dean23

well first off, i dont really have the best job. i want to mod my engine for power and speed but i dont know the best (and cheapest) way to do that.. so if u guys have any helpful hints.. please share..

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

What year and model is the car? Which engine?

dean23

its an 80. im pretty sure the enignes a 1.1 liter.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

its a 12a carburetor engine, first thing is get a good exhaust, Racing Beat is good but I have a contact in Indiana, where are you exactly?

Then ignition upgrade, check out the 2GCDFIS upgrades they are cheap and effective.

Carb and intake, many choices depends on what power you want.

Port the engine, much more money, much more power.

Little improvements along the way can be located in here, go read the 1st Gen Specific archives.

jays83gsl

Streetport. It's damn near free if you have a variable speed dremel.

Rats nest removal costs about ten bucks, gets you about 3-5 MPG and about 3 HP (give or take), but hey, that's 3%!

Weight mods get you just as good as power mods sometimes. You can shave off up to 200 lbs (or more!) depending on what you want to take out. Most of the stuff in your engine bay is useless. Also, the tarring/insulation in the car is useless (except to block road noise, of course).
Engine bay reduction and detarring nets you upwards of 70-100 lbs.

A tune-up will get you more horsepower and gas mileage than a lot of 'cheap' mods, and only costs around fifty bucks (if done right and completely).
Put new oil and fuel filters, a new fuel pump if you can afford it (if you're getting a new pump, go with something better than stock and get an FPR too, that's a relatively cheap mod that you'll NEED later on down the line). Change the oil out, flush the radiator, new belts, cap, rotor, and plug wires (as well as NGK plugs). You'll be surprised how much more 'pep' your little car has.

There's lots of decent mods you can do for cheap.

dean23

i live in northern indiana in Goshen. its out by elkhart and south bend.


wheres the best place to go for a full tune up?
and where can i get the better replacement parts(ie. fuel pumps, etc)

ive also been thinking of installing a cool air intake. how much difference would that make in performence?

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Best choice do it yourself, buy the manual, buy the parts and do searches in here for tricks.

Cold air intake on a stock 12a is not going to help much without exhaust and other mods. You would have to build the set up as there are none produced for sale for our cars

Brismo7

iTrader: (2)

check out my sig. just by doing this one mod i increased my hp by about 120%. now i sport 225hp at the fly instead of the anemic 105. i'm realistically sporting 180-190 at the wheels. and it feels great.


~Steve

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Yes V8 is an option but if you have a good motor in the car just do some upgrades as you go, V8 wont be cheap with cost of motor, trans, exhaust, mounts, brake upgrade to stop the added weight, and so on....

dean23

wat kind of exhaust sytem would be the best for me? im a newbie and i really need all the help i can get. the self tune up option isnt that bad. my dad knows cars pretty well so if i run itno a problem ill b safe.

rbf41182gt

racing beat

www.racingbeat.com

pricey but friggin awesome- check my cardomain page

perfect_circle

sorry for the thread jack, but do you have a website so i can see pics of your car? if not can you send me an email with some if you have them? Perfect_circle_2@hotmail.com

dean23

ok rbf411, i looked at ur domain site and really liked a lot of the stuff u did. sum i didnt understand, becuz im a 16 newbie. but ive been wanted to replace my fan for a while but i wasnt too sure on what to get... any suggestions? i kinda want sumthin thats not too harsh on my wallet and easy to install.

FB II

ford taurus fan from a junk yard. prolly get away for 10 bucks

perfect_circle

mine was like 20something off of ebay.

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

Okay save your money and get a header, they wont be cheap. Although some are cheaper than others, like monza\pacesetter etc. but they are less quality then other products. Then buy an exhaust from the header back. If it comes with a catalitic convertor cut it out and add a straight pipe (unless emissions are an issue, then leave it) Get a K&N filter, have your father help you rejet your carb, maybe save up and get a new carb\intake setup, but thats pricey. A cold air intake is pretty much pointless if your stock, it wont net you any gain. and this wont be cheap, sorry to say but your wallet is gonna take a beating. I've spent close to 6-7K on my '81 Rx-7 in the last couple years.

Oh and definatley streetport it.

But even if you do find a cheap way to do all of this, your gas mileage will be killed, My Mikuni Carburator netted me a huge HP gain but now I get around 12-13 mpg (partly because my ignition is in need of an upgrade) A performance rotary is very fun, but not cheap.

www.racingbeat.com
www.rotaryshack.com
www.victoriabritish.com
www.rx7.com
www.mariahmotorsports.com
www.mazdatrix.com

I know theres more out there, the Victoria British catalog is free, an absolute must have. It has bodykits, aftermarket ignitions, every replacement part made, body panels etc. etc. and its a free catalog, so why not? I've never had any trouble with them and I order parts through them all the time (hatch struts on the way )

Racing Beat has every High Performance part known to man for rotaries, it also covers all kinds of Newb stuff by giving pages and pages of descriptions about what is good for a rotary and what you can and cant do to it. They are high quality and I think everyone on this site uses some racing beat parts. Although you have to pay for there catalog its relatively cheap and WELL worth it. Almost every performance mod on my car is RB and I swear by them.

Mariah is mostly a cosmetic site, they do alot of body mods. although they do have other hardware.

The others I havent done alot of business with but I hear good things. so if you dont already get a credit/debit card and contact these people with what you want. and welcome to the forums

jays83gsl

I agree completely with Loki. Racingbeat is high quality goods, but you'd only pay what the piston people pay for 'mid quality goods.'

Don't listen to him on the mileage. Your mileage doesn't really take a hit until the Carb gets upgraded. Everything else gets you better gas mileage. Hell, I was getting better mileage on my ported motor than most people get on a stockport.

The other good company on Loki's list that wasn't covered is Mazdatrix. They sell OEM equipment with fair shipping and a fast response. They also sell a lot of apparal (even patches for a jacket )

No matter how much you spend, HAVE FUN!

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

I think I did say my mileage was directly affected by the carb...... and I havent done any business with mazdatrix yet, although I may...

jays83gsl

Do. They're a good parts dealer. And they give you a free liscense plate frame with every order

Turbo II-FB

but you are suppose be broke remember you theif!nobody trust this guy go to the good guy bad guy section

therotaryrocket

header does give best power, but if your just trying to make the car more fun, do like i did to my 83'. I paid this dude like $50 bucks to make a straight pipe that replaces the cats (straight pipe), it gained a lot of power there. Then I used some ignition coils off of a 2nd gen that I already had on the 83' that's where a lot more power came in, also my car is in a good state of tune which is important. I don't think upgrading your radiator fan will give you any power, maybe responsiveness, it does reduce the rotating mass.

jays83gsl

Yeah, and like I said a million times before, I bought all my stuff BEFORE I went BR.

You know Turbo II-FB, you're like one of those whiney kids that always got thugged in school for bitching about everything way too much. Carl shut up, why don't you learn to?

d0 Luck

Turbo II-FB

Hey Jay lol
Me a whiney kid in High School. I ROFL at that comment. FYI I ws far from that you look to be taht way. Why dont you just gibe doluck the money back? and Doluck why dont you contact the police? Jay you are a loser IBYOUSTILLIVEWITHYOUTPARENTSINYOUR TRAILERPARK. You are nothing more than a theif ,and Doluck talk to boosted 7 about this see if he can get banned

O 16581 72452 5

Get a new breather for your carb, i felt a nice gain from it.