I am driving around a -99 FD3S type R, still stock.

I just wanted to check a couple of things up here, to see what the general opinion is. Firstly, I do have a little engine and mechanical skills, though not overly much with the rotary enginge ... yet. What would you people recommend are the main things to keep a good eye on, service and maintenance speaking? Also, when doing a good, thurough service on the car, what things should be done?

And also, as my car still is stock, what do you recommend being the first steps in tuning it? I know that I will have to change the breaks shortly, and I'm currently looking at the EBC RedStuff both disks and pads. Any opinions about this?

Any other trim suggestions? I was thinking about changing exhaust, but not sure if this should be the first thing to take care of.

Cheers fellas.

 

Are you daily driving it? As maintenance goes, make sure you chance oil every 3000 miles (5000km) and do the reliability mods! Radiator, silicon hoses, AST etc... this way you will be safe. its good to do some research on the rotarys so you can get a good knowlegde of them, this way you can work on it better When servicing, change all fluids, spark plugs, leads.. just things like that. If your daily driving the FD3S I would get it street tuned. Before you do things like the EBC or exhaust, do the reliability mods then after that worry about the exhaust etc...

 

+1

 

First, I suggest you read the info in the FAQ. Maintenance items are covered pretty well in there. When in doubt with your FD, maintenance first.

Second, on this message board, you will find the word tuning is restricted to programming the ECU. Occasionally, the true racers talk about suspension tuning. All other stuff tends to be called 'upgrading' or 'modding'. I think that will help you as you read/search the archives.

Dave

 

99 Type R - sounds sweet. Post some pics.

A lot of your questions are answered in the FAQ link - 5th link down in this forum.

If the vacuum system is working fine, I probably wouldn't touch it. Inspect it to verify condition of the stock lines and if you see any brittle vacuum hoses replace them. If you aren't very familiar with the vacuum system you may wind up introducing more problems by trying to "fix things".

General maintenance items are like other cars:
- spark plugs (use stock change frequently or at least once a year)
- spark plug wires (again stock NGK wires are great)

- change the coolant
- make sure the coolant system is free of air. this can be difficult and time consuming w/o the right tools and patience. Search for "lisle" and read the FAQ.
- inspect the radiator and its plastic end tanks as they tend to break. replace with a good aluminum radiator if desired. try to seal the areas around the radiator with some foam so that more air is forced *through* the radiator than around it.
- replace the AST (air separation tank) as the factor plastic one tend to crack. this is part of the coolant system

- change the oil at regular intervals
- change the transmission oil with Redline MT90 or NEO synthetic fluids since you don't know how long the existing tranny oil has been there
- change the differential oil with Redline or NEO synthetic fluid

- Brake pads recommend EBC greens or Axxis Ultimates for the street. Reds seem to be better for track duty.
- your choice of rotors
- bleed brake fluid
- you can choose to do SS braided brake lines but I never really noticed a difference.

- change air filter with a K&N or your choice