I can't comment much on the cat, I personally run a midpipe, and have never been worried or concerned with what cats last or don't. But I can see why someone would want a cat. These cars smell of gas without one. So especially for a daily driver most people wouldn't like going to work smelling of gasoline. Or, for those unlucky enough to have smog testing, a cat would be required to pass that. So there are reasons people have a cat.

As far as premixing being "better" then running the OMP, I don't think there has been any actual proof of this. And in the case of a mostly stock car, it could be a hassle always needing to have a few containers of premix with you. There are other disadvantages and advantages to the whole premixing/omp debate. For one, the omp uses engine oil which is obviously not the highest quality but should be decent enough especially for a stock car and provided the oil is changed often enough. On the other hand the OMP injects the oil right where it needs to be, at the tip of the apex seal. This is where the lubrication is needed. So in this regard using the OMP probably requires less oil overall and puts it in the most critical location. Although when you start running more HP or put the car under more stress injecting more oil is probably necessary. Personally I run both the OMP and premix. I see no point in premixing a stock daily driven car.

The stock RX7 most certainly does not get smacked around by F-bodies and mustangs or just about anything else. Granted it's been a long time since my car was stock, but 7 years ago my car had an exhaust, intake, dp and stock computer and there rarely a car that could keep up with it. Those other cars are just so heavy.

While it is true a turbo S2k can make 320-340 hp easy, how many turbo s2k's do you even see? I rarely see any, and if a 320 HP s2k is your problem it's not hard to make 320-360 with the stock twins. Will definitely cost less then the turbo kit for an s2k. I would be more concerned with the evo8's and such, much more fast evo's around then s2k's.

When building a car you have to make a choice on whether you want to beat everyone you come across, or have a pleasant car to cruise around in. I think the OP is looking for a reliable daily driver with decent power. I myself am more in the former group, I want not only to beat every car I come across, i want to just flat out destroy them. And for that you need a turbo(s) that move a lot more air then the twins.

 

At least 50k. Check your documentation...it's still looks damn near new.
I never said anything about killing the planet. My 4x4 winter-beater makes my FD seem like a Prius anyhow. I was speaking about drivability. IMO, running without a cat makes the car smell like egg farts. I find that "anooying". But if your alright with it.......I'm happy for you.
Nope. And I'm not challenging Coleman either. But you post up like you didn't even bother to read the OP's question and personally re-designed the FD yourself. I'm saying that ripping out the OMP as you suggested will not make the OP's original engine last one moment longer.
You keep posting up your mods like that's the only proper way to own an FD... or your trying to impress.
Corrected.... and yes, it is.
More compensation? And I hope your talking about experiences on a closed track/course.

 

You are not understanding my comments or from where they come. These comments are for the OP only, not for everyone, and do not apply in every situation. Do not touch your vehicle. Leave it as is.

To the rest

Obviously people that know what they're doing will hopefully add choice parts that increase their FD's reliability and/or HP (should they desire).

My comments are for the OP and not for the community at large as it is painfully obvious that this is a new face to the FD community and rotaries at large.

By giving a list of things for the OP to go out and do without any research or knowledge of his/her own vehicle, regardless of quality of parts - or how well they've worked for those that know the vehicle better, will decrease the reliability in an already running FD.

 

Now that we got that debate over with, lets focus on the PDaddy's questions. Keep the thread on that topic.

 

I think one thing i am most qualified to share on this thread is what NOT to do. Based on everyone's advice, i've done most of it wrong.

DON'T

-Buy a PowerFC and install a map "close enough" to your mods
lol i bought a wideband O2 4 years later...

-Spend all your money on a major modification without a budget for the details.
I used to justify not needing a larger fuel pump/injectors by attempting to maintain under 90 percent duty cycle with my injectors.

-Think that all boost is created equally
I didnt realize that 14psi on the stock twins is not equal to 14 psi of cool sexy single turbo air.

-assume that your boost gauge is wrong. lol
Apparently the original owner welded the wastegate. dont ask me why, i only ignored it, drove it during winter, boost creeped and limped home.

Those are a few of my relevant bonehead moves i hope contribute to this thread

 

Some great idea's for a relatively stock setup...

My idea of reliability is the following...

Single turbo (the twins are a joke, and the madness that controls them)
Fresh fuel system (pump, pump rewire,primary, secondary rails & new injectors.... ditch the FPD!!)
Fresh cooling setup (new Koyo radiator, AST, & hoses)
Remove all emissions (block it off!!)
PFC (a very good tune will go a long way)
Water injection (learn about it and you will always want it)
Intercooler (choose your poison.... Vmount for me )
Gauges (water temp, AFR, Boost at a minimum.. you need to know what's going on at all times)

I would recommend fresh bushings all around as well as new shocks & springs, brakes brought to par, and synthetic fluid in the tranny and dif. Though these may not be considered "reliability".... it's preventive and brings your car back to the state it deserves.

These cars are getting old... Their systems will fail. Welcome to being broke

 

wow thanks for your feed back on everything guys im more aware of what to do next now thanks. i think ill go with the power fc and get a Pettit smic then ill get it tuned when a Kan tuning session is taking place. as far as a boost controller goes though should i get one and turn up the boost a little or just stay with stock for now?

 

Given what you've said, I'd wait to turn up the boost until you're tuned. Boost and tuning go hand in hand.

Keep in mind, boost and reliability are a tradeoff, generally speaking.

David

 

I agree. I would keep the boost stock until you get it tuned. On that note, you can utilize 2 simple manual boost controllers to control it easily. If your staying sequential, you will need two. One for the wastegate & one for the Prespool controller. Just search, there is great info on this.

The more you open the car up, the harder time you will have controlling boost. Full exhaust and intake often requires porting of the wastegates. I would not push the stock twins past 15psi for reliability. They greatly lose efficiency, not to mention your stock fuel system will begin to be at its limit.

The stock twins is a nightmare..... I realize going single is a big investment, but once you do it, you will never look back.

 

If he's getting the PFC he won't need manual boost controllers. He can adjust the boost with the PFC. Also in order to get the full features out of the PFC you will need the datalogit.

 

I don't think anyone else has touched on this but at 85k miles on your engine you'll probably need a new one fairly soon. Even with well taken care of engines you're lookin at 100k max probably, in fact you're well over the commonly quoted 50k miles that a lot of people like to say is the max expected life.

If your irons, rotors and other parts are ok, you're looking at a minimum $3k or so for an engine rebuild. If those are the original twins you are at a point where they also will probably not last much longer.

If I was in your situation I would ensure I had about $5k to cover the engine rebuild thats going to be needed soon before doing mods. If cash is an issue I'd stay with the twins, you can pick up a good used set of turbos for $200-$300 usually.

Also until you get more comfortable with the car I'd just stay at stock boost levels. There's more than enough HP there to get you in trouble with it as a DD.

A lot of folks will tell you the stock twins are too much trouble, but if you're not afraid to spend some time learning the system it really isn't that bad. Tedious yes, but it's not hard. Where it starts to really have problems is when you start pushing the boost over 10-12. If you tear it down and replace all the vac hoses with silicone, check valves with the viton ones, hook up an EBC, and thoroughly test your actuators/relays (dgeesaman has a very good thread on this btw) you will have a well functioning twin turbo system. If you've never done it before just make sure you have a mityvac (silverline + is good one) and a 12VDC source and 2-3 days of time so you can go slowly. It's a lot easier to go in and do it all at once than it is to chase symptoms for weeks/months. Plus while you're in there you can replace your injectors and clean things up a bit.

Unless you're tracking the car, a single turbo is a large expense and right now I'd be concerned about the longevity of your engine over that. Of course if cash is no obstacle go for it

 

Yes he could, but MB controllers are infinitely more reliable than 15 year old solenoids. I personally, would go this route. Or use a Profec-B

 

^^ my single turbo build will be running a MBC. I have no reason to go above 10PSI. I want a engine that will last this time and even at 10PSI at the track it will be more than fast enough for the first year or so. Then if I fell like going with some WI or AI I will bump it up.

 

another bit of advice for our OP: premix oil with your gasoline.

Premixing is often overlooked as a reliability issue. To me it's as important as most of the reliability mods offered here. It's simple to do, relatively painless and extremely beneficial to the longevity of your rotary engine.

Premix will add you reliability in the rotary engine's lubrication system - which when it malfunctions usually leaves a path of carnage in its wake such as warped/broken/twisted apex seals - thus increasing the chance of rotary housing damage and other nastiness that I'll not mention *cough* apex seal into turbo *cough*.

 

There's really nothing wrong with the pfc controlling boost on stock twins, it apparently will even work well for a single as arghx has shown with his testing. The main probably with most systems including the PFC boost control is it's not understood by most people. As for the solenoids theres not much to go wrong in a solenoid, usually the nipple on the solenoid is what falls apart in the stock setup. You just have to be careful when removing the hoses. I'm pretty sure if the stock solenoid fails the boost goes back to spring pressure. For that matter you can always change the stock solenoids out to 3 way mac valves. They cost around $20, so it's inexpensive and you retain the advantage of being able to adjust the transition RPM, and switching between low and high. I've ran both manual and electronic and it's much easier and nicer being able to switch on the fly, having to get out and adjust the valve little by little until you get to the right boost is inconvenient, and they always change with the weather. I like my profec B, and I like being able to adjust the gain and start boost, but if I was still running the twins the PFC boost control seems about the best IMO.

 

Amen. BNR non-sequential twins are a nice compromise, and they can handle moderate boost easily, but a moderately sized single is still the best solution. All the silly solenoids and maze of vacuum lines needed to go so you can actually work on the car without a vacuum hose routing diagram. Simpler IS better, and related to the OP's question, I again say the more you can do to simplify the engine bay (while keeping charge temps down and boost stable) the longer you will enjoy happy rotoring. Don't be afriad to rev it to 7k and get on the boost, it just blows off the carbon and unburned fuel.

I DD my FD in the winter (unless there is salt on the road, which is very rare in NC). With the cold, dense car, the car positively rips. It's like my S2000 with double the power.

 

Although I agree with the beneficial statement, its hardly painless.

Premixing is the most annoying thing ever. You have to...

-clean oil off long funnel in case you didn't get all of it off the last time you used it
-pour the oil down a long funnel
-use brake cleaner to get rid of the extra, oily, gunky thick 2-stroke oil
-maybe poor some water down to clean it of
-put it in a plastic bag and hope you got enough of it off so you don't have to clean it up again the next time you use it, which you usually have to .

If there is an easier way I would like to know.

 

Pre-mixing doesn't have to be a pain, it adds perhaps 30 seconds to your routine at the pump.

1. Get an empty bottle of Mobil 1 with a wide "easy pour" spout and graduations on the side of the bottle.

2. Fill the tank half full

3. Pour in 8 oz of your favorite synthetic two stroke oil (I use Amsoil Interceptor since it has a high detergent additive). Pour it straight into the filler neck, no funnel is needed. Any residue will be flushed off when you fill the rest of the tank.

4. Fill the tank, drive away, knowing your apex seals are getting exactly the lubrication they need with an oil intended for the purpose, not four stroke oil!. Shoot flames at ricers with your cat-less exhaust. This car is non-stop entertainment.

 

With the OMP mod? Yea I was considering doing it. Actually, now that my engine is being pulled it doesn't sound like a bad idea.

 

I have the OMP plugged.

 

+1

Not to mention you get your hands dirty doing it and if you have nothing handy to wipe your hands down you get your steering wheel dirty too.

 

I never had the trouble ya'll are having with premixing. I use small 8 oz containers and keep several in the car. I pour 4 ounces per tank with the omp still working. One time i had one not seal all the way and had a mess to clean in the back but that was a fluke. For a stock car i still see little point in premixing. Just make sure the lines have been replaced in the last 10 years. I built new lines that will far outlast the stock lines.

 

Thats an interesting idea. That will definitely make things easier but you still have the funnel to deal with and that is what makes it such a pain. Thanks for bringing the 8 ounce bottle up though.

 

Just use a 32 oz (quart) bottle with oz graduations on the side of it. Easy. No mess. No assortment of bottles bouncing around in your storage bin. I just shake my head at the whining/excuses. Sheesh people, is this really that tough? If you struggle with pre-mixing gas, perhaps you need to buy a Civic and move on with your life.

On a side note, there is a reason all two stroke MX bikes and racing waverunners/snowmobiles premix. It's failsafe.

 

Just use an old bottle from injector cleaner or something.

I bought a bunch of diesel fuel additive for my truck by the 1/2 gallon, but I made sure to buy a couple of the single-tank bottles just so I'd have a good container to refill and carry with me.

Dave