OK, I tell you what I LOVE about having converted my 94 FD to an LS1 ... it's the love you get when intelligent fun loving folks recognize the accomplishment and are blown away by the results, AND, the weak minded haters that will never understand a hands on mechanically minded performance enthusiast's love of the FD Rx7, mechanical challenge, and that V8 rumble. It's addictive, if you did not grow up around the time of the muscle car era you may never understand the love of that V8 rumble. Either way, I'd suggest you guys hesitate before you insult the mechanical abilites of folks that throw a V8 in an Rx7. You try to build a 400+rwhp turbo rotary that can survive a fuel pump failure at full boost on 93 octane, my very well built single turbo rotary did not survive this, but my 400+ rwhp V8 would. And if you have installed a running V8 in an FD or FC, and it looks like a factory or a high dollar custom install you got skills baby.

Me, I did the rotary thing, rebuilt rotary motors, installed single turbos, tuned rotary turbo cars, blew rotary motors up, installed a V8 in an FD, and will mod cars as long as I have the health and funds to do so with my own hands. My muscle car loving co-workers and my rotary loving friends are impressed by my V8 conversion, you haters should give it a try before bashing. Oh, I still love rotaries and would love to get a ride in your turbo rotary if it is in any way equal or superior to my old turbo rotary FD or the turbo rotary FD that my buddy Cewrx7r1 built.

 

did i ever meet you at the motorsport ranch?

 

Never been there, but plan to. I have a few things to get straightened out (brakes, ECU tune, front fender clearance) before I'm ready to track the car.

I used to run a '74 Trans Am at Aggiecross back in the '80s, then autocrossed a CRX Si for a few years before the Blue Law was repealed and I got tired of driving to Gainseville at OGod-thirty on Sunday mornings... I used to know Peter Fehn when we ran in ER and Solo II.

 

Why did everyone get so quite?

 

ADD kicked in, y0!

 

Come on out. Peter is always around and we always do what he says

SCCA event at Pennington Field this Sunday.

 

Oh Chuck....I knew you'd be in here too.

My vote was "gay"...but that is the wrong word to use. Maybe "I would never do it" or "not my cup of tea".

Right now, I could never see myself swapping a V8 into a 7.

But I'm a hypocrite.


I will burn in hell for the thoughts that have swept my mind. A 20B single turbo powering a 2000 Black on White Camaro SS. It would not be the fastest Camaro around, but it would be mine. It would have the looks of a muscle car, and enough power to back it up. Fits 4 folks, plenty of leg room, and would have one heck of an exhaust leak. But...in the end I'd be happy and it would be mine, and who gives a flying crap what the V8 guys think...if the want to race me, I'll bring my 10th AE.

 

I liked that Z06 that some shop put a 20B in, that was bad ***

 

If I ever get my hands on a cheap FB (after I get my FC done and then get an FD), I might use my extra 302 that I have and put it in there. But I luv my rotary!

 

shoot, I'll take that z06 motor and find a junkyard FC to drop it in and have a sticker that says "hmmm, suh'in don't sound right here...."

 

Still not going to be fast enough

 

Really, I'm not into my stuff being over 350 on a street car..... no place on the street to use all them ponies safely/out of trouble and I don't feel like I should be shelling out cash to someone who happens to own an 1/8 mile or more of straight, or curvy, tarmac every time I want to stretch my car's legs out.

 

After I'm done, I should be sitting around a safe 250hp, and I'm thinking that'll be plenty for me. I may bump it up to 275 or so after I'm comfortable with it, if I'm not able to keep up with the 350Z and G35's. But I'm with EJ, give me some nice, streetable hp that will last for a long time.

 

Stupid poll, its obviously created with a bias for rotary engines. The options are all loaded, with none giving any real support to V8's. I love rotary engine, but there is alot more to be said about an ls2 then its a good daily driver. How about a poll without bias to see what people really feel. Let the people's responses show how they feel about v8 powered 7's instead of the poll options deciding for them.

 

I am not bias, I own 2 V8 cars, and one rotary. I think this thread had plenty of opinions on both sides

 

v8 are gay

 

Reread what I wrote. I didn't say you were biased, I said the poll options were biased. There is not an option there to say that v8 swaps are better, but there is one to say they are gay. I just felt the poll itself supported rotaries over v8's. I'd like to see how many people actually prefer the swap, not just for a daily driver, but for performance, and that option isn't even there. Hinson's turbo'd ls1 FD ran a 8.2. I have a ls2 in my FD, and there isn't an answer in the poll I would choose. I like it for alot more reasons then just a daily driver. I respect the hell out of rotaries, in there areas, all depends what you are using it for. But hey, either way its a 7, and you can put whatever you want in there as long as it doesn't lose.

 

But in lowest terms it's 12 for to 29 against v8 swaps, adding a category that says "Putting a V8 in an RX7 in a masterful stroke, and anyone that does it is an effing genius" would just split up the 12 votes even further, because whoever cast their vote for "V8's are teh win!!11!!" are the same ones that voted for "Good for a daily driver" not "V8's in an RX7 are gay."

In other words, yes, maybe it's a little biased, but that doesn't mean anything. Being slightly biased against V8's on a Rotary/RX7 message forum is probably a smart move, since apparently even saying the word SRT4 is enough to send people into an 9 page bashfest. That fact is borne out by more people voting that 'v8's in an RX7 are gay' than in both of the pro-v8 categories combined.

On a rotary enthusiast message board, are you really surprised that the poll is biased against v8s? Since you have a v8 in your Rx7, I think you're biased against the poll.

 

I didn't vote in the poll either for that very reason. There isn't an option that says "I should've done this a loooong time ago, this car is so much fun!"

I did the swap to please myself and I succeeded. Why would you call something gay when EVERYONE that has gone LSX/FD loves it? You don't hear people saying how they regret going LSX or how they wish they were still rotary!!

To be biased is expected, but to say it's gay shows how close minded you are. If it's not your cup of tea then that's fine. Have you even driven a LSX/FD? I'm not going to say your girlfriend gives bad head until I **** her in the *** and then make her suck my dick! It's pointless to comment negatively on something you know nothing about.

 

Along those same lines, the few people I've talked to who porked another guy in the *** loved it, too. That doesn't make them less gay. It just means only a gay guy would think "Hey, maybe I can fit my man-meat inside this other guy in somehow."

 

I just spilled fresh (HOT) Chai tea all over myself

 

I believe a guy in town went piston and said he wished he hadn't done so. Why do people do the swap drive it for a few months or not at all then sell it? Last time I checked there was maybe 2-3 on this FS board alone. DO they like the consruction aspect or what?

Also the swap seems to be pretty painless now in terms of the LS1, its not like putting one in makes you a pioneer anymore. No, Ive never done it, just drawing conclusions from this board.

The thing I don't get is why take an old car that has difficult and expensive to replace parts (only getting worse) when you could get a newer car (Vette/Camaro) that is more numerous (in terms of getting parts at Autozone), any shop could work on it and you get better technology (arguable I know). You buy a Vette its not like your buying a pig that can't handle as well as an FD on the streets. Just doesn't make sense to me.

The thing that pisses me off about the swap is the guys saying the engine NEVER EVER breaks down, doesn't need oil changes and you can **** in the tank if you can't get your hands on some gas. Also when they say they own an RX7 or FD, you don't own an RX7 anymore its at best an MX7.

Thats the opinion from a narrowminded rotary follower thatvoted the swap as gay

 

I think some do build LSx RX-7s and then turn around and sell them because they love to spite the hardcore rotary crowd by telling them they're building one. Although I don't have a problem with the swap myself, I do disagree with the people who sell them, and the people who buy them, over the average cost of an all stock RX-7 in similar condition. It isn't "all original" so I disagree with the "v8 markup", it isn't "better" by any means, in my opinion, but it IS a "different approach" to achieve the same goal: Performance.

 

Like I pointed out before, everything about the engine being more reliable can be attributed to the donor engine having very few miles on it. If you bought a brand new crate rotary from Mazda and stuck it in there, it'd last 150,000 miles too.

For the record my mother-in-law's 2001 GMC Yukon just died on us and left us stranded on the way to dinner last night and we had to have it towed home. What kind of engine is in that again? Is it the more reliable Chevy V8? It sure looked like one with the hood up, but I have to admit, it was kindof hard to see just by the light of the hood light and the hazards flashing and all.

 

errr, as much as I love rotaries they're not perfect, and a lot harder to find parts for them than your average chevy motor. (so far for me anyway)

1. My Renesis is about to be replaced due to some sort of defect, once I know more I'll post it. (I'm at 49k, drive it daily, take exceptional care of it etc etc)
2. There's a guy in our club who bought a brand new crate 13b for his 2nd gen vert, and it had issues with oil leaking from the seals etc. with very little (definitely not 150,000) miles on it.

So maybe there might not be a such a thing as a "bad" rotary, but there are 1,000's of "defective" ones out there, they're dropping out of Rx8's like a ton o' bricks, and then there's all the previous issues that the other gen's had.
I for one don't mind the swaps at all, I think of it as keeping one more 7 from the scrap yard, and you never know, someone might buy it and swap back down the road. How many hotrods do you see that are Fords with Chevy motors and vice versa, there's people out there going after SR20's and 2jz motors for their projects as well as they're readily available, and make stupid power for cheap. So the rotary probably sounds the best and has the coolest design out there, but realistically, it is not as reliable and definitely not as cheap to yank power out of than it's piston counterparts. I still love it though, I'm still amazed at the hp per liter and the size of them, the fact there's only like 3 moving parts, no vibration, linear acceleration etc., but there's still a ton of room for improvement too