Originally Posted by vex (Post 34658)

I know I'm jumping into the discussion a little late (just cause I have a hard time trying to decipher your posts, but... I won't hold it against you), but I was pretty close to the same position you are in now about a year ago. What I decided to do was build the car from the ground up. What you need to decide prior to buying all the parts or even thinking about the parts is how much power do you want to put down to the road. What's your main focus with the car (or as I like to put it, the over arching philosophy)?

For me I wanted my end result to be able to put down anywhere from 400 to 600 hp and still be reliable. This means that I will have to pay alot more than most people to get it done right. Once I set the power level and what the use of the car would be I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to go back and redo more than I had to later on (unless I wanted to). With that mentality I aimed specifically at the suspension first.

With your suspension, what do you want? You want to be able to brake all that power in a controlled manner. If you're HP goals aren't going to be Huge (read that at anything more than 350+ or so) then your stock brakes are fine. Honestly speaking there is no need to go to a large brake kit for the most part even if you exceed that rule of thumb. Just get new pads that are better than stock.

Next you want to look at your tires. Is your foot print big enough for your power? That's pretty easy to verify, up it. Granted some people run over kill on their cars, but they're in racing--so they need that extra grip.

After that look at your suspension geometry, do you need adjustability? Do you need stiffer spring rates? Do you need camber? Do you have or do you want to eliminate DTSS? These are things you should look at prior to your engine specifics.

Once you have your suspension dialed in it's time to look at your engine. You want high compression rotors from an S5. Why? They're not that big of a compression increase from S4. If the extra .2 of the ratio is worth it, then go for it--just remember that the majority of the horse power increase comes from the VDI, not the compression ratio. Beyond that there are some good things to do while the engine is apart: porting, 3-window bearing, ectera. RX8 eccentric shaft... That's personal preference I presume and I'll leave that input up to the more experienced members on the forum.

Also when considering your engine, what are your end goals with it? Do you want reliable power? Do you want all out fast from it? Are you going to convert it to a 6-port turbo? These are questions that should point you in the right direction with the project and give you a rough understanding of what to expect. What I'm always scared of is that if I do not have my suspension dialed in how am I supposed to control my car in a tough situation? Adding more power to no suspension increases is a dangerous mix to say the least.

Just my two cents though.

Originally Posted by classicauto (Post 34620)

With an N/A, you will come out of every corner waiting for a turbo to spool... only it will never happen.

Originally Posted by Turbo vw (Post 34648)

i have a set of 17" koing wheels that i have ran on every thang from DSM's 240's, 300zx, explorer...... and the car has this koing sticker that who knows how long thay have been on the car and well dosent look to bad but afrade ifi go trying to remove it who knows whats under it so i figer use those tell i decided to paint it or git enuf balles to remove those stickers

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 34690)

:smilielol5::smilielol5::smilielol5:

That right there just made my day... thanks for the new sig quote dude! :D




umm.... hairdryer and goo gone will do the trick to ANYTHING.

Again, on brakes: If your car is 4 lug, then you need to upgrade, if it is 5 lug, then you have the same brakes as the TURBO model, and if they will slow that down, they will be MORE THAN ENOUGH for the N/A!

Please, leave any preconcieved notions outside when you are here, we rotorheads are like family, and only want to help. We wont tell you something like this if it:

a) was bullshit.

b) hasn't been asked 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times by other people. We have all been there, and a lot of the knowledge comes down from very experienced people who know the RX-7 inside and out!

Originally Posted by Turbo vw (Post 34726)

it wasnt that thay loced up it was i was running out of rad to git slow enuf to make the tern

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 34715)

Good point, the 300ZX is a pig and over uses the brakes. the same brakes on the FC would be a lot better. the FC weighs 3000lbs for the vert, so that is either 500~800 LBS lighter than 300ZX depending on model. (or was it the supra that weighed 3800?)

Originally Posted by vex (Post 34747)

You're comparing apples to oranges. The 300zx weighs an impressive: 3300-3500lbs (z32) Compare that with the FC which tips the scales at: 2625-3071lbs. You suddenly don't have an extra 229-875lbs to stop. Not to mention other things to consider (Place on the torque curve, power at the wheels, speed, etc). Automatically you'd have to start scrubbing speed alot sooner than you would with an FC, and that's just based on weight.

If you want to spend the money, you can get a 6-piston big brake kit for a little over 2g's. That's just for the front set though. That includes slotted/drilled rotors and the calipers. On top of that you have to figure out the rear as installing those will not only increase your weight but also throw off your braking balance.

Honeslty speaking however, the 4-pot brake system on the FC's are already quite impressive for stock-moderate power levels. But have you set your final goal with power? What are you attempting to do?

Originally Posted by 85rx-7gsl-se (Post 34751)

I think you are thinking 3000GT VR4. Supras are around 3500lbs.