Well, ive been reading this thread for quite some time now, its a shame for all the problems you had throughout the project, BUT...I truly believe yur in great hands with Gotham Racing. Steve, Alex, Brock, and the rest of the Gotham Racing team are the best in the game. Best of Luck Dave

 

Thanks, the guys at Gotham are taking very good care of the car. Spoke with Brock yesterday. We swapped out the idea of using a used AC compressor and decided to use a new one. Gave me an excellent price on an OEM one. Other than that, waiting for the phone call from Steve when the car is started.

 

Ive done a complete pettit swap. and the way it looks, you should be done and driving now. Saw first post in 2004 and now 2007, what gives? Your probably in the project 50K+ easily. Didnt read all the story but man it took me 2 yrs to complete. I feel for you. Dont give up. If Gotham doesnt work out for you check out autotechmotorsports.com they finished my car at a great price and in killer time (2 wks) check them out and check out my pics and video @ http://www.myspace.com/bigjesuslv
Finish it and go with it man.

 

Read the posts for the story. Looks like you have a Pettit 3 rotor. Ever dyno the car to see what you are really making at the wheels? Would be curious to see the sheets if you have them.

Gotham will get it done. I've had a very positive experience with them.

 

2 weeks? Impressive...happy new year David, counting down the days I'm sure..

 

Quick update: Spoke with Steve last night and he treated me to the sound of my car - running Shouldn't be a big moment but I haven't heard the car run in over a year. It was definately a sweet sound. The 20B has a really appealing "growl" to it. It's a bit more tame now than before as the car has a muffler also welded to the midpipe.

This was a very temporary start as several items still need to be finalized before the car can be tuned. The water injection system seems to be missing a relay switch. Gotham's traking this down. It's in the instruction manual but was not included in either of the two kits sent to the shop. The water pump pipe still needs to be fabricated - didn't fit with the new turbo installed. Also, the tank for the injection system has to be finalized and several oil cooler components need to be relocated because of the tank. All of the above is "in process".

Todays Wolf USA EMS issue - the alternator (brand new RX8 unit) is destroyed. I had the Pettit "rotary symbol" aluminum billet pulley attached to the unit and I removed this prior to shipping the car to Wolf. Seems Chris (or someone else) attemped to pound the pulley back on the alternator, causing the shaft to be pushed back thus making it inoperable. I guess the bright side to the story is I wanted to replace the alternator with a high amp one anyway so now it's happening.

More to come!!

 

Good to hear things are going well David! Re. the WI kit, that would not be the first time they left a few things out. When Rich and I installed one on his car we ran into the same problem. At least you’re getting down to auxiliary systems

 

If only everyone could take RX7 problems like this in stride....

 

I guess there is also a shop in jersey pumping out 3 rotor swaps at a frantic pace.

David the car sounds awsome. I have followed this thread for years it seams like. And I am happy that it is finaly nearing its completion.

 

Glad to hear it David. When I saw your FD at Gotham, I thought to myself, 'This thing is going to make 600 rwhp easily'

 

I have not had a great experience with autotech. I know the mechanics, and the owner, and the weasle cashier. The doesn't do much at the shop, but he is the one in charge of the tuning, which is good in my opinion. The mechanics are okay, but the cashier is who you should stay away from. I'm happy they finished your car though. That will be one good thing to come out of there well.

 

Thanks. It should. My guess is 625 at 14 PSI. We'll see. Maybe we should start a pool on when the car gets done and how much RWHP it will do.

 

Feels like years to me also because it's been over two years and counting. Kind of hard to believe.

 

On the bright side of that wait is that new technology has come along since this project was first started and now you'll reap the rewards of that technology. I'll just be happy when the car is back in Florida and you have a smile on your face from driving it. Glad to hear that it's getting close to that time.

Zach

 

Too funny - hadn't thought of it this way. I could have kept the car at Wolf and then used technology from 2010 or so

 

 

Man, David, your FD 3 rotor is going as quickly as my 2 rotor project. . . . Damn the rotary gods and favoring the 3 rotors!!


I remember waaaay back when, when i called and we spoke about me possibly buying your old 13B. Man, it has been a while!

 

Can't wait to see the finished car~
Just wondering, is a 3 rotor more reliable than a 2 rotor? My guess is yes, considering that you can make the same amount of power with way less boost.

how much is it to "re"build a 3 rotor? I hope it is not another 50k!

 

Yeah, seems like a long, long time ago.

 

Interesting question. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can answer this. My personal opinion is they're equal and it's all about controlling boost and having a very good tune. Throw a water injection system in and don't drive on WOT throttle all the time and you'll be okay. Before I started the modification craziness, I had 75,000 miles on my original engine and it compression tested very high. Stupid me for starting all of this. Of course, 600ish RWHP should be a little more fun.

 

In my opinion, 600 rwhp on a 3 rotor is akin to 400 rwhp on a 2 rotor. With water injection the motor should last quite a while. If you run 450 rwhp on a 3 rotor (300 rwhp 2 rotor) then the motor should last a long time.

As far as price of a rebuild? shouldn't be too much more than a 2 rotor rebuild, figure 50% higher parts/porting costs, generally speaking. Labor should be similar.

 

Agreed. My low boost tune will be in the 450 - 500 range. This will be my daily driver setting.

When I had the three rotor conversion done at Pettit, Cam indicated the cost of a rebuild would be about the same as the two rotor, or $4,500 to 5,000. Supposedly more parts to deal with but much easier to remove from the car.

 

Interesting...the number I've seen quoted repeatedly re: rebuilding a 3-rotor was $7000 - $9000...

 

lots of fun on the track...potential to be lethal on the increasingly clogged streets of most major cities

fortunately, you are moving to beautiful Asheville, NC, where you can take a short detour to Black Mountain, and a little winding road called NC 9

there will be a guy on a YZF-R1 waiting for you

 

I am sure he can handle himself on the road.

David, will you be able to post some pictures soon? I am very interested in seeing your water injection system.