wrxsti04

I had a question for everyone. I was looking into buying a RX-7. After several failed attempts to purchase one, I have found another. The seller said it has a New engine reman engine from Mazda in it with roughly 4,000 miles on the engine and 68K on the chassis. He also said "Car is set up for track and/or street, may require tuning to pass emissions. Stock catalytic converter is included and installed " He told me he was running the engine rich for engine break in and that it requires proper tuning to pass inspection. Does that sound right?

I am I Wake County, NC (City Cary 27513) We do have emissions just checking in to see what this all entails and whether its a hugh risk to buy this car. The seller is in Virginia

Think I should consider this car or skip it and look for another?

maxcooper

What is your emissions test like?

In CA, there is a sniffer test on a dyno and a visual test where they look for any non-stock parts. It's tough.

If you just have an idle sniffer test with high limits and no visual, you can probably get just about anything to pass.

Does the car come with a programmable engine management system (PowerFC, Haltech, AEM, etc.)? What does the seller mean by "retune"?

-Max

zmarko

If you think you'll run into a problem, then you might want to pass on this car. The best advice to you is to be very patient while looking for an FD. I know it can be frustrating finding one, but just take your time. It took me over 4 months to find mine.

I used to live in Greensboro, but don't know much about the RDU area. Are there any good rotary shops out there?

Fatman0203

Took my 6 months and I know people that have taken over a year.

wrxsti04

For all the cars I have taken to inspect they stick a object in the muffler and run a test. As for retune I think he means having the car run less rich than it is now
For Engine Management he has the below

Engine Management
* PFS PMC engine management computer
* PFS in-car keypad
* PFS dataset selector dial
* InterACQ data logging and tuning software for PC
* J&S Knock Sensor with dual display (Retard/Timing and Air/Fuel ratio)
* GReddy turbo timer

wrxsti04

I have been looking for little over 2 months. Yes its very frustrating. As for tuners in RDU there is only one I know of in Stem which is 20 Mins away.

maxcooper

My guess is that it would be fine with the idle (or no-load slight rev) sniffer test since you'll still have the main cat in there. It sounds like there is no major visual test for you to contend with. The PFS PMC is a piggy back, so its very easy to use the stock maps for such testing. If it runs rich under boost, that won't show up on the sniffer unless they put your car on rollers and run it in gear under load like they do here.

It is important to hold out for a good RX-7 when shopping, but if this car is clean, I wouldn't dismiss it just because of the (potential) emissions issue.

-Max

wrxsti04

No we are not as intense as Cali (Sorry that you guys are) Anyhow our cars are rolled up to the normal oil change platform at Jiffy lube. Not placed on rollers where wheels are spining.


(Car is unlikely to pass Virginia emissions without further tuning is all he said)

I found the below at DMV Site

Normal levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) indicate that your vehicle is fuel-efficient. On the other hand, high levels of either CO or HC or both, reveal an inefficiency problem. The probable causes of high carbon monoxide (CO) in your vehicle are listed as follows for you to further discuss with your mechanic:

Rich Fuel Mixture
Plugged PCV Valve or fuel in the crankcase ventilation system
Dirty Air Filter
Malfunctioning closed-loop fuel metering system
Saturated fuel evaporation canister or malfunctioning vapor purge system


The probable causes of high hydrocarbon (HC) in your vehicle are listed as follows for you to further discuss with your mechanic:

Electrical Misfire
Too Much spark advance (or initial timing)
Air-fuel mixture too lean
Vacuum leak
Leaking exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve
Malfunctioning closed-loop fuel metering system
Engine wear

http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/vehicle_ser...Penalties.html

wrxsti04

A friend told me that you can just pay $250.00 a year and have a car that pollutes but thats the fine

maxcooper

I wish you could do that (pay a $250 fee and run a dirty car) in CA.

-Max

wrxsti04

to Max LOL

anyhow this is what the seller said

My Questions
Was the engine new reman directly placed into the car or was it ported/ torn apart and rebuilt?

I think you told me this yesterday but are there any items removed in the exhaust process besides the down pipe and cat back Exhaust?

Just trying to see what the issues might be here if I have to pass emisson

His answer:
The engine was a Mazda reman installed by Hi-Tech Automotive Inc of Woodbridge VA. The engine has not been ported or bridged.

The pre-cat has been replaced with a downpipe as I stated in the ad, and I do not have the original pre-cat. The catalytic converter is installed and was hooked up by Rotary Performance of Manassas VA. Air pump is still hooked up and running.

After replacing the engine, I changed the fuel maps in the computer to richer than stock. I also lowered the boost to approximately 8lbs to prevent damage to the engine. Leaning out the fuel maps should decrease emissions significantly, but I have not had time to do this type of tuning with a wideband O2 sensor. Friends have also told me that running an alcohol/gas mix on a near-empty tank can drop emissions close to zero, but I have not tried this technique.

Let me know if you have any other questions, thanks.

maxcooper

The pre-cat is mainly for cold start emissions and has very little effect once the car is hot. I was a few points over the limit in the past, so I tried again with the pre-cat back on and it passed, but just barely. It only dropped the emissions a few points. I passed with the stock cat and a downpipe (no pre-cat) easily before switching to a high-flow cat and a ported engine.

My guess is that the car you are looking at would pass with no changes.

-Max

wrxsti04

yeah I think so also. If any one has anything to add please do so I am open to comments and recommendations. I am looking to buy the car this weekend and look forward to future post with you guys.

wrxsti04

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djantlive

If you have concerns, ask the seller to tune and pass emmision before you buy it. When you buy used cars from dealers or use car sell lots, they are required to do a smog and basic safety check in CA. Have the seller pass smog. You should also take it to a rotary speciality for inspection. Don't bother getting inspection from Mazda dealers thought. They are worthless.

wrxsti04

Any rotor locations in the Washington DC Area?

maxcooper

Hmm.. that's a good idea -- just to cover your ***, it probably would be a good idea to take the car to a test station with the owner (or with the owner's permission) and get it tested. Even if you have to pay $30 or whatever it costs there for the test, at least you will know where you stand before you fork over big bucks for the car.

-Max

wrxsti04

In VA he told me they do a full rolling emissons test. In my county in NC we only do idle emissons. Personally I think it should be fine since NC is not as intense.