Hygoog

I've always wanted to build a Turbo 2 clone but with a turbocharged NA engine retaining the factory 5th/6th ports. I'm aware that this is going to be a challenge, however thank the LORD I was able to secure an ultra-rare cartech manifold which allows me to retain my factory 5th/6th ports.​ I wanted to retain as much of the factory components as possible. This means 5th/6th ports, air pump, BAC, AC, etc. If I can keep it-IT STAYS! My goal is a true NA S5 6port turbo. This build is not about chasing big power. I don't want a 500hp rotary with bragging rights. I simply want something fun and conservative for the street (250hp-300hp). Retaining the 5th/6th ports also require choosing the right turbocharger. Anything too big will hit the actuators even with the cartech manifold. I find that the Garrett/Air Research T04B T4 Ar.60/AR.81 is a perfect size. It's also very similar to the turbocharger that came with the original Cartech Turbo kit.

To be honest I was very nervous at first. Some people think I'm ridiculous for attempting this but it's ok. People are entitled to their opinions.

The rx7 however if not my daily driver so I can afford to have it sit on the jack stand for a while. I strongly advise to have a backup vehicle if attempting any modifications to their project cars. Nothing goes according to plan.​

After a few years of gathering knowledge, parts and finances...the FC is finally done. The car still needs a tune real bad but the good thing is it runs. Man all I can say is this project require lots of patience. I've turbocharged Hondas before and this is my first experience modifying a rotary. I have to say this has been quite a journey and by far the most exciting and rewarding. I've made a lot of mistakes in the process but it has taught me a valuable lesson. I did most of the fabrications myself because I wanted to learn and save money, which requires me to purchase a mig and tig welder. It's ridiculous how much money I've wasted on argon (beginner welder) but once I've figured it out it's a walk in the park. There's a lot of things I could've done differently if I had more experience as a fabricator but for right now I'm satisfied where it's at. I still have bigger plans for this car.

If you have any questions please let me know and I will do my best to answer it. Below is a list of my setup.

1989 Mazda Rx7 GTU S5
Engine: 13B 6 port​
Turbocharger: Air Research T04B Ar.60/Ar.81 T4 Turbocharger
FMIC
Custom intercooler piping
38mm Wastegate recirculated
3 inch custom downpipe and exhaust
OBX muffler (gift from my little brother)
4x ID1050x injectors
O&J Performance Primary Fuel Rail
JDL Secondary Fuel Rail
Walbro 255 fuel pump​
Haltech Sport 1000
AEM wideband
Fuel pressure gauge
Boost gauge
Water Temperature gauge

WondrousBread

Looks great! The color scheme is really nice too.

I'm looking forward to further updates and details. I want to tackle a similar project one day, but it's going to be years down the line for me. Yours turned out really, really well from the looks of it.

Great work

Hygoog

Thanks man! I appreciate it. I will keep y'all updated on this thread. If you have any questions please let me know. The next thing I need to do is get it tuned so I can drive it safely lol

Jager

iTrader: (10)

Looks awesome!

Hygoog

Thanks man!

Nef003

Hello. I just bought an S5 Vert. All stock. I was going to start buying upgrade mods, but saw a post for a bunch of s5 turbo parts. I can try and do a stock t2 turbo motor on my S5 NA motor. Are you able to help me out a bit? I have been reading up on the forum on a guide; but nothing better than someone who has already done such a task and beyond.

Seven 7 Zero; Two seven four, eighty 32. If you are able; please contact me. Nefris.

Thanks.

Hygoog

Hey man. Good luck with your build. If you have any questions I can try to do my best to help you on this forum. 😀

dguy

iTrader: (8)

As long as you don't think things are going to bolt right up and you invest in reliable engine management it could be cool. I've thought of doing the same.

hoang5659

iTrader: (14)

this is a awesome build! I am starting a similar build but my starting point is 85 SE. I don't know of any exhaust manifold that can accommodate my actuators, so I wont be keeping them. I often wonder how they would work with a turbo. I have them wired to come on using an air pump and an rpm switch (feels like vtec haha). I, like you, am teaching myself to weld to accomplish this project. 1. to save myself a bunch of money and 2. I really want to learn to fabricate, the possibilities are endless. my welder should be delivered tomorrow. I have been watching as many welding videos (YouTube) as I can find. do you think I can accomplish this with just mig welding or is tig a must have also? i bought a multi process welder but I don't think it can tig weld aluminum (intercooler piping). I think you need AC tig for that. I have collected most of the necessary parts over the last few years. I have T2 manifolds (upper and lower), turbo, exhaust manifold, etc... however, I am still unsure about my fuel parts. do I need to replace the fuel rails (primary and secondary) if I have aftermarket injectors? I saw someone selling fuel parts in the 3rd gen section. it looked like a good deal. are they compatible? otherwise, I have some spare injectors from my Subaru STI (ID1000's) that I will try to use. *fingers cross* I am also going to run a Haltech PS1000 (I picked this up used from someone on this forum). I have zero knowledge on tuning. so I will have to get it pro tuned when complete. but I am excited for the journey. good luck with your tuning. keep us updated!

Hygoog

That's awesome dude! Yeah there's not a lot of manifolds available out there to retain the actuators, however I do think it's possible to fabricate one if you have
the knowledge and patience. I might attempt that for a future build just for the fun of it. Yes I'm also curious how it will work with force induction. The only way to find out
is on the dyno. I will be dyno tuning it soon and well keep everyone posted.

I've have heard of people using an rpm switch lol I guess it is Mazda's version of vtec lol

That's awesome that you're willing to learn how to weld. Trust me it will pay off in the long run. You will make lots of mistakes but
you will learn from it. I've made so many mistakes when I first welded. ALWAYS practice on a scrap piece of metal before welding on your nice parts. I love fabrications.
Dude if you can fabricate your own parts you will save ton of money and can get as creative as you want. I hate depending on people or hiring people to fix my car. If I can fix it,
I'll do it myself.

I started with an Eastwood Mig 135. My father in law bought it for me as a Christmas gift. This machine can do flux or mig. It can also
weld aluminum if you have a spool gun. It's not the best welder but good for a hobbyist. I eventually moved up to a Lotos Tig140. The Lotos can do scratch tig which is great
for welding thin materials. In the near future I want to upgrade to a Tig AC/DC so I can weld aluminum.

You don't really need tig. You can accomplish this with a mig welder. It just won't be as pretty as tig. The mig welder will be extremely handy though if you plan to do your own exhaust. My Mig torch
broke so I had to scratch tig underneath my car...that was pain in the butt. I'd advice using stainless steel for your intercooler piping if you can't weld aluminum. If
you must use mild steel make sure to paint it and coat the inside with a little oil to prevent rust.

I've started with a whole bunch of T2 parts too but sold everything and decided to make it a true NA turbo.

For fuel, I'd recommend modern injectors like Injectors Dynamics. It's just more modern and easier to tune. Your tuner will thank you. The only problems
with modern injectors is you need to change the connectors, install inserts, and adapt the proper top hats. They sell conversion connectors which is plug in play. The top hats and inserts can all be purchase online.
I'm not sure if fd fuel parts will work with fc. I think from the factory those are side feed injectors. Many fd owners convert to top feed. I know people use the FD fuel pumps sometimes. Those ID1000 should work.

I'm not too familiar with the 1985 rx7 but I know the fc stock fuel rails can handle 300whp-400hp. I upgraded mine as insurance because the pulse damper
on the fc is notorious for leaking-causing engine fire. I now have billet rails which are amazing. No need to upgrade to AN lines and fittings unless you're making
big power. I still use the factory size fuel lines. Just make sure to replace all the old worn out hoses. You will need an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator,
bigger fuel pump, and fuel pressure sensor. Oh and I also wired my fuel pump to separate relay with a 10 gauge power wire. The power wires on the fc rx7 is pathetic.

The Haltech Sport 1000 is a great ecu. It's not as good as the Elite series but way better than rtek or Power FC IMO. I went with the Haltech Sport 1000 because I got a killer deal
and it supports the fc stock ignition system. If you go Elite you're gonna have to convert to direct fire. In the future I do plan to switch over to the Elite 1500.
I leave tuning to the professionals. Nelson Siverio is a great tuner. He helped me remotely set up my base map. I recommend him.

Thanks man I appreciate it. If you have any questions I will do my best to help.

hoang5659

iTrader: (14)

I cant wait to see how yours turns out. please share your dyno results. I want to see how the port actuators effect power delivery. lol

learning to fabricate has always been something I wanted to learn. I watch a lot of those car shows where they fab custom parts and setups. I also love engine swaps too and if you're not doing a super common one, you'll need to fab everything yourself. haha like you, i hate depending on others. if I can do it myself, I will. plus I just don't trust too many ppl when it comes to automotive repair.

my welder is being delivered today. woot! I researched as many welders as I could before settling. I bought a multi process welder. it does MIG/TIG/Stick welding. I wanted to get something that I can sample a little bit of each welding type. we'll see how it goes...

i'll get my chance at learning to fab an exhaust system. there really isn't any options out there for a turbo first gen rx-7. haha this will definitely be interesting. where did you buy your materials for this?

i lucked out and picked up a FC terminated harness from the same person that I bought the Haltech from (smoking deal). he said he ran Injector Dynamics injectors on his setup. so they are already spliced onto the harness. so I hope that is something I don't have to worry about. thanks for the information on the fuel rails. I doubt I will be making anything over 300 hp. however, I will be building a T2 engine as backup and I will go for more boost on that one. as for the pulse dampeners, can't you just remove them and not run one? I know for my 1st gens, we have the same issue. I bought a banjo bolt and removed the dampener altogether... its gone and forgotten. haha I don't plan on AN fittings and lines just yet. that will be for another project. I just want a running turbo 6 port. we can worry about power later. I am looking for a FPR setup. let see what comes up in the classifieds. as for the fuel pump, 1st gens have external fuel pumps. i'll have to see what options are available. there are plenty of ppl who have turbo'd their 1st gens. im just lucky to start with a EFI car...

I have very little knowledge on engine management. I cant make heads or tails of wiring and electronics either. however, the person that I bought the Haltech from says its very straight forward. the wiring harness is labeled and should be plug and play. the only reason he was selling was he had upgraded to the Elite 1500. are you just doing remote tuning from Nelson Siverio or will you be going to the dyno for a pro tune? keep us updated. I am following in your foot steps. its good to see someone else blaze the trail for me to follow. haha lets see those dyno charts!!!

Federighi

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on the build! Looking good

Hygoog

Hey man. I finally got the car dyno tuned. We ran into some problems with the boost controllers so the final numbers are 235whp/198tq 11psi at 7500rpm. Since we don't know the condition of the engine, the tuner wants to make it safe so we didn't push it. I think if we lean out the fuel mixture a bit we can probably make more power but I rather be safe than sorry lol we didn't have time to play with the 5th/6th ports/VDI. At the moment all the ports are set to open at factory specs. Next time when I get a better boost controller, we'll see what numbers I can get. There's also a lot of factors involved like the weather, too. It was hot we had to let it cool down a few times.

Turbo with the high compression rotors is super responsive. You can here the turbo spool. It's perfect for a street car. Car shoots flames like crazy. It's not the fastest out there but fast enough for me. Here is a link of the video. I had to remove the bumper due to clearance issues.
I didn't' hit my 250whp-300whp mark but it's not the end of the world. I gain over 100whp from stock NA. It's pretty much as quick or quicker than a stock 93 fd on stock boost of course.
lol you can't get too greedy with rotaries or you will be walking home. We keep getting boost creep at 8000rpm so we didn't rev it that high. I think we probably be making more power if the boost controller was working correctly. My fuel system provided enough fuel too so that was good. I think there was a few times the car hit 14psi lol that was crazy.

Yes it's very rewarding when you can do everything yourself. I bought most of my pipes on ebay.

That's awesome with the harness. I hope everything works out well. It's always better having an EFI. That's just my opinion lol

As for the pulse dampers, the S5 dampers are welded into the rails so you can't really remove it. The S4 is removeable I think. You don't really need AN lines and fittings. It good to have but not required for your power goals.
I use a walbro 255 at the moment but I want to upgrade to a walbro 450 in the future. Some people go with a parallel fuel setup but I retain the stock fuel setup. Works ok so far. For fuel pressure regulator I use a aeromotive knock off but replaced the diaphragm with a genuine Aeromotive. Pretty much an Aeromotive for half the price in my opinion.

As for wiring, it can look complicated but once you start doing it it's not too bad. I actually really enjoy it. I used to be nervous but now I look forward to it.
I hired David Mazzei (4 Rotor FD rx7. You've probably heard of him. He is super nice and great guy to work with. He is also a local here so and very knowledgeable in the rx7 world. No offense or disrespect to Nelson at all. It was just more convenient having a tuner on site. I appreciate both of them helping me with my car.