Afternoon
New to the world of rotary engined cars, I’ve had my RZ FD for a few weeks now and it’s like nothing else I’ve ever been in, after years & years of modified cars of all varieties I thought it was now or never to get into an RX7. I’ve lusted for years but was always scared off! And as the values are on the increase I thought if I don’t do it now, I never will.
Not exactly what I wanted but I think it’s a good starting point as im not afraid of getting stuck in, it already has a lot of the recommended mod’s to make it more reliable. I have a few plans of my own and im slowly ticking off the list of issues and getting it sorted, the upgrades are starting to roll in too ;D
welcome mate, nice example! what plans and current tune? :P
Cheers dude.
Plans are to replace the failing twins with a small punchy single. Currently pushing 330HP as the car is already prepped with the required supporting mods, Apexi FC, big front mount & N flow rad, 3" straight through, pump & FPR. Not looking to go crazy power wise, much prefer proper response and good handling traits. I'll start a build thread soon enough and include the full spec in there.
Already bagged a bargain T4 manifold & downpipe, 1680cc injectors, FC Hako programming lead & Blitz wastegate. News bits also coming in to complete the conversion, just got the turbo the other day a TDX57 from turblown, I went new as I've had problems before with used turbo's. Got new coils, plugs, wires, secondary rail etc. I'll start stripping the twins soon.
Already fitted new rear Toyo R888 275 tyres, uprated starter, polybushes and pillowballs all round which has transformed the car no end! Next stop, sort out all the nasty wiring attempts ???
Nice 1!!! yep keep us posted we all like piccys here.
Thanks boosted, must admit your build thread was the first thread I read end to end on this forum, really inspired me to get stuck in.
Cool...thanks for that im getting there with mine...more jobs behind me than infront...lol...just a rear end clunk and some oil leaks and im ignoring my comp results.
I agree with you on the power front especially on the road nice throttle response no lag. These twins on mine are in very good condition so plan to use as is and enjoy the full seq twins as mazda intended.
Defo get some piccys up some good guys on here to help with motivation.
Any plans to track it?
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Once I'm confident it can take a spanking round Oulton Park I'll be there to give my best
Main thing is coolant temps on track...suspect you know but the stock cluster temp gauge is useless its not linear..ideally an aftermarket gauge but can use apexi in monitor to get accurate reading...typical temps 82 to 84...on hot days max you really wanna see is 90 deg.
If you havent an aftermarket rad worth sourcing for track use.
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I hunted for my FD for 8 months or so, i think i was looking for a car that didn't exist for a price I was willing to pay so in that 8 months I did alot of research and reading and ended up buying something that gave me a good start point knowing I would more than likely modify the car as I can't ever seem to help myself!
I tend to rely on the Apexi FC commander for temp readings, its got one of the new OLED units which is quite nice. Its already got a Koyo N Flow radiator fitted which I assume will be up to the job.
The bit im more concerned about at the moment is the motor is using a little coolant ??? I haven't really had chance to look into it yet but I've noticed the AST is mostly full and I would like to inspect the caps & hoses a little closer, dump the nasty looking coolant, refill then burp the system and see how we go. I'm trying to ignore the slightly white smokey cold starts, there was no evidence of bubbles in the main filler neck though so I'm a little bit lost there. I was hoping to get the single fitted and mapped and at least a summer of road use before an engine refresh. The engine history is unknown but compression results in the low 7's so i assumed it would be good for a while and planned to rebuild it next winter.
edit: I do have some K seal HD in the garage, is it worth adding this anyway?
I found k seal blocked the filter on the syphon in the plastic tank under drivers headlight...
I was paranoid about coolant seal failure when i first.got mine....did about 5 champayne tests always saw some bubbles but nothing like the old faithfuls failures on youtube....
Prob best to as you say check.all joints change caps drain and flush...check that syphon as well i found on my old fd it was pushing coolant out when hot but blocking when drawing in.
I hook a garden hose onto mine gave it a really good flush...it was brown sludge..thinking out loud i suppose you could put a table spoon or 2 in and run car up hot before flushing...( temp on cold to keep out matrix). Good stuff kseal got me outta trouble in past.
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Good shout, K seal before flushing is defo a good idea. I've champagne tested it and I've seen the odd bubble here and there but nothing like the youtube vids.
What caps do I need then? Just a pair of 0.9 bar pressure caps? Or is it recommended to purchase Mazda caps? Hopefully get a chance to play this weekend and fingers crossed it turns out to be an easy fix.
Sounds like its fine...theres 1 sprung cap and 1 unsprung cap.
I got a new from Mazda Rotary Parts Clive on here has an online parts business...he can sort you out...ill post a piccy in morning of cap orientation.
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(http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u397/boosted38/20160421_113914_zps9kz3yn2p.jpg?1486678828773&1486678849760&1486678873126)
theres a threaded drain plug for the coolant on the block passenger side below sparkies.
(http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u397/boosted38/fd%20coolant%20caps_zpsqgamjgjg.jpg)
heres the caps check there on the right tanks...been there done that...thatll loose the coolant. :))
right sprung cap on the AST above rad.
left un sprung cap on the engine cooling tower.
:welcome: Glad to have you along. Seems like you know what you are doing too! Car looks great, hope you find no major issues as you work through your "to do" list.
Right then, I'll get stuck into this on Saturday and see what I find, fingers crossed its something really simple. Thanks alot for all the advice, I really appreciate it.
Morning Casey, thank you for the welcome. I've been mucking about with cars for far too long now but im still learning all the time. Looking forward to getting on top of the RX7 so I can start enjoying the car when the weathers better.
I think I'll start a project thread tonight so I can keep a record of the work completed.
Hi fella,
Welcome to the Club. Nice looking FD.
Looks like it has a Concept 7 bonnet, nice.
A bit of white smoke on start up is usually a bit of condensation build up in the exhaust, but do keep an eye on it if it persists.
Look forward to watching your progress.
Morning Chief, cheers for the welcome. Yes it is a concept 7 bonnet, i wasn't sure at first but i've grown to like it and think it might stay for a while.
Lets hope this weekend finds an easy fix to the coolant issues and I can move on to fitting the single turbo parts ;D
Welcome to MRC :welcome: and thank you for becoming a full club member straight off the bat :00123101:
Great looking car and nice to see you knew what you wanted and hunted one down.
You may well already know this but when filling the water system, only fill the one on the engine and leave the other two caps alone and the system will sort itself out. I have known people fill every thing up and then the system will push the excess out and more.
I will look forward to the build thread with interest.
Have fun out there (it looks like you already are though 8) )
Thanks Clive, I thought i might as well get proper stuck into the rotary thing as the bug has already bitten! The RX7 is like nothing else I've ever driven and I've been in all sorts of stuff, its awesome and I can see it being a long term car for me.
Well I've managed to track down a good workshop manual online for a 94 car but Im sure 99% will apply to the 96 model. I'm itching to get stuck in over the weekend and see whats going on with the coolant system, fingers crossed its not terminal :-[
I'll make a start with the project thread this evening me thinks and show you all what I've been up to :)
Andy
Yes the 96 manual will give you the info you need for your car.
Also in our General and Tech section you will find many more manuals (link below) although American, yet it will give you much info that crosses over ok
http://mazdarotaryclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=66749.0
My plans for a coolant flush have been scuppered.
Just looking at the caps though and picking up what Boosted said, one should be sprung?
(http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac97/BAT_Audi_UK/DSCF1089_zpsi3yikdkh.jpg) (http://s889.photobucket.com/user/BAT_Audi_UK/media/DSCF1089_zpsi3yikdkh.jpg.html)
Tower cap on the left, AST on the right. Could this be the problem?
Forget the last post, I've realised it is a sprung cap and I was just being dense.
Hopefully get chance to flush the system out tomorrow and see where we are after that.
Any more news?
Changed caps and so far so good. I want to get a few more miles done before drawing a conclusion though. I'm going to give the car a full service, all fluids and plugs soon down the local DIY garage including the coolant flush. Looks like the cap might have been the culprit if that's possible?
Yes mate ive had 1 get weak and pass coolant....cool sorted.
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Yeah dude, love an easy fix.
Big thanks to everyone for the advice.
Next big task is sorting all the nasty wiring jobs, scotchlok heaven in there and lots of soldered wiring which I just can't bear. I've started at the back and I'll work my way forward. I've got lots of piccies so I'll update my build thread soon enough. I've also been piecing together the last few bits of my single turbo turbo kit, all will be revealed in due course :-)