1) Boost gauge. You would be surprised how
much diagnostic information can be attained from an accurate unit as this. This
will give you an idea of your engine health, performance, and your 'looks cool'
factor. There are many different boost gauges, and I recommend going to a
digital unit. Stay away from Autometer if possible. Those tend to be off
+-1.5psi. I recommend GReddy/Defi/HKS/Apexi etc. Go with a name brand. You can
choose the face color, position, etc. This is a reliability and in your case, a
looks modification.
2) Water/Coolant Temperature. I would put this in the same time as the
boost gauge. Again, this gives you all the benefits as above. The stock gauge
only has three settings: A) COLD B) OK C) SCREWED. Your car wont run correctly
in two of those settings. Its nice to have some sort of information, unless you
have a money tree in the backyard and don't care.
3) Vacuum Hose. This is a frustrating task, but one well worth it. Those
damn black snakes that cover your car can cause some lethal bites if one decides
to be mean. Since you noted you are a 'body/looks' guy, this is a great chance
to pick up some color silicone tubing to customize your engine bay. Use zip
ties! Also buys some worm clamps, and dump the stock ones. Use zip ties to hold
the silicone on the nipples. Doing this mod will provide reliability.
4) Air Intake. I recommend a custom one. You can fabricate two pipes
leading off your inlets with a K&N Filter on it. This is the cheapest way to go,
and provides flexibility. If you want to be more elaborate, you can fabricate
some cold-air induction unit where the oil-cooler would normally reside on the
'R' models. This will open up your breathing for your engine. This would also be
a good time to remove your airpump. Doing this will add power.
5) Downpipe. I recommend this as your second, if not first step. This is
considered a 'safety' mod, but does add power. Depending on how many miles your
car has, these precats tend to clog up, causing all sorts of problems; primarily
heat exchange. Dump the stock downpipe, and pick up a downpipe from either HKS
(199), Pettit, or someone. They all usually run in the same category. This will
add power and reliability.
6) Catback. Removing stock exhaust is always a good thing when
considering power additions. There are many routes to go on this one, but it all
depends on what you are looking for. You noted you were a 'looks/body' guy. Are
you a 'sound guy' too? One of the best flowing HP exhausts would be the
Apexi GT. Your decision here. At most, you are looking at a minimal RWHP between
the different setups. This will add power.
7) ECU. Some people may note that I am throwing this into the equation
too soon, but I would do this early in the game. You have MANY options here.
Since you commented that you are a 'body/looks' guy, rather than
'tuner/mechanic'; I would recommend you stay away from these: Haltech, Wolf,
PowerFC, TecXX, Motec or anything that is somewhat of a stand alone system. With
that out in the air, I recommend you do not get a Peter Ferrell PMS unit either.
What I would recommend, is Pettit's unlimited ECU. Simple plug and play, and
allows you to run boost up to your map sensors capability (17.5 PSI). Doing this
modification will provide reliability and power.
8) AST Modification. Now would be a good time to remove the stock
(plastic) Air Separator Tank. These things are prone to becoming brittle due to
the heat & pressure. Last thing you want is to be racing and having this thing
bust on you. Go with Pettit's AST. Great choice. Doing this mod will provide
reliability.
9) Grounding Straps/Battery Relocation. You should do this now, since the
next two steps will be most difficult if you don't.
10) Radiator. Some may say "go with the midpipe!!", while others may have
said "You should have gone with a radiator 1st!", I believe responsibility is
the key. By this point, you will have the technical information in front of you
to be a safe (for the car) driver. Before jumping into the next few steps, it is
a good point to continue with the reliability. Most everything else from these
next few points will start adding horsepower, while knicking your reliability.
Grab a good radiator, don't be cheesy. I would recommend Fluidyne. The mounting
location depends on what decide to do on number 8. Use water wetter with your
coolant as well. Doing this modification will provide reliability.
11) Intercooler. Well, here is a chance to define how you want your car
to be. What do you do primarily with this car? Is it a weekend warrior/drag
racing killer? Or is it an AutoX or Road Race car? The difference is which
intercooler you go with. An upgraded Stock-mount or CWS intercooler is best used
with a Road Racing/AutoX scenario. In these types of usage, you want the radiator
to be up front collecting that cool air first. For street warrior/drag racing,
grab a front mount intercooler. Which brand depends on what you are doing. If
going with a stock-mount intercooler, I would recommend Peter Ferrell's unit. It
works well. As for a FMIC, in your case, I would go with an Apexi unit. Don't be
confused in buying the 'biggest of the biggest'; meaning, don't buy a GReddy 3
row, since your boost will be 16 and below. These intercoolers are for
high-boost scenarios.
12) Piping Because your redoing your intercooler configuration, now is
the chance to clean up some of those bottlenecks/weird bends. I would recommend
going with a GReddy elbow (even one with a BOV flange), and an Efini Y-Pipe.
Then, get some nice 3" or 2 - 2/3 piping fabricated to the sections. Buy some
matching/contrasting silicone piping connectors.
13) BOV Since you have the flange for it now, it would be a good turbo
saver on unwanted backlash pressure.
14) Turbo timer Ok... here is the deal on this one. Get one, but don't
use it for a turbo safety application, rather an engine application. In all
reality, if you drive your car hard you should drive some cool off laps. But, in
the cases you cant, use the timer. Take notice: The stock turbos are oil cooled,
and water cooled; therefore the turbo timer really doesn't help as many people
think they do.
15) Spark Plugs. Again, I would recommend changing your plugs to some
'racing' plugs by this point. It never hurts (except maybe mpg economy.. But
that's not what we are here for is it?) and offers safety. I would also
recommend you go with some thicker plug wires while your at it. Stay with NGK
plugs. Doing this would be a reliability and power gain (not much power, but it
helps!).
16) Fuel! As you start to reach into the heavy power delivery, fuel
upgrades are recommended. At the minimum, I would at least get a new fuel pump.
Upgraded injectors/rails depends on you. If you do go with upgraded
injectors/rails you will have to decide how you want to control them, in which
this relates back to the ECU you choose. Remember, you can always buy a fuel
controller separately, but I recommend against it. This will enable you to run
more power reliable.
17) Fan Mod. I would do the FAN mod at this point to provide you with
that extra tad bit of cooling. Basically, this modification forces your fans to
run in high-speed mode all the time, vs. the other speeds. Doing this mod will
provide reliability.
18) Thermostat Change This depends on your car. You may not need it in
the region you are in. But, if you drive the car hard, its recommended. Go with
a colder thermostat, or drill yours out. This will push the coolant through
earlier in the game. Doing this mod will provide reliability.
19) Mid-Pipe Hang-on
bay bee! That's what you will be thinking when you
take your cat out of the car and put a straight through pipe on the car. If you
do each piece individually, this will be the component that you will recognize
the most power gains. Watch the boost creep! Doing this modification is a power
gain, and -1 off on reliability.
20) Boost controller. With open exhaust and intake, your boost is going
to start to creep and spike upwards. There is a lot of controller units out
there on the market. Depending on what your goal is, decide on the product. I
will let you do the research here. Basically, if you are looking for something
to completely tune every 500 rpm increments of boost, delays, etc go with the
Apexi AVC-R. If your looking for a good twist and turn go type, grab a GReddy
ProfecB.
21) Pulley kit. Well, we are getting down to the little things that are
needed. A Pulley kit will give you a little hp. But anything works. Do some
research on this, and choose the appropriate kit.
22) Ignition Amp. I recommend you go with a unit that DOES NOT REQUIRE
splicing into the coil harness. Some units do, and this is a no-no in my book.
It seems that once you start cutting into the resistance of the wire, bad things
COULD happen. Either way, my recommendation is the HKS Twin Power. Easy bolt on.
This will give you more power.
23) Removing the AWS. Removing the Accelerated Warm-up system should be
done next. I recommend you should cut the butterflies in the manifold out as
well. Since you are disabling this, the butterflies sit in there in an 'open'
state. Removing these, and capping the holes has actually shown RWHP gains.
Coincident? Maybe. But, anything to remove turbulence going into the engine must
help. Doing this mod may provide more power.
24) Short Shifter kit This would be a good time to start doing the
driveline/other sections of the car. Go ahead and get a short shifter. Everyone
needs one!
25) Clutch. Your going to need a clutch real soon with all these
modifications. Remember though, we are only running at 12 PSI max right now.
Why? So your damn car doesn't fall apart. Grab a good clutch. ACT/BONEZ is an
excellent clutch that will last you a good period of time. I would recommend
staying away from centerforce. Some people have had good things to say, but most
I talk to don't. I didn't. Also, you don't need a clutch that is 'on/off'
either, unless you want to look like a fool driving around town lurching
everywhere.
26) Lower weight flywheel. Any reciprocating mass that you remove helps.
This happens to bring your RPMS up a little quicker too. As you will start to
notice, we are just about done with performance. Now we are getting into the
little things that do make a difference.
27) Suspension kit. If you are making 397 RWHP with the stock suspension,
throw a suspension kit on there. You will then make 397 afterwards, yet your car
can be faster. Suspension tuning can counter the horsepower blues. Have fun
playing!
28) Beefy rear end!. Throw a KAAZ 1.5 LSD in there. This will help on
those 7k launches. Trust me, it is no fun braking the pumpkin in two. Its very
costly I might add.
29) 4.33 gears Well, changing the gearing always improves some sort of
time. Generally, people that have changed to these gears don't notice a 'speed'
increase, but rather the 'correct' rpm in racing. Depends on your application.
30) Upgraded power plant frame. Mazdaspeed sells a nice one. Its red too.
31) Upgraded axles. No one likes a week link in the equation, and your
axles will be it. Grab some nice chromoly ones. Hope you have some money left
over.
32) Weight Reduction. Again, if you are at 397 RWHP, take some weight off
and stop eating the McDonalds breakfast. This will make the car seem as though
it has 410 RWHP. But in your case, it will just bring the car down to the weight
before you added all the body kits.
33) oh yeah.. turn up the boost to 17 PSI add some gas, make a few 400
RWHP passes.
35) replace engine .....
(Red-Rx7
at RX7club.com
This site is meant to give information related to the 1993
(o)Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo. Anything from rotary engines to wiring diagrams and turbo upgrades to tuning info, this site has it all! efini 93 rx7 13b anfini Turbo RX-7 Turbo RX7 turbo rx7 rx7tt rx-7tt As well as the Rotary Engine Pickup Truck aka REPU repu
