Big problem or small problem ?

[3148markc]

Well can you believe it only had my RX7 1 week and already i have a problem, which i hope somebody can help. The engine has suddenly got very tappy which is rather loud, but then as the car warms up and gets to temprature the car cuts out and will not start again until it\'s cooled down.
Has anybody had this problem before who can help ?

[elford_tim]

Does the engine idle smoothly when it\'s cold or does it hunt/shake?

If you can\'t start the engine when it\'s hot you\'re usually in for an expensive surprise[1] - try to get the car to a Mazda dealer or to one of the usual suspects to get a compression test done.

[1] Have a look around the board - search function is your friend. I\'d bet you\'ll find plenty of threads about problems like yours.

[3148markc]

Yeah the engine hunts as soon as you start the engine. I did have her out the first time only to break down once warm but there was no power at all when i put my foot down. I have checked all pipes and nothing seems a miss but i\'m not 100% on the electrical side.

[kev-yorks]

Map sensor pipe is a possible but it doesn\'t sound to good. A full spec on the car would help is it running a stock ecu and have you tried a reset?
Kevin

[3148markc]

No the ECU is a Knight sports one. Not 100% sure on these ones and there are wires all over the place, it just seems strange that one minute all ok and now this. I have been told that changing the plugs might help but i\'m unsure as i don\'t have any sort of strange smoke at anytime. Anybody know were i can get the compression checked here in yorkshire ?

[kev-yorks]

Right if your running a knightsport ECU chances are it is mapped for jap fuel i\'m assuming the cars just been shipped in with this statement. Your best bet is get it over to WGT and get it all checked out.
 What where you doing when it all went pearshaped giving it some on high boost?
Kevin

[3148markc]

yeah it all went pear shaped when i was putting my foot down i did infact crunch third gear so i slowed down and then everything went wrong, i dont run high boost as i have not adjusted the knight sports boost controler from it\'s settings of .96 so i\'m guessing this boost is not that high anyway. So to sum things up is my engine blown already, i\'ll be gutted if it has just got rid of my FTO cause the engine blew up twice !

[3148markc]

Just started the car up and also noticed the access exhaust noise from underneath, when i have looked it lookes like something is missing from the centre cat as there is a hole with two bolts, should there be the c02 sensor here or has it been taken off due to the ECU ?

[elford_tim]

AFAIK the O2 sensor is normally in the downpipe, it may be that there is provision for a second one. Well, at least it is on mine with a HKS downpipe but I\'d expect that HKS probably duplicated the stock location.

BTW, 0.96bar boost is roughly 14psi which is already higher than stock on the twin turbos (AFAIK it\'s 12psi under normal circumstances). Couple that with an ECU that\'s mapped for 100RON fuel and there\'s a good chance of the Apex seal(s) committing seppukku. Which fuel did you run it on, btw?

What other mods are on the car - you\'ve already mentioned the ECU, something with the exhaust system... I wouldn\'t be surprised if there\'s more and in order to give you decent advice other than "take it to Pip" it would help to know what you\'re running.

Oh, and I assume that you did give the car a decent service before you took it out, seeing that it *seems* the car is fresh off the boat from Japan?

[3148markc]

Yeah the car is a fresh inport and i was guaranteed that the car was serviced and that a compression test was done when leaving Japan. I have only ever put superunleaded in the car which has been running really well. This was the first time i had given the car it\'s chance to show me what it\'s made of and i was well impressed until now
The car has lots of mods, i keep finding them.. it has the knight sports ecu knight sports 3 boost synchronizer and knight sports 4 boost control. uprated exhaust system, duel air filters, all pipes have been changed and clipped into place, loads of big blue ground leads everywhere, uprated adjustable suspension all round and also something at the back end that apparantly helps to stop the back from jumping out on corners.
So to me everything is looking bad, but hey maybe a rebuild and tune is probably a good guarantee that the car will run perfect, but how much is this all gonna cost, £2000 ?? or more !!!

[elford_tim]

Ouch, sorry to hear that mate.

I think the sensible thing to do is to give Pip at WGT a bell and see if he can check over your car and advise you as to the cost of the repair.

I\'d also budget for a PowerFC and get Pip to map it for UK fuel as I don\'t think you\'ll be doing yourself any favours with the Knightsports ECU.