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N/A 13B performance ‘upgrades’

Old 11-07-18, 11:40 PM
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N/A 13B performance ‘upgrades’

new to any kind of Mazda, recently bought a 2nd gen, na, 13b FC vert and took it out to a local track for a drift event....I overheated the car on my last run and it doesn’t run anymore. Crank/no start. Other than that, I was able to get it started to load it on the trailer, and back off to readjust.. No smoke, normal operating temp, sounded and drove just fine.... but would not start to come off the trailer once I got it home. I’m not too worried as it’s the end of the season and I have all winter to do what I need. I’ll start with spark plugs and an oil change/ compression test. That being said...I’m looking into options for more power whilst avoiding any turbo nonsense. I’ve read a little about bridgeporting. And I’m considering a better intake, and have been told about speeduino ecu’s. Any other options out there? What are the downfalls/plus sides to Bridgeport? (I do not plan to daily drive this car at all. It’s strictly a track car.)
Old 11-08-18, 01:07 PM
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I know it seems a little obvious, but overheating is a big no-no for these engines. To start, check the compression and also check the chambers for antifreeze.

As far as performance upgrades are concerned, it really comes down to what you want to accomplish (within reason) and what you're willing to do to achieve it.
Old 11-11-18, 01:29 AM
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Higher numerical ratio diff gears, auto counterweight, aftermarket flywheel and clutch and scatter shield/blanket if you don't have them already. If it is mostly for track use long primary exhaust divided to the diff area, porting, water/water wetter mix instead of coolant (if your ambient temps don't go below freezing), better ignition, fine wire irridium plugs, aftermarket ecu, clearanced rotating assembly if you have to pull it down for water seals anyway, flex/ethanol fuel if possible.

are you premixing oil or is it running an omp? If it is stepper motor controlled omp i would stick with aftermarket ecus that already have rotary support features not sure what speeduino has to offer but i suspect mega/microsquirt stuff is more developed if you are budget constrained.

Last edited by Slides; 11-11-18 at 01:33 AM.
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Old 11-12-18, 03:26 PM
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There isnt a ton of power to be had from NA rotaries, 200whp is a reasonable goal on a stock block, 250whp with aggressive porting. More is possible, but not typical without radical work.

As far as power upgrades other than porting:
Make sure everything factory is working properly, especially the 6th port actuators, and VDI as well if the car is an 89-91. If these aren't functioning the car will suffer tremendous top end power loss.
The first big power mod is a full exhaust. Pick up a quality one such as racing beat, rotary engines will burn the packing out of cheap mufflers quickly.
The next best power mod is a stand alone ecu, adaptronic makes a plug and play and is pretty popular right now.
After those there are a bunch of small mods that eventually add up.
A high flow panel filter for the stock airbox is your best bet on an intake to avoid it becoming a hot air intake.
pineapple racing and atkins racing both make aftermarket 6 port sleeve options
ignition upgrades such as wires and an ignition amplifier such as the MSD 6a are pretty popular, factory coils are very adequate.
removal of accessories such as AC, powersteering, air pump.
Modifying the throttlebody to remove the secondary throttle plates, warmup system etc

If the engine needs to be rebuilt porting can be a good power adder but keep in mind the more aggressive of porting the higher the power but the rpm band also shifts up, drive-ability goes down, and fuel economy goes down.For most people a streetport provides the best compromise of qualities.
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Old 11-12-18, 06:12 PM
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great, thank you! Some good stuff to start looking into
Old 11-13-18, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Templeton
There isnt a ton of power to be had from NA rotaries, 200whp is a reasonable goal on a stock block, 250whp with aggressive porting. More is possible, but not typical without radical work.

As far as power upgrades other than porting:
Make sure everything factory is working properly, especially the 6th port actuators, and VDI as well if the car is an 89-91. If these aren't functioning the car will suffer tremendous top end power loss.
The first big power mod is a full exhaust.......
Great advice! The rotary really responds to exhaust and intake upgrades. On my 3rd gen, I used a Dwyer differential pressure gauge to find restrictions in the intake, and like Templeton, found that a simple drop in filter worked great with my oem box, although in my case, I had to revise the path of air to and from that box. Like he said, it avoids creating a hot air intake.

.
Old 11-22-18, 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Corollanog
new to any kind of Mazda, recently bought a 2nd gen, na, 13b FC vert and took it out to a local track for a drift event....I overheated the car on my last run and it doesn’t run anymore. Crank/no start. Other than that, I was able to get it started to load it on the trailer, and back off to readjust.. No smoke, normal operating temp, sounded and drove just fine.... but would not start to come off the trailer once I got it home. I’m not too worried as it’s the end of the season and I have all winter to do what I need. I’ll start with spark plugs and an oil change/ compression test. That being said...I’m looking into options for more power whilst avoiding any turbo nonsense. I’ve read a little about bridgeporting. And I’m considering a better intake, and have been told about speeduino ecu’s. Any other options out there? What are the downfalls/plus sides to Bridgeport? (I do not plan to daily drive this car at all. It’s strictly a track car.)
The large port will make the car less enjoyable to drive on a regular basis as it become alot more temperamental. On a N/A car I wouldn't think that the downsides associated with bridge drive-ability would be worth the minimal HP you would be gaining. Honestly, you could run a 100-125 hp wet shot of nitrous with minimal effort, complexity and costs. I'm sure alot of people will balk at that idea, but none from actual experience.

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Old 11-22-18, 03:45 PM
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Well, considering that i plan on keeping the car na, I haven’t even started to entertain the thought of nitrous. I’m still pretty new to drifting my own car, I don’t need much power; id like to start with the basics and work my way up. Learning how to slide my car while it’s got minimal power Is teaching me a lot about throttle control, clutch kicking, throwing the car, and kicking that rear end out. I’m not looking for huge amounts of hp, just minimal upgrades to gradually get more response from the car. I understand that Bridgeporting might not be the best option, but I don’t understand why. I’ve heard and read mixed thoughts on Bridgeport’s. I’m starting to assume that it’s similar to the thoughts of welded diffs. Most people consider a daily with a welded diff to be annoying and inconvenient. Where as, My last daily with no power steering, no power brakes and a welded diff caused me really no issues.... I wasn’t bothered by it. So what’s really the downside of Bridgeport? Being a girl, I’ve only gotten the ‘dumbed down’ version of any explanation as to why it makes the car harder to ‘deal with’
Old 11-22-18, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Corollanog
What are the downfalls/plus sides to Bridgeport? (I do not plan to daily drive this car at all. It’s strictly a track car.)
Originally Posted by Corollanog
So what’s really the downside of Bridgeport?
You stated that the car is only going to be used only on the track, so there are no real downsides. The things that make them "not" streetports are non-issues for race cars - well, except maybe the noise levels.
Old 11-24-18, 01:21 AM
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If you are trying to cruise or come on and off low rpm coasting throttle in traffic a bridgeport will buck, doesn't matter at all if you are the kind of person who is using the car for spirited driving or can put of with a welded center/detroit etc.

It is really just people who are deluded about how they drive their car who want the brap noise and then are disappointed that all of the overlap and late port closing has lost them low rpm drive-ability.
Old 11-24-18, 01:53 AM
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Again, this car is and will not be ever considered for street driving, (I deal with dailying a Honda Civic instead) it’s trailered to and from track events, that’s it. Cops here in Washington really have nothing better to do...I’d rather not have it impounded for being even the slightest bit modified. I really appreciate all the info, thank you guys! You’ve helped a lot.
Old 11-24-18, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Corollanog
Well, considering that i plan on keeping the car na, I haven’t even started to entertain the thought of nitrous. I’m still pretty new to drifting my own car, I don’t need much power; id like to start with the basics and work my way up. Learning how to slide my car while it’s got minimal power Is teaching me a lot about throttle control, clutch kicking, throwing the car, and kicking that rear end out. I’m not looking for huge amounts of hp, just minimal upgrades to gradually get more response from the car. I understand that Bridgeporting might not be the best option, but I don’t understand why. I’ve heard and read mixed thoughts on Bridgeport’s. I’m starting to assume that it’s similar to the thoughts of welded diffs. Most people consider a daily with a welded diff to be annoying and inconvenient. Where as, My last daily with no power steering, no power brakes and a welded diff caused me really no issues.... I wasn’t bothered by it. So what’s really the downside of Bridgeport? Being a girl, I’ve only gotten the ‘dumbed down’ version of any explanation as to why it makes the car harder to ‘deal with’
I simply suggested it because you specifically said you were "looking into options for more power whilst avoiding any turbo nonsense" and didn't specify you were staying N/A, only that you wanted to avoid turbo. If its only a track car, then like slides and diabolical1 said, there shouldn't be any real negatives SO LONG AS whoever does the actual bridge porting on the irons knows what they are doing. With a stock port, the side seal rides well above the port opening, but with a bridge port they have to walk the bridge between the factory port and the additional eyebrow port added. A crappily done bridge port can repetitively suffer from side seal failure and add way more trouble than its worth. With a true N/A car where you want to go and beat on it hard and often, I don't think the extra 20 hp and few hundred rpms are worth the reliability loss and fact that you are going to have to replace custom parts if things break at the track instead of bolting on a spare factory part.

Skeese
Old 11-25-18, 11:04 PM
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Very true. Based on the fact that I got one event out of it before I ran into problems, I will be needing replacement parts readily available...unfortunately. Obviously due to beginner driving in part. Maybe I’ll wait a while and reconsider Bridgeport later on when I know the car a little better.
Old 11-26-18, 05:50 AM
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Have you done anything to reinforce the diff mount? You will almost certainly destroy the front diff mount with clutch kicks etc without fitting a snubber or prefereably adding plate or something in there. There are probably a heap of threads in the 2nd gen section on improving it.
Old 11-26-18, 07:08 AM
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As per normal I agree with slides. For consistency and max track time I would place more emphasis on bulletproofing your driveline and upgrading suspension components in your situation and just stick with a stockish keg that is simple to fix if *****.

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Old 12-04-18, 06:17 AM
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This is vaguely the same idea as FD diff brace and i strongly suggest you do something similar.

http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=251192
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