Advice for an engine build
 

Before we get started, I think I should tell you guys a little about me....Im a diesel mech and love working on imports in my off time. I started out working on Hondas engines but Ive always loved and wanted an FD. So after 3 months of doing some research I bought my 94 BB FD about 6 months ago and had no intentions of modifying it at all, I was completely set on keeping it stock because of the problems a rotary engine is notorious for. Well, all that changed and after learning more about the rotary engine I decided to modify the car. So heres my situation:

Im getting ready to go to Afghanistan in a week for a 9 month deployment. I'm leaving my FD at home with my parents so they can babysit and take care of her until I get back haha. But anyways, when I return I am wanting to build a motor that's rated for 500+ hp to the wheels but at the same time make it street driveable....not necessarily a daily driver but a weekend driver. Ive been doing some research for a couple months now on engine mod's and I know that to achieve a 13B with 500+hp I would need to upgrade the fuel system and get an aftermarket ECU.

What I am still uncertain about is what type of port would I need and how big of a turbo would I need? I was thinking about a bridgeported motor but I was told that a bridgeport eats up seals and that Ill be lucky if the engine makes it to 20k miles. Then I thought about a streeport but im not sure if that is a big enough port job to achieve 500+hp. As for the turbo, I get so many people telling me to go GT35, GT40, GT42, or even a T88! I dont want to wait forever for my turbo to spool up but I also would like to achieve high (but safe) levels of boost. What kind of port job and turbo size do you guys suggest? Im confused and need straight up advice from fellow rotorheads!

I'll let the pros handle the specifics but, you can achieve 500+ hp on a stock motor, it just depends on the turbo. Porting helps getting high HP easier, but not necessary.
And people can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you're going to find a 500+ hp reliable rotary.

All the advice is already out there, you just need to search and read it all ;)

Spend some time in both the single turbo archives and the 3rd Gen section archives.

Good Luck!

My advice would be to look at GoodfellaFD3S past threads and follow his build. 487 rwhp at 20 psi, 93 Octane. that's a good road to follow.

I'll even make it easy for you as I was just goint through it myself for probably the tenth time.
https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-292/knee-deep-my-current-build-845561/

bridgeports do not eat up seals if done properly, i have 30k+ mile engines with FBP engines that the seals were in excellent condition after tearing them down putting down 500WHP. fuel mileage and street drivability will be crap however, a streetport will get you there just as easily. bridges are 10k+ RPM ports, i couldn't even utilize the EMS due to the power curve not coming fully on before 9k RPMs.

large street port or half bridge is what you should probably look at

Yea I was told that the reliability of a bridgeport motor sucks, but what are the common reliability issues that a BP motor has? If I can achieve 500+hp with the more reliable streetport and the right sized turbo then I will go that route....I just wont get the cool sound of a BP haha. But like I said, my FD will be a weekend driver.

Have a REPUTEABLE engine builder put you together a street port or half bridge. Turbo choices are plentiful but gt40/42 or aspec 500R being very popular. You will definately have to get the ecu and fuel upgrades but also AI is also a must have. Other than that a good ROTARY tuner will be key. Reliability on the rotary engine is dependant on a competant tune.

500rwhp is a LOT in an fd. So be prepared also with brakes, suspension and safety...GOOD LUCK. Everything you need to know should be available on here.

Hell, just send my shop your FD and we'll build it for ya ;)

I was five years active duty with one Iraq deployment before separating, and we always take care of military customers..... matter of fact, we have one FD that just arrived at the shop while the customer is deployed :icon_tup:

Maybe I'll do that aswell... haha I'm leaving in a month to Afghanistan for a year

The key to longevity isn't asking yourself, "will I get x miles out of this combination of parts?" It's asking yourself, how can I avoid losing an engine from a tuning problem or a catastrophic failure?

Unless it's an old tired motor, your engine isn't going to "wear out" before something goes wrong. A coolant hose could split and then you over heat. Boost control can fail and you overboost. Some sort of fuel system failure (clogged fuel filter, whatever) can result in a lean mixture and detonation. The tune may be ok initially but it needs to be monitored as weather changes.

Thanks for the comments/input guys, keep em coming! : )

Smartest thing I've read in awhile I just was telling a customer this about the engine I will be building for him. The engine itself will be able to be abused and run hard but I can't help if there is a component failure or tune issue.

~S~

^ that's why I emphasize things like making sure your low coolant idiot light works, making sure you have some form of overboost protection (fuel cut or whatever), checking the wideband when the weather changes significantly, etc

^^Very true, and ditto that comment Sean, I thought the exact same thing.

On that coolant buzzer note, amazing how many idiots are trying to solve others buzzer problems lately by telling the to just disable it...

The FD does not easily suffer fools..... get sloppy or lazy, and it'll come back to bite you sooner rather than later.