FD3S RX7

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crzyone
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FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

Well I've talked about it for a while, now I'm oficially going to build an LSX Mazda RX7.

I will be buying my new car with a blown engine, previous owner also has the Hinson subframe for the RX7 to include in the sale.
http://www.hinsonsupercars.com/p-738-me-package.aspx

I will be picking it up this week some time, I will update with some pics when I bring it home. :twisted:
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by AkursedX »

You do know that Hinson has gone out of business right?

I'm just mentioning this because I don't know how much of the kit you have/actually need, or if you can adopt parts from the other lsx conversion vendors.

Anyways, I'm am terribly jealous. I want to do one of these bad, but I have too many cars right now. I have been considering selling the Fiero though to do an FC LSx build. Please try to document as much as you can, I'd love to follow your build.

http://www.v8rx7forum.com if you didn't know already.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

I did not hear that they went out of business. The seller has that kit that I linked, so I don't need anything else really. I'm even getting the kit for $1k Canadian which is a hell of a lot cheaper than the Hinson price. By the time I add shipping and such it would have been close to $2k so I'm already saving money there.

I will turn this into a build thread as soon as I get the car. I'll be searching for a cheap LS1/T56 to start off with, swap it in basically stock to get it on the road and then start looking for some more performance if I think it needs some. I'm thinking 400-450hp will be a lot in such a light car. Want to keep it reliable for racing.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by AkursedX »

I just checked again and it does seem that hinson is actually still open. But for how much longer, who knows. The owner and either a partner or his son are facing felony charges at the moment. So you might be able to get parts if you need them, but it seems like you are set there.

450hp in an FD would be a hell of a ride! I think you will be happy with a stock ls1 for a good while before you get the itch to start modding it.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

I've heard that V8 FD3's are actually pretty easy to build, once you have the cross member.

Even though the Mazda transmission is much smaller than a T56, it's much higher in the chassis because the eccentric shaft for a rotary is much higher in the engine than the crankshaft of a piston engine. This means that the transmission tunnel is very deep and there's plenty of room for a larger gearbox.

Didn't they come with 4.30 gears stock? I know someone with an FD3 and she has a 4.7 LSD on the shelf for it.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

I had a look at the car yesterday and I will be picking it up on Monday. Only reason I don't have it right now is because all the banks are closed for the new years and the weekend...

I did look at the tunnel after you said that and it does look very large. This swap will be a piece of cake after building a Northstar fiero. The engine will be bolt in with the subframe, T56 and driveshaft. All that will be left is the bullshit stuff like cooling, exhaust and smaller things.

I'm excited to build this car. I'm almost contemplating selling my GTR, we'll see.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by AkursedX »

Here's a Flickr photostream of an FD build. This FD is my idea of perfection. It's for sale for 32k right now. I would probably take this car over almost any other car in the world.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39753948@N03/


Image

Image
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

That is a nice car, not crazy about the color though.

Well here are some pics of the car, they are from a cell phone so they suck but you get the idea

Image

Image

Image

The car is a right hand drive (true JDM) FD. It's a 92 which was a year before they were ever sold in North America. This car was originally red which I will be painting it red again after stripping the yellow paint. I am a sucker for red for some reason. It looks best with black rims (my fiero and GTO)

The seller also has this body kit that I bought from him. I think it looks good, and replaces the front and rear bumpers.
http://www.nfcperformance.com/bodykit-t ... 2_390.html

Anyways, updates when I get the car. I'll be on the lookout for an LS1/T56 combo soon. It will be nice to have a light weight car with a powerful engine that actually has a transmission that can handle abuse. Guess the next weak link will likely be the diff or axels. I don't plan to drag race really, this will be my new time attack car.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by Atilla the Fun »

Skip the T56. It's heavy. Instead, get a Tremec TKO 600. Ratios are 2.87/1.89/1.28/1.00/OD, which is a choice between either 0.82 or 0.64, and these are far lighter and somewhat smaller than the T56. If you want even lighter, even smaller, and way more choice of ratios, including first gears in the 2.5:1-2.4:1 range, try D&D or Astro for their maximum effort T5s. These will hold over 450 ft-lbs, and over 550 HP. About what a cam-and-heads-LS1 will make.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by Atilla the Fun »

AkursedX wrote:Here's a Flickr photostream of an FD build. This FD is my idea of perfection. It's for sale for 32k right now. I would probably take this car over almost any other car in the world.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39753948@N03/


Image

Image
Not to die for, but to live for, and to work for. Mazda just didn't build enough of these, partly due to far overpricing. Since Dynacorn can now reproduce first gen Camaros, they should reproduce these. These are way sexier, way better handling, and so on.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

AkursedX wrote:Here's a Flickr photostream of an FD build. This FD is my idea of perfection. It's for sale for 32k right now. I would probably take this car over almost any other car in the world.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39753948@N03/


Image

Image

Why can't there be an attainable mid-engine car on the market that's this badass?
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by Atilla the Fun »

that $32k would get you an NSX or maybe a good used F355. Certainly a good used 328 Ferrari. Add forged pistons and nitrous, they might be close enough. IDK. I'm still trying to find an '84 'vette with the optional suspension that had the ultra stiff springs.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Why can't there be an attainable mid-engine car on the market that's this badass?
I'm over the whole mid engine thing. Perfect 50/50 weight distribution and light weight are where it's at. I'll be able to get my car down to 2400-2600lbs easily. 400hp in such a light, well balanced car will make a hell of a track machine, and get 30mpg on the highway. These cars are win win.

My GTR gets around 16-18mpg, and has no around town drivability. I think i'm going to sell it to fund this new project.

Another shitty cell phone pic but I got it home today, just walked in the door.

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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

Atilla the Fun wrote:Skip the T56. It's heavy. Instead, get a Tremec TKO 600. Ratios are 2.87/1.89/1.28/1.00/OD, which is a choice between either 0.82 or 0.64, and these are far lighter and somewhat smaller than the T56. If you want even lighter, even smaller, and way more choice of ratios, including first gears in the 2.5:1-2.4:1 range, try D&D or Astro for their maximum effort T5s. These will hold over 450 ft-lbs, and over 550 HP. About what a cam-and-heads-LS1 will make.
Do these transmissions have the same insanely tall 6th gear? I want this car to get good fuel mileage on the highway as well. How about mounting, same as a T56, like a direct swap?

Only reason I'd go T56 is because they are cheap and plentiful. I do like the idea of a lighter transmission though.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

Atilla the Fun wrote:Skip the T56. It's heavy. Instead, get a Tremec TKO 600. Ratios are 2.87/1.89/1.28/1.00/OD, which is a choice between either 0.82 or 0.64, and these are far lighter and somewhat smaller than the T56. If you want even lighter, even smaller, and way more choice of ratios, including first gears in the 2.5:1-2.4:1 range, try D&D or Astro for their maximum effort T5s. These will hold over 450 ft-lbs, and over 550 HP. About what a cam-and-heads-LS1 will make.
T56 is plentiful and cheap, like Levi said. A TKO 600 is NOT cheap, and a max effort T5 is more expensive than a T56.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

crzyone wrote:
The Dark Side of Will wrote:
Why can't there be an attainable mid-engine car on the market that's this badass?
I'm over the whole mid engine thing. Perfect 50/50 weight distribution and light weight are where it's at. I'll be able to get my car down to 2400-2600lbs easily. 400hp in such a light, well balanced car will make a hell of a track machine, and get 30mpg on the highway. These cars are win win.
I don't disagree that it would make a hell of a track machine. I just like the way a mid-engine car handles. My dad's V8 Datsun handled great and had perfect weight distribution with an iron block, but when you bend the car through rapid transitions, there was no doubt that you were swinging an iron block around. It also had manual steering, too.

The Datsun was very benign at the limt and could be coaxed to understeer or oversteer or just slide. The Fiero is MUCH harder to handle at the limit, but is MUCH snappier through tight esses than the Datsun. It has similar weight (The Fiero was even a little lighter). The basic difference is the powertrain layout. I'm sold on having the engine behind the driver.

Porsches can make hellacious racecars and track machines, but have some of the "worst" weight distribution ever... as bad as FWD cars but in the opposite direction.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by The Dark Side of Will »

Atilla the Fun wrote:that $32k would get you an NSX or maybe a good used F355. Certainly a good used 328 Ferrari. Add forged pistons and nitrous, they might be close enough. IDK. I'm still trying to find an '84 'vette with the optional suspension that had the ultra stiff springs.
I wouldn't call an NSX or Ferrari "attainable". However, I have worked on a 308. It's basically built out of square tubing, so it should be extremely easy to cut/weld it to be what I would want it to be. It also has a much bigger engine bay than the Fiero, as the expense of driver packaging. I'd just about have to sit on the floor to drive it. But it's a Ferrari.
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

[quote="The Dark Side of Will"]

I don't disagree that it would make a hell of a track machine. I just like the way a mid-engine car handles. quote]

I think my mid-engine experience was ruined by going from an Skyline GTR to a Fiero. The fiero felt like a boat swinging back and forth, understeering like crazy. If I raced the fiero first I would probably have a lot better things to say about it. If I built an 88 first I probably would have been happier with it.

An Iron block datdun is going to be a little different than an aluminum block FD. The FD is a lot more rigid, probably shorter and the engine will weigh quite a bit less. I like the fact that the FR layout is much easier to control at the limit. Something you think about when going through high speed corners lol...
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by Aaron »

The Dark Side of Will wrote: I wouldn't call an NSX or Ferrari "attainable".
I would, I was looking at NSX's before I got the SRT8. There aren't very many, but prices aren't too bad really, I was able to find about 10 on eBay, ranging from 20k to 45k, which was in my price range. Same goes for a Lotus Elise, which is also one hell of a track car (Given another 100hp it'd be dynamite).
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Re: LSX FD3S RX7

Post by crzyone »

I was going to sell my GTR and buy a 2nd gen Viper GTS Coupe before I decided on an LS1 RX7. Looking for a reliable daily/track car. There more advantages of an LS1 RX7 over a viper. Weight, fuel economy, price... But it will never have the head turning ability of the Viper but imo I think it looks 95% as good.
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