Firstly, the car is a work of art, both exterior and interior..... so beautiful, and the Nardi Classic steering wheel with polished spokes convinced me to ditch my airbag

The car revs very quickly, more quickly than my FD does. Feels pretty torquey from 2k rpm. When you let off the throttle the car surges forward for a second, vs my FD where the revs drop immediately. Rev matching on downshifts is a joy as the tach needle just flies upward.

It pulls cleanly to about 7500, at which point there is a slight dead spot, then it recovers and pulls to 9000. Feels like 300ish rwhp. Once you're on boil and shifting at 9k the car really moves down the road with authority. The rpm readings were indicated on the tach, Gordon mentioned it may not be 100% accurate.

The sound was the best part, it sounded sooooo good ripping through the gears---similar to a sport bike. I'd absolutely love to have one of these in my FC Vert, it's definitely a killer setup and gives the car a very different character vs a turbo'ed 13B.

 

Awesome! I was always curious about it.
Let me know if you decide to sell your wheel!

Why is it that when you left off throttle in surges?

 

good info. what are the specs of the motor? porting, compression, etc...?

 

I completely forgot that I wanted to try out the AtomicRex steering rack while it was sitting in the drive. Maybe next year.

 

damn you!!! one day i too will drive a 20b, maybe not Gordons but... maybe one of my own

 

Daniel my man. The Atomic Rex steering rack is like any manual rack when the car is not moving however, I would say that as soon as the speed is above 5km/h it is very easy to move. Saying it is light while in motion would be a blatant lie. However, it makes the car feel SO much better.

I find it gives you so much confidence as a driver. Everytime you point the car in a direction you know EXACTLY where you wheels are going vs with the power steering where you point and hope. The rack just makes the driving experience so much more rewarding and enriches the driving experience so much it is awesome!

 

Link to more info on this steering rack?

 

So... any videos to share of this thing while being beaten

 

Gordon asked me to chime in and I said I would be more than happy to; hopefully I can express what it felt like.

Firstly Gordon's car is Gordon's car, irregardless if ever it ended up in the hands of someone else the car is made for the man every single detail I find reflects his tastes and character and let me say that the end result is amazing.

There are intangibles with the car that I feel would be difficult if not impossible to reproduce, these are the interior modifications. All the panels are covered in leather and all the plastic finishes have a metalized effect on them. Then come for me what makes the car the seats. Forget the fact that the seats alone cost more than 95% of what FD's are worth now adays, they are by far the most comfortable and classy seats that I have ever sat in (including top of the line Merc S classes). Although at the base they are Spirit R seats the end result has nothing to do with them. They hold you in perfectly but at the same time are so cushy that you could drive 12 hours and feel perfectly fine when you get out of the car. The interior has zero creaks or rattles it is really build like a high end GT car.

Now some people are probably asking themselves well thats all nice but what can I replicate on my car? THE ENGINE

The performance of the engine in its current state is amazing, what is even more amazing is that the potential is not even completely tapped! The engine idles very nicely and is super super smooth. I found that it pulled really smoothly to the end of the tach More importantly other than the performance is the characteristic that the engine gives to the car, it is part of a system that is the engine, steering and suspension. This overall package is stunning in that it is amazingly predictable it really gives the driver so much confidence in every action. Regardless of rpm when you make even the most minute changes by the engine it is instantly effected and felt. Also, as Rich noted when downshifting rev matching is easy even for drivers with two left feet. I think it is impossible to say how much this engine, clutch and gear combo gives to driver confidence and boosts the pleasure of the experience.

This setup I feel is the ultimate for someone that wants a car that performs like a tuned FD with all the bolt ons but has unquestionable reliability. After driving it I really felt that this is what a 2011 Rx-7 would be.

 

Amen. Why Mazda didn't do this in the first place with the FD is the real question, the car would probably still be around and selling well.

 

Gordon,

What EMS are you using?

Plan on attending Seven Stock?

 

It would have faded even quicker as the sports car market was overtaken by the SUV crowd. By 1995 it was already too expensive for the markets percetion of what a Japanese car should cost. I bought mine in '95, by that time the only reliability problems were a bad start of the '93 with paint and interior issues and a few recalls .. what drove the masses away was a 40k price; I could have gotten an M3 cheaper.

Yes Gordon has made an excellant car that is a worthy match of any GT car of the land, I wish I could match half of his work.

 

40k $ for a new FD? In Holland it was 153k fl, which is about 70k €.

more on topic, 300whp sounds like a high estimate. I'm not knowledgable on 3rotors but I had my stock FD dynoed with a boosttransition problem and it only made 160whp on the first turbo.

 

The car has been on the dyno and made right around 300 rwhp

 

Bridgeport that bad boy Gordo! You'll pick up 60rwhp

 

While attending the Chris meet at Gordans house (which again was a amazing event) I had the chance to drive Gordans car as well. Having been a die-hard 20b n/a guy for the past 5 years, and experiencing my personal 20b n/a, I was eager to see what Gordans was like. It was a great drive for sure! The exhaust note was nice and quiet, while throaty. It gave the perfect sound of the 20b and still allowed a nice conversation at cruise. The interior made you feel like an honored guest, and the seats made you want to sit in it across the country. Steering reaction and feedback were top notch, and even without the p.s. it was very effortless. I know the tach was off by about .3, but hearing it go through the revs was still a pleasure. The throttle response would beat any turbocharged variant, and was nice and crisp. It was a blast to drive, and left me with a smile on my face. Having driven both mine and Gordans I would love to own both. Thats for sure.

 

This doesn't make much sense to me. Yes, a 2.5 inch exhaust is going to increase velocity and improve scavenging (improving torque and throttle response) but you will lose top end power with the increased backpressure.

 

Um, it won't beat a GT3, sorry. A more interesting match-up would be a 2009 Cayman S.

 

Gmonsen you def need to build a new intake on that engine. And i would stick with the 3" exhaust.

Now to chime in on a NA rotary engine

My 4 rotor PP engine is quite smooth to drive. But due to the PP ports my power band is quite restricted atm. When we turn it up from 8200 rpm to 9500 rpm it will be much smoother to drive. The power output is so smooth, when driving it on the track you can just push the throttle and the car just shoots off. Not like with a big HP turbo engine where you would hafto limit the boost or throttle in first and 2nd gear, or third if you have verry big HP.

Next year my 4 rotor will have 600+rwhp and i do belive it will be just as smooth as now, cause the top power wont come untill 9500 rpm.

So for everyone wanting 300-400rwhp in a 3 rotor, go for a NA, either a large streetport or a BP.

And a custom intake would help alot on the power band. As i do belive the stock intake is not omptimized for NA.

And when it comes to the sound, it's just amazing. I did drive a NA 13b FD a few years ago, with just a streetport. Man was that thing loud.

JT

 

^ You should start a new thread for your four rotor build, would love to see it

 

That's a remarkable achievement in itself for an FD, probably worth a dedicated thread! What AFRs do you run? Gas mileage?

 

when i sat in gordon's car last year right after it was finished, i was really glad he did not ask me to take off my shoes and wear a tyvec suit with a hair net and white gloves because of the equisiteness of the interior LOL

 

they were invisible, i swear!

 

Gordon, thanks for clarifying our definition of gran turismo. I must be showing my age thinking of the Ghibli and 365 GTC of the past.

 

Haha, you're right of course, just the wuss inside of me doesn't like to break a sweat tooling around the parking lot. :P