Alrighty, here's the deal. Ive been interested in buying a 7 for a few months. I have been doing my best trying to find out about them, and I think I do know alot. However, I am sort of in a "slump", because the jump between being an amateur and actually "knowing" your stuff is too hard to cross. Basically, I "know" how everything works, but when I open the hood, i have no clue waht im looking at. Can someone give me some help?
Thanks,
Mike

 

Look at the sticky at the top of this forum (3rd gen section)...there's a lot of info in it.

 

just read, man, read. THis forum is great.

Also...

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/index.html
http://7sins.rx7life.com/

are good sites. Before I bought my third gen I went to Barnes and Noble and ordered a book called "Mazda Rx-7 Performance Guide" by Mike Ancas, it's a great book.

good luck with everything.

 

This makes me feel good. I bought "THe Mazda RX7 Performance Handbook" about a month ago. Very helpful. I also have gone to all those cites. At least I know im on the right track. By the way, all you forum guys rock. Everyone has been REALLY nice. Im still stuck though, I mean, how did you guys get to the point where you could take apart the engine and put it back together? Or open the hood and know EXACTLY what everything is? Thanks you guys,
Mike

 

I got there by learning from someone else. We met so he could check out my FD, and I watched him, learned, and got to the point where when ther was stuff to do he would monitor and watch while I grunted it out....I loved it. And now we are good friends. I say find FD people in you area...the regional sections are good for this. Plus if you buy one somewhat in your area you can probably get an experienced FD owner to check out your prospect with you...

 

Trial and Error bro. You first must be unsuccessfull at something before you can be successful.

Read all you can, but you still wont "know what your looking at". I know how you feel.

Once you get an idea of how things really work, you can sorta put the pieces together. The 2 big pipes that are staring you in the face when u pop the hood are your IC pipes. They go to your IC, and im sure u know what that is and what it does. The big black box to your left is your airbox. your turbos on down on the left side of your engine bay below your "y pipe". The y pipe is the pipe that is under your Left IC pipe, if you look closely you can see it makes sort of a Y shape. Sorry, but you just gotta read more and learn to identify things. Then take them apart and check them out

 

be ready to spend a few grand on the car, then you'll start buying performance parts for it. Odds are you wont find a used REXX thats in prestine condition (although there are the few). If anything, you'll end up bying a rex with a few hidden problems that wont surface until a few months/a year later. Im not trying to shy you away from it, im just letting you what may be up ahead after you buy the car.

If anything, i say only buy it if your ready for the best time of your life (goods and bads, just liek a relationship)

 

Ya i was lucky to find one in such good condition... but when the hard times will come.. i'll be ready to face them!

 

I'm with you too bro! Man I was just thinking of what you were saying right when you posted this. I feel the same way =P. Makes us feels so dumb when we do someting wrong and one of the knowledgable ones points it out to us, but in due time the positions will switch and we will be helping out the newbs too. It's just how the world turns.

 

But, isn't there some way to quicken the whole "role reversal" process? I'm tired of feeling like a moron!

 

Not until you actually get in there and do it.

I can give you the steps on performing a lot of troubleshooting or mods, however, actually doing them is another thing.

Here's the best help I can offer. If you are going to do your own work, make sure you have the right tools and a digital camera.

1. The wrong tools makes the easiest job 10x more difficult.

2. The digital camera, it helps to snap a few shots for the before picture if you are working on something for the first time. That way you'll have a reference when you go to reassemble it again. You can also use the pictures to post here in the forum for help.

If you look, you'll see many people posting pictures of "what the hell is this". As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

Haha, Good thinking Mahjik. I noticed you're from Missouri, I'm in Saint Louis, maybe one of these days we can meet up and you can give me a lesson in RX7 101. Thanks everyone, I'm still accepting suggestions by the way!
Cheers,
Mike

 

...Fast Lane,

Start slow, by that I mean don't try to tackle some bear of a task like doing the silicone hose/tie wrap job. I'm still not there yet myself. However, I'm about to get laid off soon so I'll have tons of time to wrench on my car...

Anyway, before you start a job on your car do a search here for a how-to and research the crap out of it befroe hand. It really does get easier and addictive. Everytime you install a bolt-on hp upgrade and really feel the increased horsepower from the butt-dyno, you'll be itching to by and install the next one.

John

 

Fast Lane, you and I are in the same boat. I've been reading, reading, reading, and asking questions for months now so I can *hopefully* make an informed buy. I've looked at one FD, knowing I wasn't going to buy that one, just to have some first hand knowledge of things to look for. I've also meet a couple of guys over the 'net that have given me boat loads of information. keep us updated on when you get your FD! I'm hoping to get mine buy the end of the year, or early next year.

 

Yeah me too I even read a book on the development and design principles of rotary engines. Good reading, but all the good stuff is out of print. Now if I could just get someone to answer my posts...

 

I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I read about another "newbie" doing research before buying. Good luck in your search!

 

I dont think so...I learned a ton of stuff about Rx-7s, the rotary, the FD, thr twin turbos, everything before I got mine...for the better part of a year...but I learned far more within the first couple weeks of owning mine and actually getting into it (under supervision, of course )

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I am hoping to buy a FD within 3 months (key word: hoping). The thing that scares me most is that something will go wrong, which is why I would like to know everything there is to know about it beforehand. For example, after I buy it, and I open the hood... I'll really honestly have no clue what im looking at. What are all these damn hoses?? Argh...

 

The approach that always works for me when dealing with a complex system...

Get the factory service manual and read it cover to cover.

(Of course, skipping the wiring manual.)

I even have a poster size plot of a color coded vacuum hose diagram on my office wall to aid in familiarization of the turbo control system.

 

Hell look at me ive been on the forum since what oct. 01' just reading and reading and reading i pretty much sucked out all of the info on this forum....Yet i still learn something new occationally...But the best is yet to come when and if i do get an FD or Turbo2....

 

Fast_Lane - I was once like you, and that time was not long ago (Feb 02). I got my first FD.

It was also the first car I ever did anything more than an oil change on, so I would have certainly considered myself a novice mechanic.

If you look at my .sig you'll see I've been modding quickly since it was stock just 5 months ago. I've done all the work I can (was willing to risk doing) myself. Believe me, I know the feeling of looking under the hood and not knowing a damn thing what I was looking at, hell, too me 20 minutes to find where to check the oil.

I started off with small bolt on mods in this order:

ASP - had it done cause I was scared, but read how important it was to have done before it cracked...could easily do it myself now.
Downpipe - did it myself, was easy, but took a while.
Apexi Intake - did it myself, was easy, but took a while.
Exhaust - did it myself, was easy
Hi-flow cat, then midpipe, did it myself, was easy
Pulleys - easy, (not main)
y-pipe - medium,
radiator - easy,
FMIC - medium but took 2 days, etc...

My Advise:

1) once you start taking it apart, you start seeing how the piece fit together.

2) Try to put it back together the same day, if you wait over night or a few days, it all slips away and you look at a bunch of pieces and have no clue how to put them back together...

3) Go slow. Read 3 times, measure it up 2 times, do it once.

BTW: I have lots and lots of pictures of many of the mods I've done, feel free to use my pages as references!

http://flathat.woodstream.net/RX7

K

 

Thank you thank you all. If anyone wants to drop a hint or a line or anything, my e-mail/AIM is Maverick58034. I am always accepting suggestions and advice, and I always want to learn more.
Cheers,
Mike