Hello, my name is Matt and this is my first post on Rx7club, this is going to be a big post and I hope you guys can take your time to read it and help me i will appreciate it very much.

Ok, so i love cars obviously.. I have been learning about exotics for a while now, mostly porsche's and some bimmers. I was all about buying a car that was already good from the start, not buying a decent car then tuning it to 500 bhp +. So tuning is like a new genre to me.

I want a sports car, i have 50 grand to spend. At first I wanted a porsche 996 turbo, then a bmw m6, then a lotus exige s (all of these cars are used BTW not new!). But after i visisted a tuner's auto show in Toronto a couple weeks ago, I started right away to love the idea of tuning a car, especially japanese cars (well only japanese cars) I just love the idea about having a car that was made in Japan, steering wheel on the right side and then tuning it, it just feels so right. Ok so ever since i saw that mazda rx7 (FD MODEL) veilside at the auto show, i knew it. I knew that that was the car I was going to own. And that i was going to get that same kit.

Ok so now i know what car im going to get, and that is why I found out of this website today. I was so happy when i discovered Rx7club because obviously people here know what they are talking about and most of my questions will be answered. So i am really happy that i chose to go with the Rx7 and that I discovered this site and thank you to all of you that will answer.

Alright so i have 50k. I found a decent rx7 turbo in Canada here for 7.5k, its good condition 150k kilometers. So basically if I buy this car i will have 42.5 k. Now I am for sure going to get the veilside kit so that will be 15k, plus the installation and painting will cost around 5k, so 20k. now i have 22.5k left. ALL of this 22.5k will go towards the engine, and this is where im a complete noob and need your help. So basically I want at least 500 bhp, and for the car to accelerate from 0-100 kph in under 5 seconds (will love it if it can do it 3.8-4.2 seconds!). Theres a 20b rotary engine for sale on this website, for 7.5k

http://www.rx7store.net/category_s/495.htm

Now if I were to buy this engine, how much would it cost to get somebody to install it? This is where im completely clueless. If the installation were to be 2.5k so 10k total, could i get a nice twin turbo set for 5k ? that would overall get the car 500 bhp + ??

But in conclusion I just really want to know what I could do to the engine with 22.5k Please tell me all the option that could get over 500 bhp!

Thank you very much

 

I'd buy a C6 Corvette or buy an RX7 and keep 25k in the bank - especially in this uncertain economy.

Stock numbers on the FD were 5.0 seconds 0-60 fwiw.

I'd get the engine from another shop. Preferably one that has more experience with 20Bs and engine building and great customer service. Defined Autoworks has a nice install kit and a recommendation from a talented, Mazda race engine builder - Carlos Lopez - Link: http://www.definedautoworks.com/

Pettit Racing is another reliable option for a shop experienced with 3 rotor conversions and engine building.

3 rotor swaps ain't easy. Spend some time in the 20B sub forum and read the various threads. Also check out David Hayes thread in the 3rd gen section. He went through hell and back with his 20B conversion.

Keep researching or you'll **** away that 50k real quick and not have a running car.

 

20b could definitely get to 500 hp but I do not know if that is the best option. Howard Coleman daily drives his at 550 whp. He runs 80% gasoline 20% methanol and gets 20 mpg. Until you can check out the other forums check out his site http://www.colemanprecisionrotaries.com/

 

A 20B can make 500HP all day long. However, to pay a shop to do a full install from start to finish including tuning, will probably run you $30K.

$50K isn't much to build a Vielside 500HP FD when you are paying shops to do the work. You gotta' figure in the high $20K range just to get the kit installed and painted. That's more then half your budget and that isn't even including the car.

I like the suggestion of a C6.

 

You would save Thousands by doing this yourself. That is but isnt a direct swap in to your car and any shop will charge you plenty for evry extra nut bolt washer and hour they use.

Your plans are great ones and you should use them to fully understand your car. I would.

 

You should look into different body styles for the rx7. Rather then watching fast and furious and saying I want that! If you do go with the veilside kit it adds 220mm to the rear. New rims? Another 3-4k. And it will probably be around 7-8k to get the kit on and painted. Unless you want a 10000$ kit to look like you did it at home. What about handling? You want a 500hp 20b with stock suspenion? You wont even be able to go fast in a straight line.

 

Wouldn't it be alot cheaper to find one already built? I saw one on ebay with the same body kit with a 3 rotor going for I think 30k?

 

13BT FB and put the rest into RRSP's

 

If this is your first car and you've been given $50k to spend then our advice on saving money obviously won't matter to you. So I'll skip the fact that I think a modified FD is possibly the worst choice as a first car and the worst use of $50k for a first time driver. Not to mention the resale value of this car will be a tiny fraction of $50k and that's making the big assumption it won't leave your possession on a wrecker. And you won't be driving it in winter unless you live in coastal Vancouver.

So that leaves the subject of how to spend $50k on an RX-7. You could do the 20b but that will consume lots of time and most of the money. A $7500 base vehicle will need probably at least that much just to get the body and interior in shape according to a $50k car. I think a well built 13B with single turbo and auxiliary injection (Howard Coleman style) will be a 500hp monster and leave some money for bodykits and stuff.

 

500bhp equates to 425 rwhp with 15% drivetrain loss. Which is just a moderately (400-500 rwhp) modded fd in my book.

I dont think the OP realizes how fast a 425rwhp fd really is. Its fast enough to hang and even beat the big dogs i.e. stock gtr's, C6 Z06, GT 500... Actually my heart still pumps whenever I floor mine and im just at 400 level.

If this is truly your first car and are actually seriously contemplating the purchase of such a car. Dont as most likely end bad. The fd doesnt have all the modern driver assistance tools to help keep inexperienced drivers from killing themselves. Youtube fd vs gtr tougue battle and though the fd won, you can clearly see how much more work the driver is doing trying to keep the car on the road.

 

Have you ever driven anything over 300hp in the 1st place? Listen don't worry about big numbers you can kill yourself and **** away just as much $$$ with +/- 300hp.

Get something you can drive daily (older bimmer or something) and buy something (FE, FD, FC whatever) that you can put time and effort in to and have something to be proud of as opposed to saying "hey look how much money i can dump in to a car"

 

one last thing most of the owners (myself included) find that veilside kit on the hideous side.

a hot kit these days is the feed widebody... several forum members have it, herblenny, justjava, supman... search under their names so you can find pics of their rides