RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum

RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum (https://www.rx7club.com/)
-   Build Threads (https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-292/)
-   -   CALI Grown E85 Street Car: Project BLACKADDE (https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-292/cali-grown-e85-street-car-project-blackadde-853345/)

20b_silvia 09-10-12 04:44 PM

Why would he bother using any of that? T56 is a used and proven transmission for lots of other cars having more horsepower and torque. Waste of money really...

junito1 09-11-12 08:24 PM


Originally Posted by 20b_silvia (Post 11217150)
Why would he bother using any of that? T56 is a used and proven transmission for lots of other cars having more horsepower and torque. Waste of money really...

He asked about options on dog boxes. PEople mentioned hks and something else which were 12K. these are about 8k. Yes a t56 will hold power.. but a dog box is on another level. Remember a straight cut gear dog box allows for clutchless shifts. Acceleration would not be comparable.

Blackadde/// 09-15-12 05:48 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Junito1, thanks for the links. Prices looks a lot better than what I was looking at before. If I can some how get enough funds together after the engine build, there's nothing more I'd like to do then put in a dogbox.

On another note; I picked up a RE-A 02 front bumper for forum member rcarson25 today. I'm going to use the full carbon 05 bumper just for show, and beat on the 02 during track days, and street driving.

Attachment 698608

seriousFD 09-16-12 07:29 AM

^^ smart, looking real good man. those polished parts look fressshhh =D

njhns92 09-16-12 01:23 PM

I'm studying engineering too! AND its draining money away from my FC built TOO!! hahaha. Where are you studying?

Blackadde/// 09-17-12 06:02 PM

3 Attachment(s)
@seriousFD: Thank you sir. They did a great job, but their turn around time is terrible. I'm going to try out a company in Gardena that rspecfd (Ryan) got all his stuff done at next time.

@njhns92: I'm a senior at Sacramento State studying mechanical engineering. Right now I'm working on redesigning centrifugal compressors with a group of my classmates. I'm also working on a project that deals with inflatable turbines for my senior project. Senior year is fun, and anything below it usually just involves mundane physics and math. Good luck with whatever engineering you're doing. It'll be worth it in the end. It's cool to see other engineering students on here! Rotary power! haha :icon_tup:

Check out some of our CFD analysis.
Attachment 698355
Attachment 698356Attachment 698357

jmiranda3 10-14-12 02:44 PM

Very nice build.

Off topic:
Long Beach has a mechatronics program? I am a mechatronics major at CSU, Chico.

Blackadde/// 10-15-12 09:39 AM

Thank you sir. I go to school in Sacramento. :)

*Update*
The motor is getting shipped off to Chips Motorsports this week.
Here's our plan of attack. I'm also looking into the Xcessive LIM, but not sure I'll need it to achieve my power goals.
  • Balanced assembly with print out. 10k rpm
  • 3mm wire EDM cut rotors
  • Race clearanced rotors
  • Solid dowel pins with block alignment and taped for metric oil inlet fittings/fittings included
  • Dry-sump install

mannykiller 10-15-12 10:31 AM

^^^$$$$$CHA CHING $$$$$^^^^ Should be grenade proof =-) I'm all for it!!

Blackadde/// 10-17-12 01:01 PM

1 Attachment(s)
lmao Aaron. Like you're not dumping a ton of money into yours either. =P
Here's a pic I took yesterday. It kind of bothers me that the bonnet is plain weave and the bumper is twill, but I'll fix that at some other time.

Attachment 694448

mannykiller 10-17-12 01:03 PM

haha......Guess your right. Man that bumper looks great. Pretty light too?

Blackadde/// 10-17-12 01:10 PM

Thanks. The bonnet is definitely a lot lighter. ;)

muibubbles 10-17-12 08:46 PM

give me the bumper. problem solved Booooo yahhhh<3

Blackadde/// 10-18-12 12:04 AM

Lol what are all these Rotary Misfits doing in here?

Hi Benny. :wave:

Blackadde/// 10-22-12 11:31 AM

4 Attachment(s)
Built the crate yesterday. The motor will be shipped off to Chips Motorsports sometime this week. :)

I loosely followed this tutorial to build the frame for the box, and added a support stand for the motor to sit on, so that the oil pan wasn't just laying on the pallet. I also added some more support beams on the sides because it felt really flimsy with only the corners built.

Build A Porsche 912 and 356 Engine Crate For Shipping DIY | Collecting | The Motoring Journal

Cost to build: ~$80 (I already had all tools I needed (power drill,skill saw, level, etc....and I was able to obtain a free pallet.)
Time: ~6 hours.

Attachment 693955
I didn't have a cheery picker, so once I got the motor on the crate, I did my best to drain the oil off the backside. It made quite the mess, but all the fluids are drained. haha
Attachment 693956
Attachment 693957
Attachment 693958

mannykiller 10-22-12 12:11 PM

well that totally beats my crate haha!!

Blackadde/// 10-24-12 10:27 AM

I thought the shop building your motor was near your house? What did you need a crate for?

muibubbles 10-24-12 10:34 AM

thats a pretty crate.. i would done the poor mans and just pick up 6 palates and trimmed em to make a small box lol


ill start the chant once you get the motor back!

funnyscreenname 10-24-12 12:36 PM

this thread is full of WIN

do you have anymore pics of the supernow sway bar mounts? i'd like to see them installed if you've already put them on. if not no big deal.

RENESISFD 10-24-12 01:38 PM

^ They literally look like purple aluminum anti-sway bar mounts, nothing special:lol:

scrapp 10-24-12 02:43 PM

I'll follow

Blackadde/// 10-24-12 03:08 PM

Benny, I'll start the chant with you.

Funnyscreenname, John (renesisfd) is right. They pretty much just look like purple sway bar mounts. All my suspension arms are getting media blasted then put into a ceramic tumbler. Once I get them back and the pillow ball bushings pressed in I'll start putting the suspension back on the car, and snap you some pics. I never realized how much Super*Now stuff I have, but they are one badass company who actually races their cars all the time, and that's why I support them.

Thanks Scrapp. I'm sure Chip will post some updates once the motor gets to his place. I'll try to keep the updates coming on my end as well.

Here's a pic of the pillowball bushings. I didn't want to take them out all the way just for a pic, but this is a full set for every bushing on the suspension.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...022_211015.jpg

tru_az1an 11-05-12 06:59 PM

damn! thats a lot of $$$$$
vary nice! (borat voice) lol

MaczPayne 11-07-12 12:26 AM

Damn, I could never have done a build of this caliber while I was studying ME! What's your secret? I've basically given up my 7 for a house and dirtbike, for now at least :(

Sorry about what you're going through now with the 20B, no man should ever have to endure that!

Blackadde/// 11-09-12 11:23 AM

5 Attachment(s)
tru_az1an, hahaha thank you very much sir. The Borat voice gets me every time.

MaczPayne, I work my ass off. :rofl:

Also, thank you for the condolences. I guess I'll fill everyone else in. The 20b motor I purchased from Japan2LA is almost a 100% loss. He scammed me out of $5800. :/ The only thing reusable is the eccentric shaft. I'm having the irons nitrated, so that I can use them still, but the 3 rotor housing and 3 rotors are complete garbage. It looks like something was sucked up in the intake and ground into them. So, I need to purchase those new, and let me tell you that's not cheap. I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to be able to afford that right now/this is going to set me back a lot time wise. I didn't think I would be in this situation. :(

3 x destroyed rotors (check "The Bad & Fugly Members " section for more detailed pics)
Attachment 691957
Attachment 691958

3 x destroyed housings
Attachment 691959
Attachment 691960

Irons with step wear :(
Attachment 691961

Blackadde/// 11-09-12 11:47 AM

3 Attachment(s)
On the brighter side of things the suspension is currently being media blasted and then put into a ceramic tumbler for finishing. I know a lot of you guys know more than I do, but for those that don't, ceramic tumbling with remove the deep pores (reduce probability of oils soaking in) and obtain a glossy natural surface finish to the suspension arms that I'm looking for.

Stay tuned for more updates. Full pillowball suspension from Super*Now to be pushed in shortly. Go-kart handling here I come! :dubs:

old bushings being pushed out
Attachment 691952

arms after media blasting (waiting until they are all done for the ceramic tumbler)
Attachment 691953
Attachment 691954

mannykiller 11-09-12 12:07 PM

oooh yea!!!

scrapp 11-09-12 12:18 PM

oh I did not know I was following the thread of the guy who got scammed... Im sorry about that man... Ouch... I have no hope for ever finding a 20b for myself now... at this rate I might as well save up for a crate motor x16....

mefarri 11-09-12 12:33 PM

I'd be interested in 1 rotor and housing to use as a display if you're interested in sending them my way.

Blackadde/// 11-10-12 10:31 PM

2 Attachment(s)
MannyKiller: Thanks broseph. See you again soon.
Scrapp: I'm not letting this stop me from finishing this project. I'm just going to have to get all new housings and rotors if that's what it takes.
mefarri: private messaged you.

Before media blasting:
Attachment 691848

After media blasting:
Attachment 691849



Next stop, ceramic tumbler.
more to come soon....
Replacing all the bearings in the spindles, as well as, putting on all new dust boots and seals.

Blackadde/// 11-19-12 05:02 PM

5 Attachment(s)
Suspension:
The suspension is back from the ceramic tumbling process.
Full pillow ball suspension bushings from Super*Now are pressed in.
Shout out to Chips Motorsports and RHDJapan for the services and parts!!!!!

Both front and rear spindles are still out. I'm waiting to order new bearings for all of them. Front spindles will be powder coated silver.


Attachment 691035
Attachment 691036

Attachment 691037
Attachment 691038
Attachment 691039

seriousFD 11-19-12 05:26 PM

Dude, I'm sorry about the engine... Good to see your still optimistic. The good thing about the web you can let others know who to look out for. I always get nervous buying used motors. Suspension looks soo clean!

RawrX8 11-19-12 09:53 PM

Your build is one of the few that keep me on my toes to pay attention to details.

Suspension looks fantastic! Makes me wish I went that route. Reasons going with those pillowballs over oem or atomic rex? I went with and prob got last few sets of atomix rex.

jhFC 11-19-12 11:49 PM

Sucks about the engine man. Nevertheless, the build is awesome!:icon_tup:

McCarthy 11-20-12 02:10 AM

Some lovely toys there dude. Will be one very nice example.

GoodfellaFD3S 11-20-12 08:20 AM

Suspension arms look dope, and all that Super Now swag is PIMP :icon_tup:

Way to hang in there, don't let the recent setback discourage you. Have you considered used engine rotors rather than new? I agree new rotor housings are the way to go.

tru_az1an 11-20-12 11:16 AM

Nice and smooth, like baby skin lol

Blackadde/// 11-20-12 07:10 PM


Originally Posted by seriousFD (Post 11291400)
Dude, I'm sorry about the engine... Good to see your still optimistic. The good thing about the web you can let others know who to look out for. I always get nervous buying used motors. Suspension looks soo clean!

Yea definitely and thank you.


Originally Posted by RawrX8 (Post 11291682)
Your build is one of the few that keep me on my toes to pay attention to details.

Suspension looks fantastic! Makes me wish I went that route. Reasons going with those pillowballs over oem or atomic rex? I went with and prob got last few sets of atomix rex.

Yea, I've really gone overboard with them. :rofl:

Basically rubber bushing allow for more deflection. Pillowballs give you a lot more precise driver feedback from the suspension and steering, albeit, they are a lot more harsh, but I'm building the car for track use now.

Originally Posted by jhFC (Post 11291795)
Sucks about the engine man. Nevertheless, the build is awesome!:icon_tup:

Thanks a lot I appreciate it.


Originally Posted by McCarthy (Post 11291888)
Some lovely toys there dude. Will be one very nice example.

Thank you sir.


Originally Posted by GoodfellaFD3S (Post 11291995)
Suspension arms look dope, and all that Super Now swag is PIMP :icon_tup:

Way to hang in there, don't let the recent setback discourage you. Have you considered used engine rotors rather than new? I agree new rotor housings are the way to go.

Rich, I thought about it. If I buy used rotors I'd probably have to put 3mm seals in them, so I figured I mind as well just buy new rotors and keep the 2mm seals. If you have some used ones in good shape and can give me a deal, I'd be very interested.

Originally Posted by tru_az1an (Post 11292167)
Nice and smooth, like baby skin lol

They sure are. :rofl:

RawrX8 11-21-12 05:30 PM


Originally Posted by Blackadde/// (Post 11292653)
Basically rubber bushing allow for more deflection. Pillowballs give you a lot more precise driver feedback from the suspension and steering, albeit, they are a lot more harsh, but I'm building the car for track use now.

Maybe the question wasnt worded correctly. Noted; do know function of pillowballs. I went with Atomic Rex pillowballs for my FD over OEM.

Requestion; Is there anything specific about that brand you decided to use?

Blackadde/// 11-21-12 06:58 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Originally Posted by RawrX8 (Post 11293569)
Maybe the question wasnt worded correctly. Noted; do know function of pillowballs. I went with Atomic Rex pillowballs for my FD over OEM.

Requestion; Is there anything specific about that brand you decided to use?

Whoops, I thought you were asking how they work. My apologies. haha

To answer your question, yes, the Super*Now pillowballs all use the exact same size pillow ball in each arm, so replacement is very simple. The only thing that is different for each specific arm is the aluminum cylinder that they are incased in.

The way Atomix Rex and others have it setup is that they would require buying a specific size pillow ball for each arm, making sourcing a replacement more difficult. Hope that makes sense.

As you can see in this pic, the actual size of each pillowball is the same for every arm. :icon_tup:

Attachment 690851

TwinCharged RX7 11-21-12 09:41 PM

I don't follow...all 6 of my atomic Rex pillow balls are the same.


Also, how did you stop grit from getting in the ball joints when polishing them?

Blackadde/// 11-21-12 10:30 PM

So, yea, the 6 ball joints you have from Atomic Rex are the same, but you can't put them into any other spot other then where they are now. Every single one of my ball joints are interchangeable with one another.

The arms were completely stripped of all bushing and then media blasted and put into a ceramic tumbler. Which give it that nice polished look surface finish, but there was no polishing done in the traditional sense of the word. The final step was pressing in the brand new ball joints. I'll be using 12 new oem dust boots and seals on everything. I just haven't bought them yet because I'm building a new work station to use Solid Works from home. :)

RawrX8 11-22-12 05:37 AM

I'm a bit confused because all my atomic Rex pillow balls could be interchanged to any arm. They are all the exact same.

Blackadde/// 11-22-12 08:45 PM

See that's where you're wrong. This is a quote directly from their for sale thread.

"The 3 bearing replacements are:
Lower arm outer (upright)
Lower arm middle (trailing arm)
Upper arm outer (upright)"

-AtomicRex

The pillow balls you purchased from them can only be used in the previous mentioned arms. My pillow balls can be used in any arm and are truly interchangeable. Every ID is specific to each arm, and that's where the outer aluminum cylinders of my kit come into play/what makes them different, and imo, better than anything else on the market.

If you have any other questions, or are still confused, feel free to PM me and I'll try and help you out.:icon_tup:

Happy holidays everyone!!!

RENESISFD 11-22-12 09:33 PM


Originally Posted by Blackadde/// (Post 11293847)
So, yea, the 6 ball joints you have from Atomic Rex are the same, but you can't put them into any other spot other then where they are now. Every single one of my ball joints are interchangeable with one another.

The arms were completely stripped of all bushing and then media blasted and put into a ceramic tumbler. Which give it that nice polished look surface finish, but there was no polishing done in the traditional sense of the word. The final step was pressing in the brand new ball joints. I'll be using 12 new oem dust boots and seals on everything. I just haven't bought them yet because I'm building a new work station to use Solid Works from home. :)

But how did you keep the dust out of the non replaceable joints at the ends of the front upper control arms? Or is there a secret?

TwinCharged RX7 11-23-12 10:25 AM

Yeah that's what I was asking about. If you've found a way to replace the front ball joints that would be sweet. That's what stopped me from powder coating my front arms so now they don't perfectly match my rear arms that were powder coated.

Also, I think you are confused on the pillow balls. The atomic Rex ones are exactly the same. The quotation you have is just specifying what they are meant to replace, not saying that each one is different. I installed mine myself. They are all identical and can be put in any spot in any arm. I would not purchase them again though after the multiple threads on here about scams. But hopefully I won't have to replace them any time soon.

ptrhahn 11-23-12 10:46 AM

The Atomic Rex pillow balls (spherical bearings) were only a replacement for the factory pillow balls, they were not spherical bearing replacements for the factory bushings, and not a replacement for the big non-replaceable ball joints.

Sphericals in the bushing spots would be pretty cool for an all-out racecar, but I'd expect the car to be very harsh, and for slop to appear fairly quickly.

TwinCharged RX7 11-23-12 11:12 AM

Oh. So it's a pillow all type bearing for every arm, even where normal bushings used to be? That's pretty cool. I thought we were talking about only where the 6 original pillow balls were.

Blackadde/// 11-23-12 11:25 AM


Originally Posted by RENESISFD (Post 11294734)
But how did you keep the dust out of the non replaceable joints at the ends of the front upper control arms? Or is there a secret?

John, we just packed them with grease to keep the dust out.


Originally Posted by ptrhahn (Post 11295053)
The Atomic Rex pillow balls (spherical bearings) were only a replacement for the factory pillow balls, they were not spherical bearing replacements for the factory bushings, and not a replacement for the big non-replaceable ball joints.

Sphericals in the bushing spots would be pretty cool for an all-out racecar, but I'd expect the car to be very harsh, and for slop to appear fairly quickly.

Thank you ptrhahn. I was beginning to think I was speaking French to these guys. :rofl:


Originally Posted by TwinCharged RX7 (Post 11295077)
Oh. So it's a pillow all type bearing for every arm, even where normal bushings used to be? That's pretty cool. I thought we were talking about only where the 6 original pillow balls were.

Ahh, there's the miscommunication. RawrX8, pm'd me and he thought the same thing too. Maybe I said something wrong earlier? lol

Yes, we're talking about a pillowball bearing that is exactly the same for every arm/every bushing. :icon_tup:

Arthur3328 11-26-12 09:16 AM

subscribed. very similar to my taste and build.
loviing it.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:18 AM.


© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands