Dream RX7

[Clintuk]

Firstly apologies if this is a repeat (I\'m sure some of it will be), but this is my 1st post.

I currently have a 97 Impreza, again apologies, got rid of company car and boss said I had to have 4 doors otherwise I\'d be a happy 3rd Gen owner, but I\'ll soon have 300bhp so it\'ll be nice for a while.

Anyway things at work have changed and RX7 is again a possibility.  Question is what to do ?

Initially I was very drawn to the Hurley engineering triple rotor engine with SU carbs, not sure if it\'s still available and at £5K a bit pricey, but I\'m not buying a Hyundai am I  :rolleyes:

Have also seen Brembo big brake kits, do the 3rd Gen cars need them ? I understood they have excellent standard brakes.

Hard versus Soft suspension and what mods, again I understand they handle very well as standard.

I would be looking for a GT not a street racer, however as the boss has just got a Carrara S I\'d like to be able to embarrass him  :Giggle

I guess I\'m looking for 350bhp+ but drivability is very important, I don\'t want a top end only engine.

Was also thinking about Masarati Ghibli, but they have expensive turbos and were built by, well - not the Japanese.

What bits would you have in a perfect world ?

Thanks
Clint

[sadgoth]

firstly, what\'s your budget?

You can spend HUGE amounts developing a dream RX7!

a 3 rotor conversion if done properly will set you back about £15-20k (that is engine and fitting - not including the car!) speak to Pip at WGT (he is doing one at the moment) yes the 20b is a nice engine, but there are cheaper ways of generating the power from the standard 13bREW.

Brakes on the FD (3rd gen RX7) were amongst the best in the world on a production car when it was built, and they are still very good now, but they were designed to reign in 260-280bph not 350-400bhp! Depends on what you intend to do with it, if you want to use it on the track, the brakes do suffer from fade (like all standard brakes).

best mods for reliable useable power IMHO:

1) Apexi Power FC ECU
2) Air filters (HKS, Blitz, etc)
3) free flowing exhaust (volume is down to personal preference - if you are going to use it for long journeys avoid the Blitz Nur-spec as it is VERY loud inside and out!)
4) re-map of ECU (with a SLIGHT increase in boost - any more than slight and you need to look at bigger injectors, fuel pump etc)
5) FMIC
6) fueling system
7) Endless big brake conversion
engine rebuild with a reasonable sized streetport
by which time you should have a reliable, useable 350-370bhp at the wheels and have spent about £10-£12k + the cost of the car!

[Clintuk]

Thanks Mark

I know that finance is the 1st question I just wanted ideas outside of that restraint, but as I said for a GT car, not a street racer. Thinking of buying cheap with planned rebuild etc...

The step up has to be from 300bhp Scoob, but since you gain by not driving all 4 wheels and RX7s are lighter cars, it shouldn\'t be too much of a problem there.

The only one I\'ve driven lacked torque / rotational inertia low down so pulling away was tricky. The owner was very impressed I didn\'t stall. Drove an RX8 and no problems like that at all, but a much softer machine.

Has anyone fitted 6 speed gearboxes to RX7s ? Or did any of the models come like that ?

Thanks

[sadgoth]

That was why I suggested the streetport rather than a bridge or monster port, a nice streetpiort will increase the top end power without sapping too much from the bottom end. Keeping the stock twin setup (maybe with uprated turbos) will allow you to have more power low down.

None of the 7s came with a 6 speed to my knowledge (unless the Spirits did), I know one or two people are running 6 speed boxes, can\'t remember who exactly.

[Archbish]

2 choices really.

 - buy a pretty sorted one (single tubby, fuelling all sorted, cooling sorted, and a nicely ported engine).  Pros - cheaper in the long run (trust me on this...), the work has been done alread.  Cons - you have someone elses choices, you don\'t know the standard of work that\'s gone on.

- buy a shagged one (engine rebuild, no or few mods).  Pros - you know what\'s going into it, you get your choices.  Cons - will likely cost more, you\'ll prob have to sort the rest of the car if it has a knackered engine.

With hindsight, my personal choice would probably be to go for a modded one with a knackered engine very cheaply, and then build it up from there.  For about 10 - 12 k you should end up with something pretty high up the rotary tree...

[Clintuk]

Thanks
10 - 12K sound doable, not with triple rotor tho I guess !

Crikey not I\'ve got to do my RX7 history.

Initial thoughts were:

Big brakes
Triple rotor engine
Cooling
6 speed (?RX8 box - no idea if this would work)
Leather, cruise, AC etc...

It\'ll be 18mths at earliest - should just about have enough time to try and pin down what I\'m after.

Thanks

[Archbish]

Triple rotor is a LOT of changing...  Just ask 20b_boy... *Grin*

[sadgoth]

out of interest, why are you after the tripple rotor option? I would suggest speaking to several of the tuners and get their opinion on what you should go for. Tell them what you are looking to acheive in terms of power, driveability and how you intend to use it and they will tell you and how to go about getting it. I would speak to three or four of the recognised tuners, each will have different suggestions then go with the one who you feel most comfortable with.

[Icesurf3r]

Clintuk  drop me an email icesurf3r@aol.com

I may have something of interest that will fit in with your time scale  :Thumbs-up

[Ada7]

You could buy mine as a great base car and add to it. Couple of other bits to it and you\'d have the car your dreaming about

Adam

[shaunwil]

If your seriously thinking about a 3 rotor motor then you could always get a cosmo and modify that, just look at kev yorks monster !

Shaun