speeddemon7

Im just curious as to whether this has been attempted or has been done before.
I know theres a few people on here running v8's in fd's and ive also read about the sr20 mpowered rx7.And of course the toyota supra engine in the rx7.But I dont think ive heard of anyone transplanting a rb25 or rb 26 motor into a 3rd gen.The responses should be interesting I hope.

rotorbrain

never heard of it. . . i think the reasoning would be that the cost of getting one here in the the u.s. as well as putting it in the car would rival the cost of doing a 20b conversion. . . and well. . . MY choice is clear when it comes to an engine swap. . . especially, knowing the power output of the 20b. the 25 & 26 have their share of problems. in fact ive read on numerous websites that 600-800 hp is the magic blown up motor rating for those dudes. they evidently take a lot of mods to keep them running. . . and that its not very streetable. the 20b is just BEGINNING at around 600hp. . . not stock of course!!! hahaha

paul

XSTransAm

i dont think i could have said it better.

DjRannyKan

i have seen a couple old 240z with the skyline swap. The car was insanly fast.

jimlab

Just beginning to what?

BTW, as an inline 6-cylinder, the Skyline's RB26DETT has the same problems as the Supra 2JZ-GTE; tall and long. You'd have to go through the same contortions to try to fit one into an FD (i.e. bulges in the hood and compromised ground clearance, not to mention radically changing the steering geometry).

SleeperRX7

iTrader: (2)

I though about doing it at one time, but the price to get something like that running is not worth it. Youre looking at less than 300 hp engine that is going to cost as much as a 20b, or a heavily modded 13b. I'd say stick with rotary. If you really want to do this though pm me, I know of a shop that wants to take on a project like that.

speeddemon7

the reason I asked was because theres a 240 sx running around town with a rb25 motor in it.Also theres a shop in my town that has two r32 skylines.A white one and a red one.The white on is stroked to 2.7 liters so technically its a rb27 and it has 1100 horses.The red one is also stroked to 2.7 liters and that one is somewhere in the high 800's.And not to dog on the 20b but its still a rotary.Which means its unreliable and much more likely to blow than a piston engine.I know its a hard fact to face but its true.After seeing so many owners with blown engines i wonder what the hell mazda was thinking with these rotaries.They should have gone with a straight six like the supras and the skylines.Much more reliable engines than the 13b rew.

speeddemon7

since swapping to a 20 b is somewhere around 30 grand or more I say screw that.
What about the sr20 swaps? how much do those run?
Im beggining to see that im either going to have to stick with the 13b rew for pricing reasons or go with the ls1.I saw the pontiac gto that rhys millen drives.Its a friggin beast.The other cars had nowhere near the power that the ls1 put out.I was very impressed.I cant believe everyone booed the guy.His car is bad ***.

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

no comment..

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

Rhys Millen's factory-backed SCCA ProRally EVO V was a much better car than the GTO. He brought it to the Falken Drift Show in '03. Anti-lag turbo system, true FIA-spec roll cage, that thing was the real deal, and probably weighed nearly 1000lb less than the 'new GTO' that Pontiac is paying him to drive now (the Holden Monaro has been in OZ for about a decade). If you're referring to the recent D1 in Irwindale CA, I'm pretty sure the Viper had a bit more power...

-s-

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

re: rotary reliability, do you think if the FD3S had a piston engine, with the same turbo configuration, ECU, engine bay layout, and cooling system, that it would be more reliable or less reliable? 3rd-Gen's aside, rotary-engined cars have great reliability records. When tuned to the bleeding edge, every engine loses a lot of longevity. What I've seen is people neglecting their cars and ending up with cooling system failures, or trying to add power for cheap, ending up with detonation. Am I wrong?

-s-

Ball joint

iTrader: (6)

Iam wondering how many people have actually put sr20's in FD's. Personally I cannot count the amount of times I have been at a car show or meet or whatever and heard some moron say "why dont you take out that piece of crap rotary and put in a sr20" like its the easiest thing in the world. Anybody else get this??

lopedl

iTrader: (1)

Who said it was unreliable. Just cause its a rotary doesn't mean $hit, go look in the first gen section and see how many guys have hit the 200,000 mark without a rebuild. And even some guys with fd's on 6 digits without a rebuild. All though the 7 is rare in my town most of the guys I have talked to have had no problem hitting the 6 digits on the odom.

I could almost guarentee the Rb25 or 26 swap will throw the handling of the car off. Like people have mentioned the engine is soo long its would be a pain in the ****. You'll have to use the non-awd tranny I think its the one out the 26. Looking at 30k easy. And with 30k think of how many built 13b's you could have sitting in your garage, and than think of how reliable you'll be then.

speeddemon7

Dont get me wrong guys.I like the whole concept of the rotary.But what I dont like is the constant problems associated with 3rd gen rx7's as well as the constant worry of when is my engine gonna blow.I mean that alone makes me regret buying my fd.Other than that I love the looks of the car and the interior is quite possibly one of the nicest and most comfortable.Well the seats anyways.
The rotarys lack of low end torque is also another downside.I dont understand why they didnt supercharge the rotary instead.It would have cured the low end torque problem.

Mikey

there was a guy doing an RB26 swap in an FD on the board...but i guess it was over a month old and i guess the admins deleted the thread. but check here for engine swap info... https://www.rx7club.com/other-engine-conversions-non-v-8-118/

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

I bought my FD because of unique rotary engine.. And I have no intention of putting anything else in except rotary engine.. If I wanted to put SR20, I would of bought nissan.. If I wanted to put LS1, I would of bought a corvette.. If I wanted to put some heavy *** supra engine, I would of bought a supra.. These cross hybrid cars are nothing but wanta be cars.. If you really want to build a car by putting different engine, go build it from scratch.. If you want fast car, you really shouldn't think of reliability..

speeddemon7

I know reliability and performance car dont exactly mix.But damn.
It seems like every week a guy blows his engine.Its usually not even the guys fault.I said usually becuase some guys go overboard with mods and pop goes the motor.You know it wouldnt even be that bad if it werent for the fact that not very many people work on rotaries.I mean I can get a piston engine worked on locally.But for a rotary I have to send the engine away.To some shop Ive never stepped foot in.Not to mention the wait in shipping and of course the rebuilding process.Its such a huge pain in the ***.Maybe if colorado had a reputable rotary rebuilder I wouldnt worry about it.But to my knowledge there isnt one.So when my engine goes im pretty much screwed.Thats why i was considering the engine swap theory out.Ultimately rebuilding the rotary is the cheapest route.Ill probably end up just taking it to mazda and just drop in a remanned engine.Or maybe even better Put the motor in myself along with my father in laws help of course.

Fumanchu

I forgot the rotary engine was handed to Mazda by Jesus himself.

lopedl

iTrader: (1)

I'm not one to say since I'm a bit of new owner myself, owned the car for about a year now. But most people look at it as a burden to own the car because of the engine. And I have heard all the horror stories about the engine, and what not. But here is my perspective on it, don't take the rotary for its weaknesses take it for the strengths that it has, and it's uniqueness. Like many will say owning and keeping this car is purely out of the dedication and the want for it. For me it's about a learning experience and growing with the car, obviously its going to take some money to back up any problems that you get from it. But some like myself can find pleasure in working on it myself and perhaps even rebuilding the engine myself when the time comes. There is plenty of tools and help out there and on here that you really don't have to rely on local mechanics to fix it. I'm not in it because I'm afraid I'll lose some money. I'm in it because it's an awesome *** car, and it's a great learning experience to boot.

Herblenny

iTrader: (13)

Good point..

I had no clue how to work on these engines when i first bought my FD.. But now, I feel comfortable working on it.. I blew my engine 2 weeks ago.. Am I pissed?? sure.. but I was prepared.. I already had my spare engine built and ready.. just now I need to put it in slightly earlier than planned..

I feel so comfortable about these cars now that I even bought another FD few days ago.. another blown engine.. All the info you would need is on this forum.. and support group for these cars are everywhere.. I'm sure even in CO...

What is that mean??

JoeZoom

iTrader: (1)

Either you have TOO much money or have not owned your rotary long enough. Good engines but horrible reliability, money pits and only positive points are uniqueness. Thus, most people against swaps are ones that have either endless bank accounts, noob's or think that cars have souls.

And seeing that you already had another engine ready to go in, that tells me that you are smart enough to know that the engine was going to blow, and that you also have a good amount of money.

Good luck with your rotary adventures, I promise that you that you will go through two-three engines to my one LT1 and I will still get (stock, mind you) better gas milage, better performance and MUCH, MUCH lower maintenance and rebuild costs.

turbogarrett

iTrader: (1)

nothing but wanta be cars? ever driven a ls1 fd? handling is the same as before, acceleration is incredible, the torque down low makes it much more streetable and best of all i no longer have to sweat about getting a bad tank of gas, coolant temps blah, blah . keep an open mind and check out one of hinson's cars and maybe you'll change your mind(at least a bit). you rotary ****'s have got to relax a little....

speeddemon7

I checked out hinson supercars.Awesome sounding fd.It sounds real mean which is what rx7's look like but then you rev the little engine and it sounds like a weedwhacker.lol
Seriously though if I had the money to get an ls1 I would probably do it for the reliability and peace of mine.Ive already seen what the ls1 can do and I love the sound of the engine.One thing I would have to do is boost it though.I have to have the pssst between shifts.And of course it would also help out at high altitude.Which is where im at.One thing I dont see on hinsons is the price for the engine itself.All I saw was the 7500 dollar pricetag and that I think doesnt even include everything.

Crash Test Joey

iTrader: (1)

$7500 is for the swap and associated parts. The average price for the engine/trans combination is about $4000. If your rotary is already gone, it may look a little pricier than a replacement. But if you bought the car running and it died before you could even drive it (like me) a conversion is more attractive. I've looked VERY seriously into this because I want to build an FD/LS1. Using Hinson prices and including purchase of LS1 Edit tuning software, I came up with a price of $8650 for a stock LS1/T56 swap (not including the car of course). Considering what mods most people do to their rotaries to get the same level of performance, it's really not a bad value at all. And at that level, the LS1 is still sipping fuel and firing up every time.

I haven't built an FD yet but my FC is done except for a few minor things. It's a lot faster than a rotary would be for cheaper than it would cost to get it close. And it fires up every time no matter what the weather, what type of gas or how long it's been since I drove it. No need for extra ATF on the shelf, no premix. I'm much happier than I would have been with any N/A rotary. Now if could just find someone who wants it so I can buy an FD....

chexmix78

thanks for the reminder, i am sure alot of people forget this.