As the title said, I am in the process of tearing apart a '90 gtu to build into a drag car....And I am in need of direction....Engine choice, EMS, Rear(straight axle or stay IRS?), rollcage????
I am debating if I want to install a 13bt or a 20bt??? I know there is tons of money involved with building ANYTHING that has a 20bt, but I will not need certain neccesities that a street car needs.....I know that most of the 20bt builds I have seen have 2 ems's on them.............

My main point for making this topic is for many reasons.....1. which engine to choose, 2. what would be(in your opinion) a good ems for either engine? And the other things that I mentioned before........

I am currently in the process of trying to find a HD tranny(haven't decided auto or manual, but from experience auto tranny benefits me more) that i can swap the bellhousing from the 13bt tranny(I already know that the 20bt bolts to the fc TII tranny) to make it work...........

My goal is to get the car into the 11-second bracket.....And I know the 13bt is fully capable of that...But, I know once I get there I will want to go faster.....And I know the 13bt can do a lot, but the 20b can acheive it faster.......

Well, people put in your ideas, suggestions, points in good directions......Just no flamers.......Thanks...............

 

It's all in how much you wana spend. Remember it cost money to play lol. I would go with a 13b just because rebuilds are cheaper if you ever need to rebuild it. Are you going turbo, nitrous or NA.

 

Your main choices are going to have a lot to do with class restrictions. Some classes penalize you or don't allow solid-rear swaps, same with auto swaps. Again, it all comes down to money, but my opinion on a stellar drag FC would be a 13B-RE engine and a solid rear. EMS it comes down to what tuner you are going with, and what they are comfortable with, along with what they would rather install.

 

My original plans are turbo......Just start off with something to get my feet wet...Then later on a nitrous/turbo build.... I just want to get the car together....So I guess my best option is to just start with a 13bt....And if I have the funds later, maybe a 20bt.....

 

I forgot about that.....I guess the best move is to see what class I want to aim for....In all honesty, I just want to race...But, I know there are classes/restrictions....Where do I get info on this stuff???


That is what I was thinking, also......Is the 13B-RE the engine out of the FD, Cosmo or both??? What would it take to install a solid rear in an FC?

 

http://www.mirdrag.com/v2/rules/

MIR is only about 2 hours from you, I assume this is where you will be racing most right? This is a good start for class rules and IHRA rules.


the RE is out of the Cosmo, it has the largest secondary ports/runners out of any 13B, and are fairly tough. The REW is definitely the best of the best for 13B's, but the RE is much more easily bolted into the FC frame. Solid rear in an FC would take a good suspension shop to have it setup properly. I don't have any experience in this one, sorry!

 

www.grannysspeedshop.com sells solid rear conversion kits that are for the most part bolt-in. I would go for an 8.8, you can yank one out of an explorer or ranger at your local junkyard, and if you look around you can get one with 4:10s and trac-lock. For drag racing I dont really see the need for a 20b You can make more than enough power with a 13B and boost to get into the 8s, its all about the car setup and driver to guide it there.

 

Ok...You guys helped A LOT!!!!! Next Question.....EMS????? Are their any that are fairly easy to manage with a skilled understanding of the auttomobile? Or are they all tuner-specified? Would it be wise to seek out a tuner vs. doing it yourself? And go with what he/she is used to/good with? I am new to the whole EMS thing because everything i have ever dealt with(modified) had a carb and had 8 pistons or better.....Thanks guys for all of your help so far.....

 

I would definitely recommend a tuner if you're going with a turbo setup. Getting the fuel right isn't difficult, just tedious, but if you mess up the timing under boost, your engine will check out. A tuner is cheaper than an engine, and you will get better results anyways. I'd look in your area for a good tuner first, and then see what they suggest for EMS.

 

if you just want 11's to start with there is a much cheaper and easier way.

any 13b will do for this...

Large bridge or P. Port
webbers
200+ nitrous
strip everything out of the car
stock tranny, rear, suspension, ect.


done...

 

WOW......So, no turbo or f.i.....Just carb it, nos it, HUGE bridge port it, strip it and leave everything else in.....Hmmmmm......

 

11's? How about 9's with only a PP and race box? https://www.rx7club.com/rotary-drag-racing-167/stock-chassis-non-turbo-second-gen-runs-10-6%40130mph-844556/

I almost forgot about this car, and nitrous in general.

 

That is nuts!!!! I don't know if I would want to launch a stock-body car with that much nitrous in 1 stage......But, I could definitely bust some V8 *** here with a setup like that...And save some money in the process.....I have a few questions....What would be a good spring/strut/coilover setup for this type of application?
He said the tranny was a GF5R....I don't know off-hand what it is and where it comes from....Can anyone elaborate?
What would be the proper build sheet for an N/A Nitrous engine? He says that it has p. porting done.....Apex seals/springs,corner seals???? Can any of this be done SAFELY with stock seals/springs?
What would a stock port/fresh rebiuld(re-using the stock seals/springs) be able to handle(nitrous)??

I know I am asking a TON of questions....But, I would like to build an engine that will be reliable(I know that's a stretch) and I can have fun without a ton of downtime trying to see if this works or doesn't....THANKS!!!!!

 

http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/tran_gf5r.asp

 

If you're goal is 11's and even 10's you don't even need nitrous or turbo. Do yourself a favor and lose the IRS and put a ford 9" with a 13bpport with a large weber or fuel inected setup and lose as much weight as possible. That will easily get you into the 11's if tuned and setup properly. This would be the easiest and lowest in cost and most consistant setup you can do. Once you start adding turbo's and nitrous the cost goes up and the reliabilty starts going down. I have been running my 12abp N/A setup for three seasons now without tearing the engine down without problems. Especially if you're new to racing rotaries, I would recommend an N/A setup first before diving into turbo/nitrous setups.
Good luck.

 

Thanks ultimatejay...and everyone else for your input......I talked to me puerto rican friend that is my go-to guy with the rotaries....He advises p-port/carb/straight-axle rear(he has a targa-top fb that has the straight-axle swap).......But, he and one other guy explained to me that you have to basically build the enbgine over again? They tried to explain,but I could'nt grasp the idea.....Can anyone can explain??? Or leave me a link to explain how it's done...Sorry to be a pain....Just want to know what I am getting into....

 

This would be a good start>.........

 

I'm partial to F.I. myself. Could be due to never really havin to mess with carbs. I'v found the Megasquirt to be a great bang for the buck.

Not to mention that Aaron has a very through writeup on how to install and get a basic tune. The only problem is that it is not plug and play. You will have to do a bit of soldering and harness hacking to get it in.

check out diyautotune.com. some of there customer rides are quite slick.



The bigger the port you have the more often you have to rebuild. Well, as a basic idea. Rebuilding isnt that bad. Rotories have to be the easiest engine I'v ever rebuilt. Pulling it from the war was the hardest part of it. :P Just make sure you get the tools to do it right. pineappleracing.com has em.