Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

So, i am looking at what "classic" 90s JDM car to get, and my aim is at the RX7 for now. I kinda ended up in the Mazda world even tho i used to be a Toyota guy.
Having allready "buildt" the car in my mind, i neeed to sort out the details, and plan ahead a bit.

I have read a lot of reviews, and everywhere i read the car get alot of good words for the light weight, and the god steering and driving feel. This is in contrast to the 300kg heavier Supra.

So when getting the car, i want to build on the strenghts of the car, and i am thinking low weight, with a small (13B) responsive engine. Every car i own has its own "thing" or theme that i try follow, so that it stands out from the rest in some way, and the RX7 needs its theme as well

What are my options in the light weight department? The first idea i get is "carbon fiber". And since i have been following quite a few sites and blogs i know there are both hoods, fenders, doors and hatches available in carbon fiber with lexan glass. Havng looked at the bumpers, i dont think there are much weight to be saved there, since they are mostly just plastic shells.

Is there anyone here on this board who has gone down this road before, with success? That can drop some names on where to get good quality cf parts, and give me a hint on how the build itself was?

Claytons91

what series?

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Its the FD. I should have said so ofc, but i thought "90s classic" was enough

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

Diet ( I'm working on this mod myself ) , Removing of the rear carpets , spare tire , the Trunk divider is heavy Relocate the battery to the back and use a smaller Miata battery ,

removing anything you dont use .

carbon fiber Doors , Carbon fiber front fenders , carbon fiber Trunk (lexan replacement for the rear hatch , carbon fiber hood , slotted rotors , Remove the Power steering / AC , (AIR PUMP if you dont have emissions ) , Titanium exhaust , Catless downpipe , Removal of the front Bumper bar Removal of the horns , removal of the ABS system , Removal of the Cruise control , .

I can go on for a long time hah Just sorta give us a what you plan to do with the car ,

And what you can live without .

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the reply
The plan is, and will allways be, to have it as a "sunny day" daily driver.
It will be used to and from work, and for my own pleassure. The goal is to keep the oem look, but also make it one of a kind. So thus, loose weight, gain power. Carbon fiber will be painted over, or covered in leather.

If it is possibe to say it about an RX7, i think i want to make a sleeper both in agillity, and strength...

Michael Cohen

You can always take out the A/C unit as well if you're comfortable with that. I don't think the rx-7 can ever be a sleeper lol

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Think long and hard before turning a street car into a "tin can" by removing everything. Unless you are planning on keeping the car forever, then doing so makes it nearly worthless at time of resale. Few people want to buy a loud, rattly, unpleasant, hot vehicle. And what's the point in stripping out 200 LBs of stuff when you can just turn the boost up 1 PSI.

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Well, i usually have very long term plans for my cars, and the RX7 will probably never end up for sale. But, then again i willt hink long and hard, adn i do not want a rattle-can as you say, i just want to remove/replace what i can, and keep what i need

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

^This.

No offense meant, but most of us who've been around very long have heard this before. And you might be right in a way. If you strip it, it would "never end up for sale" because no one would buy it anyway. It's a parts donor at best.

There are some (IMO) reasonable and rational things you can do to a STREETED FD to make it lighter. Moving to a standalone ECU and deleting the airpump and emissions will help both in weight and simplicity. It's hard to imagine any FD's out there with the stock exhaust, but deleting the pre-cat is both a performance and reliability mod, as well as lightening it by 3 or 4 pounds. And many aftermarket cat-back systems are lighter than OEM. But before you go to any drastic means, drive the car for a bit first. I think you'll see that it lives up to it's reputation for being light already. And bumping performance even a little as suggested by Aaron above makes more sense.
BTW, the FD hood is aluminum. So spending all the money for a CF hood and then painting it will mostly make your wallet lighter.

I'm not saying your one of them Zepticon, but I'm often moved to laugh out-loud at guys who brag about how they've lightened their cars. They proceed to describe how they pulled out the A/C and PS to make it lighter, when really something needed repair and they were too lazy and cheap to fix it. And they tell me how they spent days scraping undercoating as I look inside and see a 100 lbs of stereo, amplifier and subwoofers that would take a day to remove for any track duty.

Lowness

try a mini battery and removing spare tire and carpets

Evil Aviator

I don't understand the point. So you want a "classic" car so that you can strip it to the bone and install a bunch of aftermarket parts so that it no longer resembles the classic configuration other than externally? Why don't you just build a space-frame car with RX-7 style carbon fiber body panels and Lexan windows? It would be much cheaper, lighter, faster, and a lot less work.

Another option is to simply buy a used race car, which you can probably get for 1/4 the cost to build it. It may take a few days of work to convert it to a street car, but this would be the easier and cheaper method.
The Race Car Sales Site
Race, performance & street cars, engines, engine parts, trailers for sale
http://sccabb.com/forum_topics.asp?F...ng-classifieds

Pettit Racing

The FC was sold in 90-92 models. The FD was not produced until 92, and the USA didn't get it until the 93 model. Therefore, the FC is actually the more classic of the 90s RX-7s.

FDrx7guy

I cut out the rear hatch area and put and aluminum floor in with an aluminum fuel cell. Seats are also big.

mbirt

Zepticon, have you completely ruled out the FC? Your high-level philosophy for the car to be pure, responsive, and light-weight with a turbine-smooth engine and 90's feel could be fulfilled by an n/a FC at a much lower cost. There's enough of them in existence that you don't have to feel like you're ruining something sacred. With only the removal of a/c, power steering, smog pump, emissions components, spare tire, and the addition of a lighter single exhaust system I fabbed, my 1989 GTUs recently weighed 2519 lb on race scales.

It may not stand out like an FD, but I'm the one smiling behind the wheel enjoying, in my opinion, one of the purest driving experiences possible.

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the FC is completly out of the picture I have a NA car already that i am spending some money on (Mazda 626 with the KL V6 engine), and ill leave it with that. The goal with the RX is to have a sportscar with a turbo, since those are cheaper per extra HP. Due to local regulations, boosting cars that are not allowed unless it cam with it from factory.

I am only trying to get a feeling of how and what are out there in terms of parts and available upgrades. I see some of you are concerened about destroying the car, and that will never happen, trust me on this. Any mod i have done, to any of my car, ever, is 100% restoreable. That is also one of my key focus areas when modding, that this is something i like right now, but maybe not in 3 years.

I think sgtblue is on to something in terms of what i am imagining. Since modern sportscars are build with materials such as carbon fiber, i was thinking that if i swaped the heavy steel(?) trunk, dors and fenders, with lighweight carbon fiber, that would save some weight, but not make the car a rattle-can? I could also swap the OEM seat, for a proper set of SpiritR kevlar seats.

I am an Industrial designer, with all the detail oriented OCD that comes with the job. So i have some pretty high "standards" for how the car should both look and "feel", and the reason i am posting is because i need input on what mods would work for me, and what would not. Anything in the "rattle-can" department wont.

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

iTrader: (7)

There is always the factory Turbo 2 FC, just saying

6strngs

Well, I just picked up an FC na a few days ago and have already removed the cruise control, some of the a/C components, the spare tire and jack, and a lot of the carpet and panels in the back. My plan is to completely remove the Air pump, power steering, A/C, all interior panels except dash, replace the driver's seat with a racing bucket seat, all emissions that can possibly be removed, washer fluid bottle, all sound deadening, crash bars front and rear, as many redundant bolts as possible or that can be replaced with zip ties, and moving the battery to trunk using an optima red-top. If all of this cancels out the weight added by a roll-cage I'll be happy. I guess I should mention mine is a drift car that will see only the occasional street use.

In my opinion, you can maybe shave 20-30 lbs using a whole bunch of carbon fiber, and you'll end up spending thousands of dollars, but in the end you'll never notice a difference. You won't really start to feel the benefits of it unless you start getting extreme with it, and then it's always a compromise for creature comforts. If I were you, I would spend that money on some decent suspension and lower your center of gravity, that will make a much MUCH bigger difference per dollar spent and you will be much happier in my opinion.

Also, welcome, I came from the toyota world as well. I see your signature says you have an ST2000? I'm not sure what that is but I've owned 3 ST204's, an ST165 alltrac/GT-Four, and a ZZT231 GT-S. My dream car is an ST205 GT-four, but we never got them in the US I'm slowly becoming a mazda fan though, I started with a miata and now have the Rx7, both very fun cars!

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Its the first Gen celica
Here is an image of one (not mine): http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb...hh9o1_1280.jpg

Thanks for the advice about the carbon fiber. It will probably be some time before that will become relevant then. Ill just do the BPUs to start with then, adn then see what happends to weight

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Nice cars. Back in the day we called them the poor-man's Mustang. Personally I still think they look good. Never owned one myself, but a friend did. Like their contemporaries I don't remember it being very fast and they rusted pretty quick here in the midwest winters. But he beat on that car like a rented mule for years and it just kept going.

techenstein

Remove ac, stereo, spare tire, carpets, passenger seat and make girl in passenger seat walk or watch, he he, and anything else not vital in making car go faster. then improve on engine with new turbo, intake, intercooler, etc.... Or, just leave stock and enjoy car for what it is stock, an equal to a 911 at a much better price. Fun street car, or crazy 1/4 mile car.