The Best mod to improve reliability?

[steve b]

V mount intercooler kit with bigger capacity radiator?

or

apexi Power FC and remap for uk fuel

I\'m of couse assuming plugs, leads, general service items are all in A1 condition

is there something else thats better, bar an engine rebuilt ?

[Carl]

Keep the car totally standard is the absolute very best way of keeping the car reliable for the longest time.This is directly proportionate the the health of the engine when you took up ownership though.
Also change the oil and filter as often as you can.
Regards
Carl

[steve b]

Keep the car totally standard is the absolute very best way of keeping the car reliable for the longest time.This is directly proportionate the the health of the engine when you took up ownership though.
Also change the oil and filter as often as you can.
Regards
Carl

Hum, surely improving the cooling is going to be beneficial to reliability as is getting it mapped for 97ron uk petrol opposed to the 100ron it would have been run on in Japan?  i.e. coming from the MR2T they try to det themselves to death if you put 95 ron in (end up in safe mode), they struggle to get full boost on 97ron and are only really happy on either optimax or having a remap for uk spec fuel.  Does this not apply to Imported RX7\'s I though high temps + not as good fuel as expected = det problems or does the rotarty simply not suffer this?

[Carl]

If you run on 98 Optimax you will have no problems with the engine in totally stock form,in fact you can get away with a couple of mods like a cat back,or induction kit.
The rotary will det if you over mod with an open exhaust and induction kit with a decat too.
The stock rad in good condition is ideal for the engine in even mild upgrades such as running an open exhaust with a power FC and a little more boost,but obviously engine longevity suffers with any extra power gains.
Regards
Carl

[Norton]

Also change the oil and filter as often as you can.
Regards, Carl

Excuse my ignorance, can you use fully synthetic oil in your Mazdas?

Edit... sorry, should have looked for the answer....  http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20377
That\'ll be a Yes then  :rolleyes:

[sdminus]

Is this what you are looking for son
http://www.robrobinette.com/reliabiltiy.htm

Scott

[Warthog]

Of the two mods you have listed I would do the Apexi. You can then see what is going on and re-tune for 98 ron. The thing with doing mods prior to a pfc is that you do get more power but you are not in control of it, ask Kieron = bang. The good point after the safty angle is that as you do your mods you can see what power gains you have got. Just my own views. HTH. :cheers
Steve B -- just seen you are in Oxford give me a call on 07771882430 at some point wednesday after 2pm, I am just up the road outside Kidlington towards Banbury. Sold our house in Daventry and just sold the in-laws ( both have sadly passed away ). :wave

[gsb876]

I would do all 4 points you have mentioned.

Bigger rad / Apexi PFC / remapped / V-mount.

Additionally if running more than normal boost settings possibly injector upgrade.

[Carl]

Hi Steve,
Think for a moment about what improving cooling actually means?
If the engine is fairly stock then the stock rad will keep the engine nicely in the "right" temps as controlled by the thermostat.It is perfectly capable of doing so.
An uprated rad would do just the same in that it would keep the engine in the "Right" temps too.So effectively your engine temps would be the same with only mild mods,so there would be no advantage really except that you have spent some money that was not needed.
Only uprate the rad and intercooler if you are going for a fair bit more power,other wise it is really not needed.
A "V" mount intercooler setup is the best zero maintenance setup to go for if you are going to want a fair bit more power,this usually includes an uprated rad and new intercooler.As has been said you will need other things to such as more fueling,and vented bonnet would be useful too.

Regards
Carl

[kevint]

There\'s are some simpler/cheaper mods that will help reliability and/or identify any potential issues early:

Alloy AST - the stock plastic one is prone to splitting
Boost Gauge - check your boost pattern, identify boost issues early
Water Temp Gauge - early warning of heat problems, stock gauge is useless
Oil Temp Gauge - don\'t drive it hard until oil is up to normal temperature

Apexi commander can also help with the last three, but not as easy to monitor as dedicated gauges.

HTH

Kevin

[steve b]

Hi carl, I see what you mean but the main use for the car will be trackdays, so I think it may struggle?  Read stories previously that the rx7 rad is really too small as a result of mazda going overboard with weight saving, don\'t know that this is true mind?

Warthog, I\'ll give you a call about 5ish after work, maybe I could pop over and have a look at your car? cheers Steve

[steve b]

There\'s are some simpler/cheaper mods that will help reliability and/or identify any potential issues early:

Alloy AST - the stock plastic one is prone to splitting
Boost Gauge - check your boost pattern, identify boost issues early
Water Temp Gauge - early warning of heat problems, stock gauge is useless
Oil Temp Gauge - don\'t drive it hard until oil is up to normal temperature

Apexi commander can also help with the last three, but not as easy to monitor as dedicated gauges.

HTH

Kevin

They all make a lot of sense if the stock gauges are not up to much

p.s. what an AST? Air Seperation tank/ Swirl pot?

[steve b]

Is this what you are looking for son
http://www.robrobinette.com/reliabiltiy.htm

Scott

Cheers, good link, AST is air seperation tank, suprised it has one of these as stock, impressive stuff.

[Wav]

Hi carl, I see what you mean but the main use for the car will be trackdays, so I think it may struggle?  Read stories previously that the rx7 rad is really too small as a result of mazda going overboard with weight saving, don\'t know that this is true mind?

Warthog, I\'ll give you a call about 5ish after work, maybe I could pop over and have a look at your car? cheers Steve

If you\'re going to be doing trackdays, which you I don\'t think you stated in your first post, then i would definitely change the stock "inter-warmer", air charge temps of over 70 degrees on a nominal 15 degree day is not good imho . For normal driving the std cooler can be ok, but the track demands so much more than the road, unless you live in the French Alps or something I think you\'ll find that reliability for the track will be very different than reliability for the road.

If you go for a v-mount then a nice shiny rad should come with it :yes

Paul

[Warthog]

Steve B -- no probs mate speak later. :cheers