Time to give up on the FD...
07-03-08, 01:47 PM
#1
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Time to give up on the FD...
One problem after another...Just spent over $1,000 to fix oil pan and front cover oil leaks and install a new catalytic converter. Cat cost about another $400. Got the car to pass California smog, got it registered again (another $200) and the only thing left was to get an exhaust noise violation signed off. My son has an HKS dual intake, downpipe, a brand new RX-7 Store hi-flow catalytic converter and an HKS Hi-Power catback. All that equals a failed noise level check!!! I'm 6 db over the limit and I have a court date on Monday!! Nobody has the internal silencer in stock and HKS tells me that it may not get the noise down low enough anyways. My rotary mechanic tells me that even reinstalling the stock muffler won't help.
It is a great car and has been very well taken care of but was meant for my son and he is going off to college in the fall. R&R Rotary Specialists in Glendora have done all the work on it since we have had it. Time to cut my losses. Look for it for sale on Auto Trader and on Craigslist next week.s
07-03-08, 02:05 PM
#5
And as fdeeznutz said, the stock main cat will get your exhaust quiet enough.
How well prepared were you before buying your FD? It seems like some relatively minor problems have you throwing in the towel already. I'm not trying to be insulting, but $1600 and a fix-it ticket hardly seem worthy of dumping the car over.
07-03-08, 02:22 PM
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Saying good-bye to Cali is not an option. As far as being prepped before purchasing the car, we went in with our eyes open as far as the money pit aspects of the vehicle. It was actually for my 16 year old son when he got his license. I wanted it to be a car he would be proud of owning and one that he would develop a sense of involvement in by gradually upgrading/modding it.
After several thousand dollars of mods, repairs (HKS intake, aluminum AST, custom Alpine - ARC Audio dual amp sound system, rear custom amp/subwoofer lighter enclosure, RX-7 store hi-flow cat, HKS Hi-power catback, center speaker pod with boost and water temp gauges, new rear brake calipers, oil pan fix, front cover gasket fix, fan switch mod) the car runs well but still needs the rear pillowball/bushing replacements, a little body work, a paint job but the son is taking off for college in the fall and has never really "bonded" with the car. Didn't ever want to invest time or money. It looks like he wanted a ready to go vehicle rather than one to work on.
If we were to take it all the way to completion we are probably another $4 - $5000 away. With two kids in college, I can use the money I can get by selling it for much better purposes. I've got a limited edition 1993 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.6 and a 1996 BMW 328is that require much less money to maintain and are pretty much complete as far as work I want to do on them.
Like I said, I think for someone who knows the car and is willing to take it on, it is well on its way to being a great ride for someone. I even got an R1 fin that we were planning on installing on the hatch when we got the car painted.
After several thousand dollars of mods, repairs (HKS intake, aluminum AST, custom Alpine - ARC Audio dual amp sound system, rear custom amp/subwoofer lighter enclosure, RX-7 store hi-flow cat, HKS Hi-power catback, center speaker pod with boost and water temp gauges, new rear brake calipers, oil pan fix, front cover gasket fix, fan switch mod) the car runs well but still needs the rear pillowball/bushing replacements, a little body work, a paint job but the son is taking off for college in the fall and has never really "bonded" with the car. Didn't ever want to invest time or money. It looks like he wanted a ready to go vehicle rather than one to work on.
If we were to take it all the way to completion we are probably another $4 - $5000 away. With two kids in college, I can use the money I can get by selling it for much better purposes. I've got a limited edition 1993 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.6 and a 1996 BMW 328is that require much less money to maintain and are pretty much complete as far as work I want to do on them.
Like I said, I think for someone who knows the car and is willing to take it on, it is well on its way to being a great ride for someone. I even got an R1 fin that we were planning on installing on the hatch when we got the car painted.
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07-03-08, 02:58 PM
#9
Yea you could easily get the car to pass the sound requirement with the stock cat. ****, i bet somebody in cali there would practically give you one.
And you bought your 16yo son an FD and he doesnt want it??? He must be in band or something....Just kidding.
And you bought your 16yo son an FD and he doesnt want it??? He must be in band or something....Just kidding.
07-03-08, 03:19 PM
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07-03-08, 03:23 PM
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I have the perfect answer for your noise problems. I ordered one the other day. I'm pretty sure you pass but it will run you 150 shipped. 
Offer them 135, I'm sure they will accept. It takes two secs to bolt in but you have to run the control wire through the shift boot.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Apexi...spagenameZWD1V
Offer them 135, I'm sure they will accept. It takes two secs to bolt in but you have to run the control wire through the shift boot.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Apexi...spagenameZWD1V
07-03-08, 05:55 PM
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Actually thought about the towel in the muffler! Looking for a used downpipe with pre-cat and possibly a used stock muffler to install temporarily to muffle the sound for the test. That Apexi sound controller looks very interesting though. Anybody know a San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputy who would sign this off for me?
07-03-08, 06:12 PM
#20
Saying good-bye to Cali is not an option. As far as being prepped before purchasing the car, we went in with our eyes open as far as the money pit aspects of the vehicle. It was actually for my 16 year old son when he got his license. I wanted it to be a car he would be proud of owning and one that he would develop a sense of involvement in by gradually upgrading/modding it.
Lol just kidding, you're a cool dad for sure though!
07-03-08, 06:45 PM
#22
Man I'm glad I do my own work... that would have cost me $20 for the permatex right stuff, a few bucks for the FC gasket and part of a weekend.
He should have been saving the money he spent on those mods for maintainence, but I can't say my priorities were much better when I was 16...
He should have been saving the money he spent on those mods for maintainence, but I can't say my priorities were much better when I was 16...
