My son and I just bought a 1986 RX7 as a project car to work on together. I have lots of cylinder/piston engine experience but none with rotary engines. I have been educating myself quickly though watching videos, reading forums etc but I still do not have the intimate knowledge needed in order to intelligently proceed with starting a performance build on this engine. I don't know the intricate do's and dont's on the build.
I am just looking for someone who has vast experience in this to give me just a quick list of do's and don'ts for taking a stock drive train and going to probably around 300-400 HP for a street car. It won't be a daily driver but just a weekender / drifter and hit a track here and there too. So not too loud - but sounds tough, will do body kits and paint etc too.

So I thought we should start from the inside and work out.....so

I was going to go ahead and get a bridge port done first off however I don't know what else I should do while we have the engine apart (someone experienced is doing the porting work)...should i do performance apex seals? upgrade other bearings, seals or any other internal parts or mods to accomodate the additional HP we will be adding??

Also at what HP will I have to worry about the tranny, clutch, diff, rear-end?? ------ recommendations for replacments and or builds for these things also

do tranny before I add a turbo or??

Do or don't delete emissions?? have heard both sides for a non-race / street car....

Injectors?

Fuel filters and Lines?

Suspension? Think we have this figured out but will take recommendations


I have looked around the forum here but have not been able to find this information in any posts...lot of stuff scattered around but nothing comprehensive starting from scratch working up the list...

Again, just a short basics list would be so greatly appreciated so I can move forward with some level of comfort. Thank you in advance for anyone's help!!

Brian

 

in no particular order.... oh and these cars are fun right out of the box, so you could start with the basics, and just enjoy the thing

Fuel Filters and lines, the stock lines are ok at ~400hp, filters should be new. the one in the tank is ND 952-0043. even if you just leave it stock these should be new.

Suspension, plenty of options, start with a good alignment, it really helps, even stock.
i'm running a set of Teins, mostly because i can send them to Tein and get rebuilt. i have found that 8/6 is kind of stiff on the street, mine is just a street car, and if i did it again i would go softer.

Injectors. these (and the pump) need to get bigger to match the power. the stock injectors are sized to do the stock power, and if you double the power they need to get bigger. the pump too. Walbro makes nice pumps, but lots of fakes so make sure you buy from a good source.

Emissions; i like them in a street car, the rotary is really stinky without it. up to you though. and its totally fine to add it later, or take it off later. its just the air pump and control valve (ACV).

Clutch; you do need something the stock T2 clutch is ok to maybe 250hp, i've used the ACT extremes and it holds the power, but pedal effort is high enough to make the car not fun, there must be a better way

Trans/diff; the NA trans is ok to about ~250hp, maybe a little more if you're gentle. when you swap it is totally up to you. i would suggest you do not try to do the whole drivetrain at once (engine/trans/diff) its too much work. do it separately. the order doesn't matter a whole lot. oh and just use the stock Turbo stuff, its ok to your power level.

for the engine you should upgrade to the FD oil pressure regulator N3A1-14-230. i also like the FD corner seal springs. the more new housings/rotors/seals the better. other than that you really don't need anything fancy for 400hp, you don't even need the bridge port

 

@ j9fd3s --- thank you so much!! exactly the insight I was looking for!!! Any other performance "gotchas" that we should be aware of that I didn't mention / list / ask about here? Thanks again for your time to reply!!

Brian

 

I would skip the bridge port and just do a street port. You won't make 400hp without a turbo and once you go turbo you won't need the bridge to get to 400hp. Also a bridge is more sensitive to exhaust restrictions so it'll be hard to get it's full potential while staying not too loud. You'll need a standalone ECU to take full advantage of whichever port you choose and also to get to your power goals with the turbo as well. I don't have a recommendation as I'm trying to figure out which one to go with myself. A lot of people like the Haltech Elite series but there are others as well. Some say find out what the shop tuning it is familiar with and go with it.
Engine Management Forum - RX7Club.com - Mazda RX7 Forum

 

Awesome advice...thanks so much!