Some questions from a new FD owner
08-14-06, 01:07 PM
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Some questions from a new FD owner
I am approaching 48 hours as the owner of a 1994 rx-7 Touring VR, and I have a few questions that I've not had any luck in finding a definite answer to. I'll try my best not to be redundant with common questions, but please bear with me.
My car currently has a power FC commander that I've been monitoring over the past few days in different driving conditions to get an idea of what the car is going to do in each scenario. This car, unlike most, will see prolonged driving in the boost when I take it out to play. A typical fun run will be about 10 minutes of hard driving on mountain roads with no break. When putting this car through that kind of driving I noticed that the water temperature reached 103C after about 7 minutes of extremely hard driving. At this point I decided to back it down and cruise the last few miles. What I would like to know is what a safe temperature range is for these cars. I'm running about 86C when cruising around town, and 103C is the hottest I've allowed. Do I have heating issues to address before doing this type of driving or am I within favorable temp ranges?
My next question is about the turbo piping. The underhood sheet is falling apart where the turbo piping has touched it over time, and before replacing the sheet I would like to know if it is safe to heat wrap the turbo piping in that section to avoid having this happen again.
My next questions is regarding the AF gauge readings. The car when hot idles very rich. When I start the car cold, however, it reads dead lean and gradually goes up to rich as the temperatures come up. Is this normal, or do I have a problem of some sort?
My last question is something that is very difficult for me to figure out since most of my performance vehicle experience has been with bikes, so my car suspension setup knowledge is limited. The chassis has 56k miles on it right now, and it's bone stock handling wise. All of the power mods I want are already taken car of, so aside from finishing up the reliability side of things all of my mods will be handling related. I will potentially do shocks, springs, strut tower braces, sway bars, wheels, and tires. In dealing with an older car I realize other things may need to be addressed due to being old and worn out. Bushing come to mind as one of those areas that should be addressed. My first question is what else are areas of concern as far as things that are either worn out due to age or inadequate parts from the factory for track type driving. Next, what other things should I look into replacing to do this suspension change correctly and completely? And the last issue I've run in to is that I plan to do this gradually if possible, with wheels, tires, strut bars, and sway bars being done at first. I don't know how to determine what tire/wheel sizes to go with, and I don't know if I need to have an exact parts list planned out to help determine what sizes to run. Obviously I'll be setting the car up with the end combination of parts in mind. The only person I know with an RX-7 has built it to a more extreme level than would probably be practical for me, and he is using 275 fronts and 315 rears on that particular car. I've been trying to use his car as a template for planning my mods, but this is one area I think I will have to deviate from his build. I don't even know if I could find street compound tires in that size. How does one go about choosing a correct wheel and tire combo for their application, and how will other suspension mods alter that decision?
Thanks for any help anyone provides!
My car currently has a power FC commander that I've been monitoring over the past few days in different driving conditions to get an idea of what the car is going to do in each scenario. This car, unlike most, will see prolonged driving in the boost when I take it out to play. A typical fun run will be about 10 minutes of hard driving on mountain roads with no break. When putting this car through that kind of driving I noticed that the water temperature reached 103C after about 7 minutes of extremely hard driving. At this point I decided to back it down and cruise the last few miles. What I would like to know is what a safe temperature range is for these cars. I'm running about 86C when cruising around town, and 103C is the hottest I've allowed. Do I have heating issues to address before doing this type of driving or am I within favorable temp ranges?
My next question is about the turbo piping. The underhood sheet is falling apart where the turbo piping has touched it over time, and before replacing the sheet I would like to know if it is safe to heat wrap the turbo piping in that section to avoid having this happen again.
My next questions is regarding the AF gauge readings. The car when hot idles very rich. When I start the car cold, however, it reads dead lean and gradually goes up to rich as the temperatures come up. Is this normal, or do I have a problem of some sort?
My last question is something that is very difficult for me to figure out since most of my performance vehicle experience has been with bikes, so my car suspension setup knowledge is limited. The chassis has 56k miles on it right now, and it's bone stock handling wise. All of the power mods I want are already taken car of, so aside from finishing up the reliability side of things all of my mods will be handling related. I will potentially do shocks, springs, strut tower braces, sway bars, wheels, and tires. In dealing with an older car I realize other things may need to be addressed due to being old and worn out. Bushing come to mind as one of those areas that should be addressed. My first question is what else are areas of concern as far as things that are either worn out due to age or inadequate parts from the factory for track type driving. Next, what other things should I look into replacing to do this suspension change correctly and completely? And the last issue I've run in to is that I plan to do this gradually if possible, with wheels, tires, strut bars, and sway bars being done at first. I don't know how to determine what tire/wheel sizes to go with, and I don't know if I need to have an exact parts list planned out to help determine what sizes to run. Obviously I'll be setting the car up with the end combination of parts in mind. The only person I know with an RX-7 has built it to a more extreme level than would probably be practical for me, and he is using 275 fronts and 315 rears on that particular car. I've been trying to use his car as a template for planning my mods, but this is one area I think I will have to deviate from his build. I don't even know if I could find street compound tires in that size. How does one go about choosing a correct wheel and tire combo for their application, and how will other suspension mods alter that decision?
Thanks for any help anyone provides!
08-14-06, 01:28 PM
#2
1) Post a mod list
2) 103C = 217.4 F. This is not too high. From what i've read (own a FB, not a FD, but have been researching them for 2 + years in anticipation of being able to afford a FD when I graduate college and get a real job) you don't have to worry about temps until they hit 225F+.
3) It is safe to heat wrap the turbo piping. It won't look too good. Get rid of the underhood blanket, and check out Howard Coleman's current thread entitled "Downpipe for your Engine Compartment" or something like that. It's being discussed currently, althought it is an older thread.
4) What is "very rich"? Rotaries run richer than piston engines. 13:1 AFR at idle *should* be good (DISCLAIMER: not a tuner, so don't take my word on AFR's, but this is what i've read). Under WOT, from what i've seen on the forum, most people tune for 11:1 to 11.5:1 in the upper RPM range.
5) Wear items that should be inspected on the suspension:
a) bushings. My suggestion is go with a full Poly set. You can get nylon bushings through a few different sources, including JimLab, but they won't last as long and will be louder/rougher. Very performance oriented, for the hardcore. You can also get spherical bearings. Louder, more communicative, but smoother becasue of the reduction in friction. Will wear out faster than poly. Not sure about bearings vs. nylon. More track oriented.
b) Sway Bar mounts. Factory ones are "swiss cheesed" to save weight. They *can* fail. Check them out.
c) Pillow Ball mounts. they just wear out.
d) diff bushings. If you have a noticible "clunk" from the rear, they may be on their way out.
Besides this, I can't help you much, because I don't own a FD. This is just information that i've gathered over my couple of years of research.
2) 103C = 217.4 F. This is not too high. From what i've read (own a FB, not a FD, but have been researching them for 2 + years in anticipation of being able to afford a FD when I graduate college and get a real job) you don't have to worry about temps until they hit 225F+.
3) It is safe to heat wrap the turbo piping. It won't look too good. Get rid of the underhood blanket, and check out Howard Coleman's current thread entitled "Downpipe for your Engine Compartment" or something like that. It's being discussed currently, althought it is an older thread.
4) What is "very rich"? Rotaries run richer than piston engines. 13:1 AFR at idle *should* be good (DISCLAIMER: not a tuner, so don't take my word on AFR's, but this is what i've read). Under WOT, from what i've seen on the forum, most people tune for 11:1 to 11.5:1 in the upper RPM range.
5) Wear items that should be inspected on the suspension:
a) bushings. My suggestion is go with a full Poly set. You can get nylon bushings through a few different sources, including JimLab, but they won't last as long and will be louder/rougher. Very performance oriented, for the hardcore. You can also get spherical bearings. Louder, more communicative, but smoother becasue of the reduction in friction. Will wear out faster than poly. Not sure about bearings vs. nylon. More track oriented.
b) Sway Bar mounts. Factory ones are "swiss cheesed" to save weight. They *can* fail. Check them out.
c) Pillow Ball mounts. they just wear out.
d) diff bushings. If you have a noticible "clunk" from the rear, they may be on their way out.
Besides this, I can't help you much, because I don't own a FD. This is just information that i've gathered over my couple of years of research.
Last edited by OneRotor; 08-14-06 at 01:30 PM.
08-14-06, 02:10 PM
#3
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GREDDY TD0620G Single Turbo Kit
GREDDY Blowoff Valve
GREDDY Profec B
GREDDY Turbo timer
GREDDY SMIC
GREDDY Elbow
APEXI-Power FC+Commander
20B Fuel Pump
Magnecor 10mm wires
Autometer Boost gauge
Autometer Fuel gauge/lightshow
Racing Beat Dual Exhaust
Downpipe
Mid-Pipe
ACT 6 Puck Clutch
Kuhmo Tires Front/Rear
Rear Bushings replaced
Slotted/Drilled Brembo Rotors & Hawk Pads
New Wiring Harness
Front Brake Calipers, Lower-Intake Manifold, Upper-Intake Manifold & Throttle-Body are all polished
Double throttle Modification has been done to the UIM
AST
Aftermarket radiator (brand of which I don't know)
That should be most of it. Car is running at 10lbs putting out 312hp/268tq to the wheels. It hasn't been tuned yet, just richened for reliability.
GREDDY Blowoff Valve
GREDDY Profec B
GREDDY Turbo timer
GREDDY SMIC
GREDDY Elbow
APEXI-Power FC+Commander
20B Fuel Pump
Magnecor 10mm wires
Autometer Boost gauge
Autometer Fuel gauge/lightshow
Racing Beat Dual Exhaust
Downpipe
Mid-Pipe
ACT 6 Puck Clutch
Kuhmo Tires Front/Rear
Rear Bushings replaced
Slotted/Drilled Brembo Rotors & Hawk Pads
New Wiring Harness
Front Brake Calipers, Lower-Intake Manifold, Upper-Intake Manifold & Throttle-Body are all polished
Double throttle Modification has been done to the UIM
AST
Aftermarket radiator (brand of which I don't know)
That should be most of it. Car is running at 10lbs putting out 312hp/268tq to the wheels. It hasn't been tuned yet, just richened for reliability.
08-14-06, 02:41 PM
#4
Rotary Enthusiast
Do not put poly bushings on the car unless you intend to use the car on the track only. They are obnoxiously loud and you will be embarrassed to drive it. My car had them when I bought it and I could'nt wait to change them back to stock
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