choice between 13b rebuilt or fresh ls1 FD, sound, power, reliability etc.
 

I need help

This is my situation, I've always loved the FD for the looks and the 13b sounds great too. I'm finally at a point in my life where I can financially own one of these without worrying too much about repair costs etc. plus if i dont get the FD now I never will, plan to have kids few years etc.

I have three choices for an FD as of now.

1) one local FD with 130000+ kms on it, its a local car with 8000kms on a rebuild. has all of the reliabilty mods done to it already and is serviced every 2 to 3 k by a local rotary specialist.

2) freshly rebuilt FD. 13b is from a JDM car that was totalled 13b is stock. roller from the US. reliability mods will be done to it but i was told that the JDM 13b had bout 40000kms on it. i don't even know how i would start checking this. for sure I know the car is a fresh rebuild as I've seen it go through its paces.

3) lS1 FD, this car will be a fresh build. the LS1 and roller are separate at the moment and if I want it he will build it to my specs.


Now here lies the problem. This car will be my DD, i have a truck that i can drive if the car needs work so i wont be out of a ride if it breaks down.

I've read that some people are getting a reliable FD if they look after it service every 2 to 3k, keep an eye on temps etc. can this seriously be done in my car (i drive bout max 20km a day on average)??

I know that LS1 is way more reliable and more feasible but the only thing i don't like about it is the sound. I've always been into the sound of a nice tight sounding engine (a few woosh sounds here and there dont hurt either :nod: )

is there anyway to get away for the camaro sound of that engine, shorty headers, turbo etc do they help?

I've listened to countless youtube clips and heard a few tight sounding LS1's but not inside RX7's

so those are my two real questions here, yes i have read and searched the entire forum for months now, and never read anything about adjusting the sound of the stock LS1.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Sound doesn't change much. You can add a bunch of dampening to make it quieter but the note will remain the same.

Lots of pro/con threads out there. Most recently check out the commentary here:

https://www.rx7club.com/race-car-tech-103/car-died-vir-monday-time-start-lsx-project-890547/

i would go with option number 1 as the engine has low miles and still goes to the engine builder every 3000km for oil change

maily depends on how much each car if for sale to.

There are plenty of Good FD's left you just have to look. I bought mine at 58k and drove it daily w/ no problems until 83K when I sold it. It was still going strong. If you know how to look after them they are not bad like everyone thinks. Look for a good clean car that has been taken care of and you should be good. That may mean traveling for it.

From what you posted 1 is your best option. I don't care who did the swap on the LS1 you will find little things not to your liking and could wind up redoing it IMO.

Again I stress to look for a good car. I saw one in Dallas w/ 30K on it and it still looked new. There are still nice examples out there. Good luck.

ls1 swap if you want reliability

ls1 for reliability hands down, and yeah they all sound the same depending on exhaust components. but yes if you do take good care of it and have a good rotary head around the 13b can prove to be quite reliable as well.

How about a 20b n/a? it might be a little more pricey then a ls1 swap but I heard good things about its reliability and that sounds is music to the ears!