An Era Ends

[Gripper]

Sad day,but have fun with your new venture,I have enjoyed drooling over the amazing machines you have created.

[lynx]

This new C.A.R. project sounds interesting.

Will you be overclocking it?
What about cooling, will you be upgrading that too?

Seriously though, as I'm sure you are aware if you want real performance from that engine, a high flow exhaust system is a MUST. Whether you go down the expensive route and get a genuine high flow cat or save money and just dump the cat is up to you. You could always put the cat back on for the next inspection.

Whichever route you take, watch out for the exhaust temps though. I used to know someone who rallied an RX7 with all the suitable mods and he set fire to the grass under the car on several occasions.

[clocker]

This new C.A.R. project sounds interesting.

Will you be overclocking it?
What about cooling, will you be upgrading that too?
Not sure yet.
The first "cooling" mod will be the addition of a real water temp gauge.
The stock cluster gauge is actually fake...more of a three position indicator ("COLD", "NORMAL" and "YOU'RE ALREADY FUCKED") than a full sweep gauge.
As the weather warms up I'll see how the stock rad/fan are doing.
Aftermarket aluminum radiators abound (Koyos and Fluidyne) and aren't hideously expensive.

Seriously though, as I'm sure you are aware if you want real performance from that engine, a high flow exhaust system is a MUST. Whether you go down the expensive route and get a genuine high flow cat or save money and just dump the cat is up to you. You could always put the cat back on for the next inspection.
A suitable cat for the car runs just under $500, which is horribly pricey for a part that hurts performance.
The exhaust currently installed is a cheap, all welded cobble-job, but it does have a cat which got me through emissions. This cat will probably be completely burnt up in another few months (as you noted, rotaries spew out very high exhaust temps) so something must be done.
I'm leaning towards removing the entire exhaust and going with a Racing Beat full roadrace twin system (no cat) and simply rebolting the cat system back on for the next test in two years. It's rumored that such a swap gains about 30+ RWHP, power the car could definitely use. Such a conversion will cost right at $1000 though so I'm exploring cheaper options. I don't want an obnoxiously loud car....

Whichever route you take, watch out for the exhaust temps though. I used to know someone who rallied an RX7 with all the suitable mods and he set fire to the grass under the car on several occasions.

I'm guessing that car was a turbo...

[Snee]

Good luck with the new car.

Liked the old threads about your projects.



Do keep us updated on this as well.

[lynx]

This new C.A.R. project sounds interesting.

Will you be overclocking it?
What about cooling, will you be upgrading that too?
Not sure yet.
The first "cooling" mod will be the addition of a real water temp gauge.
The stock cluster gauge is actually fake...more of a three position indicator ("COLD", "NORMAL" and "YOU'RE ALREADY FUCKED") than a full sweep gauge.
As the weather warms up I'll see how the stock rad/fan are doing.
Aftermarket aluminum radiators abound (Koyos and Fluidyne) and aren't hideously expensive.

Seriously though, as I'm sure you are aware if you want real performance from that engine, a high flow exhaust system is a MUST. Whether you go down the expensive route and get a genuine high flow cat or save money and just dump the cat is up to you. You could always put the cat back on for the next inspection.
A suitable cat for the car runs just under $500, which is horribly pricey for a part that hurts performance.
The exhaust currently installed is a cheap, all welded cobble-job, but it does have a cat which got me through emissions. This cat will probably be completely burnt up in another few months (as you noted, rotaries spew out very high exhaust temps) so something must be done.
I'm leaning towards removing the entire exhaust and going with a Racing Beat full roadrace twin system (no cat) and simply rebolting the cat system back on for the next test in two years. It's rumored that such a swap gains about 30+ RWHP, power the car could definitely use. Such a conversion will cost right at $1000 though so I'm exploring cheaper options. I don't want an obnoxiously loud car....

Whichever route you take, watch out for the exhaust temps though. I used to know someone who rallied an RX7 with all the suitable mods and he set fire to the grass under the car on several occasions.

I'm guessing that car was a turbo...

Not the turbo, the original Mk 1 around 1980. No proper EMS to worry about, just bolted on a set of very big carbs, threw away most of the pipework around the engine intended to make it fuel efficient, changed the rev limiter to around 11k and it simply flew.

[clocker]

That's a Wankel for you, highest HP/displacement ratio of any IC engine and lack of reciprocating parts means sky high revs.

My mother had a RX the first year they came out (in Canada that was 1978, a year before the States) and the only thing I really remember about it was it's propensity for massive backfires after it was shut down.
These days, Homeland Security would probably confiscate it....