and someone with some experience may drop by and give you a hand.

My offer still stands if you need parts.