I have always loved the Porsche GT3 RS, the concept of a refined racecar for the street has always appealed to me. I think GT7 RS is a good name for the project. As the project progresses I will update the thread.

The Concept: GT7 RS

-Power:
The power that the RX-7 was good for the day but paltry by today's standards. I was shooting for roughly 370bhp which is about a 115bhp bump over stock and I think my goals have been met judging by the straight line performance on track against several E92 M3s and an Audi R8.

-Aero:
For the aero work I'm going to focus the underbody via front and rear diffusers. I will go in depth about building these when the project is underway.

-Suspension:
The suspension has begun its overhaul with a set of Stance coilovers which I must say have been great for the price, the car handles amazing. The next step is a full bushing set and sway bars.

-Brakes:
I am going to upgrade the brakes front and rear. A Stoptech 4-pot setup in the front and a Racing Brake setup out back. This is awhile down the road because I don't have the funds for such and expensive upgrade.

-Interior:
The RX-7s interior has always seemed plastic and cheap so I'm trying to get away from that. This build, is my idea of how the RX-7 should have come from the factory and that includes the cockpit. I've started to work on the interior, I was looking for a simple solution that was both lightweight and aesthetically pleasing as well. Since I have started that I will make it my first post of the thread in a day or so.

 

What's done:
-The main carpet and drivers side aluminum foot plate
-Wrapped the rear bins, trunk divider, and trunk cover
-Fitted carbon fiber delete plates to the trunk cover
-Refinished the center console and most interior plastics
-New OMP Alcantara wrapped steering wheel with an NRG Quick Release
-Sparco Evo and Sprint V seats
-FEED two tone shift ****
-AutoPower Rollbar

Here's what the interior looks like so far:

 

Gordon,

Your car has been my inspiration to finally get my rear in gear to start finishing the car the way I wanted. I wish I could have the an NA 3 rotor, it's truly the motor the FD deserves. I'm actually hoping to finish the car by the charity meet yourself and Rich will be holding in August. Hope you enjoy the pictures of the progress thus far.

Thanks

Ryan

 

what is all the carpeting made of? Is it speaker box stuff.

 

It's not the speaker box stuff, just some charcoal carpet that found.

 

I am really liking the carpet work as well. It is such a simple, change yet it makes a world of difference in the appearance of the interior. Great work, I definately look forward to seeing what else you come up with.

 

wow... now I don't need to buy black bins/devider.

def going with some carpet.

 

Thanks for all the compliments guys. I will be doing some suspension work in the coming weeks to make the car more auto-x friendly, its great on a road course but oversteers terribly between the cones. I'll be putting on a new front sway bar, adjustable links, sway bar mount reinforcement, and a softer rear spring. I'll post it up as it happens. I'll also be making the final version of the aluminum foot plates and finishing the trunk so stay tuned.

 

Nice work Ryan. Hows the IRP motor holding up? I always hated the cheap interior in these cars. Is it me or are the seats different?

 

Thanks Ihor, I couldn't stand the plastic anymore so a change was needed. The IRP motor is holding up great, so far 2 track days and 2 auto-x's on it and its as strong as ever, you guys did a great job. The seats are different, when you last saw the car it still had the stock seats have now been swapped for the Sparcos.

 

Nice. Glad you are enjoying it.

 

great build idea. its coming out well already. ill keep my eye on this. as for sway bars and a sway bar brace, id highly recommend Racing Beats set up. i have the full set up and love it. not a bad price either.

out off vanity, i love your interior set up by the way (EVO, Sprint V, and Autopower.) i have the exact set up, but yours looks better for some reason . probably the new carpeting. and i have the b-pillars taken out. now that i know they will fit, ill have to put mine back in.

subscribed.

 

It really cleans up the floor area. I like the contrast of the charcoal as opposed to just using black.

 

Thanks, it came out far better then I expected. Depending on how you rollbar fits you may have to do a little trimming. I already have Tanabe front sway bar on the way and a brace from a group buy already, for what I've seen about the Tanabe bar its pretty well made but only testing it in 2 weeks will tell.

 

The contrast was just what I was looking for, I was afraid I picked the wrong color but it seems to be perfect for the look.

 

Subscribed! I'm gonna follow this one. It seems as if you're going in a similar direction to me with my FD...

 

Why are the driver and passenger Sparco seats different? The interior carpeting looks very nice, definitely an improvement

You may want to change your user text about limerock btw

 

The difference in seats was for a couple reasons, the Sprint V is smaller than the Evo so I only had to work with fitingt the drivers side and the other reason was cost, the Sprint V is less than half the price of the Evo.

I'll have to think of a new one, maybe NJMP Thunderbolt Sometime...

 

How do you like the autopower rollbar? Pretty easy to install? nice start btw!

 

looks great! however 370 bhp is actually about 150 hp over stock, the 250 hp was at the crank, it's closer to 220 at the wheels (tho still enought to beat a 250 hp/300lbft turbo KA s13 240...)

 

What did you use to adhere the carpet? I'm curious to how it holds up, especially in the summer. Did you notice the interior feeling any more solid or less road noise?

 

370bhp or brake horsepower is measured at the flywheel or the crank.

I used spray adhesive, half with a brand that escapes me and half with 3M 90M I think it was called. I'm not worried about the bins as much as I'm worried about the floor carpeting as I have not figured out permanent solution to mounting it.

 

RE-Mamamia: I really like the AutoPower bar, it wasn't too bad to install and is a quality piece.

An oversteer issue has popped due to the increased stiffness the rollbar. My plan to remedy this is simple, soften the rear and and stiffen the front. I put on 10kg springs in the rear (previously 12kg springs), if this is not enough ill drop it again to 8kg. For the front i have a stiffer 30.4mm sway bar and adjustable endlinks as well as a sway bar mount brace, this hasn't been put on just yet.

Here's a picture of the parts:

 

The refit on your interior looks great, I'm hoping to do a similar carpet overhaul and was curious if you had any tips or suggestions. Thanks.