alexpatrick86

Hello all!

My name is Alex and I'm new here.

Following a road trip round Wales with a car club I am a member of last year, I decided that I wanted a car that was lighter and more nimble to drive. I was in a Mazda 6 MPS which I had owned for a year. The car had plenty of power (260PS/380Nm torque), however its 1650Kg payload was a little bit boaty for my liking, even with the 4WD.

Mazda 6 MPS


I originally owned a lightly modified 2002 Toyota Celica 190 previously to that, and was eager to get back into something smaller.

Toyota Celica 190 VVTL-i


The 6 burned plenty of fuel and I was using around £400 a month getting to and from work, so decided to replace it with 2 cars. An eco car, and a weekend car. I sold the 6 last October and got myself a 2010 Mazda 3 Diesel. £30 a year to tax, 55MPG and its newish. As a Mazda fan, there was only one car left to conquer the brand! LOL ;D

Just before Christmas I won a 2000 Mazda RX7 Type R in White at the Japanese auctions through a company called Torque-GT! Hurrah! I had narrowly missed a Type RS a few weeks previously. I was going to wait for another, but this came up and I just got carried away.

So here were the Auction pics...






And here are the shots post-auction victory







Not sure what the 3.5” floppy disk drive is in the passenger footwell :S


Clean Engine bay!


And underside!


The boat is currently due in on February 22nd. I expect it will be first couple of weeks in March when I get to collect. Very excited!

The service from Torque-GT has been wonderful. I don’t know if anyone here has used them before. You give them the budget, they look for the car and bid on it through a contact in Japan who inspects the vehicle and wins it based on the price. Then it gets de-registered, stuck on a boat and sent here. Once it hits the UK, you pay your duty and the guys collect it to get it prepped for collection. This includes speedo conversion, fog light, under seal and anything else you may want.

Plans for the car..

I want to try and create a unique, modern car whilst keeping it as close to OEM as possible.

Interior
• Change steering wheel over (already have the Nardi / Mazda one).
• New gearshifter.
• Custom dial fascia’s with chrome rings.
• New handbrake and gear gaiter with a re-covered steering wheel.
• New seats and re-trim interior.
• Keyless entry with proper push-start ignition.
• Hi-Fi and Nexus install.
• Dimming rear-view mirror.

Exterior
• Possibly paint the front lip white.
• Some sort of side skirt?
• Front Fogs.
• New Wheels!!! Huge must! What do people think to these?

Mechanics
• Car comes with a high flow CAT, so probably a CAT back exhaust.
• Suspension? Not sure on best options yet but I’m sure I’ll find something round here!
• Remove Boost controller and fan controller.
• Have car tuned with a new ECU.


According to Wikipedia I can see the Type R should conform to the following details..

Type R
Power - 206 kW (276 HP/280 PS - 314Nm/231 lb•ft)
Transmission - 5-speed manual
Weight - 1,150 kg (2,500 lb) 2+2
Brakes - 294 mm (11.6 in)
Wheels - 16x8.0JJ (front) / 16x8.0JJ (rear) - 205/50ZR16 (front) / 225/50ZR16 (rear)

Let me know your thoughts on the car. Any advice or suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

Alex.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

hmm..3.5 floppy disc huh..
I know!!!..Missile guidance system..(hit headlights,pull E brake..Woosh!) ..lol!

Welcome to the Forum!

alexpatrick86

Thanks chap! I didn't realise the 99+ spec included the Missile guidance, but am very chuffed to know it does now!

GeRX7many

iTrader: (1)

I love it.

I have a 99+ spec too but only in Red no one in White was available

Ravell

Nice buy, looks in good condition.

The Card reader on the side of the centre console is for Japan's ETC system, it's a transponder for the toll system they have on their motorways.

ETC toll system - WikiJET

I'd be cautious about fitting a cat-back exhaust system, seeing as it already has a high flow catalyst and you intend to go back to factory boost control. The factory set up uses the back pressure of the exhaust system to regulate boost pressure to a fair degree so making it too free flowing can cause overboost and very short engine life.

alexpatrick86

Thanks for the comments.

When the boost controller etc is disconnected, it will be swapped with an aftermarket ECU with specific map created for the car. This should eliminate any related issues shouldn't it?

So will the boost controller in it currently be running off the CAT do you think? Do you think the car would be running much more power than the stock 276BHP having the boost controller and CAT??

Ravell

I'd personally do a lot of reading on the workings of the turbo system on the car before making any changes. There's a lot of information out there, but also a lot of stories of mods going wrong because of misunderstandings and such.

I'd recommend reading:
"Why is this engine so damn complicated??" Part 1: Sequential turbos demystified

and

RX-7 Boost Control

Put very simply, boost is controlled by the waste gate, which on the RX-7 might be too small to prevent boost creep or open too slow to prevent boost spikes. Back pressure in the system prevents the turbine from spooling up too fast. Reduce back pressure enough and you need to use a bigger waste gate to control this, which is one of the reasons people change to single turbo setups as the stock waste gate can't be made that much bigger.

alexpatrick86

Well the car is now on UK soil. I have paid customs cuty and VAT!

The car should be moved to Torque-GT's headquarters in Devon at the beginning of next week to be prepped!

Getting very excited now as I'm sure you ca all imagine. Woo hoooo!

alexpatrick86

Hello everyone!

Well it’s been a bit of a wait, but 2 weeks ago I took collection of my RX7. After 5 months of wondering when I would finally get my hands on it, it all turned round in about 3 days.

I made the final arrangements for insurance, tax etc during the week ready for a nice 165 mile trip from Surrey to Ashburton to Torque GT HQ on the Saturday. Half way through the drive during a coffee stop I was greeted by this being posted up on Facebook…



Then an hour or so later I was able to take my first picture!



I must admit, in the last few weeks of the wait I was starting to get anxious of what I was going to end up picking up. At that stage, I had paid most the cash for the car based on a few pictures I was emailed by the guys at Torque GT, and even more ridiculously I hadn’t ever sat in a Mazda RX7, let alone drive one.

Luckily I couldn’t be more chuffed with what I have ended up with. Or with the service I have had from Darren @ Torque GT. The guys down there are superb. They have sourced me a lovely car which is in wonderful condition which is prepped for UK roads and secured it with a CAT 1 alarm. I wanted a car I could tinker with and which I could put my own stamp on, and this is perfect for it!

So, here it is…







Which fits in nicely with the other 2 on the drive



I’m over moon with the car. I had the Mazda 6 MPS which was a 1600KG beast. I knew I wanted something lighter and more nimble, and this is both. The sharpness in steering and ability to stick it round corners is wonderful. I really couldn’t be happier with how it drives and handles. Which is a bit of a relief lol.

I’m not sure how it is performing at the moment as it has the Blitz Boost Controller which I presume is running in some sort of factory mode. I have no idea what I would be trying to achieve with it so have left it alone for now. All I do know is it never goes above half way on the dash’s boost gauge. I have AMT near me and he has suggested a Adaptec ECU and map to assist me in getting rid of things hanging off the dash.

I had been collecting parts for the car prior to collection. I have a 2001 Mazda Nardi wheel which I believe is from an MX5 to replace the racing wheel. I have a set of Series 8 fog front lights which need to be wired in, plus 2 factory fog light switches which I need to fit to make it all look original.



My plan is to send the wheel, gear and handbrake gaitors of to a company called Hide N Seat which I discovered through the Celica forum I used to be a part of. Should tidy things up. I’m going for black leather with Red stitching. Oh and a new, MPS style ****!

I have already had some new black and ret mats made up for the interior and fitted the wheel to make sure it’s actually goes in before having it recovered! I’m also going to have it bulked out a bit! Whoop Whoop!



Here’s a few more pics taken today after a long clean and polish, ready for a trip down to Goodwood for Supercar Sunday tomorrow!







Please let me know what you think chaps and sling any random advice you may have this way! New rotary owner here and lots to learn lol!

Thanks for your eye time!

Alex