I know nothing about RX-7's other than what I hear from friends who say they are awesome handling reliable cars for the track. After two sessions on the track in the E55, I'm hooked. I just don't want to abuse my everyday car on the track that often.

Which generation RX-7 do you guys think handles the best? How easily can it be modded to put out 400+ hp. Last question (albeit a two parter), are they reliable or am I going to get myself into a lot of headaches. I like to do a lot of the mechanical work myself so how complex are these cars?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

dude seriously, youll spend another 10 grand to get reliable 400 to the wheel and then youll have to get fat *** tires to keep it from breaking loose. youd be surprised just how quick itll be with a simple m2-performance stae 3 set up. 3rd gen is the best all the way. but if youll only track it as inonly for the tracks, save yourself money and buy the 2nd gen. thats car has all the aftermarket support for x-cross

 

Not sure what you were racing before but with any rx-7 a little hp goes a long way. Stripped down they weigh next to nothing. If its for track use only I would get a 2nd Gen. I am helping RacerJason build one currently for next season and Silkworm also uses one as well. Though with a TII you will be looking at around 350hp max if you wanna stay reliable. But they are very very cheep, fast, and easy to work on. If you willing to put in the extra money though a 3rd gen will also be fine. Recently I have see quite a few for under 5k that would make perfect track cars. Though for a track only car the switch from stock twinturbos to a single is a must for reliability as well as a few other small things. I would not spend all of your money though unless you know you will have more coming soon or have some in reserve. As you may know, at that performance range there are bound to be problems popping up here and there that will cost some money.

 

I think I can make ~500 reliably, we shall see. See my thread, "Super Unlimited FC" above

 

$10,000 would buy a well-prepared Spec Miata or Spec IT7. That amount will not cover a well-prepared track-only FD3S though. The only two track-only FD3Ses prepared well enough for serious lapping punishment are, IMHO, Brad Barber's and Fabian's--both are yellow and can be found in the 3rd Gen Rx7s for sale section of this forum. Both range in the $25K to $27K asking price range...

 

Well looks like it could work. Although I'm no porting expert, but 500 reliable hp on a street port might be a little optimistic. I'd be interested to know how it works out. When would you have it done by?

Also if the car will be running in or around the power band with that much boost for say a 20-30min straight under track conditions, that is allot of stress with heat revs that will be building up especially on a very hot day. With a bigger port you would be able to run less boost and cooler intake temps with around the same amount of hp.

 

The car at its current power level will be done in ~60 days. Depending on budget, the new turbo set up will go on spring 04. I am building a ~750rwhp 97 Supra concurrently, so I am stretched a bit thin It is likely that on~90-100* day I will dail the power backm substantially for reliability, but at 50-80* ambient it is no problem at all. At ~325rwhp my temps are around 190* oil, and water ona 90* day/30 minute session.
My new setup has roughly 2.5x the frontal opening, and we have made many changes under the hood for heat management. Thanks, Carl
Carl Byck

 

Guys... he's had two on track sessions in a car and you're telling him to build a 300+hp machine????

My 2 cents, spend half of it on a ready to race car (be it 1st, 2nd or 3rd gen) and the other half on tires and entry fees. Learn to drive a car at speed with other cars trying to be where you are and then buy/build your dream machine once you know how to handle it.

If it was me, I'd do a 1st or 2nd gen that was already built. They can be had cheaply. I got my new 1st gen ready to race for under $3500 and was on the track the next weekend. We built our other car over the course of 6 furious months, but well under the $5K mark.

If you're going to want to be able to make more power and better handling, go with the 2nd gen over the 1st. But if what you really want is track time, 1st gens are a great bargan.

Spend the $$$ on seat time

 

Thank you for all the good advice. Sorry to mislead you guys, but I do have some racing experience other than the two track sessions. I've held an SCCA license in the past but have been out of racing for about 15 years other than single day manufacturer sponsered events. The last true race car I've driven was a Consulier which weighs about 2000 lbs and was very fast with a Chrysler 2.2L 4 cylinder, so I am aware of the benefits of lightweight. How much do these cars weigh stripped down anyway?

I've just never owned a race car before.

Take a look at this ebay auction that ended tonight and give me a good estimate on what that car was really worth.

ebay link

 

You could get a well sorted Spec 7. It woud be great fun and very reliable.

Cory
wishes he had the money to go racing for real.

 

Well that looks like exactly what I would use for a base to start learning on but imo, that would need allot more money invested on your part to get it to where you want to be. On paper if you add up all the parts and time he put into it I guess you could say it is worth around 8 or 9k. But I wouldn't buy it for that. Im guessing you know a thing or two about setups if you've been racing for 15 years so for me, id say the basic setup he has on there prolly wont give you the adjustability that your are looking for in a suspension package. Also if I understood right its is an N/A?.. which would then require you to pretty much swap out the whole engine bay to make it the equivalent in TII form. Either way I would not pay more then 6k for that car. Judging by the fact that ours is almost done and it's a TII and we have not even put in half that yet with our only expenses left being suspension and wheel which may just put us around there.

That is around the amt. of power we are looking to make (350-375). What is your current setup running those temps. Right now we have a 2" double pass aluminium that is a little wider and just as tall as stock that we are using. What are you doing for oil cooling aswell?

 

I'd say find a Spec Miata that's fairly well sorted and run the **** out of it. Spec Miata is budget racing at its best. And it will leave enough cash flow to spend on tires .... your most likely largest expense through the year.

And SleepR1 is dead on. 10 large won't get you even near a road race-ready 3rd gen RX-7. You'd spend double that prepping it .... before you even set foot on the track.

 

I know of a place that for 10 grand you can have a prebuilt (for racing) mazda 1st gen... don't know if that's any help i think it came out like 2-3 years ago...

 

btw it included everything you needed, bar's engine upgrade and such, it was in a car tunning mag.... anyone remember or read the same actical?.

 

I'm with redrotor, get a miata.

It's the best bang for the buck. A buddy who tracks a lot told me he has the most fun in the Miata. It's very predictable and fairly neutral.

It's best to get a vehicle that you can spank around the track and drive home at the end of the day. You could use the extra money for other things like maintenance, tires, and/or track fees.

J

 

There are some inexpensive ITA/Spec7 cars. I'm looking at one right now for really cheap. I mean its not a serious car or anything, but if your looking to get into racing just to get your license again. I'd look at a first gen. I have been told that a well sorted out spec miata will run around 15k. Then if you decide that its not for you no big loss.

If your really serious than buy the track CYM car for sale on this forum. I know I've been lusting over it. Looks like the price has dropped recently.

 

For 10K I'd go Spec Miata. For half that I'd go Spec 7. Just depends on what you wanna do. I have seen some fast Spec Miatas.

 

http://www.specmiata.com/Classifieds/

http://www.sccaforums.com/cgi-bin/ul...ubb=forum;f=46

http://www.improvedtouring.com/Classifieds/

all good places to shop for toys...

 

You might be interested in my 1st gen car, set up for autox.
Fresh 13b 225hp new in 02
aluminium 7lb dual disc flywheel clutch assy
custom built header (coated)and mandrel bent exhaust
big axle diff with disc brakes and torsen
Tri-link upper link, adjutable panhard rod
double adjustable Advanced shock front and rear
adjustable front and rear bars custom built, infinitely adjustable(Jim Susko style front) with Delrin bushings and rod ends on the links
Mazda comp aluminium caster/camber plates
Coil overs on front
13x9 Duralight wheels with 225/45/13 streed td's
extra 13x7s and other assorted spares
body and paint is in excellent shape
I have developed this car over an 8 year period and it is nationally compettitive 3rd @ SCCA solo2 nats in 97, numerous Divisional Championships.
$7500.00 for the car and spares $8500.00 with dual axle trailer, brakes on all 4 wheels, aluminium skinned box good tires, with sway control and weight dist hitch
included with asking price. Please call Wendell Karr-Ake @ 405-354-5051 or 405-831-3008

 

sorry about the n00b question, but what is a Spec 7?

And what's a more neutral car on the track, an FD or a Spec Miata?

 

Check this website out http://www.spec7.org/cgi-bin/discus/....cgi?pg=topics

Also look at www.scca.org

I can't answer the Miata/FD question??? Never driven a Miata.

 

I've run a spec class up here in Canada which is very similar to spec 7 and It has been a great experience in learning car control and racing technique. For the money invested it is very hard to beat a spec series. The number of cars that show up for the spec Miata events mean there will always be someone with near the same skills and preparation as you have to race against. The fastest car isn't fun if there isn't someone to race against. Also ensure you budget for your saftey gera (Suit, gloves, socks, Helmet) all totalled, it takes over a grand for all the gear. Buy a used Spec Miata and get on the track.

-Trent

 

2nd Gen !!!

1k body
4.5k turbo engine
1k wheels
1k exhaust
2.5k misc