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I bought this piece of half baked Japanese engineering at a USS auction in Osaka back in October 2002 when it was just 9 years young. I was specifically looking for an RZII because back then it was the least expensive used RX-7 model with all the factory "racing" goodies: Recaro shells, Bilstein shocks, BBS forged 17x8" front 17x8.5" rear wheels (interestingly all stuff from 3 different German brands) wearing 235/45ZR17 front and 255/40ZR17 rear tires, lower 4.333 final drive paired with a tighter Torsen diff, larger brakes, rear seat delete, passenger side aluminum step plate, driver side left and right knee rests, etc. My original aim was to make a nice track car out of it. It was very close to stock: it only had an Apexi catback, a Knight Sports-tuned ECU, an M's dual cone air filter kit, PIAA fog lights, and a hideous Supra rear wing.
The car spent the ensuing winter parked at my auction/export agent's lot while waiting for a spot on a ship. It finally arrived at my hands in May 2003. Unfortunately, the previous owner gave the car a low concentration coolant mixture, so over the winter the coolant gelled/froze, and the ensuing expansion provoked leaks in the block, letting combustion chamber gasses seep into the water jackets and even letting coolant out of the block when pressure was high enough. In hindsight, a re-torquing of the long block bolts would have probably cured the leakage, but this fix never crossed my mind, instead resorting to "liquid copper block seal" snake oil solutions which didn't fix anything and even made things worse as this plugged the radiator passages, reducing much-needed cooling efficiency.
Despite all this, I drove it long distances to 1/4 mile races, winning enough 1st and 2nd places to be crowned sub-champion of my class in 2004. I was easy on the gas on the highway and I let it cool down after each pass on the strip to keep temperatures at bay. A cooler thermostat and a pulley kit helped some, too. Then disaster struck: I went on a trip to a resort with my friend whom I helped procure a stock, low miles R33 Vspec GT-R from the same auction agent. The resort was located close to the sole racing circuit available back then in my country: an old decommissioned military airstrip. We decided to try a few runs around on our way back home and that's when I threw all caution to the wind: in all the excitement (my friend tried to chase me but he was never even close) I forgot to keep an eye on the temp gauge and I let the thing boil over and overheat, the end result being a blown apex seal. The car still made enough power to make the trip back home but that was the end of it: I didn't have the money to repair it or to buy a used engine. So it sat, first under the protection of a roof for a couple of years, then under the elements for 10 more, as I purchased a '92 Type X (at about the same time I finally bought the required used spare engine) and it took priority under the roof (I will end up blowing an apex seal on the Type X, too, only a couple of month after I took delivery, but that's another story I'll tell some other day).
Even though I had a used engine that I had refreshed with ALS apex/Atkins corner and side seals, I didn't have the time to R&R the blown engine, until now. So, after 10 years of sitting under tropical weather, I am finally starting to set aside the time needed to take care of my old friend. Let's get busy. 10 years under the harshness of the tropics: scorching sun and rainstorms. I'll say it didn't do that bad, considering. But it's finally under roof again, and will start to get some much needed TLC.
Last edited by EFINI_RX-7_RZ; 08-15-21 at 01:35 AM.
From the pic posted, I dont think its an SP wing. Looks pretty much as described, a Supra Style wing. Someone in Japan must have been watching too much FNF1
However, the SP pictured on p. 159 of Brian Longs book seems much bigger (and has a centre support). Another picture on google has a "whaletail" mounted on tall pedestals. So will the real SP wing, please stand up!
I don't think the spoiler is an aussie Mazda Motorsport SP one, which is more angular where the risers transition to the wing: mine has more of a curved sweep to it. In any case, it looks very much like the factory wing on my 1998 Supra RZ-S, which looks good on that car (because the back of a JZA80 just looks hideous without a wing) but on the RX-7 this style of spoiler just looks unnatural. I am replacing this spoiler with an original, used one that has also been laying somewhere around my house for the last 10 years. My intention is to bring the car's cosmetics back to stock.
I did not post this on where you suggested because the car is not located in North America, it's actually in Central America, in Panama, to be exact.
I had read somewhere that only 125 RZIIs were ever made/sold, making this version the rarest of all JDM factory special editions. Its historical significance lies in the fact that this was the first special edition to have all the "racing" goodies that were present in all of the later RZ models (as described in my OP).
This car was accident repaired on the driver's side door at some point during its life back in Japan. The door jamb sticker and the RHD B pillar RZ logo were already missing when I took delivery, but the LHD B pillar RZ logo is still there and the chassis number checks out as an RZII on the JDM Mazda electronic parts catalog (EPC). These stickers are part of a long list of spares I need to procure directly from Japan.
It is really nice to find somebody who really appreciates these obscure special edition JDM FD3S. Back when I was searching for this car I wasn't interested in its rarity or its "provenance", I was just in the market for the least expensive, most race-ready stock FD3S I could find. It took me about 6 months of daily searching through the auctions to finally score this car, missing just one other unit by a couple hundred dollars throughout the entirety of my hunt. I had grand plans for racing the car but I didn't count on the engine blowing so early in my ownership. After that, priorities obviously changed, and thus I never had the chance to even install some of the goodies I had already bought for it: an OS Giken full close ratio gearset, a Project Miu single plate street-racing clutch/flywheel combo (a re-badged Exedy with higher torque rating) and street/track brake pads, and Delrin "bushings" I bought when those were hot in the group buys around here. I did get to use the HKS Twin Power box, Magnecor wires, and Denso Iridium plugs I purchased (didn't feel much of a difference), and the obscure JDM brand lower temp thermostat and Greddy 2 pulley kit previously mentioned in my OP, both of which did help me keep the car running for longer than it had any right to given its leaking water jacket O rings and my ill-informed snake oil fix. Maybe this was all a blessing in disguise, as I would have surely trashed the car to within an inch of its life or worse, had I accomplished my racing plans and drove it in heightened anger around a track. So the botched racing project has now turned into a restoration project. Different kinds of fun, but fun nonetheless.
Last edited by EFINI_RX-7_RZ; 08-16-21 at 06:48 PM.
Hi JiteshTII, nice to know about your '97 RZ restoration. I plan on getting the efini Y pipe kit (do they still sell those genuine, factory brand new for cheap?), so mine will be a bit closer to yours', spec-wise. It's just more for reliability than anything else (nah, not really, as I also plan to get a Greddy "compression tube"), as mine kept popping off because of the weak hose clamps that Mazda deleted with the newer Y pipe setup. Yeah, half-baked from Mazda it is alright.
To those interested in my spoiler, I'll be delving deeper into its "provenance" after I un-install it. I might even put it up for sale, although shipping might be quite steep from where I am located.
Below is a partial timeline of FD "special " edition cars taken from the 2002 Spirit R brochure. It shows the first RZ produced in 1992, October, with 300 units and a next version RZ produced in 1993, October, with 150 units.
The special equipment of the first gen:
Recaro seats
P-zero tires (225/50zr16)
"Size up" dampers
Final Gearing 4.3
Colour: Brilliant Black
The second gen added
Expedia S-07 (235/45ZR-7; 255/40ZR17) tires
BBS rims (17")
Bilstein Dampers
Torsen LSD
It looks like both years had the R1 wing
And were two seaters
First gens wheels seem to show up later on the 1995 Bathurst X.
The 1995 Bathurst X introduces the "whaletail" spoiler, which then ended up on the 1996 RZ.
Did the Recaro's survive in your car?
If not there is a nice set for sale up here in Canada (C$9000), if you are feeling flush.
I'd be curious what additional equipment made the RZII the RZII? About that time Mazda came out with a Type RII which, I understand, had more "GT" friendly riding characteristics. Therefore I wonder if the RZII shared the same springs as the Type R2, or something like that. or maybe RZII simply meant second generation RZ?
One clue may be if Aoshima came out with the second gen RZ plastic model.
Hi JiteshTII, nice to know about your '97 RZ restoration. I plan on getting the efini Y pipe kit (do they still sell those genuine, factory brand new for cheap?), so mine will be a bit closer to yours', spec-wise. It's just more for reliability than anything else (nah, not really, as I also plan to get a Greddy "compression tube"), as mine kept popping off because of the weak hose clamps that Mazda deleted with the newer Y pipe setup. Yeah, half-baked from Mazda it is alright.
I beleive the later spec Y pipe is indeed available new. I think I saw it listed on Mazdatrix. I probably also have about 5 of them at home. If you’re going with the 96- Y pipe set up, then you will probably want the 96- one piece intercooler pipes as they’re plastic (as opposed to the prone-to-splitting rubber ones from 92-95. They should be available new from Mazda too but I prob have some spare sets kicking about again if they’re not. Below is the engine bay on another of my 95 RX7s that has this setup. This will also negate the need for a Greddy elbow.
also just a note, I’m pretty sure that the RZ B pillar stickers are NLA from Mazda new. That was when I checked about 6 months ago as I’m having mine repainted. I ended up having to get a reproduction.
Below is a partial timeline of FD "special " edition cars taken from the 2002 Spirit R brochure. It shows the first RZ produced in 1992, October, with 300 units and a next version RZ produced in 1993, October, with 150 units.
The special equipment of the first gen:
Recaro seats
P-zero tires (225/50zr16)
"Size up" dampers
Final Gearing 4.3
Colour: Brilliant Black
The second gen added
Expedia S-07 (235/45ZR-7; 255/40ZR17) tires
BBS rims (17")
Bilstein Dampers
Torsen LSD
It looks like both years had the R1 wing
And were two seaters
First gens wheels seem to show up later on the 1995 Bathurst X.
The 1995 Bathurst X introduces the "whaletail" spoiler, which then ended up on the 1996 RZ.
Did the Recaro's survive in your car?
If not there is a nice set for sale up here in Canada (C$9000), if you are feeling flush.
I'd be curious what additional equipment made the RZII the RZII? About that time Mazda came out with a Type RII which, I understand, had more "GT" friendly riding characteristics. Therefore I wonder if the RZII shared the same springs as the Type R2, or something like that. or maybe RZII simply meant second generation RZ?
One clue may be if Aoshima came out with the second gen RZ plastic model.
my understanding of it (and I might be wrong) is that the RZII if that’s what it’s called, was simply a version 2 RZ (ie the VIN number starts with FD3S2xxxxx). The version one RZ would have been a 92/93 car with VIN FD3S1xxxxx. Hence mine is a Version 4 with FD3S4xxxxx. I have had every version of the rz (versions 1,2,3,4 and 6. 5 doesn’t exist) at some point. The version 1 had gunmetal 16 in wheels, small brakes, 2 seater (rear storage bins as opposed to rear seats), hard R1 shocks and the Kevlar recaros. Version 2 came with yellow fixed bilstein shocks from factory, 314mm brakes, BBS wheels to accommodate the brakes which do not fit under the 16s.
why do I have so many S7/8 parts? Because I am in the U.K. and we got loads of RHD cars. And I’ve been into FDs now for 15+ years!
Yeah Redbul, that RHD thread looks really nice. Actually, too nice for me to post any pictures of my rides in the conditions they are right now! I'll post there when the cars are more "presentable".
Don't know that other Panamanian fellow jonahau, I've been off the scene for so long I didn't even know there was a late series JDM FD3S nearby; the only other unit I knew of besides my 2 sleeping beauties is an early series 1 Type R in red that was both imported and blew its engine around the same time as my RZII but I lost track of that car. Guess I'm gonna get back up to date with the scene soon when my RZII finally gets back to duty.
The car certainly is worth too much now to start messing with it again. I'm even thinking about procuring a stock airbox to bring the engine compartment back to its factory look, although I did remove the air pump and would like to keep it out. I also had the EGR blocked at some point. I might even delete the oil metering pump and forever run it with premix.
The car is most definitively an RZII (as it was called in Japan back in the day). I just checked its export de-registration certificate and it reads first registered October 1993, which matches the date described in the Spirit R brochure. Also, my BBS wheels exactly match those pictured. Is there a PDF of this brochure I can lay my virtual hands on?
My Recaro Kevlar shells seem to have survived just fine, thank you, although the same can not be said of their coverings, which look very faded from all the sun they have taken, although its sponges seemed to still hold my weight nicely. I did break the lower trim on the safety belt holder on the driver's seat trying to unhook it to release the belt that I had left in position the last time I drove the car (it was a real PITA trying to reach for the belt when left unhooked, those belt holders have a real purpose). Both belt reels are now permanently locked for some reason, so I had to yank it out of the holder and that forced motion ruined the holder's lower trim. C$9K is crazy, Recaro still makes a very similar shell and they sell for around half that brand spanking new.
This Best Motoring video gives a good description of what came with the first and second RZ models
(at 21:28 for the RZ "type I", 31:12 for the second RZ), the main differences being the BBS wheels+wider tires+bigger brakes, and yellow Bilstein shocks+softer springs replacing the red (were they Showa, KYB, or Tokiko?) shocks+harder springs. In fact, I quite vividly remember how much more compliant my RZ rode compared with my purportedly more "luxurious" series 1 Type X.
You probably nailed it with the spoiler. The ECU was flashed/modified by Knight Sports (witnessed by one of their stickers glued onto the ECU's case), so fitting one of their rear wings would have been an easy choice for the previous owner. Another part I remember it having is a set of hard stock mount intercooler pipes, but I don't remember what brand they are, they'll be part of the first things to disassemble next Saturday as preparation to the engine removal.
As for used Bilstein shocks, your mileage might vary. My Supra came with a Tein kit that I really hated for being rock hard, so having my previous experience with my RZ's Bilsteins in mind, and knowing about their USA lifetime warranty, I bought a set of used ones with factory springs on eBay from Japan to replace the Teins. These Bilsteins were so loose I had to replace them with brand new adjustable KYB AGPs, as sending them back to Bilstein for refurbishing would have cost me more than just buying the Kayabas.
I look forward to watchng the video and your progress in refurbishing your RZII. Great you still have the Recaros. Sounds like Jit is the man for random parts. I can probably help out here and there.
JiteshTII, I'll PM you if I decide to procure the Y pipe. The Greddy elbow/Y pipe pairing (plus maybe the Xcessive LIM and a larger SMIC for good measure) would be more for additional airflow, but I fear my 10 years old, never run ALS apex+Atkins rim-type side seals won't take too kindly to them and the HKS downpipe+generic decat midpipe I lust, not without a Power FC (are there newer, cheaper ECU alternatives now?) and a proper tune, anyways. That adds up to a US$2K+ temp of faith that might land me back to square one again, so maybe it's not worth it for me to take the risk. Still tempting, as the fastest car I've ever owned was a JZA70 MKIII 1JZ-GTE Supra with open diff on which I only ever invested in a $200 home made 3" exhaust and 5' of additional hosing to the wastegate actuators to slow down their response and raise boost to within a hair of the stock ECU's cutoff limit, which was at about 2atm (no need for the usual pair of "defencer" nonsense gimmicks: I just unplugged the speedometer signal feed to the ECU and everything ran just fine, check engine light only came on after a high speed run alongside my buddy and his mildly souped up 3000GT that showed 280 on his clock but then it went off after shutting down the engine and restarting it). I've never felt that same level of acceleration on my RZ and I really miss that. Really cheap thrills that Toyota gave me. Really expensive headaches are what I have ever gotten with my pair of FD3S so far. But they are oh so beautiful to behold! Yeah.
Where did you get your repro RZ stickers? I'll need a pair, too, as the car needs a full paint job.
Chassis number on my RZ is indeed FD3S-2*, while on my Type X is FD3S-1*. Have you ever had a FD3S mfg. in 1991? I was browsing rhdjapan.com's FD3S product pages and found that they have front caliper seal kits for cars originally equipped with 17" wheels. I thought the calipers were the same no matter the factory disk size.
You are one lucky chap, having owned all RZ versions! Out of your experience, which factory suspension rode the best?
JiteshTII, I'll PM you if I decide to procure the Y pipe. The Greddy elbow/Y pipe pairing (plus maybe the Xcessive LIM and a larger SMIC for good measure) would be more for additional airflow, but I fear my 10 years old, never run ALS apex+Atkins rim-type side seals won't take too kindly to them and the HKS downpipe+generic decat midpipe I lust, not without a Power FC (are there newer, cheaper ECU alternatives now?) and a proper tune, anyways. That adds up to a US$2K+ temp of faith that might land me back to square one again, so maybe it's not worth it for me to take the risk. Still tempting, as the fastest car I've ever owned was a JZA70 MKIII 1JZ-GTE Supra with open diff on which I only ever invested in a $200 home made 3" exhaust and 5' of additional hosing to the wastegate actuators to slow down their response and raise boost to within a hair of the stock ECU's cutoff limit, which was at about 2atm (no need for the usual pair of "defencer" nonsense gimmicks: I just unplugged the speedometer signal feed to the ECU and everything ran just fine, check engine light only came on after a high speed run alongside my buddy and his mildly souped up 3000GT that showed 280 on his clock but then it went off after shutting down the engine and restarting it). I've never felt that same level of acceleration on my RZ and I really miss that. Really cheap thrills that Toyota gave me. Really expensive headaches are what I have ever gotten with my pair of FD3S so far. But they are oh so beautiful to behold! Yeah.
Where did you get your repro RZ stickers? I'll need a pair, too, as the car needs a full paint job.
Chassis number on my RZ is indeed FD3S-2*, while on my Type X is FD3S-1*. Have you ever had a FD3S mfg. in 1991? I was browsing rhdjapan.com's FD3S product pages and found that they have front caliper seal kits for cars originally equipped with 17" wheels. I thought the calipers were the same no matter the factory disk size.
You are one lucky chap, having owned all RZ versions! Out of your experience, which factory suspension rode the best?
yes there were some FDs manufactured in late 1991. Repro stickers I got from Marcus Read in Australia (MATEY). The calipers are different I think (slightly different piston sizes and obv thicker caliper to accommodate the thicker front disc. On the rear the caliper is the same, the carrier is different to space it.
The worst in terms of ride was the version 1 RZ. I generally hate the early type R suspension (which is what the version 1 had) as it’s far too hard/crashy. Best was obv the version 6 white RZ with the bilsteins. That was a very low KM car too which helps. There isn’t much between the ride on the Versions 2, 3, 4 and 6. It’s just the version 1 which is unacceptable IMHO
I have the Showa shocks from the 2001 Type R Bathurst R. Paired with Tien S-tech. Very comfortable ride. Don't know about hard driving characteristics, but very modern car feel. I see sets of the Showas (metallic blue) pop up for about $500. The shocks are adjustable 20MM down and 5mm up. They also feature Showa's "harmonic drive" which has some self adjusting mechanism when you get on rough roads.
I have such suspension paired with comfy Recaro SR series seats (up to 40" waist compatible).
In combination creating an incredibly comfortable ride..
08-15-21, 01:28 AM
RZ Who?
I'll post there when the cars are more "presentable".