MaxDuo

Yeah, the Charlotte meeting is once a month. Not sure if we'll keep doing them or what... Since the girl that organizes them is likely moving. Not sure if the other.... like... 1 guy in Charlotte would be much for doing the organizing. I'd feel odd if I did it because I live like an hour away except when at college heh heh. Uhhhh, guess we'll see how that turns out.

Hrm, and I could swear I was going to say something else, but I can't recall.

NCTII87

ahh, lets go drag racing.... no beatin and bangin, and mostly about hp, lil bit of drivin but a lot about the car.... my kinda sport... i can fix my car quick, but it takes a while to fix a person whether it be due to beatin n bangin in a wreck or teachin myself to perfectly execute the apex in turn 21... i'd rather tune the car than me... hmm.. that make any sense? o, and the drag strips are closer to me than VIR. o well, no offence to anyone, just dont like eatin drinkin livin road race. like car performance more than driver cause the car cant run its mouth, just the driver. the car speaks for itself most of the time.

NCTII87

wow, i dont know how much sense that made to me much less anyone else. i guess i was tryin to say, go single taylor and dont put it on a track where you've got a big possibility of gettin another car in the side of ya. haha.

tookwik

yeah man thanks, we just need to all understand that other people can have different intentions for their VERY different cars.

NCTII87

thats very true and i really hate when people try to just stomp and idea in. i think people should do their own thing, its their car. others should have an opinion, but not an attitude.....

bond007

Not going single has nothing to do with track time. It has to do with your wallet and I'm speaking from experience of a college student who bought his 3rd gen his last year of college and ended up spending way more time than he ever planned on learning how the car works because money was short.

The reality is that the more horsepower you try to extract from 1.3L, the less reliable the car is. I know of almost no one that went single and didn't want significantly more horsepower (mostly becuase they select a turbo kit aimed at making power...there are basically no single turbo kits that are a "stock replacement").

The bottom line that the engineers that put your car together in Japan had to face (albeit with a whole lot more smarter folks than on this forum) is that you can have a car setup to be:
1) Fast
2) Reliable
3) Cheap

Pick two.

So, from strictly a budgetary point of view, how much money are you setting aside for your single conversion, whether it will be spent all at once or over time? Most of the folks that have converted to single seem to go through at least one or two motors before things "settle". Are you ready for that expense, because you may be without a car for quite a while during the interval you are saving up for a motor (and most folks seem to take that opportunity to sink more money into the motor to get it ported and other internal modifications "while they are at it")? How many folks do you see posting on the for sale section here "motor blew, must sell parts to rebuild"? Modifying a car is a touchy subject when you are trying to help someone look after their best interests, because it can be a huge financial strain...

The "$8000" figure to go single is a very deceptive one, even when you try and do the conversion on the cheap. Forget the parts -- how about all the time and money that is going to be spent on tuning an aftermarket ECU to be close to the same driveability as the stock ECU?

I personally am heavily biased towards track time, because I personally don't know where else you can enjoy a sports car to its full potential in a SAFE manner (I'll have to harp on that in a separate reply). I started out as a "tweaker" and I guess I will always be one since I'm constantly have "fun" just keeping a car (be it Miata or RX-7) on the road as it is without paying a mechanic, be it to fix the stock parts or add aftermarket goodies in a safe and sensible manner.

Anyhow, you probably took my previous post wrong because I mentioned "track time" too much. Can't help that, it's a disease.

I was saying my pease in terms of the concept that if you go single and inevitably seek more horsepower, your car will seek your bank account like a heat-seaking missle and I'm reinforcing that here as well.

Make sure you have a heart-to-heart with your bank account before you start making major changes to your FD's induction system.

--Ashraf

bond007

MSCCNC has Charlotte chapter meetings, albeit not on as regular a schedule as RTP, because the organizer works for a racing organization and is constantly traveling for them. I can put anyone interested in touch with them...

bond007

One will beat and bang on the drivetrain probably worse than we do while road-racing in a drag race event. Cars break when you use them hard, no matter what the venue. I think we can all agree on that. How they break...well...depends...SCCA Race? Could be a motor or it could be body panels...drag racing...motor/tranny/axles...could also be a body panel. There are many ways to fritter away your paycheck.

Driver Education events are very safe compared to driving on the road with cell-phone-talking-SUV-driving folks. The skills you learn at DE are applicable to accident avoidance on the street. I'm not sure how the skills you learn at drag racing apply to that? However, DE and racing is not for everyone. I understand that, however, don't knock it if you've never tried it. I am dissapointed not having 3.2 miles to exercise my car (with an emergency crew/helicopter standing by)compared to 1/4 miles or an autocross course. I would also mention what Shawn mentioned about the local strip near him -- that a motorcyclist was killed due to poor organization (if I am remembering correctly). That is inexcusable, IMHO.

Safety is priority #1 at DE/Racing and even autocross. Cars get looked over in some manner before they are allowed to compete and arguably, because of this, the owners spend more time keeping track of what needs attention.

ANY form of motorsports has an inherent risk involved in it, including drag racing.

Did we all forget what happened to Abel Iberra in drag racing a few years ago or John Lingenfelter?
http://www.nhrasportcompact.com/2001/events/race01/

Heck, there is a risk driving on the street. Maybe we should all stay at home? Oh...most accidents happened around or in the home...what ever will we do?

Referring to the driver mouthing off and it only has to do with the car: How many times do we hear "oh it isn't tuned right" which would be blaming the car, when it was the nut behind the wrench or wheel that set the car up? "I was off by 0.1 at the tree"....driver reaction time DOES play into drag racing and the driver IS involved in the results of the car as much as one would like to say that you just shift and hit the go pedal to cover 1/4 mile, even with all the technology in a modern drag race vehicle. It takes a certain skill.

Anyhow, I apologize if it sounds like I'm crawling up someone's back in terms of choice of activities, that's not what it is supposed to sound like. I just think that everyone would be a much better driver on the street if they were humbled as to how little they know about vehicle dynamics once or twice on a road course (you do drive your car on the road in turns and not just straight lines, right)?

Just be as safe as you can in whatever you do. Hope everyone had a good 4th.

Adieu!
--Ashraf

GTUser

Glad to hear from you, We're a group of 7 owners that started meeting last May and are still growing the group. We have all gens represented with FDs and FCs making up the majority of the cars. Y'all would be welcome anytime you can make it to Raleigh, we meet on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays at 6:30 PM. The Charlotte guys meet at a TB in Car-Lott but we are a little more upscale and sophisticated and meet at the Char Grill (that's a joke!). We'll be having a Rotary Drive-In this coming Saturday and will post some pics for you next weekend. In August we'll be having Drive-Ins on the 14th and 28th.

I know it would be a long drive for y'all to make it to Raleigh very often and the Charlotte guys would be closer but I just read that they may not be meeting for much longer due to their organizer moving. I know there has been some interest voiced in the Asheville area about a group get together there. You might see if there is enough interest in the area to get a group going once you settle in.

Keep us informed about how things go with you and if we can be of any help to you I know the guys will do what they can to help.

Bert

GTUser

Hey guys, just a note to let everyone know that we'll be having the next Drive-in this coming Saturday @ 6:30 pm, same location - the Char Grill on Strickland Road in Raleigh. Those that want to drive up to VIR on October 3, to support the SpeedSource Mazda Racing team, start making plans and getting tickets for the weekend or Sunday for the race. We'll welcome some new people to the group and talk rotary. I've learned a few things in the past few meetings and during the last week.

How about everyone come up with a question about your car or some aspect of moding it or something else related to Rotary that you want to know and we'll see if we have the knowledge base to answer it or find the answer. My question would be "why do FD guys always use two to three letter abbreviations for their colors? Why VR and not just red, or MB and not teal? Can't they remember more that three letters? My car is brilliant black or color code PZ but do I tell you I have a PZ FC na? What are the black FDs called?

Anyone know of anything going on this month or in August that we need to know about? Post it here or PM me.

Bert

AntiVenom7

I can answer the paint question before this Saturday. We like to feel special, and acronyms are the sure sign of cool.

These are the most commonly used:
CYM - Competition Yellow Mica
MB - Montego Blue
VR - Vintage Red

While from what I've seen the other colors are usually referred to by common name (black,silver, white) although these would be the possible acronyms:

BB - Brilliant Black
SS - Silver Stone
CW - Chaste White

I posted this in order to stimulate everyone's mind.

BigIslandSevens

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah i thought about where Raleigh was after I posted and remembered it was about 5 hours away. But for the 14 in Aug. We may come over to just meet people.

"If" we move i may open my shop up in NC once i get there. I own a performance shop that does regular maintenece and upgrades to ALL years Rx7's. Also i am factory trained in ALL japanese motorcycle brands( worked at a Honda dealership here for 3 1/2 years.I've been open here for almost 3 years now and have quite a few happy Rx owners.. FD's more so since they have all been worked on by Mazda and the one "factory rotory" mazda tech.( Trained in 1978!! I looked at the certificate.) Things are a little different then that time in history. I also might try looking into a job at RotorsportRacing I think it is in Kannapolis. Since i am getting my FD ready for the track and Targa Racing!! They seem to be a very race oriented shop. Anyone have any experiences with these guys? Good people, bad people?

My "dream" if you would call it that is to get a job at one of the race shops in Mooresville or that area. But i know that is a hard goal to attain.

Soo even if i don't get a job at a shop, I think we may move around January next year just to get out of the rut we have been in out here for the last 6 years or so.

Asheville would be sweet for a club/group. that's only like 30-45 minutes away. I am happy to see soo many people in the area into rx's.

I am planing on going VIR on the 7 and 8 of AUG. for the SCCA event that is there.

http://www.virclub.com/#

I would like to see some racing while in town as we only have 1 track out here and it is on a different island. making getting my car there, very $$. Anyone else going to be in that area during that time? It would be cool to hang out with fellow rotorheads at the track!

Thanks for the welcome already. It adds to the positive list of reasons to move! And iI figured there was more than one Taco Bell, and the upscale char-grill!

GTUser

If you get the chance we'd love to have you join us for a meeting. If you need directions you can find them at the beginning of this thread in the first few pages or you can ask and we'll be glad to help you find your way.

]

They are very good people, Bryan and Rusty are the two guys I have dealt with. I got an Stage II engine rebuild with street porting last summer and have had no complaints at all. They are very knowledgeable and have helped many owners get their 7s on the road and they do do a lot of racing setups for guys in that part of NC and SC, www.rotorsportsracing.com .

What a rut, living in Hawaii for 6 years we all here can understand your need to get outa the rut.

Yeah, I know some of the guys up there have been looking for a reliable shop in western NC for some time and could probably give you some idea of what the need is in the area, You could be a Rotary Missionary to the down trodden of Appalachia, bringing the good news of the RX-7 wonders of the world to that backwater of auto mechanics and those infernal combustion engines that use all them moving parts to convert gasoline into positive motion. Preach it brother to the heathens and the ignorant!

Bert

GTUser

Josh, what you're saying is that the color terminology is just shorthand for the marketing names that Mazda gave the colors they painted the cars and that you FD owners are way cooler than us FC owners 'cause your paint colors have cooler names?

Well, my car isn't Brilliant Black, its Faster Than the Speed of Light Black cause it is sooo fast that light can't catch it, so its FTTSOLB.

tarheelquality

Amen Brother!!

GTUser

Hey, Have any luck with the backseats for your FB? Question, will an FB body fit on a Focus SVT frame and will a 13B fit in the Focus' engine bay? and what color is your car?

Bert

BigIslandSevens

iTrader: (4)

Haha!! You know most think that Hawaii is all sunshine and hot girls...While that is true, it still gets old. More the cost of living gets old. it is like 9 bucks for a gallon of milk and so on..

Plus from a business standpoint my clientel is limited and they refuse to pay me on time when i complete the work. ( Kinda makes it hard to eat when that happens.)

And the weather actually is only sunny till around noon 1 o'clock then it clouds over and rains. eveeryday, non-stop.365! gets repetitive after a while. And i for the life of me can't ever tell what time of the year it is( summer or winter) It's only when the surf comes in from the south that I know it's summer.

And my Girl is from Sawanee TN. So we both like the area alot. It's more of the "Grass is greener" syndrom for us.
And for me acess to tracks is high on my list!!( Low on hers)

I'll keep in touch as it gets closer to vacation time.
thanks again for the invite.

dubcaps

hey guys is there going to be a meeting this saturday? if so, i'm there.

NCTII87

i wish i was there.... damn, i've got to get a T2 on the road asap. put some miles on the red one tonite to find the bugs n stuff. it turned a bunch a heads cause, nobody's ever seen one! i was mustang huntin so bad but never saw a one!!! i was mad! ah, she's almost done. sadly enough, i think i'm gonna be regretful seein it go. o well, 1200 in my pocket wont be bad either... lol i figured i'd change the subject of peoples racing and turbo'n opinions... bert, PM me a list of stuff you need and i'll get it done b4 this weekend for ya. l8er guys

NCTII87

anybody besides me n steve notice that we have the biggest thread in the South East?

dubcaps

i think that the eastern NC meet is the biggest if its still around

FD3sAutobot

iTrader: (6)

Yepp this saturday is right. I'll be there again in the hon..duh . Anyone know what the weather is supposed to be like?

FD3sAutobot

iTrader: (6)

Just checked the forecast... drum roll please...........................


07/10
Mostly Sunny
High 92
Low 71

Perfect weather for you JMunilla94RX7

Batguano

Hey Guys, Don't give up on me. Bert made a point of inviting me to the Raleigh meet and I plan to go. I am in Rocky Mount. Presently, I am in the process of selling my beach house, moving stuff from there to storage, buying a house in the county,selling my house in the city, moving all stuff to the new house...whew...I get tired just typing this. Once the dust settles, I will be there to meet all of you. I have a pearl white FC. No mods yet but I am expecting my pre silencer and downpipe from Racing Beat any day. See yall.
Lee

AntiVenom7

Bert, you are absolutely right, they are just acronyms for the marketing names. I thought my brilliant black was a good name, but Faster Than the Speed of Light Black is too cool for school.

Lee, we will be patiently waiting your arrival.

Enough with the weather jokes; they are starting to make me cry at night