I bet you could get away with having the stock airbox and just removing the snorkel that goes over the stock location radiator.

 

i know K+N makes the stock filter replacement but i'm not 100% sure that their kit is carb legal, it has to be stamped with a carb cert. #.

 

I have that stock filter. It came with the car already in place. I dont know it the box had anything on it. I havent seen a number on the filter itself or anything. I wouldnt really expect to though.

 

not the stock filter cartridge, that one doesn't need to have a CARB #. anything that replaces the stock airbox needs a CARB label on it for the smog techs or they will fail you, some may let it slide but give you some crap for it.

 

i believe it is

 

this is an option. dont you think they would notice the missing snorkel though? Well i guess unless the smog tech someone who knows their fcs, they would be looking for something like that.

 

i don't think the cold air snorkel is mandatory, ive brought many cars in for smog that passed without it and some that the cone filters were ignored on(although tough smog techs will fail you unless it has a CARB cert #).

 

talk to funkjaw or smogguy 707 on the forums they can help you out with knowing what will pass and what wont

 

oh gotcha. Lol i missunderstood. So maybe ill start off slow with my mods. The main concern is building a reliable engine and placing my pennies in the right parts of the build. Like i said I do intend on driftin it on open track days. but so far I do kinda feel like the stage 3 oil mod at pineapple is a little exessive. these are the options actually.


Oil Mods Chart

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Windage Tray / Pan Baffling Y Y Y
-10 oil lines (Recommended for all applications) O O O
Increased Oil Pressure (as necessary) Y Y Y
17mm Oil Pump (stock in some applications) Y Y Y
Oil Pump Cavity Port O Y Y
Windowed Main Bearing -- Rear (stock on 13B-REW)O/S Y Y
Windowed Main Bearing -- Front (stock on 13B-REW) O/S O/S Y
Enlarged Oil Passage O O Y
Loop Line O O O

Y=Yes (included), O=Optional (not included), S=Stock (included in stock application only). Modifications also available ala carte. This chart is just a guideline. Each application varies.

I hope this isnt too confusing. But the builds theirselves start at 3300 with new rotor housings.

 

so your cali options are:

1) keep the engine bay as stock looking as possible which leaves the v-mount out(means TMIC and aux. injection and Rtek or PowerFC)
2) swap to the v-mount but leave the rest as stock looking as possible(stock airbox may not fit)
3) swap the v-mount, omit the smog pump and air box but leave it possible to swap them back
4) omit everything and simplify and take your risks(microtech is the easiest to tune but requires a simplified engine, can pass smog but will never pass cali visual unless you take steps to make it appear everything works if still in place)


i have the simplified engine running a microtech and it passes fine but there is VERY stringent visuals here in nevada.

 

it is excessive, we have seen many engines run with none of that just fine at high horsepower levels. the only one i may consider is the windage tray which helps the oil pump from cavitating if you are cornering hard with a low oil level. your turbo model already has the 17mm turbo oil pump and the larger lines do nothing because there are bottlenecks elsewhere in the oiling system. FD bearings do flow more oil but the FC 3 window bearings do not fail regularly unless starved of oil which the FD bearings will fail just as quickly in that case.

i'm just not sure why they feel that the engines need this much more oil, out of over a hundred engines the only 2 failures oil related were due to oil lines ripping and the customer's driving the engine until it stalled(0oil pressure won't get you far). some had slightly worn bearings but those engines also had over 150k miles.

of all the issues with the rotary engine, the lubrication system is actually sufficient for about 450 wheel horsepower before you may even consider upgrading things, with only a few exceptions like cornering hard for long periods of time which in the past also hasn't been much of an issue because the rx7 oil pans have all been excellent at preventing cavitation.

some people have a mindset that you have to throw a hammer at anything just because they feel it is insufficient somehow. i have always been impressed that these cars have so few lubrication issues given the amount of room they can grow off of what was given.

 

Ya i agree. ive never heard of oil failures in these cars. that is the builders main argument. that the bearings fail. I wouldnt mind using the the upgraded oil bearings just as a precation. Thats about it though. i dont feel the need to get all crazy with it. Maybe if I was building a time attack machine or an all out drift machine. even then you dont have to crazy with mods to get side ways. So says the drift bible. lol

 

wouldnt i eventually get rid of the smog box anyway? Waht exactly are you refering to when you say simplified engine? Carburated?

 

rats nest, smog pump, ACV and BAC, thermowax is optional.

 

just as long as you dont go insane like smogsux your good and ben how is vegas treating you

 

" I DONT KNOW WHAT THE F@&# YOU JUST SAID LIL KID!" Lol. I dont know what thermomax is.

 

Its that bit of tan plastic that attaches to your secondary butterflies on the throttle body. Theres a water hose that goes to one side of it and the other end goes to the ACV I believe.

 

What would be the purpose of removing these parts form the engine?

 

Removing the thermowax/secondary butterflies as well as porting and polishing the throttle body gives better throttle response and supposedly quicker spool up for turbos. I passed CA smog without a thermowax unit. I'm not sure its mandatory either.

 

What does the thermomax do for the engine exactly? It doesnt sound like its a vital part if it can be removed for better performane.

 

It helps the engine idle when its cold. Supposedly your car can still idle just fine on its own even when cold without the thermowax, but I wouldn't know because I had a small vacuum leak the entire time I had my theromwax removed, and supposedly with both in conjunction, makes the car stall a heck of a lot for the first few minutes of warm up. I had to manually press the gas pedal to idle the car until the car warmed up each time. It was a real pain in the butt and I wouldn't do it again unless I got further confirmation that a car without a small vacuum leak will still idle just fine without the theromwax.

 

the thermowax idles up the engine while cold, it will be prone to stalling out when the car is cold if you remove it. the rest is all emissions related.

vegas is ok, the weather is starting to get nice versus the 100* degree almost constant weather.

 

you should throw a meet for when your coming up

 

cool info guys thanks a lot.

 

Karack has done everything on my car and I beat the living **** out of it every time I drive it. Just needs some more tuning since I recently put a big turbo on my car. Aiming for 450 rwhp @ 21psi

Upgraded intercoolers are legal in CA, BUTTTTTTTT by doing that you eliminate your stock bypass valve which is illegal. And even if you recirculate an aftermarket bov it's still technically illegal.

If I could go back I would have given up the power hunger that I had to retain a more "legal" looking engine bay. Bnr stage 2 turbo, stock tmic, Meth/water injection, Power FC...etc. Just something to keep it looking legal and getting around 280rwhp.

EDIT: And the thermowax is nice to eliminate due to the car revving up when cold upon startup which is kinda bad for the motor. I wouldn't remove the secondary throttle body butterflies though..maybe MAYBEE get like 1-2 hp at the cost of the car not driving as smooth.