Hello,
I'm buying a 92 Rx7 imported from Japan (right side drive) next week. Its 100% stock. I'm paying 13.5 for it with 60k miles on it, is that a good price? The next question is I want to get it to around 600 hp (I know next to nothing about engine upgrades, so treat me like a noob lol). I have around 8 to 10 grand that I can spend on the engine, will that be able to get me from stock to 600 hp? And if so then can I please ask for some suggestions as what I upgrade 1st 2nd 3rd and so on? The cheapest way to hit 600 hp with out throwing nos into it (I will probably add nos later on but not at the moment). So if anyone could help me out with these questions that would be great . This is my 1st car (i've been driving for about 10 years but never owned a car). I know how to drive pretty well, I can drift a little and all of that, but once it comes to getting under the hood, I'm one of the dumbest guys in the world lol.


Thanks,
Snippy

 

Worth $7k if in superb condition, but that's if you buy it in the states. www.kbb.com

$10k might be barely enough to hit the power you want, but you'll probably only hit 400-500. Plus you'll likely want to put money into the suspension as well. And that's all assuming you DIY, and doesn't include maintenance, gas, repairs, detailing, etc. I've heard of 500-600wHP cars with $20k dumped into them.

For all items below, search the forums for more info:
0. Do all the maintenance items on anything you won't be replacing below. Fix anything that needs fixing. Replace the thermostat with OEM and the fuel pulsation dampener with a new unit regardless of condition (PD's tend to last 100,000 miles give or take, and a leak may cause a fire that destroys your car).
1. Standalone EC, fuel system upgrades, wastegate upgrade(s). To keep your engine intact after next steps. Also drivetrain and radiator upgrades as needed.
2. Full exhaust.
3. Intercooler.
4. Intake.
5. Flywheel.
6. Street port or bridgeport. As long as you're porting, you might also want to upgrade the rotors, bearings, apex seals and oil pressure (and anything else I might have forgotten) for a higher redline.
7. Bigger turbo (sorry if this actually goes before step 6).
8. Water or alcohol injection (see auxillary injection section of the forums).

Suspension: shocks, springs, sway bars, bushings, tower braces, DTSS. Possibly coilovers in place of regular shocks and springs.

 

Well 600 hp is just a goal lol, i'm sure i would be happy with 500 or maby even less. But what exactly is a street port? I've seen that term used a lot but I have no idea what it is. And I have one other question, I was looking at turbo upgrades earlyer today for the rx7 and they all where mainly for 93's up to 02's. This car is a twin turbo and it has a 3rd gen body, would the engine be the same as the 3rd gens mostly? The seller of this car imports them from japan all the time and he's telling me that there where only about 500 of these imported to the u.s. so they are pretty rare. Thats one reason i figured that they might not have the 92 turbo's listed, but anyways, i'm j/w if the engine is the same for it to work and also if i upgrade the turbo (which was like 3 to 5 grand from what most websites where going by, different sized turbos) will it upgrade both of them? The websites say full upgrade but i only see one turbo in the picture. Alright


Thanks,
Snippy

 

I think you actually have a 3rd gen lol. I'm guessing it was released earlier in Japan.

Same upgrades apply, except:
- Blue book is $14k-$16k, depending on conditon
- Step #1 above is 10 times more important, since the stock items are barely enough and 3rd gens are known for their reliability issues around these. You'd also want to replace the vacuum lines with silicone, and take extra good care of the super complicated turbo system to keep from blowing your engine. The PD isn't quite as unreliable, though, and it doesn't have DTSS.
- Upgrades will cost a whole lot more. I'd shoot for 400HP (less at the wheels) and skip the street port/etc. if you want to stay under $10k. You still might be able to do auxillary injection, though.
- the stock suspension is already pretty stiff and harsh, you might not want to upgrade it unless you don't mind the ride comfort

When you upgrade the turbo you get both at once. They come together. Or you can also upgrade to a large single turbo. It's simpler, cheaper and less failure prone than the stock twin turbo system, but there's also more turbo lag (delay before the turbo kicks in). A street port means enlarging the engine ports to let more air through. The ports on the 3rd gen are already pretty large from the factory, though. You can do a forum search for more info.

Come to think of it, just follow this guide:
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/pr...ars/page3.html
Scroll to RX-7. It covers everything. Like I said you can skip the suspension and other handling upgrades if you need ride comfort, but you should still replace the shocks and perhaps the bushings with OEM if you don't upgrade.

 

There is no cheap way of getting to 600hp. If you cut corners the engine will blow and you will be back to square one... NOS is not a very good idea.

^ you are correct this sounds like it is an FD

 

A '92 Japanese model should actually be a 3rd Gen RX-7 (introduced as a 1993 year model in this country). Do you have a picture or a link to a image of the car? If it is then you probably want to (re)post this question to the 3rd gen area on this forum.

-bill

 

yeah, its a 3rd gen i'll repost this in the 3rd gen forums but thank u 2nd gen guys for the help so far

 

If it was me, I'd find a US model (left side drive), spend a little more on a car that has already been modified. Or, find one stock for less money, and do your mod's.
Shop around, the cars are out there.

 

the 10gs your willing to spend will get u a nice reliable fd to start from. get the reliabilty mods and an engine that will support that kinda power first

did u look @ the for sale section on this forum. there are a few very nice rhd fds for sale in there. why waste your time on a jdm. we see lots of them come over into canada and the majority are abused.

 

this one has been in canda for about 6 months and seems to be in perfect condition, the only reason i am going with this one instead of a cheaper us model is because i really really want a right hand drive. and this is about the cheapest right hand drive i have found so far (out of like 4) that didn't have like 100k miles one it. this one only has about 60k and is still running very strong from what the seller says, i'm going up to test drive it next week but if u guys see a right hand drive for cheaper then 13.5 and in good condition with 70k miles or less then pst me right away lol. thanks

 

A RHD RX-7 should be thousands cheaper than a LHD US model of equal shape. And I just don't get this RHD craze. I thought the only reason why people get RHD vehicles is because they were not available is North Amerca (Skylines for example) or because they couldnt afford a LHD version if available... but I soon came to learn that some actually just wan RHD. I just don't get it? Is it because "It is JDM Yo?" LOL I guess everyone has their own tastes.

Do you guys in the US with RHD cars have to put a sticker on the outside of the car letting everyone know it is RHD like they do here? I will say all imports from Japan I have seen have always been in rough shape.

PS, Spend a lot of time reading this. Any 3rd gen owner should read this from top to bottom...

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/

 

In fact, the asking prices for these cars is higher than equivalent US cars - because of this 'craze', as you put it. As more of these cars become available through Canada, the price will likely drop to Canadian levels - which sensibly are well under LHD prices.

These cars are completely illegal in the US so I don't think people will be advertising the RHD thing. The only reason they are on the road here at all is because of loose registration laws in certain states.

 

Really? That has not happen around hear yet. In the trader around here RHD 3rd gens go from $9K grand to $14K where as LHD ones go from $14 to $23K.

RHD cars are illegal in the US? If so then I am even more confused as to why anyone would want one.

 

Isn't that what I said - RHD cars are significantly cheaper than LHD ones?

Not all RHD cars - but the importation and legalization process is hugely expensive and complex and has not been done for RHD FDs.

 

Well you said they soon will be.

What you wrote was "the asking prices for these cars is higher than equivalent US cars - because of this 'craze'"..

I'm starting to get confused.

 

In the US the asking price is currently higher for RHD cars. Don't ask me why.

 

I have a rhd car and I prefer RHD cars, not just because they are cheaper (which they are, significantly so) but because in most cases I feel safer driving them, parking, etc. The only thing I don't like in them is left hand turns. For everything else though, including visibility when merging onto a highway or changing lanes I find my visibility is better when doing shoulder checks & etc..

Just be careful Snippy about the laws in your state. You may find that customs will hold your car and make you export it if your state does not allow vehicles which have not passed the necessary safety tests (RHD FD's are not the same as USDM FD's). Additionally even if you are allowed to bring it in, chances are you will never be allowed to sell it out of your state when you decide to get rid of it.

 

$10 Says this guy will blow it up in a month.

I suggest some extreme research before you even drive the car. Let it sit for a week before you actually get in it and drive. Spend that time figuring stuff out.

Search for:

Engine warmup
Oil changes, maintenance
NOT turning the boost up
Fuel modifications
ECU's and engine management
Turbo timer and cool down stuff
COOLANT SYSTEM

ETC.

Find a reputable engine builder and or tuner before anything.

 

First, your goals for modding are quite high, to say the least. Unless you've got tens of thousands to spend and don't mind popping a motor now and then, 600hp is unreachable.

Second, PA motor vehicle code prohibits grey market imports:
"Motor vehicles manufactured not more than 25 model years ago are subject to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and emission requirements to be imported permanently and cannot be titled and registered in Pennsylvania without proof of conformity with those requirements."
(From: http://www.dot3.state.pa.us/pdotform...ts/fs-ieve.pdf)

Third, I suggest you take this project VERY seriously. Many, many new posters have arrived with similar intentions and they either blow the engine and ditch the car, wreck it into a tree, or worse. There is plenty of homework to be done, so I suggest you go talk to a reputable shop like KD Rotary and see what they suggest. Your homework is to read the FAQ (https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=68640) and run searches for remaining questions. Since you're not planning to do the work yourself, you'll have to rely on a good relationship with a shop like KD.

Dave

 

Your '92 FD is most certainly a 3rd gen. The purchase price is too high (unless it's in very fine condition, which is more the exception than the rule), it's not illegal in the US, but will be expensive to import and get it registered "properly" in most states. Read the posts carefully from the other members. Lots of experience and good advice within the forum. 600hp is not easily realistic for someone with little or no mechanical prowesss with a rotary (you will learn or burn IMO). You will spend more than you've allotted to get to that number.

 

biggest single turbokit , supporting mods , good tune and u get urself 600whp.

 

well the reason i was shooting for 600 hp was because i heard that it wasn't to hard to get to, but the more and more i read on this website the more i'm finding out and I'm just going to shoot for the mid 400's maby 5 after a while (if i can get the high with out having to much risk of popping the motor. and i would really really like a right hand drive but i'll probably have to get it in pa for a few weeks in till i move to new jersey. and from what i've been reading new jersey has about the same standards that pa does and the seller already has a saftey (sp?) check for the car in canada, which he said he thinks is higher then the u.s. standards. also he is going today to get a emissions check which i hope will work in pa but might not and if it doesn't then thats fine. it isn't hard to get it checked around here. and for a little extra you pass the test (well a few places do it that way around here) and yes, i've been reading lots and lots more about rx7's since i decided to get one i'll take ur 10 dollars once i don't blow my car up :P lol. anyways, thanks for all the info guys, this site is great!

 

It is illegal in the US. To legally import and federalize an FD would require a lot of work and north of $100k. There are many threads on this topic.

 

the guy that i'm buying the car off of has imported cars from japan (to canada) and then sold them to the us many times he has sold cars to flordia, new jersey, cali, mi, and a few other states. as long as the car has been safty (sp?) inspected in canada and has a active registration in canada then they can be shipped to the u.s. and registered in the u.s. with no problems at all. he says that he hasn't run into any problems except with cali and they resolved that one with out to much stress or money. so i am confident that this car can make it into the us and be registered with no problems at all really. i can just drive this car across the border pretty much and register it pretty easily in my state.

 

A Right Hand Drive 3rd Gen is actually at a disadvantage when it comes to engine mods because of the placement of the motor and turbo in the engine bay in regards to where the brake booster, steering rack, etc are located on a RHD car. Thats why the Japanese downpipes have that big flat spot on them, for clearance. Our USDM cars don't have to worry about that and we have a lot more room for clearance on the turbo side of the engine.

I'll bet you money that PA will not allow you to register the car.

I'll also bet you that the $7-$10,000 you have for engine mods will be spent on small things that you've never even considered may be wrong in the first place. As mint as the car may be, with 60,000 miles it's definitely got some parts that need replacing. $10,000 can get you a reliable 450hp which sounds like plenty of power for someones FIRST car. I don't care how much experience you have, 450hp in an FD is plenty for the street and can turn the car over faster than you think.

You need to do a LOT of reading and research, stop asking questions and READ the forum, you'll find that all of your questions have been asked and answered on here before.

Good luck with your registration, but you would have been better off buying my USDM 1993 model with 60k miles. I would have gladly sold it for $13,500 and you'd be avoiding a thousand headaches. You'll soon find out that RHD isn't as cool as you think when you can't legally drive your car on the street.


Edit: Oh and you're adding NOS? Hahaha, Maybe you should search up a bit first. Good luck-