What can I mod to make the rex last?

[Ricco_04]

What modifications can I make to my car to make it last longer/more reliable??

Sounds like a silly question but I really want to keep the car but it has a s**t load of miles on it. Im not totally bothered about more performance as there is pleanty for me.

I was thinking things like Bigger radiator, blow off valve, catch tanks (Si is doing the bulk buy with these) etc - anything that helps. Is there any more things I could do?

Thanks (still a novice with no clue!)

[Carl]

First things are to change oil regularly,3000 miles or sooner if possible.Filter too.
Allways warm engine up very well before revving it hard.
Change spark plugs every 6000 miles.
Up grade radiator.
Of course there are loads of other things you can do but these are pretty important.
Kind regards
Carl

[Cycaduk]

1)Dont drive it unless the sun is shining and the road is dry
2)Never ever take it to a car park
3)Never ever let it get wet
4)never feed it after midnight.
5) Only give it mineral oil and shell optimax petrol.
^)never turn the ignition on.
7)leave it in the garage all the time, use the wifes MX5.

[Ricco_04]

Thanks Carl and . . . urm . . . .thanks Cycaduk! No I see what your saying though - I use it as my everyday car as I already have a toy - That said I do sod all miles a year anyway!

I had it parked undar my mates car port the other night as I have done quite oftern. Always very careful at backing out but last night.... well I could have cried, I scraped the front left arch  . It didnt go down to the metal and i suppose its not that bad but I was gutted! Filled in the gaps where the primer is thin and will have to paint it back if I can get some of the red paint.

[bnaellis]

To be honest you can go through all the so called safety mods etc etc but at the end of the day safety mods or no safety mods engine will go at the same kind of mileage all the others do.

rgds

[Carl]

Originally posted by BNA_ELLIS
To be honest you can go through all the so called safety mods etc etc but at the end of the day safety mods or no safety mods engine will go at the same kind of mileage all the others do.

rgds

I don\'t believe that to be true,
Much of how long the engine last\'s can be directly attributed to 2 things,
1 how well you maintain it.
2 how carefully/hard you drive it.

Kind regards
Carl

[bnaellis]

Originally posted by Carl
I don\'t believe that to be true,
Much of how long the engine last\'s can be directly attributed to 2 things,
1 how well you maintain it.
2 how carefully/hard you drive it.

Kind regards
Carl

I didn\'t say anything about maintaining or driving, what I was on about is his question about safety mods to make the car last longer with or without them the engines only last a given range of mileage.

rgds

[rotarymatt]

hi there
from my personal experience i must say that mods do extend your engine life.having built quit a few race winning rotaries back home in south africa the first thing is to get your engine temperature as close to 80 degrees celsius.boost your oil pressure for more lubrication also helps.we used an oil additive which actualy worked!the 330 horsepower periphal raced 7 full races winning 4 of them.we kept on going with the engine to test the endurance of the motor.end of season i just took the bearings out for inspection.there was no white metal left!but the engine was still running smoothly ,strong and started up first time.
greetings,matt

[moakesr]

Originally posted by Cycaduk
1)Dont drive it unless the sun is shining and the road is dry
2)Never ever take it to a car park
3)Never ever let it get wet
4)never feed it after midnight.
5) Only give it mineral oil and shell optimax petrol.
6)never turn the ignition on.
7)leave it in the garage all the time, use the wifes MX5.

Crikey, apart from number 6 and 7, that\'s scarily similar to how mine is treated. :rollin

I really should use it more, but that will have to wait until April when hopefully the weather improves

Richard

[rotarymatt]

a more drastic and costly mod and one that every car in theory should have is to lighten and blueprint/balance the whole assembly.works especialy well for rotaries!

matt

[Carl]

Hi Matt!
Welcome to the club,and another builder too!
I have built engines for racing like yours that have lasted ages and only the tip seals have got slightly worn.
You will be well aware of what race driving and revs can do.
Glad to have you on board.
Kind regards
Carl;)

[Brett]

This has got me thinking....

Would it be possible on the turbo rotaries to fit new BOV(s) that are remotely operated?  E.g for normal everyday driving you could run at very low boost, when you want a bit of fun raise it back up to standard?

 Is such a thing possible?

[Carl]

Originally posted by Brett
This has got me thinking....

Would it be possible on the turbo rotaries to fit new BOV(s) that are remotely operated?  E.g for normal everyday driving you could run at very low boost, when you want a bit of fun raise it back up to standard?

 Is such a thing possible?

Hi Brett,
A blow off valve or dump valve does not control boost pressure,the wastegate does.There are many systems on the market now that enable you too run a different boost setting at the touch of a button.
The "E Boost" is one such example ,it can even run different boost in each of the gears!It is made by Turbosmart.Of course you need a decent wastegate too.
Kind regards
Carl

[Brett]

I was thinking wastegate, but for some reason wrote down BOV?  

 So would such a device require a new ECU?

 I\'m most liekly going to get the thing a new ECU before long anyhow, but TBH there are times when I really dont need 260+bhp, and much prefer to keep my apex seals and housings in shape for a bit longer too!

[kevint]

Brett,

Assuming we are talking about a 3rd gen, a common reliability mod you may want to do is replace the plastic air separator tank (AST), old brittle ones have been known to split and dump coolant.  They are usually replaced with an alloy AST.  In the US it seems that the tank is frequently just eliminated but I\'m guessing that Mazda did enough research to justify it being there.

Kevin