wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

I'm gonna be doing the 5.0/5 speed swap in my 85, which means E Modified is the class for me. Who all is running there, and what all have you done to your cars. I want to keep the car streetable, but also want to try to be somewhat competitive. I am planning on going with ground controls/tokicos at all 4 corners, and I was going to work with g-force engineering on a panhard bar and tri link setup. Not sure how I want to go about the braking yet. Thanks in advance for any advice.

DamonB

No streetable car will ever be competitive in a mod class. That's just how life is.

Build the car as you would like and don't worry about the autocross rules because the car won't be competitive anyway.

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

I know I'll never win a national championship, just want it to be as fast as possible. Street manners really don't matter too much, I just have to keep it legal.

gnx7

iTrader: (10)

You should start with an FC which is a better platform and will accept wider rubber.

Every FC conversion I built I purchased for a few hundred bucks. Once their motors go the value of the n/a cars is pretty much whatever you have in your pocket.

How much power do you want from the 5.0? It may be better to go LS1 from the beginning if you are looking for more than 350hp.

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

I'm gonna stick with the first gen because I already have one, and they are lighter. Probably going with around 350 hp, which can be done with a 5.0. Ilike the ford small block because of its light weight, and low cost. For autocross too much power can kill you if you can't hook it up, so I don't need a 500 hp monster.

AXMDR787BOY

You will be decently competitive in your area. As long as a lot of of the mid ohio road racers don't show up. E-Mod puts you in the ring with MANY pure purpose built cars. What is competitive to you? Mid tier rankings?

Dick Elliott

There are several around the country. Look up the Texas region to see one. Beleave its their E-Mod champ. It will be a joke if you try to make it streetable. Use a c-4 tranie as the 5 speed is worthless in E-Mod. 300 HP is more than enough. Look at all the 12A & 13B F prepaireds around the country. Should be no different with a V-8 if you keep the weight the same. Same HP / Same tires / Same 50/50 weight. Go for it. It'll work, and be a lot cheaper than a all out rotary would ever be.

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

Dick Elliot is right - you will have so much torque in such a light car that you will need both hands on the steering wheel. You will have no time and no need to shift. And I suspect that, indeed, 300 HP will be sufficient. Concentrate on making it handle well, and spend your money on tires.

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the advice.

Dick Elliott

Go to www.torquecentral.com/index.php? to see all about V-8 RX-7s

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Solid rear axle and recirculating ball steering box = why convert the 1st gen? The lightweight body is it's only real advantage.

An FC would be a better choice, independent rear, rack and pinion with room for bigger rubber, the weight difference between them isn't huge and if your building an E-mod car the rule book is almost completely open.

TII diffs can take a beating, not so sure about the 1st gen diff. Of course you can always put any other solid axle in the 1st gen.

racerx7

iTrader: (2)

What turbojeff said 100%.

Solid rear axle and recirculating ball steering box would be very scary.

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

yeah, after looking into it some (and my engine deal falling through), I'm just going to keep the rotary in the 1st gen. I have a buddy who wants to do the swap though, so he is looking for a second gen with a blown engine.

owen is fat

Ive been autox'ing for 8 years and only this year have I been in my LS1FC. the car is awesome on course but as a streetcar its overweight for E-Mod. if I had one built specifically for autox I might get down to 2000 pounds without tube frame work. with a 500hp modded LS1 and 16x14 wheels/slicks all around, it would be damn fast but still too heavy to compete with the 1500 pound 300+hp creations you find in E-Mod. Still hella fun though!

dubulup

word. I get my *** handed to me in a single FD, but damn do I have fun

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

Well, I am back on the V8 kick, and might have a line on a used 302 for the car. I am gonna stick with setting it up for EM, and will probably convert to T2 front brakes, rear discs, and R&P Steering (or put a adapter box in the stock column to speed it up). The car will still be street legal, but will be gutted. I am looking at a lot of lightweight parts from ISC. I am not out to win nationals, but have fun and be decently competitive. I am going with the T5, as that is what I have available to me now. Any reccomendations on spring weights for the car (front/rear), as I am going to run ground control coil overs. Thanks.

Hellspawn

auto-xed my 429hp LS1 FD once so far and had a blast. Was just a local event that was put on by the Santa Barbara Porsche Club. I ended up coming in 7th in X Class (everything that's not a Porsche) which had I think 54 vehicles in it. Pretty happy with that considering this is my first event in this car and I'm still figuring it out. Had faster times than Z06's, e46 and e36 M3's, a viper, and lots of Porsches including GT3's. Only suspension mods are tein s-tech springs, front strut tower bar, upgraded mazda sway bar mounts, and I replaced the spring/shock mounts. Obviously still streetable since this is my daily driver

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

Well, I'm gonna run the coilover setup. I am thinking since the engine does not add very much weight, I can run the same rates that I was gonna run with the rotary engine. Any ideas?