94-RX7

Well, I got my first turbo blown. If it is a good idea to replace both, or I can just replace one. If I do, anyone has just the first turbo for sale now. Or do I have to buy a Twin and replace them both?

How much are they? I see the best is about $500 with 30k on them.

If I have $3000. Should I go for the single set up?

thankz

nocab72

Depends on what other mods you've done. $3000 will just get you a turbo kit, but without supporting mods you'll be in trouble for fuel, IC, etc...

k

Fd3BOOST

iTrader: (7)

Please do yourself a favor and read up on RX7 tunning and mods before you purchase anything. You will thank me later.

rotorbrain

there is an apex'i rx-6 tubo kit for sale right now in the parts for sale forum. check it out. it is going for 3100. . . brand new.

paul

racer rx

Hi 94 rx7,

How do you know that your primary turbo is gone?

jc.

94-RX7

It shot outs white smoke when I start the car. smile sweet, will be gone after driving 5 minute.

rotorbrain

you can send them into bryan at bnr supercars. . . hes good and hell make you some good power out of those twins.

paul

94-RX7

my boost gauge broke, so I can't read it.

rynberg

That sounds more like a coolant seal issue rather than a bad turbo. Before you start spending money and wasting time, find a mechanic or another forum member in your area who can figure out the real problem.

racer rx

Hi rx7,

That's coolant you smell... Are you getting any boost from the first turbo?

If it's coolant then you might have a O'ring that might be going bad.
Keep an eye every morning before you start the car. Look underneath coolant filler cap. To see how much you're loosing.

I suspect your turbos are probally ok. jc.

redrotorR1

If the smoke smells sweet, I have some bad news for you. That coolant smell ... it likely indicates that your seals are going and that you'll be needing an engine rebuild soon. Next time you start your car cold, check again and then check after the engine has warmed up. If the smokes smells like oil burning and continues to billows out even after the engine is at temp, then you have a turbo problem.

I had the same issue with my primary ... what happened was the carbon seal had unseated and the primary shaft was letting oil blow by into the compressor housing. This will require either A) rebuilding the turbos or B) replacing the turbos. My turbo rebuild from turbonetics.com was a little over $1200. But, if the white smoke does smell like coolant, you're likely looking at $6K.

94-RX7

ok, my coolant light came on every time I start my car about 5 month ago. then it just kind of fixed it itself. Smoke come out after I put in my Titan cat-back.

I don't feel the boost at all until it hit 5000 rpm

racer rx

Check the coolant levels... And Vaccum line. Check the one underneath the Black vaccum tank behind the alternator...

jc.

JHew84

iTrader: (9)

hm... just curious, but why exactly do people see gains from going from a twin turbo to a single turbo setup??? i've heard people talking about it with thier RX-7's, and even in TT supra's, and they say that they get gains from taking one turbo out and making it a single turbo, why is that?

that was the original question, and why i came in this thread, sorry to kinda get off topic but i have been wondering this and haven't received any credible information thus far

cabaynes

iTrader: (4)

the stock twins can only safely boost to about 13psi, and then youre in a danger zone, and your engine wont last long... you can make approx. 350rwhp with the stock twins and upgrades, but after that mark you will have to up the boost and mods and your engine just wont hold out. thats when people upgrade to single. they dont just take one of the stock ones out if thats what youre thinking... they take both stock ones out and replace them with a larger, stronger, single turbo. most people safely boost these turbos to 20psi, and can make up to 500rwhp even with some of the "smaller" single set-ups... these single set-ups are also more reliable with less hoses and all in your engine bay, and problems are easier to spot. now, even though it takes a little longer to reach full boost, there is still much to gain from a single turbo, and if you go to the single turbo RX7 forum on this page you can learn a lot just be looking around and searching

skunks

Sorry but I gotta agree, you popped your engine, not your turbos...

What is your vaccum at idle?

JHew84

iTrader: (9)

thanks for the info, and no i wasn't thinking that they just take one of the stock turbo's off and leave the other on, i had some ideas of why they would do something like this, but couldn't really come up with a feasable answer... i just got back on here the other day from taking a long break, was never really aware of the single turbo forum, i will be checking it out, thanks :tup:

redrotorR1

A few things:

1) Fix your boost gauge. Get a new one or as a diagnostic, buy one of those cheap $20 ones at Pep Boys/Autozone and tape it to the windshield. As long as you don't have any cracks in the vacuum line, it will still tell you if you have a boost problem.

2) Check all your vacuum lines and rubber hosing. And check the rubber hosing for your coolant lines. Boost problems ... normally, I'd say vacuum line and/or boost leak (IC hoses). Coolant problems, check the upper rubber hose (from the filler neck to the AST) and the upper radiator hose. These hoses rot from the inside ... once they go bad, there's no fixing them. Just replace it and be done.

3) How much smokes comes out of your tailpipe? Is it a lot ... like forms a cloud around your car? Or is it just a little bit until the engine gets warm? If the smokes just continues to pour out and only lessens when driving, I would bet on your turbos going/gone bad. If it's only a little smoke, still smells sweet (like coolant), and goes away after the engine is warm, then I would get a rotary mechanic to look at it and evaluate whether or not your engine is dying.

There's no way your catback is responsible for any of this. Coolant light coming on is bad ... usually means you have a leak somewhere. If it's just a couple of hoses cracked or leaking, then this should be a fairly easy and cheap to fix. The smoke doesn't sound good though.

image4you2see

im selling my factory twins off my 93. im going single if you want them give me a email thanks jason.

fdrx7racer

thanks, I am putting on a boost gauge today again. So I will let you guys know

NoFriends26

Sorry for the stupid question, but every time i try searching i dont know what words to search for and end up getting nothing. It seems to me that running 20psi into the engine would be bad for it because that is twice stock. I know i am wrong but could someone please explain. I am going over to the single forum right now to see what i can find out. Again, sorry for the stupid question and thank you for your replys.

1FooknTiteFD

If your turbo is truly Ko'd you have 4 routes you can take:
1.) get a brand new mazda factory twin turbocharger (cost something like $3000) not worth it in my opinion
2.) get your current turbo rebuilt (costs $1800 I believe) but I have yet to see a rebuilt turbo work well and last long.
3.) Get the 99 spec turbos from mazdacomp ($3000 or something, but I remember it costs less than the factory twins) This is a good setup if you absolutely want to keep sequential twin turbos.
4.) Go single (This will cost anywhere between $2500-$5000 depending on what turbo you choose to get) In my opinion, this is the best way to go here's why:

The stock sequential turbocharger system relies on too many vacuum lines and solenoids. As you know the RX7 generates a lot of heat and after heatcycling, these solenoids and hoses start to get brittle and break. When they do, a lot of times you will have turbo failure. Furthremore, to diagnose turbo failure on twin turbo is very hard and also takes a lot of time and effort. The engine bay is also cramped up and also helps heatcycle stuff underneath the hood. Also stock twin turbos are not very strong. Driven under normal conditions, the turbo charger itself can last over 100k miles (but the solenoids and hoses probably won't) but for people who like high power and lots of boost, the turbos start to become inefficient after 13-14psi.

I recently went single on my car this summer. In doing so, I was able to take out all the unneccessary vacuum lines and hoses. My engine bay looks a lot emptier and cleaner and it will also breathe better. With a single turbo the air intake temperatures are cooler which will make the engine last longer. Also with a single turbo the turbo itself lasts a long time and is very strong. With a single turbo, all that is neccessary is the exhaust manifold, wastegate, and turbo itself...very simple. The car will be more relaible and easier to diagnose if there is a problem and also easier to work on because there is so much empty space under the hood.


Some people don't like lag, but it's really really overrated. You can get a smaller turbo and it'll be only a little bit worse than stock but not undrivable. Provided you have a good intercooler and EMS and fuel injectors and pump, and most importantly good tuning, I think single turbo is the way to go.

cabaynes

iTrader: (4)

as long as you have enough fuel getting to the engine, ie: proper injectors, a/f ratio, etc... and your tuning is correct and done by a pro, the power wont harm your engine any more than the twin set-up... but if you go for big hp (500+), then longevity of your engine usually isn't really one of you major concerns is it? go ask the single guys, im sure they can help a lot more...

redrotorR1

The cost for the factory twin turbocharger assembly is now nearly double that price. When I had get my turbos rebuilt recently, the price quoted me for new turbos was $5800.

Going single is a lot more expensive than $2500-5000, I thought. I've priced it out before ... even with a smaller single, like a T-03, it was $7000. With a bigger turbo, it was in the $10K range.

CrispyRX7

iTrader: (139)

$7000? w00t! Planet earth here...
$3000 to $5000 is more like it. Now maybe if you are paying someone else to install it, perhpas 7G's is you figure but under $5k will buy you a very nice setup.
For example these seem to be very popular:
http://xs-engineering.com/turbocharger_kit_fd3s.html
Or perhaps these:
http://www.shaneracing.com/sr93trbo.html
The ApexI kit in particlar.
Just some info to perhpas clarify your misconception.
Regards,
Crispy
- wishing I had $4k to throw at a single