The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → RX7 Prep Ideas?
Wow, we finally got accepted. Been trying for some time.
We bought an RX7 and, as newbies, would appreciate any advice or comments that will help us prepare our car. We hope to keep circulating and get in lots of laps and have a blast doing it.
Any thoughts?
Ken
great pick guys ! 1st or 2nd gen ? use high temp brake fluid . good brake pads. really good cooling system.(good stock radiator) great clutch. remove ALL things not needed . thats a start. good luck...which race you going to ?.....cmp? gasman/fender lizard for white lighting rx-7, racingralph
Don't run out of oil and bring a couple spare motors? 
Oil cooling is just as important as the radiator. Make sure you keep the intake charge pretty clean too, no cheap air filters. Larger particles getting through posses more danger to the engine than a normal piston engine. Rotaries tend to be pretty loud too so make sure you pay attention to the noise limit and get some mufflers/resonators on there.
What does everyone else do with the oil pump/premix thing? It seems like good idea just to run premix in case the OMP fails.
There was another post on here the other day about how to get the apex seals cleaned of carbon without disassembling the motor. Do a search for apex, it was within the last week or so I'd guess. Good luck!
If you have a first gen, remove the rear sway bar. It doesn't play well with the Watts linkage and causes binding. The stock brakes are fine, just cut away some of the shields to get some cooling and run performance pads.
Really appreciate the tips. Looks like the key to Lemons survival is to keep the car circulating on the track with good cooling and good brakes and skip the HP enhancement stuff. The car is an '85 GSL. All the hydraulics are leaky and have to be replaced. The car sat in a back yard for about 5 years. We can get it running legally and still have about $125 in head room. Are shocks a good investment? Should we play with salvage yard stiffer front springs?
Like the rear sway bar tip. Searched all over this site and just could not find anything about apex seal cleaning. Basically, us being new to all this we want to spend the little time we have in the areas of most return. Thanks again!
Just leave the suspension stock. It's pretty good on an '85 GSL and it's easier to mess up the handling on a first gen than to improve it.
Just leave the suspension stock. It's pretty good on an '85 GSL and it's easier to mess up the handling on a first gen than to improve it.
WORD!!!!!! If you can find some junkyard Tokico blues and some rsr springs that is all you want to do. Don't even think of putting urethane in the rear watts link or trailing arms just use stock bushings or it will bind on compression. 1st gen 7's are a blast to slip and slide around the track.
Pendejo
There was another post on here the other day about how to get the apex seals cleaned of carbon without disassembling the motor. Do a search for apex, it was within the last week or so I'd guess. Good luck!
I remember seeing that too. It was something to do with pouring Marvel Mystery Oil(?) in the intake turn over a few times let it sit, repeat the next day.
You can use MMO or ATF. I think I'm the one who posted the instructions, but God knows where, and I don't feel like repeating myself.
Tokico Blues are good and stiff (especially if you get the Tokico springs), but it's not like they grow on trees anymore. Stock stuff is okay. You can probably get away with cutting a coil, but don't lower it more than an inch that way. You might want to look at raising the top of the strut tower. Mazdatrix used to sell a kit to do it, but I'm pretty sure you could do it with a pair of spare strut towers, a sawzall, and a welder.
Your other option is to find some coil-over sleeves and put them on the stock struts. That will allow you to run cheapo circle track 2.5" ID springs. Run 400lb/in up front and 250lb/in in the rear, roll the fenders, and run 10" wide tires (okay, you won't find 10" wide 13s except in slicks).
Don't waste a penny on performance mods. An stock RX-7 is plenty quick and handles well enough to pass most Lemons entries. Spend your budget on reliability. Brake hoses, belts, radiator hoses, wheel bearings, fuel lines, stuff that will keep you from circulating.
Also, BABY the transmission. First generation RX-7's do NOT like to have their trannys abused. Shift if like its made from glass. Speed shifting and banging gears will NOT win Lemons. Going round and round will.
And make sure that you have good rotor seals. At both the races I've done I've been stuck behind smokey RX-7s and in both cases I've felt light-headed from the oily smoke they let out. So if you start to see a cloud of smoke behind your car please consider pulling off the track, your competitors would appreciate it it greatly.
And make sure that you have good rotor seals. At both the races I've done I've been stuck behind smokey RX-7s and in both cases I've felt light-headed from the oily smoke they let out. So if you start to see a cloud of smoke behind your car please consider pulling off the track, your competitors would appreciate it it greatly.
If you are expecting smoking cars to pull over to avoid causing noxious smells to the other people on track, you may be in the wrong race series.
Isn't smoke pouring out the exhaust a requirement for entry?
smoke from the exhaust-ok
smoke from under the dash-bad
And make sure that you have good rotor seals. At both the races I've done I've been stuck behind smokey RX-7s and in both cases I've felt light-headed from the oily smoke they let out. So if you start to see a cloud of smoke behind your car please consider pulling off the track, your competitors would appreciate it it greatly.
Even with good seals a proper rotary smells like hell and makes your eyes water! Part of the charm!
Even with good seals a proper rotary smells like hell and makes your eyes water! Part of the charm!
Just make sure that they run Castrol R
Man I love the smell of that stuff......
Also, BABY the transmission. First generation RX-7's do NOT like to have their trannys abused. Shift if like its made from glass.
I never had any internal trouble with my trannys, even with a 240hp bridgeport motor and a racing clutch (damn thing hammers the drivetrain). My biggest problem has been the slave cylinder mounting bolt holes stripping out, causing the slave cylinder to wiggle. Remove the tranny, tap the threads larger, install helicoil, re-install tranny and slave cylinder.
Early first gen transmissions ('79-80) may be a different story, but I think an '81 should be okay. Still, it is an endurance race, so don't outright abuse it.
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