New FD owner in AZ
 

Hey West region group! I have been on the forum for awhile as an FC owner, but I recently moved on to an FD. It's a low mileage mostly stock example, which is a concern as here in AZ, I've heard the FD can overheat while idling. That is probably an exaggeration, but I do know these cars have heat dissipation issues. What are you southwest guys finding as the best mods to address this? Also, are there any reputable rotary shops in the Phoenix area that anyone can recommend? Thanks in advance for any responses and I look forward to any local events planned for the future.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ee84289dd1.jpg



https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0b6a910274.jpg

Welcome, that's one clean FD. There's plenty you can to for the cooling, upgrading to two oil coolers is a big one, but when it's 110+ outside best just to leave it in the garage.

Nice FD!
Upgrade radiator, ast, and a way to monitor coolant temps at a minimum.

I agree. Drove my '95 about 5000 miles a year. Did not drive on 105° plus days or in the rain (10 rain days a year is not bad).
For investment purposes, leave it stock, warm it up before full throttle use and cool it off a few miles before shutting it off.
Never had any problems with anything on that car in the 68000 miles i owned it. Worked on turbocharged aircraft before i bought it so i was very cognizant of possible operational difficulties. I also got 30,000 miles on the tires instead of 8000 like a few guys i knew.

P.S. I never cruised over 150 mph either.

With respect to cooling the RX-7 doesn't have overheating problems. Many people believe that it has overheating problems because it is recommended to replace the OEM radiator. The reason to replace the OEM radiator is because the plastic end tanks crack and leak over time. However, a bigger failure point is the stock AST they tend to leak and some have reported that it basically exploded on them. Yours is nice and black so that is really good (for the time being that is).

Given that you live in AZ - My suggestion is:
Remove AST, replace precat with a DP, get yourself some dual oil coolers, and upgrade radiator and IC. If you are worried about staying stock for value purposes all those things are boltons which means the car can be converted back to 100% stock rather easily.

Hello. I am new to the RX7 scene and also live in phoenix. I would love to meet up locally once every other week or so just to chill. I used to do this a lot with the S2000 scene 5 years ago. We held "monday night meets" weekly and it was a fun place just to get some grub, or coffee, and bs about life, cars, work, wives, etc... Let me know if that sounds interesting to any of you all.

I should be taking the FD to cars and coffee in Scottsdale this Saturday.

What time does it start?

That is one beauty of an FD. As a counter point to most advise you'll get on this forum, do not mod it (if it is just a weekend warrior). You only need to replace rubber and some plastic if you know it has not been previously replaced (e.g. water, vacuum and fuel hoses). This also goes for the AST. Replace with OEM vs. aftermarket. The only aftermarket you need is a boost and water temp gauge. With both of those, you will know when to lay off. Only other thing to attend to is the fuel filter. Make sure you replace that if you don't know the history.

Did you go to the EOS Gym on Thunderbird recently?

That was me. I try to get th FD out about obce or twice a week. Either going tk the gym or playing ball.

Awesome man its amazing! I saw it and took pictures and posted it in the AZ rx7 group on facebook. No one knew who it was haha!

We need to do meets!!! I dont use facebook (for career oriented reasons). If you want to meet PM me and we can exchange info.

Awesome ride Bro. I picked up an FD last August myself. I'm in the process of doing some upgrades myself, Fuel injectors, Efini Y-Pipe, Hi flow Cat ETC.

It won't be done before October. Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.
To the other FD owners in AZ. Any chance of doing local meets/get together?
Would be interested.

I would LOVE to do local meets biweekly (hopefully enough interest/ppl show so we can start to do weekly meets) and I dont mind hosting a tech day. I have 2 open garage spaces, a good amount of driveway space, and I have a jack and stands and a few tools. If you guys want to do anything from dp installs to fender rolling to coils I am down to help and learn.