Doing the Impossible... making rx7 reliable?
05-02-09, 09:10 PM
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Doing the Impossible... making rx7 reliable?
Is it really possible to make the 13b twin turbo in my Fd possible? Or should I take my ten grand and to a 2jz swap? I want to hear serious feedback only and If you say you have done it offer up some pics or mileage proof. I love the 13b but I want to make my fd my day to day driver.
05-03-09, 10:55 AM
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Mazda eventually made the FD reliable, so you can as well. 
I'm not an FD guy, but here's what I think needs to be done:
-replace all vacuum hoses with high temp silicon
-replace plastic AST with metal
-new rad
-make sure e-fans are working properly
-metal intercooler piping
-remove precat
I'm sure FD owners will chime in with more info now that the thread is approved.
I'm not an FD guy, but here's what I think needs to be done:
-replace all vacuum hoses with high temp silicon
-replace plastic AST with metal
-new rad
-make sure e-fans are working properly
-metal intercooler piping
-remove precat
I'm sure FD owners will chime in with more info now that the thread is approved.
05-03-09, 11:09 AM
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Yeah I hope
I really want this to get a large spectrum of opinions flowing. I am gonna drop a good deal of money and just want it to be the best bang for my buck.
05-04-09, 11:11 AM
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I guess the bottom line with FDs is this: you have a tremendous power/displacement ratio not found in other engines, leading to very high combustion chamber pressures. Even if you manage to draw off all that heat with a robust cooling system, there is still a large temperature differential and not much tolerance for a cooling system failure.
AI does a fantastic job of lowering the CCPs and reducing the sensitivity of the motor to external cooling. It also reduces the necessity of high octane fuel and lowers the knock index. As long as your AI system is set up with appropriate safeguards you can really improve the durability of the system as a whole and trim back the intercooler and cooling system. For whatever reason, AI has seen only limited application in FDs. Newer AI systems are more streetable and easier to tune and install than ever before, which makes this a "new era" if tuning boosted RX-7s.
Dave
AI does a fantastic job of lowering the CCPs and reducing the sensitivity of the motor to external cooling. It also reduces the necessity of high octane fuel and lowers the knock index. As long as your AI system is set up with appropriate safeguards you can really improve the durability of the system as a whole and trim back the intercooler and cooling system. For whatever reason, AI has seen only limited application in FDs. Newer AI systems are more streetable and easier to tune and install than ever before, which makes this a "new era" if tuning boosted RX-7s.
Dave
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05-25-09, 07:52 PM
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After having my RX7 for a while, and lurking on these boards for quite some time I've come to a few realizations.
The FD is complicated and requires a lot of effort on the owners part. Depending on the condition of the car when you bought it, it can also cost a lot of money to make it dependable as a DD. If you use the analogy of your car being a hot woman it's not far off (time and money my friend, time and money) but in the end it's worth it.
If you love the car enough and are prepared to spend a LOT of time reading and learning about this car, there is no reason you can't get in it every day and drive it without any worries. You need to be prepared to make sure you solve any electrical or mechanical issues before you start doing ANYTHING to the car. Like any other system you need a good baseline. Be prepared to test every system on the car and make sure it is functioning 100%. Be prepared to spend several thousand dollars doing all the reliability mods/fixing broken crap.
The problem with these cars is that many previous owners do not take care of them so they often are handed to you in sad shape. Once you get the car, spend your money and time focusing on making the car more reliable instead of blinging it out. Many people drop all their money on making it look good, then have nothing left to make it work when it craps out on them like the jokers who buy the car and list their first mod as a $10k body kit.
The FD's #1 problem is heat, followed closely by (in stock turbo form) heat-associated boost problems. All of the problems with this vehicle can basically be traced back to heat induced problems. Defeat the heat problems and you go a long way. Tackle the oil and water cooling systems to make sure that is working correctly. Install a basic AI (water injection) system to keep your engine clean and cool, this is especially important as a DD since you will be building up a lot of carbon unless you take it out and flog it on a track once in a while. I'm not talking about tuning for additional power, I'm talking preventative maintenance. Remove the precat if you have one, install a coated DP and maybe manifold. Install an aftermarket engine management system like a Power FC and get it TUNED.
There are lots of other things you will need to do like upgrading your fuel system, there are a few unreliable parts there as well such as your FPD (fuel pulsation damper) and going with a higher flowing pump is always good as well. Not to mention cars this old usually need a good injector cleaning.
Unless I've forgotten something those are the basic things you need to do in order to make your car a DD. I know, because thats what I had to do, and now I'm not afraid to take my car anywhere.
Oh and if you have no desire/inclination to do things like pull engines this isn't the car for you I had little mechanical background before I got my FD, but I'm starting to enjoy taking the car apart almost as much as I do driving it :P
Few things have given me as much satisfaction as knowing I solved the problems with my car (with a lot of help from the people on this forum) and I just appreciate it so much more now.
I remember reading a post on this forum that kind of stuck with me, basically the gist was :
1) You spend a lot of money and a lot of your time and effort to learn the car
2) You pay someone else even more money to keep it running
3) You give up and sell it
Take your pick !
The FD is complicated and requires a lot of effort on the owners part. Depending on the condition of the car when you bought it, it can also cost a lot of money to make it dependable as a DD. If you use the analogy of your car being a hot woman it's not far off (time and money my friend, time and money) but in the end it's worth it.
If you love the car enough and are prepared to spend a LOT of time reading and learning about this car, there is no reason you can't get in it every day and drive it without any worries. You need to be prepared to make sure you solve any electrical or mechanical issues before you start doing ANYTHING to the car. Like any other system you need a good baseline. Be prepared to test every system on the car and make sure it is functioning 100%. Be prepared to spend several thousand dollars doing all the reliability mods/fixing broken crap.
The problem with these cars is that many previous owners do not take care of them so they often are handed to you in sad shape. Once you get the car, spend your money and time focusing on making the car more reliable instead of blinging it out. Many people drop all their money on making it look good, then have nothing left to make it work when it craps out on them like the jokers who buy the car and list their first mod as a $10k body kit.
The FD's #1 problem is heat, followed closely by (in stock turbo form) heat-associated boost problems. All of the problems with this vehicle can basically be traced back to heat induced problems. Defeat the heat problems and you go a long way. Tackle the oil and water cooling systems to make sure that is working correctly. Install a basic AI (water injection) system to keep your engine clean and cool, this is especially important as a DD since you will be building up a lot of carbon unless you take it out and flog it on a track once in a while. I'm not talking about tuning for additional power, I'm talking preventative maintenance. Remove the precat if you have one, install a coated DP and maybe manifold. Install an aftermarket engine management system like a Power FC and get it TUNED.
There are lots of other things you will need to do like upgrading your fuel system, there are a few unreliable parts there as well such as your FPD (fuel pulsation damper) and going with a higher flowing pump is always good as well. Not to mention cars this old usually need a good injector cleaning.
Unless I've forgotten something those are the basic things you need to do in order to make your car a DD. I know, because thats what I had to do, and now I'm not afraid to take my car anywhere.
Oh and if you have no desire/inclination to do things like pull engines this isn't the car for you
I had little mechanical background before I got my FD, but I'm starting to enjoy taking the car apart almost as much as I do driving it :P Few things have given me as much satisfaction as knowing I solved the problems with my car (with a lot of help from the people on this forum) and I just appreciate it so much more now.
I remember reading a post on this forum that kind of stuck with me, basically the gist was :
1) You spend a lot of money and a lot of your time and effort to learn the car
2) You pay someone else even more money to keep it running
3) You give up and sell it
Take your pick !
05-29-09, 07:41 AM
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thanks man that has really helped me out. i am in the boat of looking for my first one and i needed to know these things before i bought. thank god for this forum lol.
05-29-09, 09:06 AM
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Mazda eventually made the FD reliable, so you can as well.
I'm not an FD guy, but here's what I think needs to be done:
-replace all vacuum hoses with high temp silicon
-replace plastic AST with metal
-new rad
-make sure e-fans are working properly
-metal intercooler piping
-remove precat
I'm sure FD owners will chime in with more info now that the thread is approved.
I'm not an FD guy, but here's what I think needs to be done:
-replace all vacuum hoses with high temp silicon
-replace plastic AST with metal
-new rad
-make sure e-fans are working properly
-metal intercooler piping
-remove precat
I'm sure FD owners will chime in with more info now that the thread is approved.
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