BigJim

Im going to be getting a bodykit, for i am redoing the exterrior of my car this winter so i am starting my search now. I have narrowed it down between:

CP Racing(is it still avaliable?) Wide Body
Mariah Mode One Wide Body
Mazdatrix(Airdam, rear wrap, sideskirt)

Wichever i purchase will be going on my 84 GSL-SE

How hard is it to mould the rear on for the CP and MAriah kits? How hard is it to get it ot look good, anyone know where i can get the CP racing one soon, and throw in some comments or things i will need to be careful of or things i need to get along ith the kit

capri93

Cp is not avaliable, mantis was talking about making a similar kit but has been temp. set back as far as i know.

LongDuck

You seemed fixed on the widebody designs - any specific reason?

I went about the design of my car from the beginning to be a very reliable and sporting performing and sporty looking daily-driver. To this end, the benefits of a widebody detracted from the streetability of the kit. The wider wheels and tires were going to be noisy, expensive to replace, could mess up the steering geometry and cause wheel bearing problems, and generally just get in the way.

You can't beat the looks of a well-done widebody with the correct wheels, tires, etc.

Is there a specific use that you're building the car to perform, other that simply cosmetics (which are rightfully important, as well)?

BigJim

Yea longduck i see what you mean. I only know of those 3 kits really thou, so i just listed them. I like your setup personally, the mariah hatch looks nice, but does it remove to much interrior space, or add to much weight, some interrior pics of your car owuld be welcome lol. Could you tell me your setup for your kit cause it does look great.

bouis

Those new york mustang guys [they sell hoods on ebay] apparently make one for $900. Unless they're just re-selling someone else's.

capri93

http://www.machiii.net/bodykits/erebuni/MAZDA.html number 362.

BigJim

I talked to CP Racing, DO NOT BUY FROM NEW YORK MUSTANG. CP Racing says they have been banned from Ebay before for not giving up the items, They do not remember selling any quantity of these to them, and also they are not from New york, but rather canada. They said they highly doubt they have any of these bodykits, wich is why they stole CP Racings image of it. They said buy at your own risk from them, but they doubt its for real

Mills

iTrader: (1)

The pictures in that link are impossibly small. Is there any way to see any bigger/better ones?

Who would spend $1295.00 on something they can't even see?

Lee Lyons

You could also mix and match afew kits from a couple of companies. Like I am buying the mariah mode 4 front air dam. I'm buying the side skirts and rear air dam from mazda trix. You don't necessarily have to buy a complete kit buy the pieces that you like and put them on, but make sure that they look decent together before you buy them.

BigJim

The only thing bad about that is shipping becomes insane, if i buy all from Mazdatrix itl be about 125, but if i buy 1 piece from madatrix, and the rest from somewhere else, its still 125. plus watever the other place cahrges

LongDuck

You asked some questions about my bodywork, so I'll try to answer some questions here and put manufacturer and pricing in, as well.

Keep in mind that I have owned 1st Gen RX-7's for 20 years now and have my own perspective on what the car is capable of doing and what I want it to do for ME. With that in mind, I wanted a slick looking car with minimal Cd, good front airdam dynamics for cooling air here in AZ summers, and a rear tail that would add downforce and look unique. Reliability was very important to me, so I stuck with the basic bodywork so as to not negatively impact the suspension mechanicals, which have also been upgraded (see signature line).

For the bodywork;

1) Kamei front airdam - $200 - a necessity if you drive open roads frequently and occasionally drive over the posted speed limits. A FAD will kill front end lift at speed, which was one of the biggest problems with the SA when your front struts were gone. With good suspension and a FAD, it sticks the front of the car to the road while adding more cooling air 'scoop' for the A/C and radiator. Driving lights mounted is a nice addition, too. FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) keeps it flexible for road chips and the occasional curb.

2) Mazda Factory Race sideskirts - $75 (good deal) - These are simply for cosmetics to add to the 'appearance' of a lower car in addition to lowered springs and the wheel mods. These are fiberglass, but don't get impacted very often at all. Mount easily and are custom-length to the SA and FB cars. No cutting or molding is required to get a nice ool, and they're removable with about 8-10 screws per side - a 1 hour job, at most.

3) Mariah Mode-4 rear hatch - $800 (yeah, expensive) - Fiberglass construction, this is a custom part that fits to replace the rear glass, cover the side glass, and gives a 'sports-car' appearance that is worth it to me. The unique design of this part interfaces well with my rear spoiler which I'll get to next. The fiberglass needs to be trimmed in places, but is primed and ready for paint on arrival. This is a bolt-on part that uses stock hinge mounts, stock struts and is much lighter than the glass (and wiper on my SE), alone. When I hit the hatch release button, I can reach behind the driver's seat from the inside and push lightly against the lid and it pops up and raises slowly - kinda cool.

4) Pacific Whaletail, long - $260 (available through Mazdatrix now) - the quintessential 80's rear spoiler design. It's wide, it's got 'airpower', and it overhangs the rear bumper by a lot! I have always liked the looks of the 911 spoilers and the raised rear lip and overall design is very similar. Additionally, the rear deck is flat, leading into the flat rear spoiler, so when you look at the back of the car, it presents a very 'finished' appearance (see my avatar).

All in all, this is my dream car to drive. I've been working on it for the last 5-6 years by putting parts on, performance upgrades, bodywork when able, and basically keeping it running. Last summer finally finished the rear deck and then took it in for paint to finish the job. I'm about 99% there, and the stereo upgrade and new windshield are about the only parts remaining.

The rear deck gets the most attention. Not a week goes by that someone doesn't pull up next to me and ask where I got it. Most of them have owned RX-7's in the past, and are pleased to see mine still out on the roads. Surprisingly, even the younger crowd seems to have a lot of respect for the rotary engine. Visibility out the back is somewhat reduced, but you're replace 4 square feet of glass with about 1-1/2 - so that's to be expected. The aerodynamics have changed a bit, also with the fast dropoff after the passenger roofline. This results in leaves and stuff accumulating at the rear window. The Cd has likely gone up a bit for the new deck, but the appearance is worth it to me.

The last upgrade after body was wheels; MB272 - chosen by me due to their similarity of design to the latest Lamborghini Murcielago wheels with the 5-hole design:


Anytime that you add body mods, you increase drag. Add a wing to increase downforce, also increases drag. Larger wheels and tires that stick out past the wells, increase drag. The widebody kits also increase drag by quite a bit because you're increasing frontal area presented to the airflow - that air has to move farther to get around the car. It's all a compromise, but you should get an idea in mind of what you want, photoshop the parts together at once, and then think long and hard before you plunk any money down on it. It's expensive in time and paint costs to dump a part because you don't like the finished effect.

I had black airdam, sideskirts and spoiler for about a year before my paint was done - I wanted to be sure that I liked the end result before putting it all into one color. HTH,

Some recent nighttime pics;

Whitewidebodyrx7

i have the miriah pacifica body kit...there is not to big of a difference with wheel noise or problems with bearings or steering, the only problem i have is the cost of new tires. they definentally take some time to mold but i like how they look and i like the miriah mode one kit