spotch

I've heard a few rumors, and developed come thoughts on the rx-7, and need some info to see how close i am. Heres the thing, i'm looking for the perfect car for me. Like, theoretically speaking, a car that i can look forward to buying in a year or two when i get out of college. A newer style RX-7 came to mind, but I'm curious about a few things.

1. Many people say they're unreliable, but i personally doubt that the rx7 is inherently unreliable, but tend to have problems due to owner error or poor tuning.

2. Just how fast can an rx-7 go with some work, i/e mods and different turbo, good tires, etc? I was hoping for 11.9~ but i've been told that at those speeds the car would be running hella rich and drive funky, so just how quick can these cars get easily, on street tires and pump gas? Is there a way to make the engines a little more robust, replace the apex seals with better units or something?

3. The twin turbo setup, isnt it just better to switch to a single, properly sized turbo than sticking with the two, or would you just end up with supra-syndrome (fucked up power curve)
?

thoughts? Any info would help a lot, thanks.

Snook

iTrader: (12)

Nice 1st Post...you should have seen mine haha

1. From the factory the rx7s have a couple problems all related to heating of the rotary engine
The reliability mods you want to get to make the motor more stable are: Downpipe, AST (replace it don't remove it), Fanmod, Radiator, Turbo timer if you can't sit in the car for a few minutes after you run it hard.
Change the oil and fuel filter and all other fluids when you get the car and change the oil every 2000-2500 miles religiously.
Get a boost gauge and water temp gauge to monitor everything.
All of these parts will run you about $1000 and are damn worth it.
Don't run the car hard all the time, don't run the car hard and then shut it down right away because the turbos need to cool down, don't run the car slowly all the time the rotary engine loves to be taken to high rpms but not driven at high rpms.
When you get any other hp adding mods get an ecu!!

2. Umm the fastest rx7 in the 1/4 was 7.3 I believe and the highest top speed was 240 some mph is that fast enough for you? The rx7 is a hardcore race car.
The car can get into the 11's with mods and stock turbos. With an ecu, fuel upgrades, ported motor and a single turbo you can do even better

3. Going to a single turbo is a good idea because it will reduce heat (the stock twin setup causes a lot of heat)
There are Single turbos that spool up fast
Switching to single turbo is way better in my opinion and most other people will agree but the money that it costs usually slows most people down from getting it.
You can however slowly build your car up to prepare for a single turbo and then the cost won't be so bad when you are ready for it.

spotch

Sounds like my kind of car. I dont drive my car hard as much as a few friends of mine (borderline abuse basically) but i definately dont granny it


And after about 1000 bux in keeping the engine cooler, how much money do you think it would cost to go to a good single turbo setup? after ecu, fuel upgrades and ported motor how much money are we talking ? approximately

spotch

it kinda sounds like the rx-7 is set up as a very hot-running car from the factory and basically most performance mods you do give you power and also make it easier for the engine to keep cool. berry interesting.

Snook

iTrader: (12)

Where is all the help from the experienced forum members
it's like a 2 person chat room in here!
After the reliability mods, ecu and fuel upgrades and ported motor....it will cost you 4K at most for single turbo and all related parts. But the reliability mods, ecu, fuel upgrades and ported motor aren't cheap. Rel. Mods = 1000, the Power FC ecu is 1300, fuel pump and injectors, and the port depends on how big of a port it is
and if you are having a port you probably did it because you needed a rebuild on the motor. Rebuild with mild port is about 4K
Here are some single turbo kits: http://www.rx7.com/cgi-local/3catalog.cgi?cat=9&part=7

Search the forum for more details....I think it has been estimated at around 9K to go single turbo from a stock rx7 but I'm not sure about that being just parts or installed and I don't know what all was upgraded

good luck!
Snook

spotch

thanks

yy4u

If you want an rx7 that will reliably run in the 11's i would guess you're going to spend at least 7k or so without paying for a rebuild, with rebuild and street port, probably closer to 10 or 11k:
Reliability mods mentioned before
ECU
FMIC or bigger SMIC
Radiator
Fuel pump
bigger injectors
ignition
full exhaust
single turbo kit
Look to spend a good bit of money paying for dyno time, nothing is more important than having it properly tuned

NOw if you plan on racing your car, ther numbers keep increasing:

If you plan on doing any racing you'll want to replace a lot of the suspension parts- shock, springs, etc
for road racing you'll want to upgrade the brakes
stock rims are sufficient but you'll want better rubber

You could easily spend 20k+ or more before its all over with, many on this forum certainly have.

spotch

wow. Well if i do end up with an rx7 i'll probably just go with better brakes, suspension, and all the reliability mods and see where that puts me. I dont really want a major project so i might just have to see where that would put me.

To be honest, I'm looking for 'the perfect car'. I want my next car to be quick with a few mods, handle well with little work invested, brake well, look good and be pretty reliable you know? I got a neon now, its pure project. Theres little in this car that cant be changed out for something better, which is good in a way but also sucks because you just want to keep spending more and more money on it. I think i want my next car to at least be pretty close to 'perfect' (quick, handler, nice interior) so i dont have to dump a ton into it to make it fast.

And no, i dont think i want a supra.