HELP or don't reply
 

I just bought a 3rd gen with no motor 4 days ago, I would like advice about turning it into a track car. I have only received negative feedback and have had my thread closed because "I have to have a point to post" yet of all my threads asking for advice the only one replied to is me introducing myself and my car. Anyone lend advice thats not MEAN!

Put an engine in it, and drive it on the track. I hope that wasn't too mean :).

Read the sticky at the top of the 3rd gen section, then read it again. Lots of good info there.

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/

Thanks but the engine is the easy part, just get one on ebay haha. I was more concerned about the wiring in the car after I strip it down and who can sort that problem so the motor can get dropped in. But I appreciate your honesty

Are we talking competitive track car, or local Autox track car? Drift track car? Be more specific.

What you need to do first is determine what the track standards are you will be required to comply with - then start looking into building the car to fit the bill.

Look up the name DamonB. He's had a few track cars - his threads are FULL of informative shit.

Good luck - a well built FD on a track does very well.

Man your quote at the bottom is great maybe I'll sell my rx7 and get a civic with nos so I can race! But as far as "track car" goes, I want a multi use car for club days on the track as well as autox. I am not sure what tracks and events, I figure a while to complete this project so I've got a little time.

I looked at the links, thanks guys there's good info there, hope to get pics of the sled up soon.

Just a bit of FYI on my car, as i consider it to be a good streetable car yet good on the track, i have:

Uprated radiator
uprated stillway intercooler
greddy intake elbow
B9EGV NGK Plugs
PFC And commander
1 bar boost
Feed ti downpipe
silenced decat midpipe
3.5 inch rear section
defi gauges, oil and water temp, oil pressure, boost pressure

k sport coilovers
poly bushes
AP 330mm 6pot racing brakes front with DS2500 pads
standard rear brakes
cobra suzuka S seats with 6 point harnesses
rays 57s pro wheels with 265/35/18 - 225/40/18 tyres

My car is lovely on the circuit, very reliable, very predicatable, not the fastest in a straight line (maybe 330whp) but round the bends its very grippy and very progressive. Ive taken it to all circuits in the UK and use it on the nurburgring 3 or 4 times a year and it always behaves great.

Just a little info if your wondering what to do spec wise.

Will this car be driven on the street, or offroad use only?

I wouldn't buy a motor off Ebay for starters. Second, if you need to ask these sorts of questions about the install, I'd haul the roller off to a reputable shop and have the motor put in and wired/fueled/tuned at the least... then handle the ancilaries, upgrades, and suspension etc. yourself if you're budget minded.

Slapping some Ebay motor in, and doing the wiring/fuel yourself without the background/expertise sounds like a recipe for zero track time, and another advice thread on why your motor blew. Just being honest. There are alot of cars represented on this forum with problems because folks are penny wise and pound foolish.

Then, you can let budget dictate the rest of the mods. I'd start with the "reliabiliity" and safety stuff, and worry about shaving pounds and making power 2nd.

What have you got to spend?

more Q's....are you going to keep your interior pretty stock looking for day to day use or do you figure to install a roll bar or cage, racing seat, fire system and stripped interior, or are you going to stay away from door to door racing and stop at HPD events.....searching tracks in your area (RA?)and then the groups that run there and then what that group requires will help to establish a plan of attack to meet your goal. I would visit any events ahead of time to see what folks are bringing to the table before i built it out.....

https://www.rx7club.com/race-car-tech-103/94-rx-7-track-car-project-begins-506890/

why don't you look at what this guy did, just to give you an idea. You might PM him some of your more specific questions. BTW this thread was just a couple under yours.

Make a budget. How much do you have to spend? You need to get a good handle on the costs and prioritize your effort if you want to avoid ending up with a non-running driveway ornament.

Consider that since you don't seem to have a towing rig and a trailer, you will have to make this car street legal, including tags, inspection, and most importantly insurance.

Plan that into your budget.

Also, did you get a title with the car?

Good luck,

-bill

It sounds like you should get this car running in full street trim with reliability mods first. You will be surprised how potent the car can be with a good set of fresh rubber and some aggressive brake pads running stock suspension/boost. So knock those out first while the motor is going in: radiator, dual oil coolers, vaccum lines, downpipe, catback, possibly intake and upgraded stock-mount intercooler, clutch.

At the same time and before you hit the track, you'll also want to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb including changing all the fluids (gearbox, differential, brake, etc.), check the wear items like brake lines and coolant hoses, spark plugs/wires, etc. Also make sure your suspension (including dampers and isolator/bump stops) and bushings (*especially* your rear pillow balls) are in good shape. All this alone should keep you and your budget busy for a season or two.

Not to be insulting but it sounds like you don't really know what you want and don't have much experience yet so starting off with a perfectly running mostly-stock FD is what you need. If you begin your track career with a 500hp stripped out race machine and stuff it into a wall on your first day out... well you can only imagine what that'll be like. You're going to have to learn for yourself from the ground up what you need and it will take many years of developing your own skills both mechanically and as a driver before you're going to need anything approximating an all-out race car.

Thank you guys for all the reply's, I was joking about the ebay motor by the way.

I dont plan on using the car on the street at all, I have a daily car. As far as a budget I got the car 4days ago so I'm starting slow. I would like to find a shop in or near ATL that can tell me what Im looking at, so I have an idea of where to start.

I figured I would pull the interior first and then look for shop advice. and thanks for the links and part list also, Im not going for power just a simple some what reliable track car that wont cost me 20k+ or like 10k at most for the first year Im working on it.

You are going to spend that $10k quickly. Half of that will go to an engine and/or turbo(s). The other half will go to suspension, cooling, brakes and safety.

Oh I know that cars are blackholes for time and money, I had 8k+ im my wrx and it had basic mods.

I'm just going to take it slow with this one.

If you want a real track car, just buy a race harness, do a search I know there are some links to them. And then put in a bridge port NA motor in it and beat on it all day.. :)

You know I wanted a na motor so I could beet on it plus my last car was turbo so it would be nice to have something different. I just assumed that it would cost less to buy a motor that has been pulled than doing a custom setup

You can't just take a standard 13B-REW, remove the turbos, and then expect to go fast. ;) To make any decent NA power, you'll have to have the 13B-REW built and that's not going to be cheap. A built N/A 13B-REW is probably going to run you at least $5k. The N/A Peripheral Ports motors which are used in some of the N/A FD racing cars in the SCCA run about $8-10k per build (pricing per Daryl Drummond who use to build a lot of those). Then you have to deal with engine management which is also going to cost a grip.

You'll have an easier/cheaper time getting decent power using the stock turbos.

I know I was saying that It would be cheaper to run a stock motor than do a na setup. thanks though

I think you better add some turbo or supercharger in it..

cool Ill check it out, thanks

Okay, time to go do your homework. I appreciate the fact that you are "taking things slowly".

A couple thoughts:

1) A complete interior is not a bad thing. In fact it can be nice to have. Remember, you *will* have to drive this car to events (since you don't have a tow), and you might as well enjoy the ride in some semblance of comfort. A gutted interior is not going to make you faster. Practice will. I've seen plenty of track monster cars that have a nice full interior (eg. Fritz Flynn). Also, once you pull the interior, the value of the car will plummet. Not a big deal if you plan on keeping the car "forever" but few of us ever do that. You may have to sell the car later if you see another car you want, or you run into financial problems.

2) Your primary goal should be getting the car back to (near)stock and running. This cannot be emphasized enough.

3) If you are going to start seriously tracking the car, then safety should be your next focus. A stock 255hp FD is a very capable track car. As in "140 mph into the T1 braking zone at VIR" capable. You can get yourself into more trouble more quickly than you can imagine with this vehicle. Consider a good helmet, rollbar, harnesses and perhaps a HANS. There's $2k of your budget right there.

4) Do a search back through this forum. The subject of putting together a track car has been discussed extensively over the years. Lots of good advice.

Good luck,

-bill

Figure out what racing class you want to compete in. Get a copy of the rules for your class. Build your car to fit the class per the rules. Sometimes a small modification can move your car into a higher class. As others have said, safety first then money towards track time over expensive car mods.

Check your pms

have any of you guys heard of putting a sr20det nissan motor in an rx7? I've seen one in a magazine a while back but never anywhere else.