This message is for those in hope that their fds will see better days ahead...

It was around 7 months ago that I bought my RX-7. It was not anything remotely calculated or planned for either. I simply was forced by sheer lust and adrenaline to buy my montego blue RX-7 from a close friend of mine. He had wrapped it around a telephone pole, so his dad made him sell it for a more suitable car, a Blazer. What a crime! Anyway I was getting sick of my BMW's maintenance fees and upkeep, not to mention it's lack of acceleration, so I bought the 7. The whole time my friend had it, I knew I was in some cosmic way connected to it. Kind of like your best friends girl friend that you know sometime down the road will end up with you, or you would like to imagine so. The car was just not in delicate enough hands; he drove it recklessly and didn't maintain it well. Although I knew almost nothing of rotaries at the time, I felt it inside, she was abused. So I bought her. I took a 15 thousand dollar lone from the bank and sold my bimmer to pay that back. She was at last mine and only mine. I was obsessed. Which I usually become with anything, but this ran much deeper. I would just stare at it for hours like a kid does Christmas morning to marvel at his new toy. It ran great, or so I thought...

The turbos didn't spool up right when I shifted it into gear, but they worked properly when I was rolling then shifted instead of shifting quickly. It was a pretty complicated boost problem. To top it all off the passenger door handle was broke, the interior consol was pealing and I had a spectrum of upgrading to do. The boost problem couldn't be tapped by anyone, so I eventually gave up hope and was saving up to buy new turbos. The geniuses at Mazda said it was imperative. I was getting depressed to because the only capable mechanics I knew were BMW mechanics. They had no idea what they were doing and I didn't either.

My first mishap happen after the 1st month, I installed the apexi intake wrong. I ended up eliminating the actuanator valve and lost all boost. I was so undereducated on the RX-7 that I didn't even know what I did at the time. So I am not boosting and really not boosting when I shift hard because of the previous boost problem. It was sad. But the worst was yet to come...

In the weeks following I got a full cat exhaust with dp, perf cat and racing beat dual exhaust. It was sweet but crooked. The damn morons at the BMW place installed it sideways. Not only did they install it crooked but it was also touching the firewall. They even showed me where it was touching. I thought, "hey they're mechanics, right?” I thought nothing more of it, and drove off. About a day later I was letting it idle talking with my friend. We were engrossed in conversation when we saw smoke. IT WAS ON FIRE!! Holy ****, what the hell. The mechanic had installed the exhaust so it was touching the firewall and ended up burning the parking break cable. Thus starting a consol fire. I had about a 2-foot flame coming from the middle of my car. It ******* sucked, I ran to the side of my house, grabbed a hose and sprayed it till the fire was gone. On further inspection of the damage, after the smoke was gone, I could see the ground through my consol. Well, no more peeling interior panels, right? I was at an all time low with no mechanic, no car, no hope...

It was at the dealership for 2 months getting all the parts in. I had never had such symptoms of withdrawal. I was depressed as could be...

Then as if my gardien angel had taught me enough lessons, of patience and being humble, she sent a godsend...an RX-7 capable mechanic in that moment of time in-between the process of getting my car back he came. It was an old acquaintance of mine, that I never knew was a mechanic or for that matter a RX-7 capable one. He opened my eyes and gave me hope.

After I got my car back I took it to him. (with a shiny new consol and dash!) He fixed the exhaust problem; the Mazda mechanics didn't even know what to do with the exhaust. They had it towed to his shop! He ended up putting in a mid-pipe instead of a cat so the bastard wouldn't go aflame again. I loved the power increase. Anyway, he knew of a guy in Kannapolis near charlotte NC that specialized explicitly in racing, tuning, building engines and anything else you could expect with RX-7's. I had found my hope again.

I took it to Bryan, which I recommend anyone in the vicinity of Charlotte NC to talk to about their RX-7. He is truly a patient and incredible mechanic. (his website is www.rotorsports.com) He works like magic to make sure everything is in order, because you all know how complicated the twin turbo set up is. I got it back it full working order. He even fixed some problems not associated with the reason I brought it in, like a cracked intercooler cup-link.

Then the oil leak, I was leaking about a quart every 3 days. To top it off I didn't realize this until my inaccurate oil pressure gauge lit up to tell me so. I had a failed oil seal. It would cost 5 hours of labor and so I decided to get a clutch while he was at it. I ordered it from Shane Racing, what a professional company that is; everything was on time nothing on back order. Even the power fc's were in stock, amazing. I bought a heavy-duty clutch with the 9.5 pound flywheel with counter weight that makes it operates like a 13.5 pounder. Don't listen to anyone who suggests that you not buy a lightweight flywheel, they are great! Even my mechanic was uneasy, not Bryan but the first one. He told me it wasn't essential for drag, I needed a lightweight steel one. I bought it and know my car truly feels like a racecar. Well, after installing it and driving the car, my mechanic now wants one for his T-II.

I still had my initial boost problem. Little to no boost when when I raced throughout the gears. Bryan didn't catch it because it was cool when he drove it, that’s how weird the problem was. Sometimes when it was hot it would not exhibit the boost problem, it picked and chose when it would happen. So I had an incredible machine but couldn't beat the damn mustangs that I hate.

I still put it on an upgrade path regardless; I ordered a fuel pump, 1300cc injectors, power fc, boost gauge, egt gauge(so I can get my exhaust temps, for the fire prevention), apexi turbo timer with O2 sensor A/F ratio and a battery meter(this is great, although not extremely accurate but at least it gives you a start for tune the fuel system) and a profec B. Bryan had installed larger pills in my wastgate so the mid-pipe would not make the car over boost and run lean (a genius move)

After dropping it off at Rotorsports with all the fuel systems in trunk waiting to be installed I felt as if this was truly it, my car would finally run right. So I'm sure he was getting sick of my phone calls concerning the progress of his work, but I couldn't help it.

Finally it is done, everything is strong, to the engine the turbos, EVERYTHING!, he said that the boost problem was with the pre spool control solenoid being clogged and the nipple fell off. (don't quote me though, that's all of what I remember him saying. I was too excited to even concentrate)

Bare in mind ladies and gentlemen, I haven't driven the car but just imagining it being fast and properly running soothes my very soul. I pick the lady up tomorrow and then I will see. I just want to hear her "sound" again and see what she was always capable of but never was taken care of, to do so. I’m sure that I will follow up on its performance progress on this thread

This is my war story. My overriding point is, there is always hope. Just look really hard in the cracks of defeat and you'll find it their waiting for you. Also, it is important to find as hard as you can a capable mechanic, and a positive one at that. Negativity just gets in the way of progress.



garrett

 

AAAHHHHHH the love of the seven. They all literally have a mind of their own, and if you pick the right one it will click perfectly with you. It just goes to show that if you take care of her she will make you feel like you are on top of the world. It's great ain't it! I can't wait. Sorry for all of the troubles you've had with her, but I am sure that now you will know that it was all worth while. I know you'll be glad once you get her tuned right. Congratulations on your purchase. Welcome to the club, and more importantly, yes I know it is said everytime this happens but it is my turn to say it, welcome to infatuation.
- Steiner

 

Whoa thats one looooong post.

I'm glad your getting your 7 tomorrow so you can tear up the roads.

 

wow great piece...damn I love hearing stories like this. Makes me want to go sit in the garage and molest....argh n/m

Have fun with it!

 

Good story!!

 

 

Oh no! Everyone in Glendale, keep your kids in the house! j/k :P

 

Ahhh, you've saved a ***** with a heart of gold. You have been redeemed and will now sitteth upon the right hand of the rotary god.

And you were tired of your BMW's maintenance fees, upkeep and lack of power? I can't imagine why.........I just took my 2001 BMW K1200 to the dealer and asked them for a new tire on the rear, they wanted $68.00 to mount and balance a freakin' tire (which is EASY to take off the bike) and $210.00 for a tire! Needless to say I went elsewhere and did the whole deal for $145.00......

You've got a great wrench in KD, never heard a bad thing about em. Enjoy your new biatch!

 

garrett, im glad to hear that your fd is running top notch. that is great!!!! i have also talked to bryan at (heres the correction) www.rotorsportsracing.com. i wish he was closer i would love to take my fd up to him to get my work done, but its a little hard to drive out there from nashville, TN. maybe i should just move out there. hahah. he is a great guy with amazing work ethic and a very willing and understanding personality. i recommend him to anybody. very good guy.

............ and my your 7 live long and prosper. hhaha.

paul

 

Thanks for posting the corrected link. That was a great story!

 

LOL!!!!! Anyway, all the best and happy rexin'!

 

great story, good luck, and great job on saving a poor abused FD

happy hunting

 

Congratulations, and welcome! Now post some pics so we can see and appreciate your 7!

 

Yep, sorry about the wrong link to Bryan's sit, let me reiterate it www.rotorsportsracing.com. I left out the all-essential "racing" aspect. Thanks for catching me on that.

I will try and get some pictures; first I'll need to borrow a digital camera from my friend, which shouldn't be hard.

Let me just say that for all the hype on how RX-7's have incredible maintenance fees, my BMW's blows it out of the water. According to BMW every 2 oil changes requires a 600 hundred-dollar service. To top it all off, every time I was paying in upwards of 1000 just with the stuff they supposedly found? Not to mention that the craziest **** would go wrong due to the immense faulty electrical systems. My RX-7 is a different story. All the money that I have spent on tuning it has been spent on upgrading not keeping it up to par. Even though I had all that trouble, it certainty doesn't eclipse my Bimmers maintenance fees.

I will never go back to Bavaria in terms of transportation uses. I'll be too busy looking at the rising sun.

garrett

 

Please don't get me wrong RX may not seem to cost as much a BMW, but it's right there beside it. This is my third RX7, two first gens and my current FD, and two BMWs, a '91 750il and my current '98 540i. Sadly, I must say I have payed the price.

 

yeah, i'm not actually sure if a bmw or a rx-7 costs more. before my FD i had a E36 and my god that car was a pain.. 50$ to change the oil myself.. now its like 10 with the FD... but there are a lot of other things with the bmw that just requires more money (labor is a bitch.. at least 120/hour in my area). however, you dont need to spend a G to make the bmw more reliable.. so i donno.. and another thing is that the bmw is a lot less maintenance cause of its onboard computer telling you everytime anything is going bad.

the thing that i do miss about the E36 is that i could take her into almost any shop and the guy would know how to work on her. i've taken my FD to some places and the people look at it with a tint of fear in their eyes.. they dont wanna work on it hahahaha.

 

Yes, I agree that it does take 1000 dollars to make a 7 reliable. However, that is money well spent. I used to spend at least that much every other time I would take it to the dealership. Something was always failing and to top it all off the wonderful on-board computer system didn't even damn work. I wish it had, though.

I say this retrospectively because I have found a mechanic that I can deal with. Not a lot of people are that lucky and I would not recommend anyone to buy an RX-7 unless the purchase is unavoidable based on passion. The BMW's service fees are even more ridiculous if you take it to a reputable racing shop. Korman autoworks is right up the road and is equivalent to the Mazda world with a shop like petite racing. I used to take my car to Korman occasionally but they would constantly find something to scorch holes in my wallet. This experience is unlike the one I am having with my RX-7. The racing mechanic I deal with now, Bryan, charges way less for the same level of expertise and he doesn't nit pick at every little problem to get more money, he is in the business because he loves the cars, not to squeeze every drop of money dew from a honest man's pay check. To top it all off, he is continually working on explicitly RX-7's so there are no 740's 540's or 300 series cars that he deals with. I know that some have found a good honest BMW mechanic but do to the sheer nature of the mechanics clientele they become greedy and less enthusiastic about what they are doing.

Thanks for the replies

garrett

 

to anyone following this thread...

I have driven my car, finally! Holy ****! This muthafucker moves! I cannot really express in words what kind of power is being transferred to the ground but it feels smooth, graceful and demonic all at the same time.

When I picked her up from Bryan, I instantly felt the crisp difference of my engine. The Power FC has an incredible overall effect. I didn't think it would be too noticeable but the dramatic change is evident. Over the whole spectrum of acceleration the car is a different animal than before. Instead of snarling it purrs like a lion. The refinement of this cat like purr is a prelude of my drive to come.

I test drove it out of the shop and a Z28 drove by just in time. I stepped on it and it ******* flew. I have never accelerated this fast in my life. It flew through both turbos with ease of a single setup. Yes, I flew by the Z with athletic ease. Oh man he didn't not what was flying by him was under his radar as a stealth fighter is.

The profec B is another thing that is great. Imagine if you can of controlling to the nth degree a boost setting with the ease of an uncomplicated interface. Oh yea! You have to get one immediately...

Despite all the hardship, she prevailed with uncanny force. I sit more at ease now knowing the mother ship is ready for take off at any moment.

In fact, I'm libel to go for a drive after this post...

garrett

 

Great story. good luck with the car!

 

so the questions on my mind are.....how much hp? and how much has this all cost you about?

 

Garrett my friend, that story is very reminiscent. It is uncanny. I was into bavarian cars, and still like them but after a lady totalling a '93 Carrera and bouts with a lemon M-3, I'm through with them for a while. Have always wanted a fd3s and when the oppurtunity presented itself, I jumped on it. Went all the way to Kentucky to get it. Its cherry, but I could have never made it without Bryan,and rotorsports as a whole. They are professional, straight-up, and just plain know what they are talking about. They make it easy to have an fd3s as a daily driver. Welcome to the club and will look forward to seeing your FD on the road sometime.

 

Congrats Garret!! Like TpC said how much HP and how much did you spend on the mods?

 

Garrett You may have missed your calling. You should be writing romance novels. The only thing worse than not having a seven, is the anticipation you feel waiting for it to be ready to pick up.

 

So, there are some inquiries about how much money this endeavor has taken? I will gladly list the modifications and the money amount of labor...

From the start I bought an apexi intake, and full cat exhaust. Then I discarded the high flow main cat and got a midpipe. In-between the main cat and the midpipe was the fire. Insurance covered all the work and I even got a full service on my car covered also by the insurance, somehow? That replaced a lot of broken plastic parts that were nagging my brain. The labor done on the first above installation of my exhaust and intake was fairly steep due to the BMW "level" of service. All in all the labor of putting all the modifications was a deal because Bryan doesn't overcharge and is less expensive than most shops. So you could guestimate on the price tag of all the labor fees.

The turbo timer, blow off valve, dual pod pillar mount, boost gauge, profec b were all in the vicinity of 700 dollars.

My fuel system is next. Together, with my injectors, fuel pump and power fc, was around 2000 dollars, and well worth it. The exhaust was around 1000 dollars, give or take 100. I do all of the regular maintenance myself so that is not a purse string. All in all with labor and everything I spent between roughly 5-6 thousand dollars. Also I want to point out that seeing how my car cost 15 thousand I have a 21000-dollar car that will outperform a more exotic car costing 2 fold of that amount. In hindsight, the money I saved from my job has been well spent and is more suitable that I spend it on my RX-7 than the likes of a Bavarian money pit. I was prepared for this build up of my machine and will still progress on my projected upgrade pathway.

Your interest in my horsepower parallels my own. I have only the slightest inclination of what horsepower rating I have. Although that is about to change within the month. Up the street from me is a dyno. I am gonna ride the animal up there and see what that mug can do!

Well, romance ain't my thing, but my other major is English. Maybe I'll write my whole RX-7 experience into a novel and include romantic threads throughout the theme. Oh yeah...

Slipperyslater I do feel privileged in knowing that I have such a capable person as Bryan is to work on my car, it helps ease me to sleepy time at night. Anyway, you got into M3's? Isn't ironic that we both got a fresh squeezed lemon of a car from Germany. I'll be damned, you live pretty ******* close to Greensboro, and I pass through Salisbury when I go to Kannapolis, maybe I'll see you cruisin sometime.

Bon voyage!

Garrett

 

Garret, don't feel bad about all your history with your car. I bought my FD 4 years ago with a torn lower intercooler hose (the car was stock) and drove it like that for 2 years not knowing I was missing about 60 hp. I didn't have a boost gauge and didn't really know my car too well. I couldn't find a decent mechanic anywhere either. Finally I found KD Rotary and he fixed my hose - weeeeeee - I felt a true 255 hp slap in in the butt! I started the modding thing and my coolant seals failed. I don't want to think about what I spent to this date on my car but I have problems creep up on me constantly. I'm almost there - just a few more bugs to work out. Great story and good luck with your new found love