What kind of WHP should I be looking for
 

I recently purchased 93 FD, here are the mods. What kind of output should I be expecting?

The modifications include an Apex-i Power FC (after market piggy back computer) and commander, Apex-i AVC-4 boost control, Peter Ferrell air intake kit with air damn, Peter Ferrell stock mount intercooler, HKS Twin-Power ignition, Greddy under drive pulley kit, custom engine torque dampener, Koyo radiator, Bonez 3" down pipe, aftermarket highflow cat (will throw in ported dummy cat), Apex-i N1 dual exhaust

Oh, and i was told that re-manufacturer engine installed about 15k miles ago.

First off, the PFC is not a piggy back, it is a standalone.

I am guessing you are on the stock turbos and fuel as you didn't say anything about them. Stock fuel system won't support much extra HP

Depending on boost and tune 280-320RWHP. Maybe a little more or less

stock fuel system is good for about 300WHP, beyond that it's a ticking timebomb so really depends on your boost level and how well it was tuned, if at all.

Well previous owner told me it was tune by Steve Kahn and produce about 290 WHP at this point.

So, if I want to see a little more WHP I should upgrade fuel, which means fuel pump, injectors, and tune?

Mine is tuned to 12 psi with a fuel pump upgrade and I'm at approx 303 whp.

Please take the time and learn about your car before you mess with it.

First off we can't tell you at what power level you should be at without you telling us at what boost level you are at. For instance if you make 290 RWHP at 6 psi on stock twins your car was touched by god himself. But lets say you make 290 RWHP at 18 psi well then your car was touched by a big fat turd.

IMO don't mess with the car yet, just enjoy it. Not only was it was tuned by Kahn (which he has a damn good reputation) but 290 RWHP is not slow given that our cars are very light.

I say drive it as well. I skipped the step of enjoying my fd before it became an insane race car, and regret it every day. After a fuel pump you will be good for basically 320. I had the same basic set-up as you for a short time but had a fuel pump also, it made 330 wheel. I really would try to enjoy just driving the car before you go to crazy with it, or maybe you never planed to but it's just my advice.

....tread carefully, go slow, do your research. Get the mods to support your tuning desires. Anyone can mess with the tune and get more hp on higher boost.

Question is, how long and how often can you do that?

290 is great for what you have in it so far with those mods. Thats exactly what I would expect with about 10-12 psi

I apologize, I should specify what my plans are.

I purchased the car with intention to track the car about 6 - 8 days a year. It will not be a daily driver. With that said, I absolutely agree that I should drive the car and enjoy it and I intend on doing just that. The reason I asked is to see if the output should be expected with the mods already installed.

I am engineer by training so in my mind, I should install pump and maybe even injectors and have it re-tuned to little more power so on hot days, I can dial down the boost to insure engine won't blow up on me. Call it margin of safety.

I appreciate your inputs and looking forward to see local owners...:)

Oh and light (weight) is relative...:) I saw an Lotus 7 clone (Superperformance S1) with old rotary NA engine. 1400 lbs at 180 HP. Now, that's light...:)

premixing oil helps buy engine and apex seal life.
water injection and or race fuel buys anti detonation safety margin
larger cooling system and oil cooler upgrades buy cooling system integrity under stress(i see koyo but no mention of at least R1 dual oil coolers)


those are things you should look at before thinking about upgrading the power level of the car on stock twins with the intent on tracking the car. also make sure the fuel pump has been rewired and the sender unit modified with bulkhead connectors to avoid the stock terminal once you upgrade the fuel pump.

290s not bad at all for those mods. Did the po tell you at what boost level the tune was at?

Check my sig below...maybe minus 20whp so 280-290whp i would suspect

If you just have to upgrade something, try the fuel or ignition system.

Like others have said, these cars can be fickle. Take some time to learn, and enjoy driving your new machine.

Good Luck, Have Fun!

OP,

Unless your car was tuned for higher octane gas than what is available to you (tuned for 93+, filling up with 91) I wouldn't touch a thing on it.

Take time, browse the forum, learn about your car, don't "fix" what ain't broken.

Your car has solid entry level mods right now, and the tuner who wrote your fuel maps is very well known and respected in the rotary community.


It's fairly obvious that you are new to the rotary community. You have an excellent base to start on, take advantage of your car. Learn it, appreciate it, love it, worry about extra power after you can competently handle your current power level in any situation.

do cooling upgrades and leave the horsepower related stuff alone

Take this piece of advice as if it was one of the ten commandments.
Cooling on an FD is CRUCIAL to a long running and happy engine.

Koyo or Fluidyne rad, and at a minimum perform the R1 Dual oil cooler mod, Or go all out and get the Sakebomb Garage dual oil cooler kit.

Also performing a coolant flush with a new thermostat with new water pump couldnt hurt.


Just enjoy the car.... visit as many track days as possible to get used to the car as it sits now.

It has already been said but look into getting a water injection kit. It is certainly a reliability mod but it can also give a nice little power boost.

Ahem. While water injection allows you to run more aggressive tuning and boost levels, it does not make more power. In fact, quite the opposite.

^^+1 Ive seen back to back dyno plots of h^2O vs none. And in some cases there was up to 20 rwhp difference. I will say that there was zero tuning for A.I. though.

I understand that injecting water does not make the engine itself more powerful but in my experience it made a very noticeable difference. It is going to lower the air intake temps significantly, more dense air charge, so more power right? It is like running higher octane gas. I don't see how water/alcohol injection would not make more power especially if you tune for it. I guess it all depends on the circumstances. In the case of my stock car I think the effect was similar to adding a much larger intercooler.

Stock as in stock IC? If that’s the case I can certainly see how it could increase power. From people here in the forum and actual friends of mine: the stock IC tends to hover in the 60’s C (on 75 F days) and at those temps the FD is quite slow. The stock IC runs rather hot and IMO the drastic drop in temp certainly outweighs the slight change in A/F that A.I causes.

Yes you are right just as Barban said it allows for more aggressive tuning and increased boost levels therefore = more power.

But no matter what A.I. is good thing to have on a rotary powered car.

Yes, stock IC. I've been saying water injection but really it's wiper fluid which I think has about 10 % methanol. I guess that could have some effect over straight water.

I'm not much of a fan when it comes to using washer fluid, something about injecting solvents/detergents/whatever else into my engine.

You may want to consider going with either straight (distilled) water, or a water/methanol mix. IIRC a 5 gallon drum of methanol is only like $45-$50, that will last you a LONG time as well, so it's practical application outweighs the cost.

Regular washer fluid is only water and methanol and some blue dye I suppose. The lower the degree of protection the more methanol. Here is the MSDS sheet for Peak brand, page 24 for methanol content of the 0 deg. wash.

I am sure the bug washes, and the de-icers have antifreeze and other cleaners but the cheap blue stuff is already a water and methanol blend.

http://www.peakauto.com/pdf/msds-pea...hield_wash.pdf

It's your car, you can do whatever you want to it. I don't think I'd go that route though..