Steering clear of cheap FDs?

[JamesFD3]

Don\'t worry on that score, that\'s why i\'m here researching, I wanted to know if it was possible before I even started looking!

When I bought my first S13 I bought the first car I saw... within a few months it needed an engine rebuild and a new turbo, within a year it was rotting away so badly I decided to re-shell. Looked more carefully the second time.

So definitely a lesson learnt and a mistake I intend not to repeat!

I must have looked at hundreds of FD\'s and rust really isn\'t an issue on them unless they have been accident repaired,and there\'s a fair few about! If your looking for an occasional trackday/fast road car go for a car with some basic mods,but not to heavy,stuff like an uprated radiator and intercooler and perhaps a vented bonnet,really good mods that will save you money in the long run and keep the car cool when your thrashing it ofcourse!

Always go for a long test drive in an FD,get someone to keep a close eye on the boost pattern on the twin turbos to see if it\'s boosting properly(10psi-8-10),if it\'s down or one turbo\'s not boosting properly it will feel as flat as a fart.The turbo control system is complex and can be unreliable on track,especially on the older cars where all the hoses go brittle and start popping off I replaced my lower inlet manifold gasket and some of the boost hoses were as brittle as dry twigs!!

Hope this helps....


PS:your 200sx conversion looks cool!

[Pete C]

Thanks James, some really useful info there. What\'s the suspension like as standard? I\'m expecting it\'s fairly good, a standard S13 is like a barge, but I have uprated shocks, springs, ARBs and poly bushes, so I\'m hoping an FD won\'t be too far off in standard trim

Are they easy to tune? If I can get 240/250bhp at the wheels with minor mods I\'ll be happy, don\'t want much less than I\'ve got now. I think I\'ll mostly be going for handling and brake mods though first, do it the right way round this time

I\'m quite pleased with the way the conversion on the 200 has come out, ought to hang onto it really given the amount of time and effort that\'s gone into it over the years!

[JamesFD3]

No worries Pete,stock suspension is very good,you would\'nt want to go much harder than stock for road use,when I first started using mine for trackdays I found the stock suspension excellent,dry grip is amazing,a little hairy in the wet though!!! I uprated eventually though with Tein coilovers,the Tein Flex kit for the FD seems to be the most popular choice these days,on the lowest setting,comparable to stock suspension.

Brakes are excellent with some Hawk pads and good fluid,I use hawk HT10 on the front and HP+ on the rears.Dusting with these pads can be an issue though but there are milder compounds to choose from.When your stock Mazda discs wear out replace them with Black diamond grooved which are great for the money.

Power wise,250-300bhp@ the wheels is easy with the right mods and a healthy car!! Fit a Apexi power FC ECU,cat back exhaust and a silenced decat pipe and get it mapped by a good tuner and you\'ll be easily within this range.Plenty enough power for a road/occasional track RX-7 :driving

Good luck with the search!