Ice Racer/Rally Rx7 build
06-15-15, 08:07 PM
#203
Carb is just too damn tiny, I've known this though but oh well.
Okay well it has been a while without any updates, mostly because there aren't any!
I fixed a few rx7s here and there:
Found some bitchin mudflaps:
Then, went racing!
And over here too:
The mudflaps seemed to help!(I guess)
Then I managed to update a few things, rear camber adjustment bar (AWR) and finally replaced/"upgraded" my pesky sticking rear calipers... with new brakes!
Never gonna look that nice for a while. My old powdercoated suspension pieces are holding up decent to the abuse.
Took home three 2nd places in a row, to the same driver/car... but a trophy is a trophy
Frankenburban was happy though, solid 10-11mpg or so that trip:
Okay well it has been a while without any updates, mostly because there aren't any!
I fixed a few rx7s here and there:
Found some bitchin mudflaps:
Then, went racing!
And over here too:
The mudflaps seemed to help!(I guess)
Then I managed to update a few things, rear camber adjustment bar (AWR) and finally replaced/"upgraded" my pesky sticking rear calipers... with new brakes!
Never gonna look that nice for a while. My old powdercoated suspension pieces are holding up decent to the abuse.
Took home three 2nd places in a row, to the same driver/car... but a trophy is a trophy
Frankenburban was happy though, solid 10-11mpg or so that trip:
06-15-15, 08:22 PM
#204
Yesterdays race should have been a victory but I was often chasing the wheel and I lost my 12 second lead into the afternoon runs due to driver error causing me to hit 6 cones :\
Manual steering rack everyone keeps suggesting a quickener because my steering is is 20.3:1 and a powered steering rack is 15.2:1, they are easy to de-power and run as manual racks, I already have a large diameter wheel and plenty of practice on it and broken powersteering FCs, I need the turn in response, if its not enough then I will switch to a quickener setup but one thing at a time.
Also due to my rpm limit I found the need for more RPM. So here is a teaser
Next up:
1. Diff overhaul
2. Steering rack swap
3. Microsquirt
SOOOOON
Manual steering rack everyone keeps suggesting a quickener because my steering is is 20.3:1 and a powered steering rack is 15.2:1, they are easy to de-power and run as manual racks, I already have a large diameter wheel and plenty of practice on it and broken powersteering FCs, I need the turn in response, if its not enough then I will switch to a quickener setup but one thing at a time.
Also due to my rpm limit I found the need for more RPM. So here is a teaser
Next up:
1. Diff overhaul
2. Steering rack swap
3. Microsquirt
SOOOOON
12-10-15, 10:37 AM
#206
yes! I have been busy with work and I have done very little with this car, spent most of the summer messing around with the 10AE. But some progress has been made and more progress is about to begin! I will be sure to post some pictures and information this weekend.
12-20-15, 09:34 PM
#207
Okay so It has been a while so here it goes, the last even was good but I knew exactly where to make improvements ( that have been lacking) so back to work! And 10AE is full storage mode now.
…and out with the rear diff! I also changed the differential ear bushings to mazdaspeed competition bushings too and re-drilled/taped the factory breather for NPT so I can run a tube into the cabin for a much dryer breather setup and less change of sloshed oil leaking out of it and making a dirty rally car
Specifically the LSD part
When you add the wear up it became way undersized on the spec side, most people jam a pop can in there or something but I like doing this right so I don’t have to keep draining shiney from my diff. So I went with mazdaspeed oversized clutches/springs/washers wherever I could, and where I could not I would just use OEM mazda parts.
Link to mazdaspeed competition parts catalog for said parts above:
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/pdfs...Drivetrain.pdf
As you can see, a night and day difference between old/new :
Also between Nov-December event, I managed to install a manual converted power steering rack which has a much faster ratio and I have far less turns to lock, I gain seconds it feels like because each corner I’m working the wheel less. (not pictured)
But with not using rock hard tires, overhauled LSD and a faster ratio rack it yielded this result
…the car behaved very well actually with just those changes:
Look at 2:57-3:20, 3:36-3:45, and 9:23ish for yourself.
…and out with the rear diff! I also changed the differential ear bushings to mazdaspeed competition bushings too and re-drilled/taped the factory breather for NPT so I can run a tube into the cabin for a much dryer breather setup and less change of sloshed oil leaking out of it and making a dirty rally car
Specifically the LSD part
When you add the wear up it became way undersized on the spec side, most people jam a pop can in there or something but I like doing this right so I don’t have to keep draining shiney from my diff. So I went with mazdaspeed oversized clutches/springs/washers wherever I could, and where I could not I would just use OEM mazda parts.
Link to mazdaspeed competition parts catalog for said parts above:
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/pdfs...Drivetrain.pdf
As you can see, a night and day difference between old/new :
Also between Nov-December event, I managed to install a manual converted power steering rack which has a much faster ratio and I have far less turns to lock, I gain seconds it feels like because each corner I’m working the wheel less. (not pictured)
But with not using rock hard tires, overhauled LSD and a faster ratio rack it yielded this result
…the car behaved very well actually with just those changes:
Look at 2:57-3:20, 3:36-3:45, and 9:23ish for yourself.
Last edited by fidelity101; 12-20-15 at 10:36 PM.
12-20-15, 09:35 PM
#208
But I still seem to have issues with popping exhaust gaskets so I decided to go V-Band. I’ve tried RTV copper, refmflex, regular *** copper, cometic style, different flanges, jobber gaskets and etc, so I decided to help the exhaust out a bit (again) and provide it less stress with the flex pipe and better exhaust union…
And a little refresh on some polishing abrasives, I have manifold modifying to do.
Safety first!
I ported/polished another RX7 throttle body, this may marks probably the 15th one I have done…
More EFI goodness that is all what this is for. I have received a megasquirt 2 setup with ignition and fuel control, microsquirt idea is dead because this was a good deal . Just need to do a little alteration of the harness for my application but more on that later. For me to go to EFI I decided to use the S4 NA manifolds because they have long runners and look like they flow pretty good.
The issue is that I am using a 4 port block but the NA manifolds are 6 port. Here is the block gasket over the current manifold
So I have to fill the aux ports with J and grind out the new hole.
And a rough cut done.
(I still need to remove the gasket on the engine currently and match the manifold to it so I can have a proper gasket matched block to housing for optimal air flow.
And a little refresh on some polishing abrasives, I have manifold modifying to do.
Safety first!
I ported/polished another RX7 throttle body, this may marks probably the 15th one I have done…
More EFI goodness that is all what this is for. I have received a megasquirt 2 setup with ignition and fuel control, microsquirt idea is dead because this was a good deal . Just need to do a little alteration of the harness for my application but more on that later. For me to go to EFI I decided to use the S4 NA manifolds because they have long runners and look like they flow pretty good.
The issue is that I am using a 4 port block but the NA manifolds are 6 port. Here is the block gasket over the current manifold
So I have to fill the aux ports with J and grind out the new hole.
And a rough cut done.
(I still need to remove the gasket on the engine currently and match the manifold to it so I can have a proper gasket matched block to housing for optimal air flow.
12-20-15, 09:36 PM
#209
It is difficult to read this walkthrough (How To Megasquirt Your 2nd Gen RX-7) for megasquirting an rx7, but it does share good information amongst the chit chat writing style, like this little handy nugget of goodness:
“If you have an NA FC, the Mazda RX-8 (2004 - 2008) 6 port injector is a great choice. They are 450CC, high impedance, and a modern disc design (as opposed to the old pintle style). They are Denso part #N3H313250A 195500-4450 and available at most auto parts stores as well as Mazda. They drop right into the FC but you need to use the appropriate Denso connector. TII owners (550CC injectors) can use the Denso 195500-4460 RX-8 (4 port secondary I believe) injector. It's 540CC which is close enough to the stock 550CC for stock turbo use.”
Look how close they are, they are a direct swap, I can use either o-ring – everything is the same dimension. I am just going to use the correct grommets for the manifold that they are going to.
I just need to finish cleaning up and modifying the intake manifolds to help simplify the engine package and then finish prepping/cleaning the gasket surfaces to bolt this assembly together.
After that then it is perform minor alterations to the megasquirt setup and integrate it into the car. More soon to follow. I hope to have it EFI by Jan 1st because there is a rallycross I am signed up for Jan 2nd
Stay tuned…
“If you have an NA FC, the Mazda RX-8 (2004 - 2008) 6 port injector is a great choice. They are 450CC, high impedance, and a modern disc design (as opposed to the old pintle style). They are Denso part #N3H313250A 195500-4450 and available at most auto parts stores as well as Mazda. They drop right into the FC but you need to use the appropriate Denso connector. TII owners (550CC injectors) can use the Denso 195500-4460 RX-8 (4 port secondary I believe) injector. It's 540CC which is close enough to the stock 550CC for stock turbo use.”
Look how close they are, they are a direct swap, I can use either o-ring – everything is the same dimension. I am just going to use the correct grommets for the manifold that they are going to.
I just need to finish cleaning up and modifying the intake manifolds to help simplify the engine package and then finish prepping/cleaning the gasket surfaces to bolt this assembly together.
After that then it is perform minor alterations to the megasquirt setup and integrate it into the car. More soon to follow. I hope to have it EFI by Jan 1st because there is a rallycross I am signed up for Jan 2nd
Stay tuned…
12-24-15, 08:55 AM
#210
Hopefully those injectors didn't cost much, I think it would be much better just to stick two Bosch EV14 1000cc in the primaries and call it a day. That way you don't need to mess with any injector staging or any of that nonsense. Also check out the sheet I made here: https://www.rx7club.com/haltech-foru...-sheet-830731/
Update that sheet to get all your wiring connections ahead of time, and then label each wire with tape so when you run it through the engine bay and a few beers in all you have to do is look at it and solder.
Also, awesome thread! Used it a lot to stick a S2 RX8 trans in the car and this thread was super informative!
Update that sheet to get all your wiring connections ahead of time, and then label each wire with tape so when you run it through the engine bay and a few beers in all you have to do is look at it and solder.
Also, awesome thread! Used it a lot to stick a S2 RX8 trans in the car and this thread was super informative!
Last edited by farberio; 12-24-15 at 09:11 AM.
12-29-15, 12:17 PM
#211
they were FREE!! as were the rails and I'm pretty sure the rx8 primary fuel rail will bolt up but its a return-less system. Wiring connections and solder has bee completed and now its ready to move this stuff back into the garage and into the car!
I am not thinking that there will be much ice racing this year with the terrible weather (warm) so here is a video from last year I never posted:
but anyways….
Back to work! I just imagined my kitchen table was my engine bay and oriented things accordingly and began to swap electrical connections.
I am unsure of which grommet to exactly use but I have combination of rx8 and rx7 so we shall see what combination of o-ring/grommet will work. The FC/Rx8 part numbers are 90% similar too haha. Now my fuel system has been frankenwankeld as well. Its starting to come to together!
The secondarys seem to fit tighter than the primary ones. Right now I am using this current “strategy”
1. Injector O-ring = rx8
2. Injector upper grommet = rx7
3. Injector lower grommet = rx8
Lets see if I get any vac/fuel leaks…
Now the intake manifold is port matched/gasket matched I can drop them off at the machine shop to get an even finish for best mounting.
However, one of the flanges came out on a bevel and a new middle intake section was required:
Look how flat that is!
Well I have this week off work and a rallycross on the 2nd that I signed up for, so we shall see if I make it or not, but progress is being made. The CLT sensor is swapped and the carb fuel system is removed. Time to bring parts into the garage and out of the kitchen.
Next up? Remove the carb ignition setup and de-integrate it from my body harness and begin routing megasquirt wiring and mounting the ECU under the dash. This WILL take some time…
I am not thinking that there will be much ice racing this year with the terrible weather (warm) so here is a video from last year I never posted:
but anyways….
Back to work! I just imagined my kitchen table was my engine bay and oriented things accordingly and began to swap electrical connections.
I am unsure of which grommet to exactly use but I have combination of rx8 and rx7 so we shall see what combination of o-ring/grommet will work. The FC/Rx8 part numbers are 90% similar too haha. Now my fuel system has been frankenwankeld as well. Its starting to come to together!
The secondarys seem to fit tighter than the primary ones. Right now I am using this current “strategy”
1. Injector O-ring = rx8
2. Injector upper grommet = rx7
3. Injector lower grommet = rx8
Lets see if I get any vac/fuel leaks…
Now the intake manifold is port matched/gasket matched I can drop them off at the machine shop to get an even finish for best mounting.
However, one of the flanges came out on a bevel and a new middle intake section was required:
Look how flat that is!
Well I have this week off work and a rallycross on the 2nd that I signed up for, so we shall see if I make it or not, but progress is being made. The CLT sensor is swapped and the carb fuel system is removed. Time to bring parts into the garage and out of the kitchen.
Next up? Remove the carb ignition setup and de-integrate it from my body harness and begin routing megasquirt wiring and mounting the ECU under the dash. This WILL take some time…
01-02-16, 04:55 PM
#212
Some progress, some partying and some recovering from partying that has delayed some other progress…
But now it is time to move on to the wiring! But before I could add this circuit system I had to clean up some old ones and a make it generally more neat and serviceable. So out with the old! That being said, I do not plan an entire re-wire yet so there is some more patchwork of patchwork. Overall, much simpler.
I also removed the dashmat I had for this thing and decided to flock it. Did I say flock? Because that was the goal of the appearance I was looking for, its actually herculiner bedliner.
And that took a lot of time to dry actually due to the cold temps, and 2 coats to get a better more even coverage.
And now the ECU is mounted behind the dash (to the dash) and the megasquirt wiring is routed and fuel lines are run.
The eventual goal will be to have an easy to service dashboard/electric array that can be removed easily for any serious servicing fast.
Speaking of out with the old, if you had 12v to 1 of these wires you can have a running 13b with the rest of the parts installed.
I’m just going to box that up for now because I have a spare r8 bellhousing so I am thinking of doing a 13b runstand in the near future : )
SHARING IS CARING!
I am going to be using a stock FC ignition for megasquirt so I have a perfect example next to me for wiring.
But now it is time to move on to the wiring! But before I could add this circuit system I had to clean up some old ones and a make it generally more neat and serviceable. So out with the old! That being said, I do not plan an entire re-wire yet so there is some more patchwork of patchwork. Overall, much simpler.
I also removed the dashmat I had for this thing and decided to flock it. Did I say flock? Because that was the goal of the appearance I was looking for, its actually herculiner bedliner.
And that took a lot of time to dry actually due to the cold temps, and 2 coats to get a better more even coverage.
And now the ECU is mounted behind the dash (to the dash) and the megasquirt wiring is routed and fuel lines are run.
The eventual goal will be to have an easy to service dashboard/electric array that can be removed easily for any serious servicing fast.
Speaking of out with the old, if you had 12v to 1 of these wires you can have a running 13b with the rest of the parts installed.
I’m just going to box that up for now because I have a spare r8 bellhousing so I am thinking of doing a 13b runstand in the near future : )
SHARING IS CARING!
I am going to be using a stock FC ignition for megasquirt so I have a perfect example next to me for wiring.
Last edited by fidelity101; 01-02-16 at 04:57 PM.
01-11-16, 09:11 PM
#213
I do love machined gasket surfaces and new hardware/hoses! : )
I got a lot of progress then nothing for a while, I turned out to have a stomach virus or something that virtually knocked me out for about a week but some more megasquirt integration was going on and then for this to be a proper rally car, I need to have the chassis as good as possible so we began with some rust repair!
The car is from the Carolinas, so its mostly rust free but it has seen some Midwest winters and these area are the only areas of question on the car.
So step 1 was to remove it…
And see what we got to work with!
Followed by step 2. Create mockup templates with the all mighty cardboard.
Step 3: Piece it back together
And then more cardboard and trimming followed by welding to get the end result:
I just need to put sealant on the one side the bedliner over it and I can call it a day!
Next up is finish the megasquirt and electrical stuff and actually drive this beast. The weather has dropped drastically in temperatures (FINALLY!) and it has gotten me excited for the chance of ice racing this year.
I got a lot of progress then nothing for a while, I turned out to have a stomach virus or something that virtually knocked me out for about a week but some more megasquirt integration was going on and then for this to be a proper rally car, I need to have the chassis as good as possible so we began with some rust repair!
The car is from the Carolinas, so its mostly rust free but it has seen some Midwest winters and these area are the only areas of question on the car.
So step 1 was to remove it…
And see what we got to work with!
Followed by step 2. Create mockup templates with the all mighty cardboard.
Step 3: Piece it back together
And then more cardboard and trimming followed by welding to get the end result:
I just need to put sealant on the one side the bedliner over it and I can call it a day!
Next up is finish the megasquirt and electrical stuff and actually drive this beast. The weather has dropped drastically in temperatures (FINALLY!) and it has gotten me excited for the chance of ice racing this year.
03-04-16, 09:38 AM
#216
Been sick early this year too much and then working 60 hr weeks but I managed to get it started and driving on megasquirt, next weekend I do the rust repair on the P side.
We did not have enough truly cold days to have ice racing so I lacked motivation.
I have a few pics of the progress but I will post some news one up as well as some good teaser shots for the future
Right now I am struggling with megasquirt because there are so many different little variances and I am not a MS expert. I should have spent the money on a proper haltec and avoided the headache.
1 ECU
1 wire harness
basic settings
this is too configurable for my level of care/attention.
We did not have enough truly cold days to have ice racing so I lacked motivation.
I have a few pics of the progress but I will post some news one up as well as some good teaser shots for the future
Right now I am struggling with megasquirt because there are so many different little variances and I am not a MS expert. I should have spent the money on a proper haltec and avoided the headache.
1 ECU
1 wire harness
basic settings
this is too configurable for my level of care/attention.
03-04-16, 10:09 AM
#217
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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Started and driving is good.
I hate carbs. I can't figure out why I can't get mine running
I want fuel injectors again.
Also, again lies about not having ice racing. I enjoyed the single event we had.
I hate carbs. I can't figure out why I can't get mine running
I want fuel injectors again.
Also, again lies about not having ice racing. I enjoyed the single event we had.
03-04-16, 08:23 PM
#218
Been sick early this year too much and then working 60 hr weeks but I managed to get it started and driving on megasquirt, next weekend I do the rust repair on the P side.
We did not have enough truly cold days to have ice racing so I lacked motivation.
I have a few pics of the progress but I will post some news one up as well as some good teaser shots for the future
Right now I am struggling with megasquirt because there are so many different little variances and I am not a MS expert. I should have spent the money on a proper haltec and avoided the headache.
1 ECU
1 wire harness
basic settings
this is too configurable for my level of care/attention.
We did not have enough truly cold days to have ice racing so I lacked motivation.
I have a few pics of the progress but I will post some news one up as well as some good teaser shots for the future
Right now I am struggling with megasquirt because there are so many different little variances and I am not a MS expert. I should have spent the money on a proper haltec and avoided the headache.
1 ECU
1 wire harness
basic settings
this is too configurable for my level of care/attention.
Dumb question here, but have you checked out Aaron's writeup on Megasquirt install?
How To Megasquirt Your 2nd Gen RX-7
04-15-16, 09:13 PM
#222
RX-7 Old Timer
