I asked someone who is selling an FD if they installed an aftermarket ecu, like the Power FC (I mentioned this to the seller) and this is what he/she had to say through email... which I found a little ... alarming.

[email from seller]
... It has been fast enough for my needs that the ECU, from talking with folks is more for speed racing, which tends to abuse the car. I don't participate in that. The engine is stock original with no rebuilds [/email from seller]

From what I have read on these forums, an aftermarket ecu, ESPECIALLY the Power FC is like the 1st reliability mod one should invest in, that way, after getting a downpipe, catback, air intake, radiator, ast, gauges, etc, etc, won't pop/wear out the engine prematurely.


Another interesting thing, the description of the car states:

[car desc]
... Is track ready for the enthusiast – no roll bar needed. 86K miles with a new ACT-1 Street clutch (75K miles), efini downpipes and new rear oil seal (80K miles) - All maintenance mods done.
[/car desc]

Also, if the engine has a new rear oil seal, then doesn't that mean the engine was "rebuilt" .. which the seller states wasn't done. Or can the rear oil seal refer to the oil pan, which can that be replaced without rebuild?

I assume that the "efini downpipes" refer to an aftermarket downpipe AND midpipe? Or just a downpipe, stock cat and catback? I tried to find some efini downpipes online, but I can't...

Well, I'm not going to argue with the seller, I just wanted to make an inquiry and practice asking questions for when I really do plan to buy an FD.

Thanks.

 

walk away. sounds like a scam.

 

is this the 94 brilliant black on craigslist selling for 16500?

 

^ Why is it a scam? Because the guy said downpipe instead of y-pipe?

You don't need a PFC on a stock car. The original owner had no reason to put one on.

As far as the track car statemnt, I would think they are just trying to say that it needs little to no handling upgrades to run decent times.

A rear main oil seal only needs the flywheel removed to be replaced. Most people do it as a precaution during a rebuild.

I would bet money that they are talking about an efini *Y-pipe*. Not downpipe. This pipe eliminates a failure-prone coupler that USDM fd's have and supposedly flows a little better.

 

Ok, yah the Y-pipe does make sense, that is something I definitely wanted to do when I get an FD.

So I guess there is some debate about needing a Power FC for a stock FD .. as long as the exhaust and intake haven't been upgraded significantly?

Still, a recent compression test would show more and since the rear seal was replaced at time of clutch that makes sense now too.

I will get clarification on the "downpipes" and so forth.

I'm not sure if it was the FD on craigs list...

Thanks for the input!

 

sounds like it to me. here is the link

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/car/411869188.html

 

There is no debate on whether or not you need an aftermarket ECU on a stock engine. If it needed one, mazda would have put one in there.

Keep reading on it. And yeah, a compression check would be worth worrying about.

 

Thats it! But I found it on cars.com too, but I didn't get to see a pic of the engine bay. Wish I could see closer up of the left side where the Y pipe would be, if he is referring to a Y pipe and not a Downpipe.

Still... wouldn't the aftermarket piping improve "airflow" so that the stock ecu might not be sufficient anymore and allow boost creeping at times. I will have to ask if he has a boost gauge at least, otherwise how would he know if things got too lean?

I know its mostly stock... but kinda scary... I would put a PFC in pronto donto.

 

Doesn't look too bad

 

If that's the car... just realize that the owner has forfeited a spare tire in order to have subwoofers. Think about what that means...

 

this car has been up for at least a year. i would have thought he would have reduced the price since it was not selling.

 

If all he has is intake piping, then there is no way that thing is overboosting. Stock IC, stock intake box, stock cats, stock catback. No worries. Don't take my word for it (Levar Burton moment), do some searches about it.

 

The rear seal can be replaced without rebuilding the motor. It's a common practice to replace it when either doing a clutch or flywheel change. It's right there if you remove the flywheel so it's a no brainer when changing the flywheel out (and the seal has some mileage on it).

 

Hmm.. no spare wheel = must get towed if I have a flat. I have AAA Ultra so I could use that to get towed. I can get towed up to 100 miles 3 times a year. I hate changing spares on the highway anyway. Have a cousin who's husband got killed like that.

Anything else missing besides spare wheel? tools?

 

Considering this car is mostly stock, aside from the clutch and intake piping, I would think that the engine will need a rebuild within another 10-20K miles. If the intake piping was replaced because there were leaks in the original piping, then I wonder what damage that could have caused over time.

Also, stock downpipe, cat and radiator + 86K miles = fairly long time with below adequate cooling. This could also mean the engine would be in need a rebuild sometime soon, like I am thinking another 10-20K if that.

I know a really good compression test is about 8.0 across the board, so if this engine is now at 7.0 (or 6.5) ... what does that mean in terms of "time left before rebuild" assuming only mild street driving is done and a new Koyo dual flow and RB downpipe is immediately installed?

 

I love this forum... just read through this entire thread, very educational topic about stock ecu vs mods and their effects on overboosting.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...k+overboosting

 

that ad definitly looks a little fishy. maybe not a scam, but from what ive seen (ive been looking to buy an fd for the past 6 months), at 80k miles on stock motor, it is WAY over priced.

 

My FD is stock, with noooo PFC! Doesn't mean that me selling my car is a scam! A stock FD is reliable. It when you start modding your FD became unrelaible, meaning relaibility mods are needed. But come on, who doesn't step on it, in their FD!?

 

86k on stock motor, you definately need to do a compression test. Also, the PFC is not the first reliability mod and a lot of people blow up their fds on the stock maps because they dont spend the time/money to get it tuned and just turn up the boost.

I would get a compression test done first, then check for the suspension clunk. Body work, engine rebuilds, and rear suspension will be the most costly things to fix on this car.

 

After a quick skim, I want to clarify some things:
- The PFC is not a reliability mod, really. It does get rid of 3k hesitation, and improves fuel mileage, but doesn't make the car less expensive to maintain in stock form.
- the missing spare is no big deal. You can buy a used one very cheaply
- the seller may/may not know what they are talking about. Scam or not, you need to see the car in person and assess what's there and how well it's working.
- the rear main seal, like any engine, is the seal facing the transmission. If you remove the tranny (say, to change the clutch), you can change the RMS without a lot of extra effort.
- the efini y-pipe helps flow some, and on a nearly stock car, I saw a 1lb boost increase.

Hope that helps.

 

That's what I was thinking too, but how many buyers are going to know allot about an FD, read these forums and overlook the pretty cool stereo setup the car has?

Theres no way I would even consider buying an FD without a compression test done with me standing right there at a shop or doing it myself.