The FD as a DD and a weekend track warrior

[DRFT_240sx]

Hi all ,

I guess I would like ot make a thread about owning a FD3S in malaysia. Would like to ask on behalf of a friend as he loves this car but lack the knowledge and technical background to own one. I encouraged him to join the TT you guys have but he is reluctant to do so cause he doesn't own a car yet but just have the FD3S in mind.

Mainly he will be able to do some work of his own on maintainence and some other reliability mods. But the main issue is when it comes to engine rebuild where do you source your rebuild kits from or better yet where do you send your engines to get a full rebuild?

Even after owning the car no crazy horsepower here , just your usual standalone comp , FMIC , all new hoses , alum rad and some basic gauges. WOuld be a suitable Daily drive to be driven around town , and how's your stock FD fuel consumption like on pump gas? I only own an FC before so I couldnt tell him much on what might go wrong on a FD. I hope every FD owner can contribute and share what you know to boost his confidence to own one FD in KL ( currently he is drooling at RErider's wife car *laughs*

CHeers

 

[Alchemis]

basically what u mentioned above... easily will give the car the on wheel horse power of 280 to 290 bhp....

still good to drive.. but it's all about configuration.... how ur computer is tuned etc...
some of them have high tuning... which idle higher with the brap brap brap sound... idle high is always slightly more difficult to drive.

and also if u put in a twin plate ... then good luck...

as for mine.... i have never driven other FD before... mine is almost stock.. with remmaped ECU... daily drive... someone say my engine is blardy smooth and sweet.... and witl some problem on it... i still get 250 on the wheel...

u have to remember... as long as it's a twin turbo.... it's drivable everywhere anywhere... if it's a single turbo.. u might have some problem controlling the throttle not to get the turbo start up....

 

[DRFT_240sx]

well i belief he just want to stay stock turbos but the problem with the stock sequential would be troublesome don't you think?

or did you go with non-seq twins? i thought only the later FD produce 280ps not the earlier ones ( before 1995)

where do you send your car to fix at? for major stuff like rebuilds , brake jobs , etc...

thanks and hope more can contribute to this thread

 

[phat7]

the fd is good as a dd and even better on track. if i were to do it all again this is what i would have done to save me money from the beginning is looking at simplifying the existing sequential setup. it is by far the most complicated system that came out of japan. mazda engineers definitely had extremely small hands and fingers as placement is soooo compact you really do begin to wonder the logic to have twins in place. By saying that let me just say the twins are excellent when working fine especially 280ps turbo's. the spool fast and there is a noticable difference in the engine design namely post 1996-2002 as the rats nest is replaced by a black box. Where the solution lies problems do crop up again as support is plentiful for 1992-1995 models (due to export into us and rx7.forum.com). Now the 1996 onwards models do not have diagrams and support so you again are pretty much left alone. I managed to get the diagrams and you kind of realise the advancing technology as the post 1996 come with 16bit ecu's to control solenoids and actuators which in turn makes its simpler.

To continue from above simplify the sequentials then enjoy the car once you have done enough then move away and go single. yes many may argue about lag and what not but please remember as turbine technology advances, turbo lag has become a thing of the past. we have very efficient tc that can match sequentials low end and blast them on top end -all this thanks to technology. ( i;m sure anybody going this route will study and experiment with flow factors ie. intercooler sizing, turbo sizing -hot/cold side.)

As for mantainence, ah choy is the man. Parts can be bought from japan, us if you can affor new which i strongly suggest you do. Body parts can be sourced from kedai potongs and buying new is not and option (size will cost a bomb to ship)

Yes go ahead and get the car. you will have amples of fun and yes you will spend a great load of money on it but end of the day the smile from ear to ear justifies the purchase.

 

[DRFT_240sx]

I truly know hows it feels like as I owned an FC before and i got rid of the rat nest to go with single T04 turbine as well but I dont know if the 13B and the 13B-REW is quite the same engine to begin with. Hence I couldn't give much advise to my friend and when I own the FC is in USA which has loads of technical support from forums , shops and parts wise.

After so many years not being in Malaysia , I was wondering if Malaysia has the same amount of technical support as the USA in terms of advise( well erm we can go online to rx7club =) ) but more concern on the parts availability and workshops if we're too busy on work.

Usually what year of FD is the best to look for in terms of least re-calls , huge amount of support for it and know-how and most parts for? I kinda read that the 93 model are the one with the most problems.

Thanks phat7 , I hope the RE crowd will grow larger in Malaysia , seems like RErider , glen and all are leaving the scene eh =(

 

[Alchemis]

RERIDER is not leaving yet.... he is getting his hands on his 3rd RX7.... getting rid of his milder RX7....

i think he is one of the only person around that i know that owns multiple RX7.... we present you.... king of RX7....RERIDER...

at the moment i still think i'm sufficient with the stock twins.. just like what Phat7 mentioned.... it's good.... yes it's true that 1999 onwards they are all 280 ps.. but with an earlier model... it's easy to get 280 as well.... just couple of tweaks... get u to an easy 280 on the wheel...

if you're planning to have fun with twins... then upgrade to single in future.... best is get a 1996 model... they have already done all the recalls... and also they are 265 bhp... with bigger brakes... longer final drive... etc...BTW.. i'm still running sequentials... put in an ECU.. remapped or standalone... a downpipe, midpipe full exhaust... intakes... it will easily boosting at 1 BAR ~ 1.1 BAR running on the wheel 280 or more... boost controller will take u more... yes... very minimal lag... bcoz it's sequential twins...

single turbo.. of course faster.... like alot of people will say... the quicker you spool.... the faster you lose... it's just another level from sequentials... even driving methods are different.

smaller parts... phat7 is right... get it from japan... or new ones.... bigger ones... chop shop... sparepart wise... no worries... everywhere has it... but.... there's one thing that it is extremely rare to fix.... the ABS.... thinking of fixing it ? forget it... no parts.... darn rare and expensive if it exist...

technical knowledges still the same as USA.... both me and dev are inside RX7club.com... we ask questions and get answers from them... and according to the response.. .we get it done... accordingly.. instructing the mechanics to inspect those..

if money is not the problem... go source yourself a spirit R.... and stick with what they provide.... you will never go wrong with it.... with the standard settings... you can smoke any RX7 u like on the road.... other than those 450 or 600bhp stuffs... their settings are just optmizied to a level where no one can understand much... fully balanced... light weight..

lazy to type already... gotta take an afternoon nap... :P anyway.. my car at the moment changing brake pads at ah choy's.... my rear pads are fully worn off... better change it before it consume my rotor... :)

have a good journey for your friend... our group is more than friendly to help any one with problem.... give us a buzz.... we'll help :)

 

[phat7]

its so nice to have a couple like joewe and his wife, each having own fd's.

Alchemis - i strongly suggest you run a standalone if you plan to push the car further. unless you know exactly what you fuel settings are on the present "remapped" ecu i woul be very careful.


repairing abs is easy as you can get it directy from mazda like i did but very lazy to carry it back again as its heavy and because its boxed you get tonnes of questions at the airport. they nust have thought i was carrying a bomb onto the plane.

i've driven the spirit r and lets just say its awesome - not so much on power but the sound insulation, handling is superb.

All said and done let us not forget that Amemiya runs a single turbo setup for his race cars (td06 25g) i wonder why??

have fun

 

[DRFT_240sx]

ah , great info yet again.

So in malaysia most FD is on which year and is it hard to find a 99 spec FD? cause mostly i saw on MT and various ads is 92-95 .....

who does the tuning for your standalone? or do you DIY that too with your own wideband?

 

[beck_h7]

if you wanna find a 99 spec i saw some in those japanese exporter sites.
saw a couple of spirit R's there also 3mil plus.
yen that is.

 

[Alchemis]

phat7 - of course i'm aware of what i'm playing with currently... the car is running ultra rich at the moment.. at least i'm at the safe side... slowly.... i shall tune it.... either getting myself a standalone or something to piggy back that stuff :P less likely i'm going to push it harder... i'll be on the safer site... stock twins... with decent 270 280 on the wheel is good for me :)

original vacuum maps will be okay... just the boosting maps... need to be fine tuned.... if you drop by milennium motors, you can ask josh to print out a copy of my dyno reading... i need a tune on my fuels....

during that track day.. my ABS came... i felt it a little... not alot... but it's coming :)

3 million yen means... around... 100K ringgit without TAX... including tax... make it around 200 K.... suggestion still get a 99 model... and decent put it a good tuning and good shocks... it'll be a decent car to drive around :P

 

[DRFT_240sx]

well what about the malaysian market without going through a specialised importing company? what year usually are they? and how much is a rebuild? ( full rebuild with new seals , orings etc , brand new core engine in a way just using back the same housings and rotors)

 

[phat7]

phat7 - of course i'm aware of what i'm playing with currently... the car is running ultra rich at the moment.. at least i'm at the safe side... slowly.... i shall tune it.... either getting myself a standalone or something to piggy back that stuff :P less likely i'm going to push it harder... i'll be on the safer site... stock twins... with decent 270 280 on the wheel is good for me :)

original vacuum maps will be okay... just the boosting maps... need to be fine tuned.... if you drop by milennium motors, you can ask josh to print out a copy of my dyno reading... i need a tune on my fuels....

during that track day.. my ABS came... i felt it a little... not alot... but it's coming :)

3 million yen means... around... 100K ringgit without TAX... including tax... make it around 200 K.... suggestion still get a 99 model... and decent put it a good tuning and good shocks... it'll be a decent car to drive around :P

i'm glad you know what you're doing. i saves me the time to re-explain 100 times. how are you going to "retune" your "reflashed" ecu? besides playing with a fuel press reg i dont see any other way. at the same time i would seriously look at the abs rather than having a pray and hope attitude.:cry_smile:

 

[Alchemis]

ehehe the ABS... pain in the ass.... god knows when i have chance to drop by Japan..
guess i need to trouble shoot further if my pump is failing or my ABS controller is failing.... :)

 

[saru-kun]

ehehe the ABS... pain in the ass.... god knows when i have chance to drop by Japan..
guess i need to trouble shoot further if my pump is failing or my ABS controller is failing.... :)

Run dual master cylinders setup with a balance bar and screw the ABS
Hahaha...

Cheers

 

[Alchemis]

not that important afterall with the 2nd track event without ABS :P

 

[phat7]

With reference to your questions you sms'd me - A second hand pfc will set you back bout 1800-2500. I would strongly suggest you buy new as it will correspond to your ecu (specific connectors depending on year)

Your power goal is very achievable and i would definitely get a standalone to handle fuelling and spark at that levels.

 

[Alchemis]

hmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[huh?!]

Sorry if i hijack your thread....

i 've been reading the rx 7 thread for the past 4 months and i've been thinking about getting one for myself....But....before i have my hands on the FD, i have to let go both of my cars (GTO and putra)....i haven't really discuss with my dad regarding this matter since he said to me "Sell both car then we'll talk"....

-Is it necessary for me to install Power FC, FMIC, all new hoses, alum rad??...i just want a daily driven FD since i'll be driving it all the time....
-How's your stock FD fuel consumption like on pump gas? have to use V-power or just normal gas will do?

wish me luck in my quest of selling both cars and getting the fd..
thank u..

 

[Alchemis]

if you ask this question... it's depending on what u want to achieve...
you can stick with fully stock car for your life.. it's okay...

they have the reliability mods... power mods.... etc...

do all your reliability... and the car can theoritically last forever....

front mount and PFC is an added advantage to push the car higher...

 

[- D i a b l o -]

Sorry if i hijack your thread....

i 've been reading the rx 7 thread for the past 4 months and i've been thinking about getting one for myself....But....before i have my hands on the FD, i have to let go both of my cars (GTO and putra)....i haven't really discuss with my dad regarding this matter since he said to me "Sell both car then we'll talk"....

-Is it necessary for me to install Power FC, FMIC, all new hoses, alum rad??...i just want a daily driven FD since i'll be driving it all the time....
-How's your stock FD fuel consumption like on pump gas? have to use V-power or just normal gas will do?

wish me luck in my quest of selling both cars and getting the fd..
thank u..

Huh!?..here,have some luck.
LOL

1- Power FC is not neccesary,that's an added advantage or a "neccesity" in order to upgrade your car to new heights.Its definitely not a thing you must have to live.
However new hoses is a very very good idea.

-Pump gas will suffice,V-power is just the same RON97 or 98 fuel with addictives rather then RON100 like some told me.Rotary performance wont deterioate as much as normal recirco engine using low octane fuel.


*p/s GTO what year? with twinturbs?