Whats better ?
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2
Hi everybody, I've been bumpin around the forum for a few weeks checking every thing out & getting some great info. This is my first post so dont break my ***** too hard 
. I have a 88 se & the motor craped out, so my ? is would it be better to rebuild or swap out for one of those used japanese engines. I saw some site that had 89-90 TII motors with complete turbos & manifolds for like $1100. And a rebuild kit from Atkins would cost me like $950. I would love to make the swap but I really dont know what i would need to do it. I was planning on doin the work myself (ooops) even though i never did anything as big as a rebuild. I would just love to have the extra power from the turbo. Oh yeah one other problem was there's no waranty on the motor. Sorry for rambling any info or help you guys can give would be great. Thanks, Manny
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,847
From: Marysville WA.
Well I have never done a turbo swap, but I would plan on swapping the entire TII drivetrain to go along with the engine. The Turbo drivetrain is stronger and better than those on N/a's and is made to handle the extra horsepower from the Turbo. You will also need to swap in a TII ecu and wiring, or use some sort of engine management system I believe.
As for buying a J-spec engine I will let Rotaryman88 and Vosko comment on that. There luck has not been so good with them, and I think I would spend the 1000$ towards a rebuilt engine.
If you stick with the N/A block you can also go with a port job to get more power. Good luck. Check out Mazdatrix, Atkinsrotary.com, and Pineappleracing.com for info on new engines and porting.
As for buying a J-spec engine I will let Rotaryman88 and Vosko comment on that. There luck has not been so good with them, and I think I would spend the 1000$ towards a rebuilt engine.
If you stick with the N/A block you can also go with a port job to get more power. Good luck. Check out Mazdatrix, Atkinsrotary.com, and Pineappleracing.com for info on new engines and porting.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 198
Hey Die, I'll go with Isamu on this one. As a mechanic, I've found while the imports are cheaper it's certainly a mixed bag of engines. I was lucky enough to get a import 13B 6 port for my gen1 that ran perfectly for 4 years with me driving it[ But alas last month a apex seal had a ugly divorse settlement with a rotor and left the engine!] but have had customers back 3 or 4 times in a year with dead ones.
Definately I'd swap it as a complete drivetrain unit if you went that way. It seems you guys over there have more expensive overhauls than here. At least with a rebuild you've got a warranty to fall back on. Good luck!
Definately I'd swap it as a complete drivetrain unit if you went that way. It seems you guys over there have more expensive overhauls than here. At least with a rebuild you've got a warranty to fall back on. Good luck!
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 17,839
From: NJ
the only good jspec is one that you tear down and rebuild. that said if you want a reliable car go with N/A! i loved my old 89 GTU and never should have sold it. that car never left me stranded. i don't even want to begin to talk about my turbo rx7's LOL
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 288
From: St. Paul, MN
Depends upon what your looking for. Do you want the warranty, reliability, having to learn how to mess around with a whole new engine and all the issues that are involved with tweaking a turbo motor? If you're going to do a swap, do an 89-91TII motor, not a 87-88 because they are far easier to work with, without the stupid extra 5/6th ports and make another 20HP. But...you'll have to run an aftermarket computer, or run the stock TII harness/ECU.
For simplicity's sake, stick with what you have, do a small port and some mods and have fun with it. Once it becomes this big project you might be very unhappy that you got yourself into the mess you did and then you're in too deep with $ and time.
For simplicity's sake, stick with what you have, do a small port and some mods and have fun with it. Once it becomes this big project you might be very unhappy that you got yourself into the mess you did and then you're in too deep with $ and time.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 5
well with a 1988 rx-7 n/a you need to find a 1987-1988 turbo II a 1989-up won't work.
and hey, i have a 1988 turbo II with tranny drive shaft rear end and axles and 5-lug rotors on all corners. fuel pump, ecu and wiring harness.
it has 125 Lbs of compression.
here in louisville ky
and hey, i have a 1988 turbo II with tranny drive shaft rear end and axles and 5-lug rotors on all corners. fuel pump, ecu and wiring harness.
it has 125 Lbs of compression.
here in louisville ky
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 29
if u want a tII goto jdmcars.com. they hav them for $550 U.S. plus shipping. in my opinion tho is if u want the tII you might as well spend the money and get a 20b from corksport.com. that is where im getting my 20b for $4000 plus shipping. you will hav to buy an intercooler, computer and drivetrain with both.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 210
From: savannah, GA
Originally Posted by imjailbird' date='Sep 4 2002, 06:36 PM
if u want a tII goto jdmcars.com. they hav them for $550 U.S. plus shipping. in my opinion tho is if u want the tII you might as well spend the money and get a 20b from corksport.com. that is where im getting my 20b for $4000 plus shipping. you will hav to buy an intercooler, computer and drivetrain with both.
