Nice build and video. Saw the first bid v8 comparison rotary. I respected the guys opinion about both cars but I disagree with it. Everyone has there preferences. The upgrades you did to your car were great. Good to see people enjoying and improving what this car was attended to do and that is do everything well. A true sports car and drivers car. No offensive to our straight line drivers but it's good to see someone drive these cars fast and not just in a straight line. Now back to the dark side. The dark side does work and v8 is a different way to make power. Yes you do have to wait a little more for the power on a turbo car. He'll on the track it actually helps sometimes. That said I drive a mustang gt d's and the rx7 is a weekend warrior. The mustang is fun to drive but it is no rx7. Each car has its own personality and I would not put a rotary in the mustang nor place a v8 in the rx7. I believe it takes away what makes those cars unique. Man I have a pte6262 1ar custom turbo with two wastegates still in the box. I sometimes think of getting rid of it for that much quoted iwg b.w. Not sure how long I will wait for spool on this 6262. Congratulations on your car. It is clean and fast in all aspecs.

 

The ohlins are the japanese Flag-R DFV's with the external resevoirs, so not from Sakebomb. My AP racing brakes are the old M2 BBK kit that was sold years ago, so those are also not from Sakebomb. Only Sakebomb items I have are the footrest and the dual oil coolers.

Ill be posting my AP racing BBK up for sale soon btw.

Yea thats me. Crazy, I never would of thought R&T would mention my car. Kind of a trip, but glad there still are current magazine editors who are interested in Rx-7's. Overall, I am a bit surprised that so many people are enjoying the FD one-take. In other words, I was expecting a lot more FD/Rotary haters to voice themselves lol.

 

Armen, I just watched the video.

you've done a great service to the rotary community!

great job.

 

Armen,

Give me a shout when you get a moment and lets see what playing around with a few different spring combos in the turbosmart bov does for you. We did get your old EWG turbine housing BTW so you have a credit on hand.

 

Dibs!

 

Great video. Congrats!

 

Love the new video that EFR sounds incredibly responsive! Your old TD61 kit is still working great for me, but I may have to go EFR eventually

 

What brakes are you upgrading to?

 

Awesome video. Watched the first one a while back, and really enjoyed it too other than the bias of the presenter toward the LS car. I've followed some of your older and newer threads and posts recently, as your setup is very very similar to the direction I'm going in my current, no-nonsense reliability/street/track/autocross efr build. Mechanically, I think you have the perfect setup. Keep up the good work, repping for the rotary community.

 

Got my hands on some stoptechs for a deal. No real benefit switching over besides a larger pad selection. I really need to get some more rear bias however..sakebombs rear brakes are nice im just financially not ready yet

 

Car looks great, awesome video!!!!!

 

Exactly, your swap is rear biased now. Plus even more so for me as I have no AC(just PS) and huge footwide 315 slicks on 18" 23.6lb wheels(they won't break on track due to curbs like RPF1s and I have stock rear brakes so the weight evens out compared to BBK, of course its rotating, but on a mountain road broken wheels=death.) Don't worry, I keep a PSCup2 on pass. front so I can still use the brakes when cold(it gets chilly in SF, but less tire wear because of that is good.)

Does powertrain balance mean the torque is gradual? I don't understand what you mean. I assume the rotary makes it feel like a ballerina that you must play like a violin to get it just perfect, time it wrong and you could be caught out with no torque available when it's time to punch it. My 346WHP V8 is like a sledgehammer, not precise and wilder, but more point-and-shoot easy style. Well not 100% easy, I guess the difference is that with a V8 you shouldn't punch it too early, a rotary you shouldn't punch it too late. A rotary let's you keep your foot on it.

Low rev engines work better with superchargers, especially clutch-disengaged ones.

The rotary crank sits higher than 15.5" from the ground(47" total height of car) which is where an LS1 on the hinson subframe is, so even if it's forward CoG a bit that is compensated for by being lower center of gravity. Plus the huge torque at any RPM makes the car rotate at least as fast as any rotary, at least on the lower speed tracks I frequent. Neither has problems with agility, high speed sweepers aside I doubt there would be much difference. I have stripped 190lbs to get to 1180kgs!:

25insulation removed
15radio removed
5fogs removed
5turbos removed
5emission removed
12airpump removed
30AC removed

18wheel/airbags replaced
40seats replaced
30exhaust replaced
5muffler replaced

My car weighs less than 2750 with me and gas in it, ready to go. None of you can beat that, of course, I am on a diet though.

Noone needs a 9" rear or BBK until you get an LS2, my revs are only 6200 max and I stick to short tracks, so light is the way to go, and there is no reason then to ruin it with unnecessary mods. So actually a swap can be lighter/better, if you put in the work. And yes that is a very low redline(esp.compared to the extra 25% of a 13B revving all the way out to 8K, but it revs slower so maybe about the same wait) and combined with my stock 4.11 rear gear there is an awful lot of shifting on straightaways, but this car was meant for twisites!

I don't have stock suspension or anything stock for that matter, just the metal structure and the jap rear seats. But good choices for the review, everyone agrees Ohlins and APracing are best quality(and most expensive,) but I like the stiff/soft with 10K/6K on my korean brand HSD(BuddyClub), what is your spring setup? (my soft rear keeps it planted, BTW)

Why can't you get a print article in Road&Track? How about track comparo buy brand new manual Porsche911 at just under 100K versus RX7 at under 20K?

What made you think to contact him again, because this thread got resurrected?

Hawk StreetRace Pads are awesome because you don't have to wait for them to warm up as much.

 

He means he needs more rear brake. Larger front brakes tend to take on more work so you need rears that will bite more to keep the braking more evenly distributed.

 

Happen to see Sakebomb's Facebook post about this video? They claim you have Sakebomb Ohlins DFV's and the Sakebomb AP BBK...

You'll get a lot more rear bias by changing to the Stoptech front calipers. The AP CP5200 calipers have pistons that are too big for our cars with the stock rear brakes (41/38mm). The Stoptechs have more appropriate piston sizes (30/36mm).

So, by switching from AP to Stoptech fronts, your brake bias will go from 74% to 67% front bias (stock is 68% front, for reference).

 

Exactly, so I'm really curious to hear your opinions on the Stoptech vs The APracing.

 

^^Would also be interested in hearing what the bias would be for those who are interested in running the full AP kit (fronts and rears) Thanks!

 

Thats really interesting, I never realized stoptech used smaller piston sizes vs AP. Very happy to hear that. As for sakebomb, guess they assumed I'm running most of their stuff.. Im a fan of the company so that doesnt bother me much lol

 

Or you could just buy a proportioning valve....

 

You will need to delete your abs to do so. Otherwise yes thats the right way to do.

 

I like the StopTechs a lot, I've been running them for years. No offense to anyone else's, but you'll never get a brake pedal like you do with the STs and a 929 MC... mine is firmer/shorter than stock. I have it paired with a RB rear kit, which is similar (slightly larger diameter) than the Sakebomb kit, so I think that'll work out well for you.

The big advantage with the SB front kit is the thickness of the pads... 18mm pads won't last nearly as long, and ST pad shape is relatively expensive.

While I'm at it, I recommend Castrol SRF fluid. It's more expensive up front, but not hydroscopic so it doesn't need to be bled as often.

Great car Armen, I loved the R&T piece.

 

Thanks man. I am excited to try out the stoptech kit. Funny how people are inquiring for the ST trophy kit for our car but its just major overkill offsetting the brake bias even more. Would you mind sharing what pads are you using? Ive been using HP+ pads and surprised by how well they hold up during track use and its good street use manners.

Matt Farrah just released an article regarding LS swapped cars.
Matt Farah remembers his favorite?or at least the craziest?LS engine-swapped cars. - The Drive

 

Sure. For the street, I'm using whatever came with the brake kit when I got in over 10 years ago! I believe they are Axis Ultimates. I got a matching set of rears at the time, and They are still over half there.

For the track, I'm using PFC 08. I love PFC pads, and the 08's are sort of an evolution of the 97's, they last a long time with good stopping power... probably not the absolute ultimate bite. The rears are Hawk DTC-60's... they don't make PFC pads in the rear pad shape anymore, otherwise I'd have 08s there too.

I ran street pads on street tires one time at the track when I first got the kit, and they faded after four corners at Summit Point! I only roll with true race pads.

The Trophy kit would be pretty sweet—it's a little lighter, has fully floating (no springs) rotors, and anti-knockback springs. It's also expensive as hell. If the piston sizes are larger, I believe they are the same as the regular version that was supposedly developed to "match" the '99 rear brakes, 36/34 instead of 36/30. In my opinion, not necessary, I like the balance even with the even larger RB rears, and you can always tune it with a slightly less aggressive rear pad.

Anti-knockback springs are going to drag a little on street, and fully floating rotors will rattle. I've gotten very used to just reaching over with my clutch foot and doing a small tap on the brake after corner exit just to be sure the pistons are set up. Especially with worn pads, you'll get a little knockback.

 

That's a good article. The LS engine is inexpensive, lightweight, reliable, and easily tuned, but I agree with Matt that you shouldn't put it in everything, especially when the original motor has some value.

Speaking of putting it in everything, Jay Leno interviewed a guy who put a 13B-DEI into a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle: Time For Another Video Break - Speedhunters

 

I can perfectly well see why people would have wanted to do LS conversions at one point, but with some of the advances we've seen in the last few years, with engine management, v-mount intercoolers, and the EFR internally gated turbos, even E85 and water injection, it's less compelling.

Any time I go to the track, at least once somebody stops by my pit area to tell me "What the hell is in this thing, you flew by and spit a three foot flame out the exhaust!" You can't beat that for my money.

 

Thanks for the info. I ran PFC 01's with the AP kit and they were literally too good for track day, exacerbating the lack of rear bias. They did chew up the rotors also and were difficult to find.
Called stoptech, recently the kits come with the "Street-Performance" pad (D372 or D609 shape) I believe its bascially a re-stamped axxis ultimate pad.

Funny thing about Jay Leno, I bumped into him during my routine Sunday morning drive up Angeles Crest. Most people stop by Newcombs ranch for coffee, breakfast and motoGP/ F1 re-runs. As I was drinking my coffee, I see a Yellow P1 pull in. It was Jay and he parked right next to my FD. Went up to him and chatted for a second. "Nice rotary, Gosh I love my Rotary. You need to check out the new rotary VW video we just posted on my channel" Really cool guy.