Zack's AutoX and DD build thread---Savanna FC3S
 

Hey rexer's, I'm Zack, and this is my first ever rotary, and my second car after my first, a 95 Civic EX. :nod: Yes. I am a noob.
This is where I'll try to post every little insignificant thing I do to my car to make it seem like I do a whole lot. ;)

...if interested, here is my intro thread: https://www.rx7club.com/introduce-yo...erday-1010728/

Dang am I glad I left FWD behind. It's nice to have a push instead of a pull. She's truly a beauty. New black paint, 187XXX on the odometer, the original Mazda anti-rust compound is still on the bottom of the chassis! As the intro says, I got her from the original owner, who babied it since his graduation from college. She runs beautifully, the AC is still on the original charge (get that?!), and the shifter just needs new bushings. The interior is mint other than a worn driver's seat and a cracked mirror cover. The car drives perfect but for some jingling front bearings that new some re-packing.
Now, into the meat of things. Savanna will be my DD for many years to come (hopefully), and will double as my AutoX car, which I am still undecided as far as class goal goes (have heard about STS, CSP, and E-Stock, but will start in E-stock for sure). Now to my current "for sure" list of mods:
-205/50r15 Ecsta V710 R-comps (i found a great deal for some new ones on CL)
-Vert BBS 15" wheels (again for a greal deal on CL)
-shifter bushings
So far as E-stock...I am still unsure as to what kind of suspension setup I would like to run. I think that it would be best, however, to get some Koni Yellows, ride with them for E-Stock, and when I wish to bump up, lower the car on GC coilovers. Maybe put in a beefy front sway... This is all hypothetical, of course. If you guys have some great build ideas, shoot some to me. I'm a total RX-7 noob.

I will be comp testing the old engine soon just to be sure of it's health, but I just filled the tank today to find (to my happiness) that I got a bit over 15 mpg after driving the piss out of it for a week. :lol:

Attachment 698888
Attachment 698889
Attachment 698890
as you can see awkwardly in the above photo, I have mismatched mufflers. If anyone is selling a good, quiet catback or some oem mufflers, let me know!!
Attachment 698891
Attachment 698892
Attachment 698893

Comment, Love, and Flame Away!! :)

Looks pretty clean! I want those floor mats =[

nicee... any rust on ur fc?

It's very clean...However. The driver's side floor mat was destroyed when I got it, so I threw in a pretty well matched mat from my mother's Honda Odyssey. ;)

No rust on the underbody. There is a bit on the exhaust sheilds, but that's what they're for. And there is one bubble under the paint on the drivers fender. I'm hoping that the guys who painted it used some rust converter--otherwise I'll have to deal with it soon. :sad:

And, as an update, I'm getting the Kuhmos tonight! :)

pretty clean...I personally liked when I had my 92 eg6 with a k20/k24 Seemed to hug corners more, but I guess now in my 7 I'm not trying to hug corners lol

It's amazingly clean underneath, few bunched up pinch welds but other then that it's pristine! It's a great platform to start with.

Update: Just replaced the faulty wiper switch with a new one, and HELL no I didn't buy one. The seller included it with the car. ;)

Also just bought the Ecsta V710s, brand new, for 250 :)
However, the wheels I was going to wrap them around are still on CL...As in not in my possession. :/ The guy is a flake. He won't email me back to make a hundred bucks with little to no effort on his end. Why? I don't know. Perhaps he likes them sitting in his yard more than padding his wallet. When I get the vert rims, I'll wrap them and upload some pics w/them on my car.

Oh, and good news!! :) Just filled my tank again...and after another week of driving the piss out of it I managed 18.5 mpg!! :)

Deuces! Have a great night, all. :)

I don't know how you can say that it hugged corners more...did you have beefy sways and coilovers??? My EG wallowed like a drunken, depressed frat girl... The GTU feels crazy tight and controlled in comparison... :)

just some JIC magics...:icon_tup: I guess when you get use to a car it tends to control better as well :lol:

being that My 7 is not even running/rolling and I have not driven it since the night I bought it. :blush:

oh jeez... I must say, I prefer the "push" to the "pull", and accelerating through corners is more fun than ever...if you say the EG handles that well tho... ;)

And--on a different note--if anyone is getting rid of vert rims, any condish, w/or w/o caps, message me. I need a light set to wrap the Khumos on.

Those are some SERIOUS tires for an a stock car. Keep your current set so you'll have something to drive on when it is wet or cold. That sizing will give you a nice bump in acceleration too.

Looks like a fun project!

LOL. :lol: I know. It's just for AutoX.
I'm really excited to slap them on my car... :) It's hard to break the bald rear tires loose right now because of the awesome suspension--therefore, R-Comps will be like glue.

UPDATE: My local deal for the BBS wheels is going through! Looks like the guys wasn't ignoring my emails--he was in emergency car for a couple of days...anyway, I'll have them tonight! I'll try to get them mounted and put up some pics.

So. Late update.

The wheels and tires are balanced and bagged in the basement until the races, so I'm sorry for no pics; they will be up in a couple weeks.

The CRAPPY part of the update is what occured today. My heater hose burst on me during a quick drag with a G35 (stupid idea ;) ), so now I'm stuck waiting for parts and time to work on it.

In the next week and a half, I'll be:
replacing the hose
the front rotors and pads
the thermostat
the coolant
the bearings

I'll tell you all when it's done, but likely no meaningful updates until then. :/

PS: the burst was so big I can fit my finger in the crack and into the main body of the hose. ;)

what rotors are you going with?

I just found a guy selling some oem replacement pads cheap. I need something to last a little while; the ones on there right now are uneven and the pads are about to go.

you couldn't get them resurfaced? either way :icon_tup:

They are pretty old rotors. It likely wouldn't be worth it to resurface.
Thanks! I'll be putting the new hose on tonight, flushing the coolant, and putting in a new thermo if I can find one by tonight.

DONE. :) Wheel bearings are in, pads are in, two stuck caliper pistons are released, self-cut hose is in, brakes are bled, coolant is replenished (that "leak" spat out almost 3.5 quarts of coolant!!! :O), and the car feels awesome. No jingle from the bearings, no squealing from the pads (worn to 1.5 mm of pad left |:o).
Ready for this weekend's autocross.

Pics will be up officially of the new look this Friday--I'm likely showing at a local carshow--so curiosity will soon be satisfied. :)

Sorry!! Misunderstood... I typed out "pads" when I said "uneven". I meant rotors. I still may, also, though I haven't felt any of the vibration with the new pads...? Perhaps the pads were just that bad (unlikely) or one of the two stuck pistons was doing some weird stuff (more likely). I don't know. I'll probably still get new rotors.

Resurfacing rotors is a waste of money when brand new ones cost 30 bucks.

I LOVE AutoX my FC and I know you will too! My friends who don't race all call us "conefags" but I really enjoy it. I race FLR SCCA and just placed second in Novice class. Pretty proud since its my third event ever!

He's got a point. ;)

:) That's good to know. I've autocrossed about ten events in my civic, but this Rex will be a whole new beast. Back to square one ;)

All resurfacing aside....

Where can you buy a quality pair of rotors for $30?

If your autox then wouldn't you want a quality rotor?

If you buy some cheap rotor you get what you pay for hahaha

Soon it will have the same problem as your last ones