joeberentsen

I've got a lot of questions, and I don't expect anyone to have the patience to answer them all. Any help is appreciated:



So I sold my old POS 83 GSL for $775 to buy a computer last summer. Figured it would be more useful at college. Now I'm the proud owner of the most immaculate SA22C I think i've ever seen in real life. New paint job, interior, CD, everything is close to new except the 12A (137k)... I guess I should just link to the pics.



http://img36.photobucket.com/albums/v109/joeberentsen/



Anyway, I have a BUNCH of questions that I have on my mind all the time. I read about first gens getting smoked by hondas all the time on the "Kills" forum, and that's the last thing I want to happen. Bear in mind i'm a college student, and my meager job only gets me about $400 a month. So my options are limited.



HEADERS: A good idea? Do they connect the engine to the thermal reactor? How much of a difference they make?



THERMAL REACTOR: I heard it weighs 85lbs. Do I really need all that weight? What are the consequences of removing it? What would I replace it with if I did?



STOCK MUFFLER: Mine's getting pretty worn out. I know a lot of aftermarket mufflers can't handle the heat, so would a stock replacement for $150 be ok? It seems that even stock, it's not that restrictive is it?



GS / S: I can't tell which it is. It's a five speed, power antenna, spiderweb wheels, and air conditioning. No emblems to designate trim, though.



RAT'S NEST: I want to take it off. Partly because I don't know what it does, and partly because there's less things that can fail if I do. I know I can get the instructions from mazspeed.com, but do you think it's something I could do myself in one weekend? I have the haynes manual and a lot of tools, but the most complicated thing i've ever done to an RX-7 is replace the water pump. Do you think I can do it? Anything I should know?



WEIGHT REDUCTION: Since I have very little money, it's easier to take parts off and reduce weight instead of adding expensive parts to improve power. Ideally i'd be able to shave it down to 2000lbs. Where should I start? The spare tire, AC, jack, then what? I still want it to look good and be able to hold 2 people + cargo.



SUSPENSION: Everything I know about suspension I learned from Gran Turismo 3. That's very little. Considering I don't know what coilovers, struts, or watts linkages are, is there a website I could go to to learn what everything does / where it is on my car?



INTAKE: I've seen cold air filters on SA/FBs before. How do they work on a carbureted 12A? Should I get one? Why or why not?



DETONATION: Every so often i'll put the pedal to the floor for a while on the highway for about 30 seconds, when I let off to coast, the most deafening bang comes out my exhaust. Sometimes, too, when the car is warming up/when the choke's out, it'll bang just a little from first to second. Why does it do that? Is it hurting anything? Is something broken?



POWER STEERING: I don't have it. I plan on autocrossing soon. Will that be a problem?



85 MPH SPEEDO: Why? WHY? Who's Joan Claybrook? I want a new speedo. Who sells 1980 RX-7 speedos that go up to at least 130?



If you've read this far, thank you. If you reply with answers, thank you especially.

1gendreemer

First of all...what a beautiful car you have! ****!

Now let's see if I can touch on all the stuff you asked...



Header/thermal reactor: A header and taking off the catalytic converter (thermal reactor?) will definitely get you some horses... however you won't be able to pass emissions tests then if your state has them. I'd do the mods, but keep your old stuff so that you can switch back for inspection. It's only a few bolts to do the swap. The 85lb weight thing you heard about is probably the stock exhaust manifold. It's cast iron and is ridiculously heavy...though not 85lbs I don't think.



Muffler: I've "heard" that a cherry bomb muffler is the perfect backpressure for the rotary and they're cheap enough to replace one a year if they rust out. You'll pay a lot for one that will last (mazdatrix.com) but then you are definitely getting the correct thing.



GS/S....no idea bro, though I'm sure the info is out there on the web



Rat's Nest: Again, this will make it very difficult to pass inspection, and it's not real likely that you'll want to switch back once a year. If there's not an issue with that, I'd do it. It's not something so complicated that you'll screw it up. If you can follow the directions on mazspeed and aren't a complete mechanical dolt then you should be able to pull this off in a few hours.



Weight reduction: Without going too nuts, I'd definitely take out the AC if you won't miss it. There's a TON of **** you get to throw away when you do this. You'll have to fab in a piece of ductwork up under the dash on the passenger side of the car to fill the space where the transfer coil for the ac is stored. Basically, rip out the compressor and follow the lines to everything else. THIS might be 85lbs of **** by the time you're done. Other weight reduction mods I'd recommend are minimizing the stereo, moving the battery to behind the passenger seat (weight balancing), and taking out the spare and jack. You can also take out the air pump (if you do the rat's nest I'd do this too) and get a block off plate for that. It's a good chunk of metal as well



Suspension: To do this cheaply, get Tokico struts and a front strut tower brace. This improves handling a TON. Do springs too if you can afford it. Racing beat and mazdatrix can give you tips on this. I'd stay away from roll bars... I've found that most make our already tail happy car even more so just because of the suspension setup in the rear. I have a writeup somewhere of a free rear suspension mod that supposedly works better with no hardware changes. I'll see if I can dig it up.



Intake: Definitely do this. It's cheap and it gives you horsepower. I extended my intake piping to go out through the radiator cowling and suck air from in front of the radiator under the nosepiece(you'll have to drill a hole in yours, the 12A setup is a little different). It should be a simple matter of routing a hose.



Detonation: It sounds like you're backfiring, not detonating. I'd check all your vacuum pieces (anti afterburn valve, TPS, etc)...after you rip out the rat's nest!



Power steering: It's gonna be hard to autocross without it if the course is tight...you need the speed that it gives you. Me personally, I like the feel you get without it and the extra weight it saves.



85mph speedo: I don't know about fitment and calibration, but the one from a 84-85 GSL-SE goes to 135. I think I saw something about this on the net somewhere...can anyone else help?



One last thing....after you do all these engine mods, you are definitely going to want to have your carb tuned or do it yourself. This alone should get you running a lot faster.



Smoke a Honda for me!!! I know you will!