what i meant to say was..got to get the gears changed out, and put all the parts back on it, going in for alignment this weekend. might be able to get the gears changed out this week or next

Glad to hear everything is coming along since the setback, looking forward to seeing this beast at DGRR!

^What he said. That's one hell of a build, can't wait to see it at DGRR, I'll try not to drool on it when I do :o16:

4* shouldn't be too bad, unless the offset is really bad.

even a short driveshaft will cause wierd vibes. Had them in my FC, a few shims and spacers got rid of it in the troubleshooting phase, can't imagine how the shaft got egged but that as well as I'm sure you know will do it as well....

:smilielol5: DO WANT!!!!

Normally I would say the rear would be the weak link as the TII trans are good for some serious power, but 8.8 so I'm curious to see which explodes first.
FWIW we're creating a stock of TII and REW trans, rebuilt and cryo'ed, ready to abuse/

What he said.

I think you and MC (2gslse) need to have a chat about the RESpeed kit.... I'm still of the mind that a proper alignment will solve it though, MC ;)

Congrats man! Can't wait to see this monster.... chat it up this year we must :)

I rarely venture into build threads, or the performance side of the house anymore. However, your build is absolutely professional. I hope you reap everything that you have painstakingly sowed into this project. You deserve it.

thanks guys, yes Titanium, due to space..and configuration issues my first plan in response to a trans failure will be a beefed up version, such as they are, then if that just wont cut it, ill do the dirty deed and adapt something like a T56 or R154, the r154 is a really tempting install, they are super strong and dirt cheap, and work well once rebuilt with aftermarket pieces.
the t56 would just be kick ass though, uber O/D and nearly bullet proof for the power im making.

anyway, as far as i am concerned unless i dont make it there due to environmental reasons, or unforseen mechanical failure ill just add to my already silly credit car bill and hit the mountains with vengence...and tender throttle inputs :biggthumpup:

worst part of the whole deal is im going to lose my speedo accuracy...so ill have to run the gps speedo for a while till i get used to converting my speedo in my head hehehe

i found no good solution to the Rmodel transmission speedo gear, so at some point i will probably buy one of those electric speedo drives and run a mag/speed sensor on the diff and then i can tune it exact.

as far as the REspeed kit...i will refrain from too much bashing on behalf of the REspeed and Grannies, but i had to re-engineer quite a bit of both companies work to make it right.

both companies shorted me a few pieces and assorted hardware, that locally actually proved difficult to get, ended up having to order stuff from a bolt house down the road and wait for it.

as far as operation of the REspeed set up...too soon to tell you since its not properly aligned yet, it seems to be ok, i put a 15:1 manual rack in it.
i dont want to say it has bump steer...because it tracks pretty straight, BUT it is rather abusive to the steering wheel and requires a firm hold on it when road is rutted

some of the problem there could be from me having to lower the rack down with offset bushings changing the angle of the tie rods slightly from the original geometry, but i had no choice.

one thing i am for certain, despite all the quarks it has or might have in time...it is 5000000000% better than that &^*&^^$$$$*&^$*^%$ draglink...

Kewl... sounds great.... as for the CC bill.... Meh..... I have ways :rofl:

For the speedo.... check out a co called advanced adapters or Speedometer solutions... I have used both of them in the past with great success... Speedometer solutions sells a piece that places a halleffect sensor where the cable once lived.... works wonders... loved it when I was using it.

Advanced Adapters will build gears to adapt different tire sizes and rear end ratios for the NP transfer cases, they may be able to help with a gear... and I know I've seen in the past a little gizmo, I think it was from them or Dakota Digital that wil alter the output shaft speed to get the speedo correct... works on the same principal as those steering quickners....

and now for some comparison shots....

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._1856714_n.jpg
here is the car with turbo 12a power

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...52239566_n.jpg
and here it is in TT v8 trim....muahahahha

i am having a steering vibe that seems to be common among ReSpeed rack victims, allow me to direct attention to this club thread
http://www.rx7club.com/1st-generatio...-cause-947816/

im not the only one, and my symptoms are the same....am now in the process of sorting this problem out..like i needed any more problems at this point...

so for anyone here that has this set up or worked on one, lets try to solve it, because its hugely annoying

That sounds like the same vibe I have in my car and it wasn't there before I did the rack and pinion swap I have checked and rechecked and found nothing wrong with mine either. when I did my swap I replaced everything in the front at 1 time, steering, 5 lug conversion, new shocks, coilovers,lower control arms etc... I am about to just pitch the R&P and just put my stock parts back on. :(

I know when I drove a local's SA with the RE-Speed kit, I had a serious brown moment when the steering wheel started to shake like hell. The 2 bolts that secure the spindle to the LCA's had worked loose, somehow. Once tightened, it went away, but I know his has some other issues as well. Like for some reason, it is harder to turn left than right. Weird.

The FC subframe on his daughters car has no issues though :)

It is one of my upgrades that wasn't really needed but I thought would be a great improvement when I did it but I like the kit but don't love it. my complaints on it are the vibration of the wheel and at low speeds in parking lots the car fights itself when turning(ackerman issues) I talked to Brian about mine and if it doesn't get better soon I will be removing the R&P and putting my old steering back in.

I was just thinking about this build and had a great idea! I think once you and MC get all the kinks out, what better thing to do than put two silver FBs against each other V8TT vs single turbo 13BRE :willy_nilly: On a more serious note I hope both of you can get things sorted out very impressive builds! :cheers2:

Let me set up a tire dealership before you do this. I'll make money hand over fist. :giggity:

here is a run down of my steering details easily viewed in the pics, but its just FYI and for comparison reasons as we all try to figure out wtf is causing this.

i have a manual 15:1 rack
solid offset rack bushings
ALL energy suspension bushings/tie rod boots
new ball joints, bearings have 6500miles and are adjusted proper
KYB strut inserts, 6500miles
RE-speed Xmember/steering arms
new tie rod ends
tie rod adapters are maximized on the threads, meaning i have little adjustment for toe needs so maximum amount of thread is engaged
.750 thick roll center blocks under the strut
i have 280# springs
adjustable camber plates
custom spring tops riding on torington bearings
15x7 +35 wheel
205/50/15 tire

i never took the strut insert apart for the current mods, i just added the adjustable camber plates, and the .750 roll center blocks, that i am going to remove and try without. i never had this vibe before, and at first i was blaming the new tires, but i dont think they are the cause.

oddly the car is super reactive, the slightest input will result in direction change, but when the wheel is vibrating at its worst the car tracks straight and true....

i think once we find the cause of this a LOT of people are going to be made happy...including myself..im tired of problems...if i wanted problems i would have kept the 12a :D

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...93712939_n.jpg

straightened and repainted the rear bumper, its not "perfect" anymore...but most people will never notice, I will...but just going to have to live with it until I chance upon one that is better, which ya'll know isn't easy to find....I am still very amazed at how it withstood that impact, how the car managed to escape panel damage and at how i managed to collect my senses enough to not get myself put in jail...

If the steering wheel shakes it's a tire nine times out of ten.

Did you tighten the thread adapters properly on the rack setup? Cause I have the same one and have no issues at all. I bought mine when Mr. Waits still owned RE-Speed though so I don't know if that matters or not. I didn't feel like reading that thread you posted.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...23295849_n.jpg

good friends on top of the skyway

Beautiful car man! I enjoyed seeing it at DGRR, glad you made it out!

First of all, I gotta say congrads on this build!
Wish I could see it in person for myself...

Gotta love the link to the dumb club...
(Bent axle shaft? Are you for real?)
Only really useful info was the sheer pin reply.
Gotta narrow down the problem to either a resonance problem (which is sounds like) or a out-of-spec part (which would usually mean +speed = +noise, which doesn't sound like the case).
Let's concentrate on this as a resonance problem...

Do you know what your caster spec is?
Too little caster can cause your headaches.
Another more than 5-degrees should be okay - I would worry of caster is less than 5-degrees.
Since you basically did a front steering / suspension retrofit and others have complained about the same problem, I would tend to blame the retrofit itself as the problem...


-Ted

thanks a lot!
ok alignment specs, my caster L=3.1, R=3.8, with a specified range of 3.2-4.2 and 3.7-4.7 respectively, so it is pretty much in factory spec range, that is where we put it since it was all new of course and totally out of whack, so that is where we go from here on that.

I have to pull the lower steering knuckle off since the trip to DGRR had long sustained periods of vibration on the interstate it has worked a little slop in the spline, and it is as tight as the little bolt will go, so it needs to be looked at and possibly replaced.... who knows, but such is life, in the process i also had my upper intercooler bracket bolt break and the drivers charge pipe rubbed the sheet metal and put a small hole in the pipe...so gotta fix that too...FUN!!
considering the abuse i hurled at it on its maiden voyage and the vibration problem it left home with, that isnt too bad.

also along the way i bagged me a c5 corvette, a 5.7 GTO and a 6.0 GTO on the interstate that thought they wanted a piece of my lil ol rx7, aint surprises a bitch :D

Looking forward to doing that again, with a more refined tune, more power and better tires...oh that and a ^&$##$*&@^%$( GPS.....

Beautiful car, glad I got to see it in person

Stock FC caster is 4-degrees, 40' - almost 5-degrees.
Kingpin angle is about 13.5-degrees.

Can you induce more caster with your set-up?


-Ted

This build makes me happy in pants...

Seriously though great build man!

I dont know how I missed this build thread before, but I just read it front to back. I saw your car at DGRR as was, to say the least, very impressed!!!!

I dont WANT to like this car, but I just cant help it , Hell I dont like it , I LOVE it!!

I have never seen a piston conversion that I would give two cents for, until I saw yours!!!

I was so impressed that I nominated your car for the peoples choice award, that's alot for the rotorhead that i am. Peeps, get out and vote!!!!

Cool car, cool guy.......

2 cents
Robert Watson

thanks again man, it has a tendency to do that to the haters hehehe
i took it to a local gathering and got a few sideways looks, so i just popped the hood and walked away to talk to some ppl i knew, and i look back...20 ppl huddled around it...its impossible to hate :D

however it wouldnt be nearly as cool with a chevy/ford engine in it, even as clean as it is, it would probably be faster...like it needs more power...:lol:
but cool no...

yes i can, the RLCA of the conversion has plenty of adjustment, again i started with stock settings to get it going, but i will for sure play with it next time i have an alignment rack avail to use, that vibe has got to go...one way or another...

so i had a thought about that odd "knocking" noise that has been in the car from the first time i drove it...and the day i got hit of course...

I am thinking it might be one of my exhaust valves shimmed too tightly, seeing as how it does not do it cold and gets louder after a pull or even moderate acceleration and return to idle, though it did not do this during the first couple of heat cycles in the driveway, mainly due i think to the fact that the engine runs very cool and until you get it out and drive under load it doesnt really get hot, so...since the stethescope places it over the passenger valve cover area i can remove that valve cover and check the clearances again...the drivers side requires removal of whole engine...:18:

i think the "knocking" sound may actually be compression+combustion being blown into the exhaust pipe which is right on the frame rail making it very noticeable inside the car. but constant torture of the engine has failed to make it better or worse so its obviously not a critical issue, but if the valve is hanging open a bit i might have already burnt it a little...:07: hopefully not, it will most certainly be robbing me of some power on that hole.

so while i have it in the air doing other things i will try to solve that mystery once and for all.

now as it has been a bit of a smoker since day 1 i think it is the result of the extra piston .002 we gave the stock HE pistons possibly coupled with the extra ring gap added for FI. i can deal with it, its just mildly embarrassing pulling away from a stoplight and fogging the car behind me for a moment.
i might have to replace plugs more often...but after 8 years of rotaries that is nothing new, and they are only $1.50 each :biggthumpup:

wish i had something new to report....car runs fine, i only fiddle with the tuning because i can and i like fiddling...

some minor suspension mods coming soon, will post details during that project

going to make all attempts to make DGRR2014 and then some gearing up for a pikes peak excursion is in the works, long ride out there....

in the meantime a few pics of it out and about
https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...91545587_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...15434316_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...22121480_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...28715952_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...07542048_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...20497951_n.jpg

Clean FB or whatever you call it now with that boinger in it ;) :icon_tup:



.

I have many names for it at times....most of them are NSFW...

hope to see you this year steven, there is some airport show in orlando coming up...might go irritate a few rotorheads at that one too...if i dont forget about it...

^Awesome, hope you can make it to the meet.

I'm off that day so I should be going.

so i took it to the track a few weeks ago for the first time to get some data and see what it would do...well...first launch at 2k rpm....yeah the yoke available for the 7260 joint cant take it, nor did the greasable Ujoint, but that said the yoke failed badly, pics dont show it clearly, but the ears are twisted quite a bit, and the internal spline is twisted as well, that is the only thing available i know of for the T2 trans, unless i make one, which i lack the tooling to spline it...so i have a new shaft now, with a solid joint and ill just stick to the street until i can find something stronger, i beat on it relentlessly on the street with no problem, but with drag radials and VHT...bang...car only moved about 6inches....never did get a pass....dammit...driveshaft loop going in car ASAP....:patriot:

https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...28430939_n.jpg
https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/...48634223_n.jpg

sounds like a driveshaft loop would be a very good idea.

I'm not into piston swaps... but this has me converted to an "Only liking amazingly well done piston swaps" enthusiast.

thanks, I just try to do a good job on everything I do, within human and monetary limits..

yeah that has me spooked now, I am glad it wasnt moving then it dropped it, the car barely moved at all, the front end rose to the top of the struts than it popped, moved less than a foot.....glad it never did that on any of the "70" mph highway pulls:Angel_anim:

taking it to turkey rod run this weekend, should rustle a few jimmies in the very american muscle biased crowd :sifone:

:smilielol5: You are a sick. sick man. It looks like a beefed up T-5 or Tremec transmission is in your future. I don't think I've seen anything outside of a dedicated drag car twist off a yoke that bad. At least the rear end took it, ... this time.

i have a 31 spline 8.8 with auburn, im not worried about it hehehe

yeah im already considering the expensive and time consuming project of a different transmission, even though the T2 has not failed, i cannot get a yoke for it that can take it, and if i do...then it might be next....the only trans i would consider would be the t56 or TKO600 with the high 5th gear OD, that way i can launch WOT and finally get my 30mpg highway :D
i was also considering the toyota r154 but those are starting to become rare these days
if i use a domestic trans i can get parts and beefy yokes for it

just a little take off video, was still on the old tires...spins a bit...those sucked so bad, they hardly even smoked, just spun like crazy
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...17291682975858