I notice your AFR's get richer as your RPM goes up, any particular reason for that? You could probably get a better powerband and more power by keeping consistant with whatever AFR you should be aiming for at your boost level on that engine.

Edit: looking at the AFR line, it seems your tuner was aiming for 12.3-12.5 AFR but at high RPM it just goes rich and richer.



thewird

 

Interesting the curve differences. This was my first dyno ever on this config. Its been so long, I dont remember what gear the middle (red) pull was.

 

I'm pretty sure my friend (and maybe a friend of yours as well) Jakub has been telling me about this car for the past year during our drives to school together. It looks amazing. Awesome work!

 

Thank you so much guys!

To tell you the truth, I have no idea... :P
I understand that a constant ~12 AFR would be best for power, but I have no idea why my tuner had tuned it this way. Sorry.... When it comes to Toyota engines, or engine tuning in general, I have very limited experience.

That's a very strong motor!
I forgot to mention that I was having terrible ignition break up problems while getting it dyno tuned, that's probably why the engine did not perform as well as it should.

The ignition was breaking up so bad that we resorted to getting new plugs and gapping them to .020" to get by and finish the dyno session. Most likely, I have bad plug wires, resulting the below average performance.

Hopefully, with my ignition problem sorted out, I can achieve similar power as your 1JZ.

LOL if your Jakub is aka jahoo88 with a Miata then yes, he's my friend and neighbour.
He comes by with this bike (bicycle/motorcycle) all the time just to shoot the *****; you should come with him next time.

Howi

 

I would ask your tuner about it, it looks like you could improve your top-end power some more. But fix that ignition breakup too which will give you even better results

That car should be able to break 1:20's with a little bit more experience on that track
Jimmy would probably do it on his first lap

thewird

 

Jim does 1:20's cooling his brakes down

 

So Jim is the Chuck Norris of road racing Rx7's now?

 

Seems so.. or do you know anyone else? neo?

 

Yeah I hope to be that fast when I grow up! hehe

 

Jim doens't turn through the corners, the corners turn around Jim?

Nice workmanship, again it's nice to see rotaries in RX7's, but a very good product nonetheless, and at least it's not an American V8. After going through this much work, it would be nice to see some slightly bigger, but still plenty reliable numbers on that motor!

 

Definitely need to get the ignition bug sorted out.

1:20 is going to be very hard on these 225 BFGs. We shot a video of my 1:24 lap, and I did not notice while I was driving, but from the pit you can hear that the tires could not handle the torque and were screeching constantly even when going in a straight line!

We'll see how it goes. For now, the goal is 1:22 before I switch to r-comps.

LOL... Jim is definitely the fastest RX-7 driver I know of that's at our level, which is non-competitive, with a non-restricted car. I thought I'd clear that up before the few real racers on this board start thinking we're a bunch of idiots.

Thanks dude. The LS1 is a great motor too, it's miles ahead of the typical oldschool domestic V8's that we're used to seeing. It's just not my kind of motor. The inline 6 1JZ is as smooth as butter, and really screams up high. It's so sexy....

I think this power level is enough for the 225 BFGs. I honestly don't think anymore power would help, with me driving at Dunnville that is. When we go with r-comps next year, perhaps 280-300hp would be ideal. I agree that the engine will be just as reliable even with a bit more power.

I hope I'm not giving the impression that I'm trying to preach on how to build a track car. The specs of this car, hp, brakes, suspension.. etc. is simply what I think works for me. Different drivers prefer different characteristics. Some go faster with more understeer, others are opposite. Every driver is a little different so there is definitely more than one recipe.


Howi

 

I hear ya, different strokes for different folks. Nice to see you put something together that works for you, and just plain works in general! Congrats.

 

That sucks about the breakup, makes you wonder. I also hope you're running the colder euro plugs (number escapes me) rather than the stock 2J plugs. The difference in plug is pretty noticable. They "pop" a bit at idle is the only no load difference. If you need the number, let me know, I'll go pull one.

Cheers.

 

Congrats Howi! Nice work. I'm glad you took it right to the track and tested it.

 

Thanks man.
Yes it works, for now. We'll see how well the car and I get along in a year or two.

Ya seriously. Definitely a little disappointing. I'm not sure what plugs I got, I'd have to check, but they were recommended by my tuner. It's definitely not the plugs though, because they're brand new. Please see discussion below.

Thanks Stage7

I've been doing a lot of thinking, as well as asking others for opinion on my ignition issue. Perhaps some of you with more knowledge in this area can provide some insight; it'd be greatly appreciate it.

The plugs are brand new NGKs. I'm also getting new plug wires from an FC. I'm running 3 FC leading coil packs on waste spark. The reason why I chose FC coil packs are because:

1. They have built in ignitors.
2. They're dirt cheap. $20 used.
3. I figure that if an ignition system can sustain a rotary engine (lots of fuel and boost), they should be good enough for any piston engine.

During a discussion, a friend of mine brought up a point I haven't considered before. He said that perhaps the FC coils were designed to ignite twice as quickly as a piston engine (1 spark event/revolution), and as a result the sparks aren't quite adequate for a piston application. Maybe the the ignitor+coil combo was designed to charge and discharge really quickly as opposed to providing a strong spark at a slower rate.

Do you guys think this can be the cause of my ignition break up?

I'm hitting Dunnville again on October 5th with Mark Tay's group. Anyone interested in tracking for the last time before the snow comes?

Howi

 

I guess no one has an opinion yet about the ignition question I asked....

Anyways, a little more update from the track. I HIT 1MIN 22SEC!!! WEEEEEEEEE!!!

I'm ready for r-comps next year!

It was a greeeeeeeeeat day! I couldn't believe the turn out. Dunnville was packed full of Bimmers, Porsche, Audi, GT-R, S2K, an RX8, you name it.

Again, the car felt completely neutral in turns, prefectly predictable, and just such a pleasure to drive. The brakes were amazing and never showed any sign of fading; they were as good the first lap of the day as they were the last. Overall, it's such an amazing track car; I absolutely love it!

Some pics for everyone:

 

 

Is it just me or does your car sit a touch low in the front?

 

Nice car! Cool swap!

 

Great job and good engine choice, rev's smooth much like a rotary with torque similar to a small v8. Didn't like the hood bump until I saw the painted pics, then it kinda grew on me. The motor will definitely hold up to abuse better than the rotary.

 

LOL I assume that you're referring to this pic:

I was actually under full braking going into turn 1 after the main straight, hence the nose dive.

Thank you sir!

Thank you for the kind words. To be honest with you, I love the stock lines on an FD and would prefer it over any aftermarket combination of body kit/hood/wings. I did my hood this way because it was the cheapest solution, as well as the most subtle/unnoticeable (by the police).

The engine does rev and sound very nicely, with great low end punch.

Howi

 

hey i saw your car at dunnville. that thing was FLYING! looked like it was handling fantastically.

cant wait to see it again next year. Im hoping to build up an ls2 fc to replace my 240 over the winter, then maybe ill give you a run for your money. :P

 

Hello! What car were you in? Did you actually go on the track that day? You wouldn't happen to be the one with a black super loud 240? If you were on the track that day, I may have some pictures for you.

You have an FC? I did not see any FC that day. The only RX-7s there that day was myself and another red FD; I actually approached him and spoke with him briefly.

FCs are also amazingly fun on the track. I tracked an FC regularly for 2 years before I got this FD.

Howi

 

Yes haha that was me. Its a little loud even for my tastes since i put that new exhaust on. I didnt have the fc there because i actually just got it last week. My cousin is the ORIGINAL OWNER! muhaha. and im getting it for free. Its been sitting in my grandmas garage for about 4 years. So ill probably sell the 240 and start building this car up. im thinking 300 or so hp will probably easily be enough.

Ill make sure i say Hi next track day.

 

Nice project Howi
The car looks nice and low for non-coilovers.