alright now that my boost issue is fixed and i know i am running a bar gauge; i hit about .9 bar at WOT which equals ~13psi. I am pretty much stock with the exception of a catback. what is going on with my car? has it been tuned? i know there is no boost controller in there unless it is extremely well hidden. how safe for the motor is this? i am getting a SMIC, down pipe, & an intake. will i be ok with the mods?

 

i'd go front mount instead of side

 

i believe it mounts in the stock location. i would go front but i only need the motor to last a year or so then its lsx time. but i will have fun with the rotory while i have it.

 

lsx?
as in chevy V-8 RX7?

...::sigh::

 

Ohh yeah. you have to admit, it looks very natural in the engine bay and i am leaning towards an ls3 maybe an ls2. i would do ls1 cause i have one but the ls3 has more power and takes just as well to mods. Plus how many lsx rx7's do you know of running around in japan?

 

The SMIC does mount in the stock location and would be best for your short term applications.

Are you still running the stock ECU? If so this shouldn't really be possible (unless you are experiencing boost creep) since the stocker will limit you to about 11psi (fuel cut sets in)

If the car is bone stock than I'd say save your money and maximize your reliability by just installing a boost gauge (done) and upgrading the Downpipe, Radiator, and vacuum hoses.


No idea, though there is probably a good reason for this (cost/shipping the engine itself over). And keep in mind, unless you plan on living in Japan for a LONG time (which I doubt, I'm guessing this is your first duty station?) than you will only be wasting money on the vehicle. TMO will NOT ship anything for you (highly illegal/fraud to use for personal gain) beyond your initial shipment of household goods. This means you will have to pay out of pocket for the shipment (and importation taxes) of the engine, ALL the mods necessary to make it work. Shop fee's (unless you are VERY confident that you will be able to do the job yourself at the base hobby shop) need to be considered too. Oh... and you won't be able to (legally) import it back to the states when all is said and done. Or, if you do, you will have to spend A LOT of money to do so... and there's no guarantee that you'll be able to legally register it.

I could go on... but I think that's enough of a rant for now ;-)


Cliff notes:

Just do the reliability mods for now.
Don't go LSx in your current location/situation.
Do more homework on the legality/next five years.
Your project will be a money pit, and it's VERY unlikely you'll get back what you put in come PCS time.

 

If you were truly hitting 13 psi, then you should have been hitting boost cut. If you do the breathing mods you're talking about (intake, SMIC, downpipe), you're going to be dealing with boost creep.

Not to mention, if you're running the stock ECU (which I'm guessing you are), then you're not going to be supplying the motor with the proper amount of fuel. At the very least, if you're going to do the mods you're talking about you should get a Power FC (or some other tunable standalone) and a better fuel pump.

Oh yeah, one last thing...Not to be rude, but if you have to ask if your car's been tuned, it probably hasn't. However, you should certainly get it tuned once you have a standalone and a sufficient fuel system.

 

thats what i thought but that would explain why it spikes .9, possibly boost creep. but it does level off to .8 in the upper rpm band and holds 10 psi more often than not, i am not sure if i have hit fuel cut but i dont know i probably have and didnt really notice it. i really need to take it to a shop and find out what exactly the previous owner did to it. i am pretty sure double throttle and egr valve have been removed.

 

If I were you, I would quickly find out if my car had a stock ecu. If it does, you need to keep your boost at stock levels (10-8-10 pattern), otherwise you risk blowing the engine. It is generally accepted that the basic bolt on mods are ok with the stock ecu and fuel system if your at stock boost levels, but not at 13 psi. Also, an intake, downpipe, catback and smic won't cause boost creep. Adding a midpipe to that combo however will guarantee it. In that situation, the only fixes are to add a restriction plate to the exhaust, or port the wastegate.

 

could be chipped ecu...remove kick panels and look for any strang labels out side if none try swapping with another ecu/pcm

 

That's correct...I forgot about the midpipe. I did not encounter boost creep until I added the midpipe (already had intakes, SMIC, downpipe, and catback), at which point I ordered a Power FC and fuel pump.

 

I have an HKS badge with some numbers on it but there is nothing hks in my car do they make something for the ecu?