Mferrier

As of yet, I do not own an RX-7, but I plan to buy and FD and 2jzgte swap it. I am looking for 800 whp at the minimum. Is there any advice that I should know about so I can one day achieve my goal?

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

Buy a Supra.

-Ted.

rxtasy3

iTrader: (2)

+1

Mferrier

But the supra is ugly and lacks the sleekness and curves of an FD. Would you not agree?

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

As i said in the other thread regarding this regarding and RB26 swap. Dont
It makes me sad to say so, but the LS is a very good swap in the FD. Both in terms of weight, power, and there is kits available for it.

Mferrier

I have considered this, and if I were to it would be the LSX 454, but I have decided 2jz. I understand that the firewall of the car will be damaged but there have been many 2jz swapped FD's.

StaticX27

iTrader: (2)

I think aside from the animosity towards engine swapping an FD, look at what Supra guys have to go through to get 800+ HP. You're talking upgraded turbos, which entails a lot more than just slapping a few big turbos in there. You're talking a full retard built motor, and tuning by someone who actually knows what they're doing .

Add the layer of complexity of swapping it into a car that wasn't designed for that motor and that level of power and you're talking a pretty serious project. LSx is pretty simple to do since it's all kitted out and ready to go, with many test cars to refine the design and make it fairly simple. 2jz quite frankly doesn't have the hours put into it to the same degree.

Finally, you need to do a ton of suspension, brake and chassis work, otherwise you'll have a really powerful car that just spins it wheels every time you change gears.

Get around $50-70k together and then we can talk. Hell, have you ever driven an 800+hp car? That's a serious amount of power that most race cars rarely see. 800+ is usually only for drag cars and bragging rights.

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

https://www.rx7club.com/general-rota...setup-1133592/

a lot of people dont actually realize what goes into this.... if money is no object then youre fine but this swap is so wildly expensive, its seriously pointless. its for nothing more than the novelty of having done it. for what you spend on a 2j swap (even stock) you could put that towards a rotary and have the same if not more power with the motor thats meant to be in it. if you want a jz fd, buy one already swapped.

Mferrier

The engine swap alone is roughly 15k

Mferrier

I already have considered all of this, I still have plenty of time to decide whether or not I should 2jz swap or not, the 2j is ideally what I would like to put in the fd, but I am not opposed to the LSX.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

On the flip side, why not build a monster rotary and put it in there? A ported and turbocharged 20B would do the trick. Then you're keeping with the car's heritage and not bastardizing the car. Just tossing that out there as an option. Either way you're looking to spend gobs of cash.

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

where did that number come from

Mferrier

I found a swap kit for 5k, an engine for 3k, so that's about 8k and the other 7k for miscellaneous items.

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

Price it out more realistically.... there's more to it than that. 15k won't get you a running 2j fd. Not a properly done one anyway. I'm sure you could Mickey mouse something together for that but it will likely destroy itself or fall apart. Do more research on what goes into it and price it out realistically.

Mferrier

look near the end of this thread https://www.rx7club.com/other-engine...5E-%5E-924871/

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

no......

good luck

StaticX27

iTrader: (2)

To give you an idea, I'm around $30k into my ls3 swap, and that's with buying kits for as much as possible and doing 80% of the work by myself, and I'm not even done (about $5k left in parts).

I know guys who've built for much less, but I also see cut corners in areas.

newtgomez

Must be someone's first day trying to swap a car. Ever price out a Getrag 6 speed that you'll need to hold power? Ever price out a turbo kit? Fuel system for minimum 800hp? Engine management? Wheels and tires to put down power? A rear end swap that it will most likely need? 15k won't get you much of anything useful for the swap. Buy a MK4 Supra and start from there. No need to bastardize another FD with an engine that's too big and too heavy. I'll never understand the need for people to buy a chassis just to swap it before even seeing what the driving experience is all about. You might as well 2j swap an evo while you're at it.

Mferrier

I understand that I was just talking about getting the engine in the car.

Mferrier

Thank you for that information, may I ask your specs? Also, I would go for a v8 build but I do not want v8 sounds. I would much rather prefer the sounds of an I6

Mferrier

If I wanted any other car besides the FD I would not be on this thread, personally I have thought about keeping the 13b, but wanted something more capable of power. I have considered the 20b, but personally I prefer the 2JZ engine even though the 20b is half the weight of the 2JZ.

StaticX27

iTrader: (2)

For the most part, I'm doing a stock E-rod LS3 build, but its a full nuts and bolts replacement build. Coilovers, big brakes, wheels, 8.8 rear end; what I consider to be a pretty standard and minimal build. Nothing is going onto the car without some type of coating or plating or being passivated stainless steel.

The way I'm building it, I'll be doing around 375-400whp, but all the components being capable of handling up to around 750. My goal is to do an OEM build that is also smog legal in CA, so our goals are quite different.



This kind of shortsightedness is foolish. The engine was probably one of the weakest parts of the RX-7, right next to the interior plastic. The RX-7 was a balanced car, and looked amazing. It's an exceptional platform to start from, with a ton of potential that can be brought out with the right parts. I mean, LS1 swaps go stock at around 350whp, run forever, cheap parts, can be taken to virtually any mechanic for maintenance and tuning rather than having to scour for a rotary mechanic that won't screw you, pick up any part you want at autozone, and still get 20-30MPG... All while adding 50lbs to the car. Who wouldn't see the value in taking something widely available, with virtually no downsides and putting it into a gorgeous, lightweight sports car?

newtgomez

I just don't understand the point of taking a popular engine from one already good car and putting it in another. The rotary is an awesome marvel of engineering and while it does have the drawback of not handling boat loads of power as reliable as a piston engine, it still has loads of character and is a blast to modify. It's what makes the Rx-7 so unique. If you want an LS engine in a 2 seater sports car with pop ups, the C5 Vette is slightly cheaper and handles just as well. Not to mention, you already get all of the LS stuff and the interior is a lot bigger making it more practical and easier to modify if you're in to v8 stuff. As for the 2jz, it does fit in the FD engine bay with enough room for a pair of twins. I just remembered I bought a book named "Street Turbocharging" and the front cover has an FD with a jz swap in it. Looks like the engine fits with maybe a half inch of clearance in the back. But honestly, the MK4 is a great handling car and looks fantastic so why not just buy one? Their interior plastics are far superior to what Mazda did and the car is really easy to work on and modify. Not to mention, you get TONS of looks and people swarming you with a Supra while no one ever bats an eye at the ol FD. Even NA-T, the car is great and puts down good power. You'll end up spending around the same amount of money so I would look in to the MK4 chassis.

StaticX27

iTrader: (2)

First, to the OP's question though, personally I'd get the car running with a stock 2JZ in it first, and then start having fun getting more power out of it. Sure it'll be more expensive in the long run and take more time overall, but I suspect the process would be far more enjoyable than just going for broke right out of the gates. I would probably do the basics though, suspension, brakes, tires, rear-end while you're doing the swap. You can make some good decisions for the future with things like aluminum driveshaft vs steel, etc. Figure out what the goal of your build is. Are you making a drag car? Track? Once you have that goal, you can start tailoring your decisions and researching where you need to go from there. If you're planning on having a shop do everything, look around for specialty shops and start interviewing them. Once you know what you want, it'll be really easy to price everything out and start the process. For my build, I knew what my goal was from day 1, and I started planning in that direction early on. There are things that changed along the way of course, but it was all factored in and adjusted at each step of the process. If you need help, sadly I wouldn't look on this forum as you can see how tolerant many are of "bastardizing" an FD. Check out norotors forum for advice. Way more accepting crowd, and I find the overall knowledge level to be much higher compared to here.

Another recommendation though, don't waste your time with body work until you have a running vehicle. You need to know where you need to cut, where is going to rub, etc and you're not going to know that until you have a running car. It's a huge waste of time to paint it all nice, only to have to bust out the angle grinder to knock out some brackets you ended up not needing or were in the way of something. Hell, I have some pieces I made for that I anodized before test fitting them, only to find I didn't put a radius relief on one of the edges. God I felt stupid after that. Once you have the car together, it only takes another day to completely strip it for paint. I'm not talking about paint for appearance's sake (though also a factor for some), I'm talking about protecting the car from rust. You need to remember to spray any of the exposed sheet metal areas after you cut them or risk exposing the rest of your car to rust; race car or not.

The rotary was designed for long term and consistent operation, but wasn't designed for durability. That's why you only see the rotary used in compressors, generators; things that are designed to run efficiently and long term. They were not designed to be abused and run at so much variation as they are in automobiles. Moreover, the rotary as applied to the automotive world simply does not have the R&D time available to it to make it anywhere comparable to a piston engine in terms of potential. Mazda is still advancing the piston engine with their SkyActive motors. What rotary advancements have happened in the past 20 years? RX-8 do something new and special? I mean from what I hear, Mazda is planning on using the rotary for charging an alternator that charges their next generation of electric motors, which is somewhere that would be a fantastic use of the rotary. Everything has it's place.

As for why someone would do it? Again, its 350whp+, reliable, 20-30MPG, more torque and a smooth, predictable and consistent power band. A 350+hp 13B would get 5-10mpg and require far more maintenance to keep it there. Parts would be more expensive, labor would be difficult to find as the rotary mechanics are a dying breed, etc. You seriously can't understand the point? Again, such shortsightedness is pretty foolish. I mean yea, the rotary is unique, and if you want to keep it in yours because of an interest in it, or you're fascinated with the uniqueness of it, more power to ya. However, it's a machine, parts are changed out and everyone runs them as they see fit. You don't have to like it, and no one is asking you to. What people ask is that you respect their decisions on what they do with their cars.

If I want an LS in a 2-seater sports car with flush mounts, I'll keep my FD with flush mount headlights and an LS3 in it, thank you very much. Hell, I was thinking of picking up an S15 Varietta and LS swapping that too, maybe even a 240 Datsun as well, or an FB if they ever get around to updating California laws to include early gen rx7s. It'll be nice to have a full garage of LS swaps. Why? Because it sounds like fun would be pretty damned awesome and it's what I want to do.

See, the difference is, I just want to sit there and modify my car in peace without having blowhards telling me how I'm bastardizing and destroying an FD. The OP is asking for advice how to modify his car. He probably already has made a decision that he'd prefer swapping it than keeping the rotary, thus this thread. He probably also knows that 3-rotor and 4-rotor builds are just as, if not more expensive than a v8/I6 swap, parts are rare, shops are rare, etc.

But hey, I guess I don't get those 3 rotor guys either, because they should have just bought a Cosmo, since it's practical, easier to modify if you're into that 3 rotor stuff, and is a lot bigger than an FD, right?

Maybe because people like the looks of the FD more than the Supra, and thus influences their decisions? I know I'd never want an MK4 over an FD, thus why I chose not to. And I also prefer the lighter FD chassis (noticed that weight is a theme? =P) to a Supra. I can easily imagine others not wanting one. I mean seriously, they were like +500-800lbs compared to an FD. They can't handle like an FD does. There's a lot to consider, but overall I think the FD is a far better platform than the MK4's were. Besides, high mileage Supras are going for well over $60k. 2JZ's came from multiple cars, and you can still get FD shells for under $10k. You could have a full 2JZ swapped FD for around $30-50k, perform better and is cheaper than an MK4.

I personally disagree with a 2JZ swap, since the 2JZ is pretty heavy, almost double the weight of a 13B. However, the OP probably doesn't care about my opinion, thus why I didn't give it to him. There are ways of compensating, but overall putting an extra 200lbs in the front isn't always the easiest thing to deal with. My only goal in my initial response is to see how prepared the OP is to spend over $50k getting the car done properly or if he just wants to mickey mouse something together. Beyond that, it's his money, his car, his project. More power to him. I love watching people work towards their dreams, working their projects and building something cool.

Mferrier

You understand me I love you