Background:

93 RX-7 r1 15k on rebuilt motor and new stock turbos.
0 problems at the moment.

Mods:
brand name catback (greddy i think)
upgraded stock mount intercooler (brand unknown, but it looks pretty good)
HKS intakes.

now what are the next steps done to conservatively raise the power by about 60hp or so?

Im assuming change out the downpipe and cat with new pipes, and apparently on the RX you have to have an ecu upgrade to even go that far.....

so i was thinking

ebay pipes - 200 for both
greddy profecB - 310$ at boost-solutions.com
dual gauge pod with boost and coolant temp - ??? cheap but decent quality. maybe ~60$ for each gauge and 35$ for the pod? (autometer pod?)

and some kind of ECU upgrade... the m2 and pettit really seem overpriced. 700$ for a firmware upgrade? what are my options? AEM and powerfc? is there any reasonably priced and safe firmware upgrade? id rather not mess around with tuning a standalone, but on the other hand, id rather spend 1100 on a standalone then 700 on a reprogram.

are pulleys recomended on this car?

any recomended safety mods at this point? any things i should check before modding? Do i need a new radiator?

what boost and hp should i be expecting? Keep in mind that i want to keep everything on the safe side.

thanks for any advice. please include links and prices where applicable. I know sports cars and turbos, but not much about the RX-7 and id just like a nice safe time tested approach for my friends car.

 

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/stages.html

 

While they seem overpriced, you are paying for their map/knowledge, not necessarily the ECU itself. Many people have made up to 360rwhp using the Pettit rechipped ECU's. That not too bad for plug-n-play.

As for the standalone, unless you have experience tuning rotaries, you'll have to invest into having someone else to it. Rotaries don't take to detonation like piston engines so you can't really do "trial and error" when tuning (unless you can afford a mistake and a new engine).

 

Hey. I'm in NY too.

I'd suggest maintenance b4 blowing your money on mods.

First read the newbie stickers as most of the info you need to own these cars are there.

Second, get a compression check to make sure you are starting with a good base and won't need to spend $3k or so on a new motor.

Change all the oils (tranny and diff too), change the coolant, plugs, wires, fuel filter, bleed brakes etc.

Get a boost gauge and install it so that you can get an idea of how the car is running. If boost is anything other than 10-8-10 pattern, invest in repairs/mods accordingly. Start with a downpipe and radiator to keep things safe.

ebay pipes are crap and don't work with the stock air box. i tried them. get the rx7store pipes or a different intake.

PM me if you ever need info from someone local.

 

thanks for all the info guys. that link was really helpful.

are the SR pretuned powerfc's a popular choice? seems about 200$ to get the thing pretuned and "modified" do they modify anything worthwhile?

ill run a compression check on it this weekend. and get a boost gauge right away and get back to you guys.

anyone have a link to an FD comp. test writeup? i remember from my old FC to hold the release pin and look for the 3 peaks... but a writeup would be great.

 

I suggest you do a search on SR for the info on tuning and make your own decision. Also search the PowerFc forum.

I've read posts saying their tuning isn't that great, but I think that holds true with regards to any mail order tuning. Tuning needs to be done on the car or its not tuning its guessing.

Base maps are adequate for many people.

As for compression check - search.

 

Each car is different even if they have the exact same mods. A pretuned ecu will not harm you but you will not benefit 100%. The best choice is to have some1 tune your stand alone on your car.

 

You could probably do the downpipe before getting an ECU. I got away with it on my car but I have a boost controller too. Hell you might even get away with a midpipe if you do a restrictor plate.

Standalone is probably the best choice as you're spending a little more but getting unlimited flexibility if you know someone who can tune the car for you.