I just picked up my FD yesterday! I had an Acura RSX before... i thought it was pretty quick, but good lord almighty this thing is wicked! its currently completely stock as far as end stuff goes. I am wanting to fix the car up (CWest body kit, Scoot hood, Voxx Gio rims, etc.) but it is my only car for the time being and probably will be for 2 or 3 more years. I've looked around and like the pettit racing tkt upgrade kits. I'm almost definitely going to purchase their trak-pro super street system suspension kit and am also interested in the tkt base performance package. Bearing in mind that this is my ONLY car for a while, would putting the base performance package on (cold air induction, 3" exhaust, and new pulleys) have a negative effect on the longevity of my engine and other drive components? I don't really push the car all that much, I'm a pretty calm driver, I just like having the power there for those few times when its like 1 AM and i get a red light with no one else around. Should I hold off on the engine mods till I have a back up? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

call pettit and ask them. They are very knowledgeable and helpful.

 

 

I would get a downpipe before the pulleys....

Have you already gotten the car serviced/checked out (plugs, wires, all fluids, etc)?

 

I am trying to schedule an apointment to have two recalls checked on it at the Mazda dealer... plan on having the oil changed then. The plugs and fluids I'll be doing myself this weekend (weather permitting).

 

You don't have to take it to the dealer re: the recalls, just call Mazda USA and give them the Vin#.

BTW, please don't Voxx or some other shitty wheels on a low mileage, clean FD.

 

If it is your daily driver, you should definitely start with the reliability mods. Do a search on this forum and you will find all the info you need. You may also want to do some research on this forum about power mods.

In my opinion, the pettit intake is not worth the $$. There is a forum member who designed one very similar to the pettit which you can make yourself. It comes with templates and instructions. Follow these links (thanks Damian!):


https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hreadid=164836
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=166196

There is also a way to modify the stock intake to flow better. I don't have the links, but you can find them by searching.

As for catbacks, most people on the forum agree that the Racing Beat Dual is one of the best - and the price is less than the pettit.

My final word of caution - take it easy and do more research. Too many mods before an ECU upgrade will leave you on the side of the road quick...

 

1200 for the base package. for intake, exhaust, and pulleys is a bit steep.
130 range for an SS downpipe off ebay. Just search for "RX Downpipe"
The pulleys aren't that big of a deal, intake you can get two cone filters for 20 bucks a piece and fab your own cold air to them.
Catback exhaust normally runs between 350-500 depending on what you want.
Basically Downpipe, intake, exhaust about max of 700. Add the reliabilty mods first. Silicone Hose from Hosetechniques.com, and a Koyo radiator from ebay as well, and you will be set. then you can bling bling the car out

 

You know, I don't really plan on making a 700hp monster out of my car. I just want a nice looking ride. With the Montego Blue, I personally think that a nice set of touring style rims would look best. If you have a suggestion though for a similar style of wheels at reasonable cost that wouldn't be "shitty" please, let me know. I do have somewhat of a budget being that I'm 22 and work for the Army (not the best paying job in the world, but a great place to work).

 

Do you know what has already been done to the car... prior to your purchase. I think this will help us in suggesting early mods.

 

I've searched for the reliability mods. So far I've found...

ground wires, boost gauge, boost controller, downpipe, hoses and possibly intercooler and radiator (don't think i need that for how i treat her). Are they any other that come to mind?

i'm not sure what you mean by what has been done to the car... but, i know that there was a recall involving the vacuum hoses and that one was performed. Also, the ECU has been replaced so i think that recall, althought not recorded as it was done before the recall (i think) is also taken care of. the only thing left is the fuel lines. otherwise, the car is entirely stock.

 

oh, and for clarification, I'm not trying to "bling bling" the car out. the suspension and wheels will be the first thing to go. I'm much more interested in cornering than straight aways. I don't want to be branded as a ricer. I have every intention of keeping the car as tastefully done as possible... just a little customization so its more "mine." ya know what i mean?

 

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

 

You might want to upgrade to an aluminum air separation tank (AST) as the stock one is plastic and known to crack. I would recommend the radiator upgrade. The stock one has plastic tanks that can crack - plus it is cheap insurance (heat kills these cars). Another common mod is the fan mod or miata thermoswitch to kick your fans on sooner. Intercooler is probably unneccesary as well as boost controller (assuming that your newly added boost guage reads 10 psi or less). That is all that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Mahjik and novadan67, thank you very much, i really do appreciate the info. i think i will try to replace the AST, the Radiator and possibly the "fan mod" you mentioned. what all does that entail? anywhere i could go to find out? i was thinking that the regular intercooler would be good considdering i have no desire to add aditional boost yet... same with the uselessness (currently) of a boost controller.

 

The fan mod is basically wiring a manual switch to turn your fans on / keep them on after your shut your car down. The miata swicth simply turns your fans on at a lower temp. I personally prefer the miata thermoswitch (mazda part # N350-18-840) to the fan mod - so I have that on my car. The miata switch is automatic and since you probably have the stock temp guage would be a better mod. Searching both of these topics will give you tons of info including how to and debates about which is better.

 

Also- beware of taking the car to a Mazda dealer. As you read more on this forum, you will see numerous horror stories of FDs being ruined by un-trained "mechanics" at the Mazda dealer network. There are only a handfull of factory-trained RX-7 third generation mechnics in the US, and most of them do not work at the Mazda dealer.
Ron A.

 

The only thing i'm taking it to the dealer for is the recalls. Other than that, I've heard stories of a lovely little RX-7 tuning place just north of Baltimore and not more than 30 minutes from my apartment. Otherwise, I might have to run it down to Malloy Mazda as its not "too" far from my sister's house (where i can crash while its being fixed).

Thanks again novadany67, I'll have to look into that a little more... i guess from the sounds of it, the miata switch might be the better way to go.

 

IMO, I would not do the fan mod. I would change the stock thermosensor to the Miata Thermosensor. This will trigger the fans to come on at a lower temperature than the stock sensor.

The downside to this mod compared to the fan mod is that it cost more (the sensor is around $50) and there is more work to install it. However, the main plus about it is that it's automatic. There is nothing you need to do (no switch to turn on or anything), it will do all the work for you once it's installed.

IMO, it's a much better solution to the problem.

 

While many people don't care for the styling of the stock wheels, they are among the highest quality wheels ever OEMed. They are extremely light 16x8 wheels. Changing to anything less than a lightweight 17x9 wheel is not a handling upgrade, and may in fact, actually degrade ride/handling. IMO, if you don't have the money to do it right, then don't do it. You can get very high quality wheels for about $1500/set, such as SSR GT-1s or SSR Competitions. IMO, $200/each wheels have absolutely no place on this car.

Personally, I don't understand why people with limited budgets touch the suspension/wheels on this car. The stock handling capabilities of this car are tremendous and are more than you should ever use on the street. I have only begun upgrading mine because of track events.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...highlight=newb

read the thread, has good stuff about the coolant seals/engine rebuilds, and general reliability mods

 

little harsh there rvnberg. i have only begun lookin into wheels and didn't realize that i could get a decent set in the $1500 range. I want to get 18x8(min) as a cosmetic thing. i would prefer to get 18x8 fronts and 18x9 rears though. I'll just keep looking into it but you have to admit, a full body kit and stock 16s might look a tad less tastefull than i'm going for. no?

 

IMO, I don't think it matters how much the rims cost. IMO, there are plenty of inexpensive rims that even at the exact same size as the stockers will give the car a more updated look. The only problem, IMO, is getting a skinner/smaller wheel than stock.

 

on a side note, i just found a site called

wheelsboutique.com

they seem to have a REALLY good selection of rims at affordable prices (just fyi for anyone reading)

 

congrats on your FD purchase!

I'd say one of the first things you should do before doing any mods besides some of the obvious reliability ones is to keep an eye out on the NE section to see when us MD/VA/DC guys are going to have a meet. It would be VERY benificial to meet some of the owners in the area, check out there cars and pick thier brains. We have a pretty good group of people that usually don't have a problem helping each other out.

One thing I would definitely NOT do is leave your car with ANY dealer in the area... even for something as simple as an oil change... heard too many horror stories. Malloy might be the only one I would trust and they would definitely be the place for OEM parts.

anyway, enjoy your new ride and don't forget to show it a healthy dose of respect, especially in the winter, nobody wants to hear about a wreck, let alone a wrecked FD.