kdxer200

So today I just turnd 16 and got my '88 Rx-7. It's a SE(slow edition, right?), but hey it's a REX and I'm damn happy with it. But I gotta know what to do to make it faster. I'm going to check the rear-end tomorrow and see if it's got a LSD in it. I'm leaving the power steering and the a/c so dont mention it. And please dont tell me to put stickers on it. I'm not of the "ricer" trend, just speed and power. I'm hoping to throw a turbo engine/trans in it this winter, but not sure if it will come this year or not so please no" sell it ad buy a T2.

knight1976

Congrats!!!! Maintenace should be your fist priority. Make sure its all in working order(belts hoses fluids etc) THen go get you a intake and a good flowing exhaust. Thats just the less expensive stuff you can do besides weight reduction.(Didnt mention ps and ac so dont worry)

crasher2

that is where Iwould start too. For the Exhaust CorkSport is makeing a good cheap 3" for under $300., and check ebay there are always intakes with adapters for sell.

Good luck and have fun

Node

iTrader: (1)

88 SE is the base, so it won't have LSD
But think of it this way, base means next to no options, which means less weight, lighter is faster
Enjoy your car and get it running right!!! (idle, oil, wash it, oil filter, spark plugs, maybe wires, any other problems you have) and just get it running to specs or as close as you can afford first.
That's what I'm doing

RXtony

Sounds like a good birthday to me. When i turned 16 my parents got me a 87 TII, then I got in to much trouble with it and had to get rid of it, I couldn't afford the maintenance. Well congrats and god luck with your new ride.

SonicRaT

iTrader: (6)

Jeez, when I turned 16 I was 200 miles away from home stuck hiking through some damn woods getting attacked by mesquitos :/

Barwick

Cool, you've got your first car that's awesome.. and now you get to learn to drive the car first. Go out there with the car as it is and just drive on the road for the first few months, even a few years. You're inexperienced behind the wheel for now, if you want to be responsible and keep your car, you'll want to play it safe and just drive it for a long time before you do anything funny in it. Don't go racing or pulling stunts on the road or..
1) You'll break something
2) You'll hurt someone else
3) You'll hurt yourself
4) You'll wreck it

Just drive the thing for now, enjoy it and learn to drive it. It DOES take many months, even years to get to the point where you can control a car in most situations.

kdxer200

Hey, crasher2, is that CorkSport exhaust emission legal? In IL. we've got to pass, and having a rotary doesnt help, and one of my cats is split right down the side, soooo... we all now how that is. I'm already on top of the maintence. My dad is a mechanic who bought the car from a family friend who is a machinist, so he checked everything over for me and stuff like that.
The LSD out of a GTU or a GXL will fit my dif. though righ?
The only other thing I noticed yesterday, was the idle surge. It starts fine,revs up, then drops to an idle from about 750 to 1000 rpm. From my piston engine experience(plenty, not to sound cocky) this is nt normal. Please Correct me if I'm wrong.
P.s. Does anyone else have a prob. with their sunroof not wanting to open the first time you hit the switch? I've got to give mine a push to get it to pop up, but not retract.

Gefunk

Yeah the idle seams like a TPS problem...I still have mine since I havn't bothered to fix it since it won't run until my Corksport Catback arrives which seams like never. Anyway, just search around there is a lot of threads on the TPS thing. As long as you still have all of the cats and split air pipe, I BELIEVE, please don't quote me, but it should pass. Anyway, yeah, just keep the car running, and it should be fine, and when you go to change out the belts, make sure you do ALL of them at once, because that means you have to rip them all off and start over from the alternator and work out. And all that stuff you learned about a piston engine, drop it. It is now definitely useless. Naa, it's helpful but you just need to remember your car now has 1/10 the moving parts that the piston engine has.

ALTurbo2

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the pineapple racing sleeves yet. As someone said, make sure everything is functioning properly, including your 5th and 6th ports. I'd go for the exhaust (2.5" instead of 3"), intake, and the racing sleeves from pineapple. Also, the clutch type diffs from 86-88 wear out rather quickly. I'd try to find a used one and send it somewhere like speedsource to have it rebuilt unless you know of a place closer to you. You'll have a great time getting to know this car. good luck!

Talek

kdxer, does the idle still surge after the engine's warmed up? Rotaries always run a little weird/rough until they're warmed up, my FD has an idle surge until it's warm where it fluctuates from 1k to 1.2k rpms. As for the sunroof thing, it's supposed to do that, at least mine does and I don't think it's messed up. It's so you can choose to just have it open for ventilation or have it completely open.

Edit: You meant you have to physically push up on the sunroof, I think, so nevermind.. That is kind of messed up.

Barwick

did nobody else catch the fact that he's 16 YEARS OLD?!? 16 year olds crash Hondas all the time when they do stuff like this and don't learn to drive first.. what do you think he's going to do in a RWD RX-7?

ALTurbo2

This is true Barwick!

Okay, make sure you car is in good working order and find the nearest autocross. You can learn much more about the abilities/limitations of both your car and your driving skill while running around the cones than you ever will on the street. Plus, it's fun as hell! Please don't go racing on the street and risk the chance of ruining your car before you get a good chance to know it.

kdxer200

but I know how to handle a car, trust me. Age doesnt always equal experience.
ALTurbo2- So how do I know if the 5th and 6th port sleeves are opening? I'm heading out to get a repair manual this week, but untill then how can I check? And about what does it cost to have Speedsource rebuild a dif? I dont doubt that between my dad and I we've got the know-how, but we dont have the time or the parts readily available.
Talek- yeah i've got to physically push the sunroof up to get it to open the first part(vent). It's not a real concern(yet) I just wanted to know if anyone else had this problem. I also havent had a chance to really get the engine truely warmed up, so I dont know if it will still surge after that. Not having it tittled, registered,or having my license yet kinda put a hold on things.
Barwick, thanks for your concern and all, but I've ridden mtorcycles my whole life, and driven other RWD cars to their limits and past them safely. I know when and when not to do stuff, and how to tell when a car is going to far. But like I said, thanks for your concern. I'm going to try and find an autocross around here, or go a few towns over w/ some cones to an empty parking lot and ptch the car around a little.

Barwick

We all thoguht the same thing when we were 16.. we've done this before with (fill in the name of your motorized vehicle here). You might get lucky and have nothing happen, but don't count on it.

You know to get yourself out to a track before you do anything out of the ordinary, and you know not to do anything out of the ordinary until you've been to the track for a while and KNOW what you're doing.

You seem like you know something, and with some experience on the road for a few months and some time on a track, you'll be better off than you are now. It all takes time.