Revamping the Rx7

Quote
Pete
One of my friends detailed the differences between the different 6-speeds used. Apparently there are three different units, the early Miata unit, the RX-8 unit, and the late Miata/MX-5 unit. I can't find the thread now (it was posted by j9fd3s on the rx7club forum, probably in the 1st-gen section) but IIRC the nutshell is, the RX-8 and late Miata unit are similar and have the same in/out as Turbo II box, the early Miata uses the same in/out as the as the good old 5-speed "smoothcase".

As far as "established problems" with the 5-speed, is one of them the bolts backing out of the center bearing retainer plate?.

The NB Miata and early RX-8 used Aisin gearboxes (similar to Lexus IS200/Toyota Altezza and S15 Nissan Silvia), while NC Miatas and late RX-8s use a Mazda box. Wouldn't surprise me if the Mazda box uses some legacy parts, but I haven't had enough boxes apart to know.

I'm not familiar with the bolt backout problem. I'll have to walk over to motorsports and see what they know. Most of the problems I'm familiar with are centered around the third-gear syncrho breaking either locking you in gear (happened to me in an endurance race and suddenly I could only pass people in corners and at the first half of the straight!) or some broken-off piece of the synchro wreaking havoc elsewhere in the box.

The actual Mazda-built 6-speeds had some problems early on. There's some rocker arm deal on the 3-4 shift fork that kept breaking. It was such a frequent problem that MX-5 cup spec went to 5-speed for a year before the problem was solved. There's a stronger rocker available now to prevent that. I think later production boxes have a solution in them too, but I don't think it was ever really a problem on street cars (even asshole-driven street cars.)

i been aware of the T5 to rotary adaption for a long time. About 10 years at least. But again, the expense of running a rotary these days is getting to me. The Rx8 motor is an option but the ECU to get everything working stockish is like trying to connect the NASA space shuttle up.

Well its not THAT bad. A friend managed to do it in his rx7 here in boise. but you still need so much of the wiring and computers, including the gauge cluster. Then the wiring also had to be a 2004 to flash the security issues off the ecu which i guess doesnt work on later models, and results in non starting issues.

I supposed you could try to make your own manifold or run a standalone, but i cant imagine that being worth it in the end.

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First Rally: 2010 First RallyX: 2004 (a bunch)
Driver (0), Co-Driver (7)
Organizer (3), Volunteer (3)
Cars Built (2.5), Engines Blown (2) Cages Built (0) # of rotations (3.5)
Last Updated, Apr 9, 2023

Rx7 update:

Trying to fit my intercooler which happens to be a touch larger, but eh, whatever. Its like 24"x 14" or something like that. Ill measure for real sometime. Made brackets to mount it on the bottom. Ill align and weld them on tomorrow probably. Also trying to find a radiator that meets my needs. Trying to line up outlets so they are on the same side.

Didn't do much. I brewed beer all night. A beligan wit to be exact. Used a little coridaner and orange peel in the boil to boot.

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First Rally: 2010 First RallyX: 2004 (a bunch)
Driver (0), Co-Driver (7)
Organizer (3), Volunteer (3)
Cars Built (2.5), Engines Blown (2) Cages Built (0) # of rotations (3.5)
Last Updated, Apr 9, 2023

Quote
Gravity Fed
Rx7 update:

Trying to fit my intercooler which happens to be a touch larger, but eh, whatever. Its like 24"x 14" or something like that. Ill measure for real sometime. Made brackets to mount it on the bottom. Ill align and weld them on tomorrow probably. Also trying to find a radiator that meets my needs. Trying to line up outlets so they are on the same side.

Didn't do much. I brewed beer all night. A beligan wit to be exact. Used a little coridaner and orange peel in the boil to boot.

Looked at Saab 900 rad? Its a good hi effciency rad, not too big, lot too long, known good to more than what you need..

And.
A Belgian what?
'splain yourself mijn'eer

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
Gravity Fed

I supposed you could try to make your own manifold or run a standalone, but i cant imagine that being worth it in the end.

I figured, in the scenario of doing this, on getting a spare ECU from a club level guy running an ex-Pro Formula Mazda car, or contacting Jim Mederer for maps from same, since he was the one who was hired to do the legwork in the first place. Failing that, well, it's just an NA rotary, god knows there's standalones that will run them. More expensive than trying to bodge stock wiring to work, but I can't bring myself to trust OEM wiring, especially if there's having to be measures to defeat immobilizers or crap like that.

Have you thought about just going to the junkyard and getting a Volvo cooling stack (radiator, intercooler, oil cooler)? They're a really nice, compact package, dirt cheap, abundant, and they fit in a Miata, so they should fit in an RX-7 too, I think.

Another idea for the intercooler is to mount it high, between the headlights. When I had an RX-7, I always daydreamed about cutting a hole in that panel between the headlights and feeding an intercooler there. The advantage of high mounting should be obvious in a rally car...

-Dave

Alex, I've got a few intercoolers, oil coolers lying around. What do you need? I'll be at dicks shop tomorrow and can bring stuff if you want to grab it on your way to the meeting.

well i think im good for the intercooler. Its core is larger so i might have some lag issues with this small turbo. But it would also be hard to heat soak. A miata radiator would actually work perfect considering... but if i did the coolant reroute, the radiator would not be so optimal. I need to go to the junkyard i think. There is a volvo turbo and 900 there i can check out.


John, Belgian Wit

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First Rally: 2010 First RallyX: 2004 (a bunch)
Driver (0), Co-Driver (7)
Organizer (3), Volunteer (3)
Cars Built (2.5), Engines Blown (2) Cages Built (0) # of rotations (3.5)
Last Updated, Apr 9, 2023

Wit? Wot da fawk don't be all cryptic.
What is "wit" and why is it allegedly Belgian?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

it means "white beer" which is a style.

Witbier
Witbier, white beer, (French: bière blanche), or simply witte is a barley/wheat, top-fermented beer brewed mainly in Belgium and the Netherlands. It gets its name due to suspended yeast and wheat proteins which cause the beer to look hazy, or white, when cold. It is a descendant from those medieval beers which were not brewed with hops, but instead flavoured and preserved with a blend of spices and other plants referred to as "gruit". It therefore still uses gruit, although nowadays the gruit consists mainly of coriander, orange, bitter orange, and hops. The taste is therefore only slightly hoppy. The beers have a somewhat sour taste due to the presence of lactic acid.[12][13] The suspended yeast in the beer causes some continuing fermentation in the bottle.
Witbier differs from other varieties of wheat beer in the use of gruit. French regulation (the territory was French in the 14th century) excluded the use of hops in gruit. Witbier can be made with raw wheat, in addition to wheat malt.[12][14]
In recent times, some Belgian brewers have been making fruit flavoured wheat beers.[citation needed]

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First Rally: 2010 First RallyX: 2004 (a bunch)
Driver (0), Co-Driver (7)
Organizer (3), Volunteer (3)
Cars Built (2.5), Engines Blown (2) Cages Built (0) # of rotations (3.5)
Last Updated, Apr 9, 2023

Ok. Hain't lambic like my ancestors we're getting sloshed on

Hmmmmmmmmmm lambic....pure heaven

You're familiar with lambic aren't you?

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Quote
john vanlandingham
You're familiar with lambic aren't you?

Like the Pele of anal?

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Grant Hughes

Quote
NoCoast

Quote
john vanlandingham
You're familiar with lambic aren't you?

Like the Pele of anal?

Huh?
What da fawk you talking about.
You been drinkin?
Over on Mare-KORE Sprout you're grouchin about idiots who don't bother in ads to use their brains, now wha????

Lambic LAMBIC! Ya Know?
Drink of the Gawds.
He'll I could be come an alky living in Flanders.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

I dunno about drink o the gods, but lambic around here tends to be a good desert beer or "once in a while I'll have one". I've never tried any of the unblended stuff.

... call me a filthy heretic but I've never really gotten the hang of transparent beer. Maybe it's just me.