For a street legal track car (I want to drive it to track events) is NA or Turbo the way to go?

On other cars I've preferred NA mods over FI to increase HP without sacrificing reliability. Since I'm new to the rotary world I wanted to learn from the RX-7 track rats.

Thanks,
Todd

 

bracket or autox or what?

 

You will have to drive better to keep up with higher HP cars with a NA. It is more of a chalange to keep up with or pass the higher HP cars and will want more power when you hit a straight. I had fun passing a BMW Z4(bad driver), Porsche 944 Turbo, and a RX8 the last trackday I went to with my NA.

 

you could get away with a turbo. just upgrade it so it spools faster. i would go turbo IMO

 

you are fighting an uphill battle if you want to regularly drag race an N/A. weak (at least for hard drag launches) driveline and less power potential than a turbo. now, if you want to auto-x an n/a is a great machine and will hang with the turbos just fine since it is lighter and has a quicker, more linear power delivery.

a turbo is better for drag, but an n/a will be a cheaper, simpler and equaly effective auto-xer.

 

i say go out there the way you are. After one day of running you'll know what exactly youll need.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm looking to get something for open track days on road courses. I ran my NSX a few times, but all the guard rails make me nervous. I'm looking for something less expensive in case I screw up. I'm starting to lean toward a street ported/carb/header/exhuast 1st gen for a nice wt/hp balance in NA.

 

Honestly I think it really comes down to hp and weight when it comes to like a track/drag car. Whether you achieve that through extensive porting with independant throttle bodies naturally aspirated, or if you do it with a massive turbo upgrade FMIC etc. As long as you can keep it in the top end rpm range most of the time you'll have that power available to you when you need it the most, wich is pretty much all the time.

Then again, I've never raced at the track, so maybe I don't know what it takes. But from all the videos I've seen on tv and here, this is what I've come up with.

 

youll probably see more track days with the na. less maintenance, leaves you more able to spend money on suspension and other things.

as long as you can make 160hp, its probably more important to work on suspension and lightening. above that hp mark, a course with more turns, power makes less sense than good driving.

personally id do a 6pi turbo. best of both worlds?