Sr20det-rx-7
- Thread starter DragonEye
- Start date
Yell03SpecV said:
I have a good friend who bought his car used. Raced it occasionally and finally rebuilt it himself, at about 120k. And since he maintained it, his irons and housings were still within spec and he was able to do it (IIRC) for about $1200. Rebuilt the turbos too but don't recall how much. I think less than $200. Added a FMIC, PFC and some other stuff and last dyno that he told me about was around 360 rwhp. Now, about 30k miles later, he's dominate in the regional AutoX with that same car. AFAIK, the only problem he's currently having is with a worn out diff.
Now he's an exception because he has the talent and know-how to do all that himself (which I can't... damn-it!). But I'm just not seeing the fragility of the 13b REW. The bad rep comes from idiots who know nothing about them, mod them within an inch of their budgets, then fail to do maintanance while beating them like a rented mule.
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spacemonkey
Member
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- Mazdaslow
Yell03SpecV said:
we found this out the hard way.
we spent 3 ******* days swaping these hubs in. Forums say the NA Z32 hubs would be a direct bolt on and last night we finalyl got through the rust (seemed like the car was soaked in water from NO or somethign) and the axles teeth dont match up the the Z32 spindle/hub. Z32 hub was too big for the axles.
So the florida drift guys swear by it. And we're now thinking we got the hubs off a turbo Z32. Mainly because we got the hubs off a redneck in tampa who had the car fliped upsidedown and had no engine or clue on what the car was.
if you do a 5 lug conversion my recomendation is get it off a 5 lug 240 or pay extra for new hub/spindle. its not worth the pain going through super rust and then one thing after another.
oh and it helps if you have the proper tools. we ended up buying a sledge hammer and a bearing pusher to hammer out the hub from the control arm. it was so rusted on we thought it was welded on.
remember to use alot of grease and thread lock so that s*** doesnt happen to you in the future.
Yell03SpecV said:
No.
BTW, mine is a 3 owner which has about 77k on it. 16 inches of vac at idle, 10-8-10 boost pattern on original turbos and engine without a bit of smoke. Was previously AutoX'd but now is just street driven.
Next question...?
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Yell03SpecV said:
Please show me where I was comparing the 13b REW to an SR20? Though there are many reports of a 13b RE (NA) going over 200k. Either way, please leave your pants on. I don't swing that way.
I did say that it's not as fragile as many believe from talking to asshats who have never even owned one and know nothing about them, or the previously mentioned group of idiots.
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- 2000 Protege DX
Yell03SpecV said:
I agree..I love the rotary, but it is hardly a reliable engine....the 3rd gen Rx-7 was NIGHTMARE for Mazda on warantee repairs...they were replacing engines with less than 20,000 miles....
If you spend a LOT of money to build it right, a rotary can hold up pretty well, but a SR20 stock is tough as nails and can be beat to hell with no aftermarket parts on it.
spacemonkey
Member
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- Mazdaslow
TampaSport20 said:
heres the thing...stock for stock. How many 1st gen RX7s are still running? and how old is the engine in that 1st gen.
My brothers friend bought a POS 1st gen RX7 for $700. The owner said the engine was blown. WE found out that it was flooded (common problem). We unflooded the engine and it cranked up. sounded like crap because it was a original 12A motor. Eventually we're going to put that motor on a boat...lol. But honestly I have not heard of any 300-400 hp RX7 blow up when tuned right. tuned as in upgrading cooling while putting power.
Those NA 12A are bullet proof...I seen peopel redline all day in those things and it just wont blow up. Im sure everyone has seent he nopi video of the guy doign a burn out for like 10-15 minutes and it still would not go.
these engines get a bad rep because everyone expects a 2JZ where you can push 1000 hp. in reality it cant push alot of power but it can make decent power for a RWD 2800 lbs car. peopel bring these cars to tuners who dont know anything about rotaries...and boom. the engine goes because oil jets arent upgraded when pushing 400-500 hp. Then people b**** about how the engien pops all the time...when its really them who do bad tuning jobs. they get greddy and they want more power and theirs only so much power you can make without putting a s*** load of stress on the engine. You put enough stress on anything and it will pop...especially when you only have 1.3L to play with. research and know the car before you just slap on parts.
Remember racing beat race rotaries in 24 hour races. So reliability is there. whats harder...daily driven 400 hp RX7 or a RX7 thats survives a season of 24 hour races driving at redline?
My friends FD was pushing 380 hp for nearly 2 years before he totaled the car in the rain. he lifted the engien and put it in his new FD shell. his original motor (seals) blew because he didnt know what he was doing. He should have replaced the seals before trying to push 400 hp on a stock motor.
This was his old car...pushing 380+ hp (race gas) for the last 2 years (before crash). No problem...raced it on weekends...street and strip. Everyone knows this car in Orlando.
Drift or grip...hes was on florida drift but vey well known on the streets in Orlando.
engine is still good and will be droped into his new shell. These cars are pretty dangerous to drive on wet roads and with nearly 400 hp.
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TampaSport20 said:
Please, show me some info on this. There were recalls on the FPD in 93 to prevent engine fires and the usual number of TSBs. Also a weak 5th gear synchro early on. But I'm unaware of any unusually large number of engine replacements.
How many Rotary's have you owned?
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- 2000 Protege DX
Signal 2 said:
I have owned 1
You are taking words out of context though....I dont have hard #'s on the engine replacements, it was part of an article I read in Company news...I work for Ford (thumb) .
I can say though there were multiple recalls on the cooling system AND fuel system in all the years the 3rd gen was made in the U.S....
The 13BREW had quite a tendency to overheat....
spacemonkey
Member
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- Mazdaslow
Signal 2 said:
yeah hes building another one and it will be crazy with a roll cage and everything.
Although its the same engine...he says it will never be the same. it will never be better then the 1st. Because thats his 1st love and you never forget your 1st love.
he was okay but was a bit pissed and shocked. crazy thing is he wasnt goign that fast. im suprised at how well it held up in a complete rollover for a 1993 car.
spacemonkey
Member
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- Mazdaslow
TampaSport20 said:
Yup...invest in a nice oil cooler and upgarde the oil jet. remember to check oil as often as you can.
the US RX8s have 2 oil coolers while the JDM ones have one...very weird. when my buddy had his bumper off these kids were like , "why do you have 2 IC...is it twin turbo?"
tell me how many engine replacment they done on the renisis :wink: its like 3% isnt it? thats very low for a brand new engine. the K20As had more problems then the new renisis.
hard to say on those engine replacment. could be some kid who over boosted his RX7 and brought it back in for warrenty work. much like sean and his MSP which was replace under warrent twice (once for engien and once for tranny). I dont know how many actually have defects off the bat but im assumeing if its in stock trim it will last atleast 120-150K without any major rebuilds if maintained correctly. Normal people wouldnt know you have to add oil and boom there goes teh engien and another warrenty work. wasnt because it was unreliable its because dumbasses werent maintaining it. seen it done on RX8...some dumb blonde never chenged her oil on a RX8! idiot! bought the car because it looks cool.
I do believe defect happen because these engiens are still hand assembled in the hiroshima plant. theres only one plant who can handle rotary engine mass production.
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I took nothing out of context and I'm not asking for hard numbers, though that would be nice if your going to make statements like that. I asked for more information. Still waiting.TampaSport20 said:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/results.cfmTampaSport20 said:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/results.cfm
No recalls for engines. Only ONE (rather than "multiple recalls") related to cooling which, IIRC, involves changing from a 13 psi radiator cap to a 9 psi cap to keep the system from overpressurizing. One recall for a fuel line, IIRC it was prone to leaking with age from underhood turbo heat.
All in all IMO, pretty normal for a new model.
Funny, I can't seem to find that info. Maybe you can since you've owned one. It IS more sensitive IF overheated, which can cause the coolant seals to break down or warp (like any aluminum block] the housings. But AFAIK it never had an overheating problem. Again, there was only one recall related to the cooling system that had nothing to do with overheating, just over-pressurization which was cured by changing out the cap.TampaSport20 said:
EDIT: NHTSA won't let you link to the exact pages, but you can fill out the year make and model and get it.
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