new fd owner in need of opinions
03-03-11, 12:56 AM
#1
new fd owner in need of opinions
Hey guys I got my fd exactly last week. It's a completely stock base model except for the r1 lip, exhaust, and strut bar. Here's one picture of it, but it's in the dark and doesn't do it any justice
I was wondering about the intake and other things. I wanted your guys' opinion on this. But yeah... should I keep the car the way it is? I kind of want to change intake and put in after market filter too. Possibly do some reliability mods too. I don't know, what do you guys think?
I was wondering about the intake and other things. I wanted your guys' opinion on this. But yeah... should I keep the car the way it is? I kind of want to change intake and put in after market filter too. Possibly do some reliability mods too. I don't know, what do you guys think?
03-03-11, 10:47 AM
#5
When I bought my first FD it was completely stock and I got the reliability mods on it before I even drove it. Now I finally got my hands on another FD. It was completely stock and boy was I in for a surprise. I strongly recommend you get a PFC + Commander on there as soon as possible. Driving around without being able to monitor my water temps and air intake temps was a scary ordeal and made even worse with a car you are unfamilar with. I agree with everyone else for the most part. I wouldn't start heavily modding yet until you learn the car and its maintanance patterns but I find that at the very least you should be able to monitor your water temps with some accuracy. The stock gauge doesn't cut it.
03-03-11, 01:39 PM
#6
First congratulations on your purchase I remember that thread where you were asking about comparisons between the 93’s and other models because you were interested in an FD.
IMO as Adamc said leave the car alone for a while. Basically become familiar with it before you change stuff so when you do something you know the impact.
If I had to do it all over again I’d opt for my FD to be on the slower side (in relative terms to how my car is now). Less headaches and better driveability. Assuming your car is a street car:
My mod list would be as follows:
If your stock AST is green (it’s supposed to be black) then replace that sucker NOW with an aftermarket model or remove it all together. I’d remove it completely to be honest there is write ups on the forum on how to do it. Its rather straight forward. Either way the first mod should be to address this issue. FYI- the stock AST has a nasty tendency to crack and if you don’t notice it in time it can cost you an engine.
Boost controller- You could always get a boost gauge but why waste the money when most Electronic boost controllers already has a gauge display built right on them. Use to the boost display to verify that the current boost pattern is working properly. Also to be able to compare patters before and after mods have done. PS never set your boost controller past 10 psi on the stock ECU. Boom!
Replacing precat with a DP- Given that you have an exhaust already I wouldn’t be surprised if you boost is spiking. But you are in luck as boost spikes are an easy fix when you have a boost controller (that’s why I said boost controller) All you have to do is adjust the setting on the EBC and your done
Miata thermo switch-. To make the radiator fans kick in at a lower temp.
Fluidyne radiator replacement- The stock unit cools just fine but the plastic end tanks tend to crack after a while. I say fluidyne and not koyo (those are the most popular choices) because the Koyo is thicker and can cause fitment issues when using an aftermarket SMIC. Now people say thicker is better go with the koyo and it’s slightly cheaper blah blah. But you have to stop and think what you are doing with your car. Is the rad on the stock location (as in not behind a FMIC? Is it just a street car? If yes then you must remember that under those circumstances the car in only going to run as cool as you thermostat and fans allows it to. The thicker rads help under high stress situations only (as in road racing).
Closed box intake- Such as an rx-7 fashion or M2 if you can. Open air element intakes are not the most optimum because they suck hot air from the engine bay. I have an open element one but I also have a massive IC to combat that. A.I. will also make the open intakes hot air neglibile.
Upgrade to a med SMIC- Get your self a ducted MED SMIC. Such as an M2 med or a PFS unit. Our stock unit is really pathetic. I’ve seen people in the mid 60 deg C with those. When I had my PFS I was in the low 40’s. MUCH BETTER. Why Med SMIC? You can still retain a the stock battery and if you have an M2 intake it will fit like a glove. Stock batteries are a good thing… A FMIC really yields gread intake temps but blocks the radiator. And that’s NEVER good. I’d rather have MOST of the AIR going through my rad anyday. V-mount? Too much money and most units require that you remove the air conditioning and change to a smaller battery. Like a PC 680… Yeah try rolling your windows down a few times then turning on your radio while parked and you will see why I think it’s best to leave the stock battery alone.
For an exhaust- Even though you have one already my preference goes to the RB dual tip. It’s quiet stock looking and yet it performs.
A.I. – A must for all of us.
Keep the Stock ECU and never boost past 10 psi and happy motoring.
IMO as Adamc said leave the car alone for a while. Basically become familiar with it before you change stuff so when you do something you know the impact.
If I had to do it all over again I’d opt for my FD to be on the slower side (in relative terms to how my car is now). Less headaches and better driveability. Assuming your car is a street car:
My mod list would be as follows:
If your stock AST is green (it’s supposed to be black) then replace that sucker NOW with an aftermarket model or remove it all together. I’d remove it completely to be honest there is write ups on the forum on how to do it. Its rather straight forward. Either way the first mod should be to address this issue. FYI- the stock AST has a nasty tendency to crack and if you don’t notice it in time it can cost you an engine.
Boost controller- You could always get a boost gauge but why waste the money when most Electronic boost controllers already has a gauge display built right on them. Use to the boost display to verify that the current boost pattern is working properly. Also to be able to compare patters before and after mods have done. PS never set your boost controller past 10 psi on the stock ECU. Boom!
Replacing precat with a DP- Given that you have an exhaust already I wouldn’t be surprised if you boost is spiking. But you are in luck as boost spikes are an easy fix when you have a boost controller (that’s why I said boost controller) All you have to do is adjust the setting on the EBC and your done
Miata thermo switch-. To make the radiator fans kick in at a lower temp.
Fluidyne radiator replacement- The stock unit cools just fine but the plastic end tanks tend to crack after a while. I say fluidyne and not koyo (those are the most popular choices) because the Koyo is thicker and can cause fitment issues when using an aftermarket SMIC. Now people say thicker is better go with the koyo and it’s slightly cheaper blah blah. But you have to stop and think what you are doing with your car. Is the rad on the stock location (as in not behind a FMIC? Is it just a street car? If yes then you must remember that under those circumstances the car in only going to run as cool as you thermostat and fans allows it to. The thicker rads help under high stress situations only (as in road racing).
Closed box intake- Such as an rx-7 fashion or M2 if you can. Open air element intakes are not the most optimum because they suck hot air from the engine bay. I have an open element one but I also have a massive IC to combat that. A.I. will also make the open intakes hot air neglibile.
Upgrade to a med SMIC- Get your self a ducted MED SMIC. Such as an M2 med or a PFS unit. Our stock unit is really pathetic. I’ve seen people in the mid 60 deg C with those. When I had my PFS I was in the low 40’s. MUCH BETTER. Why Med SMIC? You can still retain a the stock battery and if you have an M2 intake it will fit like a glove. Stock batteries are a good thing… A FMIC really yields gread intake temps but blocks the radiator. And that’s NEVER good. I’d rather have MOST of the AIR going through my rad anyday. V-mount? Too much money and most units require that you remove the air conditioning and change to a smaller battery. Like a PC 680… Yeah try rolling your windows down a few times then turning on your radio while parked and you will see why I think it’s best to leave the stock battery alone.
For an exhaust- Even though you have one already my preference goes to the RB dual tip. It’s quiet stock looking and yet it performs.
A.I. – A must for all of us.
Keep the Stock ECU and never boost past 10 psi and happy motoring.
03-03-11, 06:03 PM
#7
i love it when people answer questions instead of just telling people to search. even if the questions have been answered a million times before. it's nice to read a fresh conversation/post, instead of browsing through old threads where half the time the stuff you find from the search are just people responding by saying "do a search, read the faq." blahblahblah.
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03-03-11, 06:16 PM
#8
i love it when people answer questions instead of just telling people to search. even if the questions have been answered a million times before. it's nice to read a fresh conversation/post, instead of browsing through old threads where half the time the stuff you find from the search are just people responding by saying "do a search, read the faq." blahblahblah.
03-03-11, 06:56 PM
#9
Sorry for posting this without searching. I just wanted your guys' opinion haha. Well the fd has 120k miles and its on the original engine no rebuild. It probably needs one soon, but as of right now runs like a champ. Thanks for all the replies, i'll read up some more this weekend and just leave it stock for now. Thanks for the compliment gmonsen!=). I'll get some pictures of it in light tomorrow or this weekend.
03-04-11, 02:15 AM
#10
if people don't feel like answering a question that's been beat to death, that's fine, they don't have to. someone else will, and it benefits not only the new guy, but other new guys lurking who may have similar questions.
and i guess i don't really see the clutter argument. what difference is it if someone's thread had 5 replies or 50 replies. if someone isn't interested in the topic, they don't have to read it or post in it.
this is a forum, (defined: a meeting place for the discussion of questions of public interest), not a library.
anyway, that's just my opinion, and i know most of the main guys here unfortunately won't agree with it because it's they're used to the system.
cloudz, i apologize for douching up your thread w/ this. good luck w/ your new FD, i'm a new FD owner as well. there's lots to learn!
03-04-11, 09:08 AM
#11
i guess, i just have a different perspective on it. i've been a part of many forums over the past 15 years, and you see patterns and trends when you take a step back from it all. there's more value in fresh content, fresh answers to questions, even if they've been answered a thousand times before.
if people don't feel like answering a question that's been beat to death, that's fine, they don't have to. someone else will, and it benefits not only the new guy, but other new guys lurking who may have similar questions.
and i guess i don't really see the clutter argument. what difference is it if someone's thread had 5 replies or 50 replies. if someone isn't interested in the topic, they don't have to read it or post in it.
this is a forum, (defined: a meeting place for the discussion of questions of public interest), not a library.
anyway, that's just my opinion, and i know most of the main guys here unfortunately won't agree with it because it's they're used to the system.
cloudz, i apologize for douching up your thread w/ this. good luck w/ your new FD, i'm a new FD owner as well. there's lots to learn!
if people don't feel like answering a question that's been beat to death, that's fine, they don't have to. someone else will, and it benefits not only the new guy, but other new guys lurking who may have similar questions.
and i guess i don't really see the clutter argument. what difference is it if someone's thread had 5 replies or 50 replies. if someone isn't interested in the topic, they don't have to read it or post in it.
this is a forum, (defined: a meeting place for the discussion of questions of public interest), not a library.
anyway, that's just my opinion, and i know most of the main guys here unfortunately won't agree with it because it's they're used to the system.
cloudz, i apologize for douching up your thread w/ this. good luck w/ your new FD, i'm a new FD owner as well. there's lots to learn!
We aren't talking about replies. We are talking about threads. If we had a single thread for each topic with 1000 replies its better than having 1000 threads with 1 reply. That single 1000 reply thread will have the newest info at the end and people will be discussing it whereas the 1000 thread single replies, you have to look through them all to find the most relevant information and no discussions will occur. If new information comes out, someone may have to go through all 1000 threads and update them all.
Its not about being elitest or anything like that. Its the nature of the beast. This is a forum with alot of information. We aren't dealing with Civics here. The less useless threads the better. Also, if you don't have the patience to do a search on the forum, you probably don't have the patience to own an FD.
03-04-11, 11:55 AM
#13
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I am also new to the RX-7 ownership circle. Here is a link to what I asked about with regards to cooling and ensuring the car is in great condition to drive.
https://www.rx7club.com/new-member-rx-7-technical-256/r1-oil-cooler-worth-getting-943094/
Good luck with your car.
https://www.rx7club.com/new-member-rx-7-technical-256/r1-oil-cooler-worth-getting-943094/
Good luck with your car.
03-04-11, 05:38 PM
#14
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welcome to the family and congrats on the purchase. You may not need a rebuild anytime soon, or you may be in for one tomorrow. Clean the car up, read the stickies, do the reliability mods, and (my recommendation) steam clean the motor to remove some of the carbon.
Last but not least, ENJOY THE CAR!
Last but not least, ENJOY THE CAR!
03-04-11, 10:12 PM
#15
Dude your not douching up anything.
We aren't talking about replies. We are talking about threads. If we had a single thread for each topic with 1000 replies its better than having 1000 threads with 1 reply. That single 1000 reply thread will have the newest info at the end and people will be discussing it whereas the 1000 thread single replies, you have to look through them all to find the most relevant information and no discussions will occur. If new information comes out, someone may have to go through all 1000 threads and update them all.
Its not about being elitest or anything like that. Its the nature of the beast. This is a forum with alot of information. We aren't dealing with Civics here. The less useless threads the better. Also, if you don't have the patience to do a search on the forum, you probably don't have the patience to own an FD.
We aren't talking about replies. We are talking about threads. If we had a single thread for each topic with 1000 replies its better than having 1000 threads with 1 reply. That single 1000 reply thread will have the newest info at the end and people will be discussing it whereas the 1000 thread single replies, you have to look through them all to find the most relevant information and no discussions will occur. If new information comes out, someone may have to go through all 1000 threads and update them all.
Its not about being elitest or anything like that. Its the nature of the beast. This is a forum with alot of information. We aren't dealing with Civics here. The less useless threads the better. Also, if you don't have the patience to do a search on the forum, you probably don't have the patience to own an FD.
there should be a build thread section on this forum. maybe i'll throw that in the suggestion box.
03-05-11, 12:50 AM
#18
Mods are typically done with poor workmanship so they actually reduce the reliability and performance of the car.
What ever you do to the car make sure you try and do a great job with the modification. If you are short on cash leave it stock...
More power = more problems almost across the board.
What ever you do to the car make sure you try and do a great job with the modification. If you are short on cash leave it stock...
More power = more problems almost across the board.
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