DCrosby - its been REPEATEDLY said that they have a tie-rod kit to eliminate the bumpsteer that comes with the subframe to mount the LS1!

Bumpsteer kits for lowered cars or moved racks are decades old dude. This is nothing new. You can do it yourself if you know the math... but Hinson does it FOR you.

As far as price for it, it depends - purists would want a rebuilt rotary, and wouldnt may much for a LS1 (if theyd even get it) and people who just look at it in terms of bang/buck would prolly pay a lot more. Ive seen LS1FDs for 20~25K depending on whats done to them - considering most of them are easily of the level of an exotic, get 25-30 MPG, and look like, well, an FD, thats more than a fair price.

 

you are misinformed on the weight change to the rx7 chassis after an LS1 swap, its a common misconception, in fact I thought the same thing when I was guessing at what might happen but once you see the facts in front of you, its proven false that the balance is thrown off with an LS1 swap. my own car was cornerweighted on professional race scales and weighs within 20 pounds of an almost stock TII of the same year, AND we have the EXACT same F/R weight balance. its been covered before... the old school heavy as lead V8's that were iron block and head sure were a weight addition, but the newer all aluminum LS1 is a wonderful choice, if anything it might add 1 or 2% over the front wheels and this is completely avoidable with minor adjustments to coilovers or other weight redux or battery placement.

personally I think the Honda Bseries motors ******' OWN the small size engine classes... they are very stout and extremely reliable even when modified, also they have a similar powerband to the rotary motor where power comes on drastically fast on the way to redline. this is because the rotary and the Bseries rely on high rpms to make their power. they respond well to boost and also make wicked power in allmotor buildups, I would venture to say that the ONE downfall of the Bseries motors is that they are found in FWD cars, unless you are lucky enough to own a B18C5-powered Lotus Elise. I built my last Bseries to handle 9500 rpms daily, and coupled with a LSD tranny and a 4.9 final drive the car was almost out of control at full throttle, acceleration was ridiculous and the power change from 55oo rpm to 9500 rpm was rocket fast, even beyond S2000 stock power delivery. the higher geared final drive made a HUGE gearing advantage too, it made the car feel as torquey as engines twice its size. the Honda Bseries motors, like the rotary, can gladly spin to and above 9000rpms all day long... so I cant understand why people think the rotary is some god-like motor achievable of high rpm, there are motors that do 9000rpm with pistons.

v8rx7 guys do have our own forum here (thanks mod's!) but there is still a common chassis between you and us, so we are by design, a part of the rx7 community and are involved in chassis/suspesnion tuning, interior and exterior questions, wheel and tire selection and fitment, etc. And you will find that most of the LS1/LT1 rx7 owners have taken their rx7's to levels of modification that allow us to provide input to the people new to rx7's.

holy crap mazda makes an incredible chassis, we can all agree on that!

 

AMEN!

Why cant we agree on how good the chassis is and stop bickering over the engine?

 

Becuse people want to bicker, look at the "Butt Plug" / Anti Detonation device, issue a year ago, or any matter Black or White.... you take a side and someone will come out of the woodwork and tell you white is black, and black is white, cause he said so....

It's human nature, and I personally am on the fence, and need to make a descision here over the next couple of days on which way I'll go New Rotary, or LS1....

On that note, what has anybodys experience been in getting (time wise) Parts / Subframes from Hinson, as well as where to get LS1's and what to look for condition / milage wise.....

Maybe I should start another thread...

 

Hinson... good stuff, long wait, is what Ive gathered from the people who have gotten his stuff.

 

^ I have had no issues with hinsons mounting equipment for 2 years now. It sounds like jimlab will be coming out with an lsx subframe that will be available in chromoly, no core charge and position the engine 2" farther back.

 

If I'm not mistaken, i remember reading the website pages you guys set up showing the build and status of the car as it went through the build stages and I have to give kudos man. Very impressed with the dedication you guys have...and similar sense of humor. You guys actually inspired me to go out and start my own build, so looks like I'll be copying you here in a bit. Nice work man.

 

Oh, and is that the SHOCKER!!!!!?? I see being rocked from the passenger window?

 

That would be a fun trip! I dont think I am a clueless driver, but I let you ride with me to determine that first. When is the exact day ect. ?

Anytime you sell a non-stock car, it appeals to a smaller and smaller market, making it harder to get rid of. 3-rotor bump steer is not a issue anymore, I am starting to sell kits now that doesnt even touch the rack at all.

 

Thanks. We had fun building the car.

Yes its the shocker out the window.

Luke.

 

I personally have gone through two motors, and two turbos. Trying to get to 400 RWHP, which by all concerned is not a extremely unattainable number. Well the highest I ever got was 309 rwhp, I warped apex seals, and later that month the motor blew due to a bad tank of gas...

I have the receipt, it states I purchased 91 Oct. yet I blew 2 Apex seals, sorred two housings, and dented 1 Rotor face, and destroyed the turbo....

Now I liked the idea of having a turbo rotary, something that until the RX-8 came out (Still to turbo but rotary) was a very rare thing indeed. But when I came to find that the setup I had just blown up would cost me 8K to put back together, I was done.... I wouldn't gain anything for my $8K no new shiny thing in my engine bay, no more hp, nothing. Same rotary, same turbo, same IC, hopefully better power... and I say hopefully, since nothing is for certain.

I didn't want to loose another motor to bad gas, bad tuning, injector failure, or any of the other small idiosyncrasies that plague high HP rotaries...

Given a lot of these will blow an LS1 the same as a rotary. But I also got burned by some of the rotary mechanics in town, and even in L.A. there is not one on every corner. On the contrary there is a Chevy V8 mechanic in every city...

So the combination of not wanting to fear purchasing gas, or blowing my motor due to some small $20 part breaking on a 13 year old car, I went with an LS1 swap. Hate me, Love me, I don't care, I did this as the best solution to my particular problem. And I expect to break other things, stress has a way of finding a weakness... but it's unlikely that this failure will cost me $8K.

 

gotta love LS1 FD's

 

 

Doesn't having that big engine in there throw off the balance of the car?

 

^^ haha, ya and it sounds like crap too.

I can't wait for my LS1 FC to hit the road. My only problem is availability of parts for it. + shipping to canada. I hate importing fees. Sweet videos Luke, that fd looks and sounds bad ***, have you run it down the 1/4 yet?