Engine Swap for Racing.
 

Hello All, this is my absolute first post on this site.

But it's a big one... I want to start racing my 87 GXL, but I've got no engine. I live here in Toronto where RX's are rare. I know this would be going against everything the RX stands for but i want to put in a 6 cylinder engine. Any suggestions on which engine? something light and powerful. i was thinkin of the new Maxima/Pathfinder 3.5L (i can pick one up from a write-off for under $3000 Cnd.). I know it'd be a lot of work... like A LOT of work... but my Dad (a crafty mechanic) and I are willing to put the effort and time. But then again i might be foolish for even considering it... does anyone have any suggestions? cost is an issue.

Thanks in advance, ped.

i think it would probable be cheaper to get a 3 rotor... at least you would have the support from the people that have already done it and have how-to's on it.

a 3 rotor (2.0l)will make more power then that 3.5 liter engine and will not throw the weight distribution off as much.

But if i had my say i would try a skyline or a ferrari engine... something exotic.

also i think it would be best to stick with a rotary for a rx-7 there is not much out there that can match its power to size ratio. and if this is a track car it would be alot better to keep the weight distribution even and the car light.

what kind of racing do you plan to do? what do the rules say about the swaps?

try http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/ for Chev V8 and V6 swaps. Also Ford V8 swaps too. Much more documented than a Nissan V6 swap. The Ford V8 swap would be real nice and as 302 is fairly light weight and gives good power.

also, if money is an issue, i would probably stick with modding the hell out a 13B. i'd say that for 2 reasons ...

1) it's already going to be a bolt-in affair (engine, tranny, etc., etc.)

2) people have already done insane things with 13B's and you have all the support you could wish for right here. all the info on what works and what doesn't. and i honestly can't see you needing more power than a well-built 13B can provide ... for anything (short of Bonneville) :D

with both of those reasons, you'll be eliminating a lot of the need for seriously custom fab-work (which would probably easily end up being 40-50% of the completed car's cost), so that money can go right into tuning and reliability. just my opinion.

however, if you MUST go piston, and you want to keep your car's handling ... my vote would be for either an SR20DET or a 3SGTE ... i don't know if these swaps have been done in a Gen II Rx-7, but i know both engines can top 700 HP in extreme applications, and they're not dead weight. again, just my opinion ... ;)

A monster bridge port 13b with downdraft carb is good for about 260+ horsepower . If you want more than this i would go with a v8. Any other V6 will need thousands in performance parts or cost too much initially. Eg(bmw m3, 333 hp.)Modding a modern motor also involves a fuel computer, tuning, dyno time, custom exhaust, etc, etc. The monster bridge is proven and the right shop can get you going right away.

sr20det's are bullet proof.

you know that the M3 is a straight-6, right? ;)