rx-7 how many trackdays per engine?

[e46m3c]

CHaps,

Got an rx7 itch i need to scratch. But car would be for euro trips and trackdays.

How many trackdays do you guys get from an engine of say 400-450 bhp?

Thanks

[rotarymazda]

e46m3c said:

CHaps,

Got an rx7 itch i need to scratch. But car would be for euro trips and trackdays.

How many trackdays do you guys get from an engine of say 400-450 bhp?

Thanks

Get one built by Haywood Rotary and you will get their 3 year warranty that covers everything (daily,track,drag).

[e46m3c]

Sounds like a good deal. So the rumours i hear of 6 trackdays to an engine are BS?

Is constant oil top up required like my old rx8? Is there a remote oil reservoir to be fitted for lubrication? Additional additives to fuel requried for track?

I can pretty much just turn up in my m3 and nail it, park it at home, then drive it to the next event. I think rx7 is going to take a lot more cotton wool?

[cocopop]

Assuming you've done appropriate supporting mods, primarily cooling, a rotary will last just as long as a piston in terms of trackdays per engine.

e46m3c said:

Sounds like a good deal. So the rumours i hear of 6 trackdays to an engine are BS?

Yes, they are.

e46m3c said:

Is constant oil top up required like my old rx8? Is there a remote oil reservoir to be fitted for lubrication?

As standard they run an oil metering pump to lubricate the apex seals. If yours still runs one, it'll require topping up occasionally. Many owners remove the OMP and run premix, just a case of adding 2 stroke at a ratio of about 1:100 to fuel.

e46m3c said:

Additional additives to fuel requried for track?

No, just V power.

e46m3c said:

I can pretty much just turn up in my m3 and nail it, park it at home, then drive it to the next event. I think rx7 is going to take a lot more cotton wool?

Doubt it, I beat the crap out of my RX7, and it's absolutely fine. Certainly more reliable than my father's M5. And faster!

[rotarymazda]

e46m3c said:

Sounds like a good deal. So the rumours i hear of 6 trackdays to an engine are BS?

Three in mine so far, used as a daily for 9 years, just works.

If mapped badly, then one track day is too much. They are very intolerant to detonation.

e46m3c said:

Is constant oil top up required like my old rx8? Is there a remote oil reservoir to be fitted for lubrication? Additional additives to fuel requried for track?

Litre per 3k miles for mine, others need more.
Uses main oil supply.
No additives required but some use Protek R or equivalent.

e46m3c said:

I can pretty much just turn up in my m3 and nail it, park it at home, then drive it to the next event. I think rx7 is going to take a lot more cotton wool?

Engine lifetime is roughly half that of a conventional engine. Rebuilding a rotary is much cheaper though.
Cooling is critical, series 8 cars are better for this, upgrade if you get an earlier ones.
Specialist servicing best (not Mazda).

"Street Rotary" is a good book if you are interested in reading up first.

[e46m3c]

so if i bought one to be a gt3 type car with about 400/450 bhp what would i required?

Single turbo conversion
Upgraded intercoolers
upgraded radiators
upgraded fuel pump
upgraded injectors
decat/exhaust
bucket seats
half cage (can you get these / enough height for 6footer?)
Brakes (any cheap brembo bolt ons?)
Suspension (relativly available id imagine)
Wheel/tyre upgrade
LSD upgrade?

my m3 is about 1200kg 325 bhp. However its VERY uncomfortable on the road. rx7 is about 1350kg right? So could keep some creature comforts and up the power a bit.

[cocopop]

e46m3c said:

so if i bought one to be a gt3 type car with about 400/450 bhp what would i required?

Single turbo conversion
Upgraded intercoolers
upgraded radiators
upgraded fuel pump
upgraded injectors
decat/exhaust
bucket seats
half cage (can you get these / enough height for 6footer?)
Brakes (any cheap brembo bolt ons?)
Suspension (relativly available id imagine)
Wheel/tyre upgrade
LSD upgrade?

my m3 is about 1200kg 325 bhp. However its VERY uncomfortable on the road. rx7 is about 1350kg right? So could keep some creature comforts and up the power a bit.

A well made intercooler and radiator fitted in a 'v-mount' config, like this:


Will be adequate for pretty much any power level. They're readily available.

Try and get a car with twin oil coolers. Pre-facelift OEM front bumpers don't have the greatest cooling ducts for these, so aftermarket or a facelift OEM bumper is useful, along with some decent ducting for the oil coolers (you can go aftermarket or make up your own).

That should cover your cooling needs. Vented bonnets can also be very beneficial at preventing heat soak.

Single turbo kit will require all the obvious... turbo, manifold, downpipe, etc, etc. Plus a standalone ECU, Apexi PFCs are generally the most common, but there's plenty out there.

You'll need approporiate fueling mods to support a single, especially running 400+ hp, so budget for uprated injectors, primary and secondary, uprated fuel rail, possibly a pump.

You'll want to uprate the ignition, HKS twin spark is the most common upgrade, but there are alternatives out there.

You'll probably want to uprate the clutch for the increased power too, and may as well stick a lightened fly whilst you're there.

Exhaust is an interesting one, you'll need to be very careful on that front to keep noise down to a level that'll pass track regulations. It's quite easily done, but you'll need to choose your midpipe and back box very carefully. Rotaries are LOUD.

Seats and cage are easy. Both are readily available.

Brakes, loads of upgrades. K Sport are popular as well as Alcon. Certain models (RS/RZ/Spirit R) were fitted with larger brakes from the factory, 314mm discs instead of 294. A lot of owners think these, along with some high performance fluid and good pads, cope with track work just as well as the aftermarket options.

Suspension, again, loads about.

Wheels... RX7s benefit hugely from light weight wheels. I like Advan AD08s of Federal RSRs as far as tyres go.

Engine, try and get a car with a recent rebuild from a well known engine builder. Ideally with some porting work done for what you want.

RX7s weigh from about 1150kgs to 1350, depending on which model variant it is. They're probably similar weight to the M3 before it had anything stripped out.

When you start running higher boost levels, water injection is something to consider. Much boost above 1bar and IATs start to get worrying, obviously this can be offest to a certain extent with a well designed intercooler setup. Worth thinking about it in terms of a reliability mod, and having a nice side effect of helping clean your rotor housings. If you really don't want to lose any power from adding WI, run a water/meth mix.

The most important thing to keep in mind when building it is your number one enemy is heat. Do everything you can to keep temperatures down and minimise heat soak.

You're probably looking at around 10-15k to buy everything you need and fit the mechanical parts, less if you use second hand parts. 6-8k for the car, should get a rebuilt, ported car for that. 3-4k for a fresh rebuild with porting. As always though, budget for more.

Edited by cocopop on Wednesday 1st July 13:10

[e46m3c]

Great reply.

Ball park what are they going for with most of this stuff already done?

[Turn7]

Been thinking about a standard 7 for a long while, but never bothered really trying to sift the wheat from the chaff as far as engine rebuild stories go.

Saw an M plate white car in Tescos last weekend and really liked the look of it.

Can they be a nice tail slidy thing to drive ?

[yellowstreak]

Does anyone know if an rx7 would fit someone 6'4"? I'm of a size where some great cars become impossible. I really need to sit in one because a rotary is on the bucket list.

[Turn7]

yellowstreak said:

Does anyone know if an rx7 would fit someone 6'4"? I'm of a size where some great cars become impossible. I really need to sit in one because a rotary is on the bucket list.

Hope so , Im the same!

[yellowstreak]

Excellent! Took me ages to get over the first time I tried to wedge myself into an elise - and failed. Sorry for hijack.