Just bought a 93 R1 and the thing smokes unbelievably when it is cold at startup and smokes like crazy as I drive it till the temp goes up, prolly for about 5 minutes or so. I can't really tell if it is blue or white...which one is the problematic color? The car was on a lift Thursday and one of the turbos was blowing oil and soaked a good amount of the spark plugs...does the performance of the turbo suffer at all because it is blowing oil? The car has 82k on it, completely stock (not even a gauge), and I don't think the original owner was very knowledgeable about RX7 maintenance. I'm not too worried cause I figure the motor is gonna go soon, just curious if the performance suffers at all. Thanks, happy rotoring.

 

Both types of smoke are bad if they continue AFTER warmup.

White is coolant leaking into the combustion chamber.

Blue is oil that is either blowing by the turbo seals or excessive oil burning/leaking in the combustion chamber.

The turbos can definitely suffer performance as it has to push oil as well as air. And oil is much heavier, more viscous, so your turbos may not spool as quickly or may not even reach their full rpms. The amount you will notice it will depend on how much blowby you get. Also, you will know for sure when the seal goes completely, because you will be like James Bond, leaving a blue cloud for miles behind you at all times.

Your performance will also suffer if there is too much oil getting into the combustion chamber, as it cannot get fully burned, and possibly reduce the spark. And from what you are saying that the plugs get coated with oil; well thats not so good.

Good luck.

By the way if you are in need of a new set of stock twin turbos, let me know; I have a backup set. They may be for sale.

 

That blowby is an indication of tired turbos on their way out. You really don't want to wait until the turbos fail completely, so I'd think about refurbishing or replacing them soon.

The white smoke should go away once the motor comes up to operating temperature. 5 minutes is about right.

 

You'll want to plan for new turbos as well as the motor. Now is a good time to go single turbo.......

 

I'd go with JDM '99 Twins. I like the quick spool up time of the stock sequential system. Get that silicone hose job, whey you have the motor replaced, and you won't worry about trouble with the sequential system. FWIW, I don't have the hose job, and my sequential system works great, even with 92,000 miles on the mileage clock!

Here's a note Wade Lanham sent me from the Rx7 Big List regarding spool up times. As you can see the non-sequential setup takes awhile (too long IMO). Next month I plan on replacing my tired twins with the JDM '99 J-spec twin turbos with full factory sequential setup completely intact.
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Manny, try this both before and after your turbo upgrade. Try to get around
65-70F outside if possible. I know it may be too late to get that temp
where you live and before the new turbos, so just try to get the same temps
before and after the upgrade (even if they are much lower than these other
tests). That way we can see how big of a difference there is between your
stock turbos and the fresh 99's.

All you need for the test is a stopwatch. Be sure to let off the gas for 2
seconds before flooring it, this makes sure the engine has max vacuum.

I know it may be awhile before you get the 99 turbos but just let me know
after you get them and perform the tests. If doing the tests is
inconvenient, then don't sweat it, I'm just curious if the 99 turbos will
spool much faster or not.

Thanks,
Wade

>>My car is non-seq and I just got back from doing the same thing as
>>Kevin Kelleher.
>>
>>I did each RPM a few times to make sure. It is about 60-65F outside:
>>
>>2k = 5.5 seconds
>>2.5k = 4 seconds
>>3k = 4 seconds
>>
>>I personally don't see 2k unless I am cruising off the line. 2.5k is
>>probably the very lowest I see in my car during daily driving.
>>
>>Jay
>>
>>
>>--- kevin kelleher <kellehkj@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>For me, and some others, the instant boost at low end from
>>>sequential is great around town, normal driving. Does nothing
>>>for the track, of course. Sooo, with my to-be-replaced tomorrow
>>>5.8 bar engine, I did some lag checks.
>>>
>>>A Lag/Response Test:
>>>
>>>In 3rd gear, level road, steady at 3000 rpm, foot off pedal for 2
>>>seconds, then floor it.
>>>
>>>I hit my max 12 psi in just under one sec. Repeatable. About
>>>70F tonight. Did same at 2500 and 2000 and times were just
>>>under 2 secs, and about 3 secs at 2000 rpm.
>>>
>>>Very interested in single and non-seq times for same, very
>>>limited test. I could not accurately time the 3500 runs since time
>>>to max boost was much less than a sec. This test does not tell all
>>>about lag, but it does shed a little comparative light.
>>>
>>>Kevin Kelleher, 93T
>>>
>>>intake and exhaust, stock IC for test only (for dealer visit ....) ,
>>>stock
>>>boost