This is the main reason why I started with a roller. Start from scratch with known work done by myself with friends. I don't have to find other people's problems or why they did this and that. Also built the car up to stock. Then went reliable mods. Then modding for more power and fun comes after I know how the stock car is and feel every little mod and upgrade to appreciate it more.

 

Dam that sounds bad ***. I can't wait to single turbo my fd. I've been wanting to for a while now but things keeps popping up to delay that dream. I guess drooling at other peoples car should do for now.

 

Our Ca emissions stops me lol.

 

This is precisely why my build is going the route it is. I am staying sequential and not making the interior look after market. (Still having an internal battle about a 3 gauge A-pillar, or just going without.)

My goal is a more powerful version of the same design: Sequential Twins. Engine build aimed at the midrange powerband, and suspension that won't make the vehicle harsh. I think the only thing I have planned so far that is not in the spirit of things in the manual steering rack.

However, that all being said, my first experience in an FD was nearly stock. All it had was a Racing Beat Dual Tip cat-back exhaust. I fell in love from that moment on, went and found a 95 rolling chassis and against all logic or financial responsibility... purchased it. Had I been smarter, I would have just waited and bought one later that was running in near stock condition. However, 6+ years later and I am finally making headway to a running FD. I'm no-where close to done yet, but at least I am moving forward.

 

I started , with a shell as well My Car had been in a fire , which lets just say totalled it .

the PO started to repair the car . But never finished , he got as far as giving half the car half a paintjob . and honestly all I've done has been fix his mistakes .

 

Bolt-ons are one thing, but I don't think I could ever pull the hell out of the fenders or cut my quarter panels for a wide-body. That's where you're at the point of no-return.

 

hey guys, first time posting in 3rd gen i think

i agreed with lots of people that stock is actually not as bad as people think it is, what happen was people gone ape **** with the car trying to double power without any upgrades then boom they said the car sucks yadayada

im looking at a stock jdm fd right now and it seems pretty nice, has 80k km on odo (probably messed with it) and everything is stock. the guy imported from japan and i already have a rx8 and fc in the states so i wanna get this one. there is another fd at the same lot, but ita already modded, not a lot just coilovers, bov and an intake. but if i have to pick i would still pick the stock one over the modded one

 

I'd pick the left hand drive one.

 

Well said Gordon. Speaking of reliability, that rx7 I menchioned earlier was built by Rotary performance in Dallas. At the time of me driving that car, that rebuilt engine had about 80k on it and 3mm apex seals. I couldn't believe how strong that engine was at that mileage. It cranked right up and purred like a kitten. I struggle to think of a singled turboed fd being as enjoyable and as reliable as that fd was. That fd gets me really excited about the next rx7 because it will have similar power levels.

 

I bought a stock FD 3 years ago with 14k miles on it....It drove excellent till the pre cat broke...but I replaced the pre cat with a Fujita downpipe put a racing beat muffler on it and now it runs like a dream. I know that's not considered 100% stock but its damn close... anyway's now my FD has 61k miles on it now (my daily driver) and I think it still runs super sweet. Actually I just took it to the Tustin Mazda dealership for the first time in 3 years..(was and still am taking it to Mazdatrix) but now it runs like a champ!!!! and I'm running the original non-rebuilt motor These cars are amazing..All I've ever done is stay on top of changing the oil and top it off every 500 miles and I run evans coolant. So ya love the stock/ semi stock FD's

 

Regarding the topic of leaving a car stock versus going single turbo, I would like to lend perspective. If you have the opportunity, you can read my article here:

Afterword: Single Turbo Conversion | Grand Mighty

I personally opted for the single turbo route, and outlined all the reasons why. I do still appreciate an "overall" stock car - the key here is the balance - but this does not mean there aren't areas for improvement.

 

Eric,
Single turbos are great for the track but suck everywhere else unless you like bullying daily drivers.

I admire your commitment and determination but I never would of changed the motor on that car other than a v-mount and a good tune.

The twins are very reliable when setup properly like your car was I drove it from 8600 miles to 25k with ZERO problems. See how many issues you have over the next 16000 miles on your single setup.

Hopefully you used good lines to the waste gate with AN fittings etc....because if it gets burned, pops off, leaks etc... and you over boost there's usually no forgiveness with a single turbo it's simply BOOM GOES YOUR MOTOR and it can happen in a dozen other ways as well. I also hope you left the stock fuel rails alone and went with two 850s or 550s and 1200s otherwise you can have all sorts of issues with failing leaking injectors etc.....

I've said it OVER AND OVER and my face stays blue on this subject but you DON'T NEED POWER and the car is good for 350 max before you start tearing everything apart to include: bushings, motor mounts, leaky oil pans, motors, trans, diff, ppf, etc...etc....

The twins are perfect for the street and I would of bolted on a v mount added a HF cat, tuned the car and called it day. You would of loved how responsive the twins are and how cool it is when the secondary comes on line. That never gets old in my book and again the only thing a single turbo street car is good for is terrorizing other DDs, getting tickets and breaking your car.

I know I'll get flamed big time by the single turbo lovers but after owning countless single turbo and TT cars my mind is made up and once you've walked in my shoes I think you'd feel the same way. Remember I'm talking daily driving, my weekend warrior is a single turbo track car and I can't have fun on the streets without going to jail.

 

I was under the impression that a "stock" 20b engine (N/A) made 318 shaft hp. Is that incorrect?

 

Stock 20B makes about 240rwhp.

Stock 20B with turbos removed makes about 240rwhp.

With the turbos it does have a lot more horsepower, but the peak is the same.

 

300 NA hp sounds really good to me right now!

I am considering an NA as my next build (an RX-8) as I have been driving/racing this stock 2004 automatic RX-8 (with my FD wheels/tires) and its faster in the corners than my FD from its lack of torque.

You can get on the gas really early without significantly changing the chassis balance and I am thinking I want to preserve this aspect of the car as I add power.

Not really related to why stock FDs are so nice, except that I also want to preserve the strong points of the stock RX-8 chassis (ie, why a stock RX-8 is so nice to some people).