archusangellos

I need to replace the engine in my 94 FD. I purchased the car in its current form
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...85128&page=691
and the Apex seals have given up.( no doubt due to a poorly tuned fuel map according to the dyno guys at proven power in tampa)

I am now in search of a replacement power plant and I have scoured this and many other forums to sort out what I should be looking for in a new enginge build.

the car has the following mods:
greddy front mount intercooler
greddy 3" full exhaust
aftermarket BOV
upgraded fuel rail / system (not sure if the pump was upgraded)
Microtech LTX-8 ECU
Custom 60-1 turbo
profec b boost controller

with this config (and the poor tuning) the car made 402HP @ 379lb-ft all wrapped around a reman engine with about 5500 miles on it. Shortly after the dyno run she lost the apex seal, actually it was on the ride home; those kinds of jumbers make you go home the long way to look for someone to race.

I am new to the rotary game and am somewhat lost as to what to put back into this car. I want to run the car at tracks like Sebring and maybe look into something like SCCA. I have no idea what the best overall setup would be and i am looking for any input you can offer.
So far I am considering a street ported build from Atkins racing with 3mm apex seals because they seem to be getting alot of props on alot of forums.
PLEASE HELP!!! I don't want to build the all out baddest engine available only to find out I need to upgrade the turbo and the rest of the car to hold it. I want the best engine for these mods, so that I can comfortably get the maximum horsepower to the ground on a street track without having to rebuild every other race.

Thanks in advance for any help / ideas you have.

kensin

iTrader: (22)

Bdc half Bridgeport !!

kyleaudio

iTrader: (22)

from what it sounds like, the engine that you have now should have mostly good parts, so you should look into getting a rebuild from a reputable builder. pettit racing (pettitracing.com) is the only one in florida that i can think of right now off the top of my head, i'm sure there are others in florida and there are lots of good builders elsewhere. do some searching theres a lot of good and bad feedback on here.

as far as mods, a streetport intake and exhaust will be a good idea, maybe the cooling mod (grooves in the waterjacket around the sparkplugs) and thats about it. you shouldnt need 3mm apex seals, many people are getting great numbers and reliability using stock 2mm 2 piece seals.

after you have that, you need to make sure that all of the other mods are right for your setup and goals, get it tuned and have fun!

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

A rotary won't make that much torque at that power level. what boost was the dyno run at?

Look into Pettit Racing, they're in Florida and Cam has been in this game a long time.

kyleaudio

iTrader: (22)

btw, thats a nice looking car! good luck on the build!

oo7arkman

iTrader: (2)

That was my thought... How did they do that?

Anyways, You first need to find out what exactly you have. Injector sizes? During the dyno run what was their duty cycles? What fuel pump do you have? This you should have known before having someone tune the car...

A street port would be a good option for you. I really agree with the others on here, get a REPUTABLE builder to build the engine (Cam). Next step after break in is get a REPUTABLE ROTARY tuner to tune the car. They are tuned differently than piston engines...

Really one thing you really need to look into purchasing is AI (water injection). Please look into that as it will do you a whole lot of good. There is a specific forum section on here dedicated to it will lots of good reading and also a whole forum http://www.waterinjection.info/ that has so much information it is crazy. This is one of those "must have" mods if you really want to start tracking your car reliably.

Good Luck!!!!

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Rebuild the engine you have an get it properly tuned. It will be more than what you need to have fun and race as you've indicated.

I've been to all the big shops in FL, including Pettit, but I would recommend Kilo Racing (407.810.8123) in Orlando. Jesus Padilla runs the shop. He's a low key, 50s something drag racer from way back and he is an expert engine rebuilder and Microtech tuner. He's also the least expensive by far when it comes to these things and he doesn't like to spend money you don't need to spend. He currently is putting the finishing touches on my 3 rotor. He's the most honest and ethical person you'll meet. Let him look over the car and tell you what it needs to make your goals.

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

If you can ship the car, I would be happy to build you a nice performance motor and fix any other issues the car may have. FDZero from Florida sent us his CYM last year full a full build. I don't have any personal experience with Pettit, but they have been around for quite some time. I understand that Jesus knows his way around a microtech.

BDC

I love threads like this. This is where we all clammer for business.

Archus, send me the motor. I'll do a nice job for you. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

B

kensin

iTrader: (22)

I'll ship you mine for hb port. My tuner just tuned lerrys fd. And that thing is a beast lol

Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

there are alot of good engine building options for you but job one is to find out what caused your engine problem. if you don't answer that question you will end up back at square one w another damaged motor.

since you run a microtech, and assuming you wish to continue using it, it would be wise for you to locate a really experienced rotary microtech guy who also builds motors and sign up w him.

properly fixtured, a turbo rotary will be reliable. (find the 2 key words in the sentence)

good luck,

howard coleman

BDC

That I agree with. Spending money on engine labour and all of this other fancy stuff at the end of the day doesn't solve the problem as to why it keeps breaking. That needs to be sorted on the car itself.

B

JINthaMC23

iTrader: (3)

If you're in the Tampa area, Lowe's automotive isn't too far located in Sarasota. Mike Lowe is the owner and is excellent with everything rotary related.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Precisely why I recommended Jesus Padilla at Kilo Racing in Orlando. Engine rebuilder, Microtech expert with 30+ years experience.

archusangellos

I really don't want to rebuild this engine to race with, i have another project in mind for it.
Going to rebuild it to run on Hydrogen, a little project a few of my geek friends and i have been toying around with for awhile now, but more on that later as it developes.

I also don't know any of the setting on the dyno, the guys at proven power ran the test and those are the numbers they gave me, as for the boost it was set at 1.5 bar for the test. But like i said it didn't survive the ride home, within an hour of the dyno trials it was running rough and when i got it home i check the compression and figured out i had lost an apex seal inthe front rotor.
I really just want to buy a complete engine to install and then have someone tune it properly, then over time i can learn more about the tweaks.
thanks for all the responses, i will let you know what I decide and how the build goes.

Speeder165

iTrader: (7)

1.5 bar??
Umm..1 bar is what...14.7 psi? So you are saying that you were running over 20 psi of boost????? Eek!!!!

Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

"no doubt due to a poorly tuned fuel map according to the dyno guys at proven power in tampa"

"as for the boost it was set at 1.5 bar for the test"

1.5 bar is 1.5 times 14.5 psi or 21.75 psi. yikes. the "guys" at proven power have absolutely no idea as to tuning a rotary unless you were on racegas.

without racegas, unless you are running water or meth AI, running that boost is very close to jumping off a cliff. you have either warped or broken apex seals and BTW you would have the same situation whether you had 2 or 3 mm in the motor.

you need to find someone to properly tune your FD before you get near a dyno or the track. you also must use racegas or AI. further, roadcourses require two oil coolers.

i could go on.

howard coleman

KKMpunkrock2011

iTrader: (5)

:checks microtech:
:notices non-split timing:
:bashes head against wall:

not saying that's what happened, but it's entirely possible if the shop you dyno'd at tried to mess with the timing at all.

the 380 lb-ft and 400 hp was one of the first things I noticed, a buddy locally got a little over 300 lb-ft on 400 hp which is way more normal.

with these cars as with any other there is no "best" setup, it's all about what you want. but seeing as you're interested in autocross I think that a good alky injection system coupled with a street port and a good tune with the parts you have now running 15ish pounds (depending on the fuel system) will really surprise you. Get a good clutch and flywheel, along with some good rubber, and coilovers and you'll have a really fun car.

BDC

I'm with both KKM and Howard on this. I also happen to do what they're talking about for a living. While I'm not trying to bad-mouth this shop that you had the car at, but it could be they didn't know what they were doing. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard that with regards to piston-tuning shops asserting their alleged expertise with rotaries.

B

archusangellos

I wasn't specific enough in my original post. Proven power in tampa did the dyno run but not any tuning. I purchased the car from a kid who got way too many tickets in it after buying it from the original builder. the original guy had it done by japtrix in south florida back in 2000. i have no idea what was done to the internals of the engine back then and no idea what the kid did to the tuning ( or how much he ragged it) since the initial build. the dyno run was just to see what the car was capable of, which was surprising while it lasted. Proven power never claimed to know rotaries or microtech. I don't want anyone to think they had anything to do with the grenading.
I will probably take the car to Kilo Racing and have Jesus go over it entirely, repair whats damaged, and suggest upgrades to make it track worthy.
I will let you know how things turn out.

I truly thank you all for your input so far and i look forward to more of your advice as i break things in the future.

Archus Angellos

Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

"I will probably take the car to Kilo Racing and have Jesus go over it entirely"

a good move... one that will save you lots of money in the long run and deliver to you what you want. as previously posted, a properly modded and tuned FD is reliable.

howard

sub9lulu

iTrader: (7)

thats probably one of the only 2 places i'll take the 13b to in fl
pettit wasnt what it used to be anymore
i still love their fender flares tho

FDZero

iTrader: (10)

Hey Ihor! Sorry for the delay in providing my feedback.

Anyhow, guys...IR Performance was an awesome shop to ship my car to. Sure, I had to ship my car from Florida all the way up North to New Jersey, but the end-product was 110% great. To top it off, I had the opportunity to fly to New Jersey / NY and personally meet Ihor and make a roadtrip back to Florida in the FD. The FD drove like a charm and smooth.

+ Fast and friendly communication from Ihor (shop owner) + kept me on the loop with almost every stage of motor, parts install, build, etc
+ Build time and turnaround was awesome
+ Prices for in-house parts and labor was super
+ BEST part of all...the tuning for my car's new mods and such is awesome...pretty much factory-ish

...here's the new toys IR installed aside from the Stage 2 Streetport motor:

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...ostcount=17357

archusangellos

In actuality, I have decided to take the entire car to Mike Lowe in sarasota. His shop is the closest to me of those recommended. He said he can take a look and give a a list of what is already there and get me to where i want to be. RACING!!!
He thinks with what i have told him so far he can get me to 400Hp + on pump gas with 14-15 lbs of boost and it will run well for a long time, and that is certainly what I was looking for.

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.