Finally Blown
 

Well well, I think that my 94 Rx-7 has finally broken its cherry and blown its first engine. Like a proud father patiently waiting for this day I am left with some options. Being of little mechanical knowledge, I thought that somebody might be able to help me with a decision. Namley what should I do next? Do you think that I should invest in a new(remanufactured) rotary engine or should I look into a V8 conversion. I love the idea of keeping my Rx rotary powered. But I want to start doing some serious modifications and I want to get to aroud 450hp. I dont however want to have to constantly worry about my new engine blowing. And I feel that a LT1 can safley make this kind of horsepower. Or if not an LT1 are there any other engines that can make the swap? Sorry for the text intensive message, hopefully you guys will be able to help me out. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

r u kidding? ur thinking of v8 conversion? do you know how much that costs?

u should get a motor from the rx7store for a few g's and pay someone to drop in. I guarantee it will be cheaper and less than hassel then going v8. You can even go street ported or if you know someone who will "help" you out in smog ;-) you can have it race ported lol.

plus you can make the rx7 have 450 rwhp if you buid it right. i have delt a lot with muscle cars and i know you will have way more probs with one of those than the 7.

as long as you treat it right it can be a very reliable car.
just like any other car if you race to every red light there will be problems.

there is a guy on here doing the v8 conversion. check it out to see what you think. im sure you'll make the wise decision and stick w/ the rotory.

thanks

but would it be as reliable? money not being an object

Well, though you can look at this as an alternative..

If you go with the v8 yes it will cost you more in the short run but it could evidently cost you alot less in the long run depending on your ability to keep a rotory engine running good.. [I.E. Mechanical knoledge]

And Encon statement on makeing the wise decision is ludacrist cause ones person wise decision is not the same as some elses when it comes to MONEY. Make your choice based on your abilities and current budget and furture budget..

Don't let people talk you out of something cause they think its a sin.. They do not own your car or are paying you to make that decision.

If you want 450 hp, go single turbo, or do the V8 conversion. IMO, the latter would be more reliable and a better bang-for-the-buck deal.

Check out:

http://www.hinsonsupercars.com/

screw the ls1... if you want that buy a corvette. 450 is a well realized goal for the rotary

You don't need 450WHP. 300 - 350WHP will make you fly and it can be done with a ported engine, exhaust, new fuel injectors and programmed ecu ( and a few other things like maybe a single turbo) but if you want a V8 than just go by a new car. A new radiator, oil coolers, and thicker seals will do wonders for engine life!If you're not going to stay with a rotary then just move on. Any car though will have less engine life you kick up the power! I don't know - you're either a rotar head or everything else..... But if you insist on keeping the rx7 body with a V8 keep in mind that the weight balance will shift forward, the suspension will need to be changed, and all the aux systems will have to be adapted and if you can't do all that than plan on paying $$$$$ for someone else to do it. Your 7 just won't be the same as before, it won't drive the same unless you just plan to go in a straight line. So just sell you car and buy one with a V8 if that's what you want.

Wow look at your selfs...

IT IS HIS CAR and NOT YOURS.. tell him to go buy a corvette is not what he wants to do..

He loves the car and what type of powerplant is his buisness not yours to tell him he cant or he should go buy a new car..............

When you will biggot asses learn that it is not your car or your choice..

Your imput on a rotory is cool but your negative input about the v8 is not called for..

He asked for pros and cons of both setups not an opinion on wether or not he should keep his car.

By the way Luizajeff's examples pretty much sums up both sides but the buy a new car should have been left out........

Luizajeff nailed it: either you're a rotorhead or not. Its your car man, but think of why your makin the choice that you will be making. If you wanted a v8, ok, you could buy a Vette, but I dont have anything against OTHER people having v8's in their FD's either. I just dont think you really wanna back into a decision like that. You gotta be assertive about which direction, otherwise the cup'll always look half empty.
You dont want to constantly worry about blowing the engine? I wont argue the facts about that but I will say that with an FD, its an issue. Livin life on the edge, Fd style. Ls1 powered FDs do sound sickening to me, though, with their single exhaust :thumbd:

Uhhh he is asking for our opinion.

"...hopefully you guys will be able to help me out. Any input would be greatly appreciated."

So we give it to him. you ask, ill respond. he posted to see what people will say. the choice is his no matter what we say agreed, but if he didn't want our opinions he wouldn't post.

if he wants a v8 its easier to just get a new car w/ a v8 a 1967 chevelle or malibu would be nice! but since he now mentions money is no object, f- it go with a 20b conversion! you will put down 450rwhp w/no prob.

heres the thread of some1 converting to a v8

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=20b

You probably want him to do the V8 conversion. You live in the midwest, somewhere inside the iron belt, so I can understand why you desperately want to see more V8 3rd gen rx7s. Just sell the car to some rotary nut, buy a 2nd or 1st gen RX7 and put a V8 into one of those.

On the point of 20Bs, they are are very under-stressed in stock form and are infinitely more reliable than the 2-rotor 13B.

I say just invest in a reman and the reliability mods. Take care of the car well and it'll last a long time.

I dont want to have to by another car as I love my Rx-7 ive had it for about ten years now and I wouldnt trade it for anything. It's not that I really have a dislike for the rotary engine its just that I dont want to have to go for another 5 years worring about when my new is going to fail. I was always afraid to do any sereious modifications to my car as they exponetially reduce to life of the engine. And BTW my car would NEVER be used as a drag racer as my passion lies in the curves. Thanks to everone for their comments.

And why the Fu.. hell would I want to buy a POS Malibu anyway. Cars are made to turn not just go in a straight line. ;)

Ok maybe I should clarifiy exactly what I am looking for. I really want to get into the low 4 sec zero -60 range while keeping the top end where it is and also keeping driveability. Handling however is high on my list so that must be taken into consideration.

how did the engine go?

get rotary aviation apex seals and your motor won't fail that way....i heard hurly makes nice side seals, go single turbo and your coolant seals should last a lot longer... and get this "anti det device" when it comes out.... as long as you have the RA seals and a single turbo (for less heat) i think you'll be fine....

We had a really cold winter here in baltimore and even though I changed the radiator fluid at the beginning of the season I guess it just got too cold. One weekend the car wouldnt seem to get up to temperature. Or, atleast the temp gauge would read sub-normal temps. I decided to take the car off of the road for the remainder of the season. I would still drive it once a week just to make sure everything was ok untill finally one week I drove it and I had a normal temp reading...Not good. This normal temp reading started to rise about 1/8th of the way above mid level on the gauge and I immediatly shut the car off and had it towed to my garage. After three days the car still started with no problem( Never started for more than a minute). Then after sitting for a couple more days the car wouldnt start at all. The starter sounded like it was turning over but the enging itself did not. Sorry for such a long description hopefully it answers all of your questions.

Thanks.

I dont really know alot about new single turbo systems but arent they prone to more lag than their twin turbo counterparts? I really want to avoid as much lag as possible as i want this car to handle well. And abrupt power coming out of a turn is not pretty.

Yeah 150, American V8's do sound like shit i wish there was another engine option(piston). Not that Rotarys sound that great either. Have you ever driven/heard a Ferrari V8 before? They sound Fucking awesome and also way out of my price range.

Ouch! c'mon i love the way a v8 sounds with dumped exhast after the muffler. especially with a racing cam. u were right though that they are not made for cornering. but if you want to go in a straight line really fast its a good way to go.

i love my 7 and if i ever got another muscle car i would still keep the 7. theres no way i will give up my car w/o a fight.

the advise for rebuliding (ra apex seals, and housing) is a good one. try it! u ur self said money is no object. it will prob cost around $4k if you have someone build it for you (still cheaper then converting to v8). convert to single turbo along w/ necessary mods and you can make it to ur wish of 450rwhp.
a v8 still has its own probs; blown pistons, busted head gaskets, bad starters...etc the list can go on and on like the rotory.

ehh... but its your choice.

good luck either way.

Why? Do you know something we don't?

I think he is just saying that since there are only TWO really significant things that kill rotary engines (heat and detonation) that these new apex seals that are evidently extremely tolerant of detonation will help eliminate "blown" engines due to losing an apex seal.