rotadude

hey guys so i just parked the fd for the winter and me and a friend sat down a set a plan out for it i was leaning to stick with the rotor but he talked me in to a ls1 swap. I wana here what you guys think and the pros and cons of the swap

leetfade

Well, the site name is NoPistons so you may get some one sided opinions. ;-)



The LSx is a good power plant. Torquey, good HP potential, decent MPG, etc. But for me, personally, it doesn't belong in an RX-7... Then again, I'd only put a Nissan engine in my S14 and it will be rotors for my FD.



It really comes down to what you're looking for. The vast majority of reliability issues with the rotary are due to people not understanding them and treating them like a piston based motor. They are significantly different...



Are you looking for boost or N/A? You can definitely boost an LS1 but for the same price as the swap you'll be doing, you could rebuild, street-port, single-turbo that 13b-rew and run 350-400 pretty easily. And if you're smart with the car, it will last you a while!



Now, if instant torque and MPG are your concerns, the LS1 is probably a better choice. Rotaries are not known for either. If you want longer power bands, high HP potential, and that sexy F1 sound, rotary is probably a better choice. You can even look into a higher output N/A rotary. You won't be a dyno queen, but you'll have better throttle response and more reliability.

donhayes

I would say go with the LS1. I have recently converted to the piston world when I bought my Mustang and I'm not going back. I sold my RX-7, which I loved, but it was a huge hassle having to fix it. The motor caused a lot of headaches.

As stated above a properly maintained rotary will last a while but that's it. I've seen LS1's be punished and last much longer than its rotary counterpart. The LS1 won't throw off your handling either. It's up to you...

Is this the struggle that you have with yourself about the swap? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7HvP...eature=related

amp

if youre gonna go lsx... sell the fd

leetfade

The challenge that people have is that they can't get over that "maintaining a rotary" means getting it to redline every once in a while too. You have to blow out that carbon!!

xlr8

Its your car, do whatever you want with it....

The biggest reason people switch to a simpler engine is because they don't have the knowledge and commitment to making the rotary reliable. If you want the 3 things that will keep your rotary 100% happy for many years at a 400whp power level, then here you go...

1. Single turbo - Removing the twins and the thermal efficiency nightmare they create will greately help the life of the engine. With this, you get to ditch all the other things that make the rotary prone to failure. OEM DP, plastic radiator, undersized intercooler, 90 individual vacuum lines, 1800 solenoids that you don't need.

2. Water injection, water injection, water injection. Proven time and time again to greatly reduce knock, cool intake temperatures, and steam clean the inside of your engine. Whether its a safety blanket for the very possible bad tank of gass, or a need to run 20+psi. Water injection is the answer to all the riddles.

3. TUNING! None of these things are worth a damn without a quality tune. Proper tuning with a safe margin is vitally important to every engine. However, because rotaries are so sensitive to knock, it becomes more vital for our needs.

I considered an LS swap at one time..... I just couldn't do it. It was a defeatest route. I felt that deep down, I would be giving up as a mechanic, engineer, and enthusiast..

Baldy

Sell the FD, buy an FC (there are 3 in on my street alone, they never move, so many like this) and swap the LS1 in. The FD is worth a lot more stock, than a stock FC (n/a). You would save a lot of money, and the FC has plenty of suspension upgrades available to make it compete with an FD (and kits to swap in a complete Ford live rear end).

xlr8

This also a very good idea.

SpooledFD

Rotary if you love your 7. If you want to do the swap buy a vette much cheaper and still great car idc what anyone says.