My turn...

[Kotetsu]

I just realized that I hadn't properly introduced myself...

My name's Nick. I've moved from Switzerland to Japan several years ago and work as the international project manager in a local trading company.
I live in Shizuoka which is right between Tokyo and Nagoya.

I practice martial arts since I turned 12 (so it makes that almost 20 years now).

I first saw a RX-7 when I was 7 or 8 when my uncle bought his FB. I just loved that car. He still has the car and she's still running fine after all these years. Although, I never had the chance to own one myself and I'm saving now for a nice FD (roads around Shizuoka are really nice for driving).

Since something like 2 years ago I also started to export parts and I 've found a huge distributor that allow me to put my hands on almost anything from japanese makers. Living here makes such things easier for sure.

I'm happy for being invited here and hope to share a lot with you people.

See you soon around here...

[Chadwick]

Irashaimasen Kotetsusan

Enjoy your time in Japan, I lived there for five years and wish I had never left.

yoroshiku onegaishimasu

Dan

[Kotetsu]

Irashaimasen Kotetsusan

Enjoy your time in Japan, I lived there for five years and wish I had never left.

yoroshiku onegaishimasu

Dan

Doumo! m(_ _)m

I just got married last year and we plan to build our own house in one ot two years so I suppose I'll be there for a while ;)

[Herblenny]

Nick, Welcome!!! Hope our plans for trip to japan works out and we could meet in person!

[Kotetsu]

Nick, Welcome!!! Hope our plans for trip to japan works out and we could meet in person!

Well sure man!

Maybe by the time you com I'd have my FD... Who knows...

[turboed13b]

welcome to the forum!

[circuit theory]

Hey Nick if you need help getting an FD let me know I can either help you get a really nice one for a good price or a really basic stock one for an extremely cheap price.

Tom

[Kotetsu]

Hey Nick if you need help getting an FD let me know I can either help you get a really nice one for a good price or a really basic stock one for an extremely cheap price.

Tom

That's nice. If our garage cannot find one within the auctions or somewhere else I'll contact you. But I'll not be before a little while.

By the way where do you live in Japan?

[circuit theory]

I am in the north east of Saitama bordering ibaraki, and chiba.

[Kotetsu]

Ok, I've seen many shops from this area selling nice FDs. Well maybe I'll ask you for some advice about the best shops then...

Thanks for offering ;-)

[Kotetsu]

Ok, it's been a long time and a couple of months ago I finally found THE FD,

Here is the little introduction to my new toy, please excuse the mistakes, I know my English still is far away to be perfect.

This is a 2nd generation (zenki) JDM FD3S with a lot of upgrades with 6th generation parts.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SCJvx57uJXI/AAAAAAAABjk/RwVhVRLBpYY/s800/DSC_0036.JPG

Mazda RX-7 FD3S 2nd gen.
MODS:

----- Dess up -----

Exterior:
RE-Amemiya front bumper N1
RE-Amemiya Side diffuser wet carbon
RE-Amemiya Super Canard (rear bumper) carbon fiber
RE-Amemiya GT3 Rear Spoiler carbon fiber
GT1 Motorsport Front lamps HID conversion kit (6000K)
Clear white side blinkers
Rear genuine kouki tail lamps
Side Mirrors (don't know the brand)
Attain intake duck (right head lamp)

Interior:
Full 6th gen. dashboard and A/C control pannel
4th gen. meter assy
Spirit R floor carpet
6th gen. Cluster
Side scarf plates (aluminium with gold "RX-7" mark")
Bathurst R leather seats
==>Bride PROS Full bucket Seats
RZ two seaters boxes
RE-Amemiya dash board carbon cover (no airbag)
Short shifter
Nardi D shape Steerling wheel
Works Bell Rapfix II with flipper
Omori Boost meter


----- Chassis -----

TEIN FLEX shock absorbers
Project u SCR brake rotors (F & R)
Stainless brake hoses
Tires TOYO Proxes T1R (not expensive but good enough)
Racing Sparco NSII 17" Wheels
Cusco alu/carbon front strut tower bar
RE-Amemiya rear strut tower bar with hooks for seat belts
HPI 4 points harness seat belts


----- Engine -----
N1 Spec engine O/H
6th gen. Catalyzer
6th gen. solenoid bulb
6th gen. turbo piping (kouki)
6th gen. air pump
6th gen. radiator and radiator fan
Spirit R differential 4.1=>4.3
Rebuilt alternator
Blitz Nur Spec cat back
GReddy full auto timer
HKS SSQV II Blow off valve
GReddy Type-R SMIC
ARC air cleaner box
Cusco Oil Catch tank
RE-Amemiya AST


...to be installed:

HKS front pipe (down pipe)
Apexi Super catayzer
Apexi Power FC



Some pics:

On my parking place
http://lh4.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDd1c92BjXI/AAAAAAAABoY/873gNa6JRts/s800/DSC_0003.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDd1cd2BjVI/AAAAAAAABoI/9Z3Zn2rnEZM/s800/DSC_0001.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDd1dN2BjYI/AAAAAAAABog/Vx7IVzcTOQ0/s800/DSC_0004.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDd1ct2BjWI/AAAAAAAABoQ/5I-uHWpxEE0/s800/DSC_0002.JPG


At Yaizu seaport:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDlYrN2BjcI/AAAAAAAABrA/ibdgriFX0uw/s800/DSC_0010.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDlYsN2BjgI/AAAAAAAABrk/-mAk0ixV7R4/s800/DSC_0014%20%282%29.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDlYr92BjfI/AAAAAAAABrc/kalYkNuJbGQ/s800/DSC_0013.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDlYq92BjbI/AAAAAAAABq4/Y5RXFAwnhas/s800/DSC_0007.JPG


Inside:

Cusco full carbon tower bar (replaced later and for sale now):
http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDYw0d2BjTI/AAAAAAAABnc/Ev5iwgnLTdk/s800/DSC_0014.JPG

FR strut bar and BOV:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SDYwz92BjSI/AAAAAAAABms/05K5qM7KW60/s800/DSC_0016.JPG

Bride PROS leather bucket seats:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SEH-wN2BjsI/AAAAAAAABvM/4ywcU4bhKnY/s800/DSC_0036.JPG

Amemiya bar with harness fixation points:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SHa7vzELZ3I/AAAAAAAACjk/Tw3wY2smHvs/s800/DSC_0001%20%282%29.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SHa7wbJyg1I/AAAAAAAACjs/_QGRDcU9PJE/s800/DSC_0002%20%282%29.JPG

ARC intake ant GReddy SMIC installed:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SIHpNVvOrlI/AAAAAAAACqU/vy84Cb_9kuY/s800/DSC_0012%20%282%29.JPG

RE-Amemiya AST:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SIHpOU9qWHI/AAAAAAAACqs/oaajIc0mf1U/s800/DSC_0015%20%282%29.JPG

Cusco OCT:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SIHn1q-3HqI/AAAAAAAACo8/7MO1KGHoopw/s800/DSC_0020.JPG

Now I'm waiting for my exhaust parts and then I'll have my Power FC set on a dyno for the best match to my mods.

New pics and videos later.


This car is simply amazing. I never enjoyed driving a car as I do with this one. Feeling is great.

After installing the SMIC i noticed a real difference. More kick, longer and sooner. Just great! I can't wait for the next step...

[85rx-7gsl-se]

Bastard, makes me wanna move over there.

[Phoenix7]

Very clean car, Love the seats and engine bay. How many miles (Km?). Looks like it was well taken care of.

What's an N1 spec engine? Does ARC have make a box like that for the FC? How do you like it so far?

[Max777]

haha, this is the first time I've seen the ARC box for the FD!

I'm SO getting one if they are still around when I get an 3rd gen.

[Kotetsu]

Very clean car, Love the seats and engine bay. How many miles (Km?). Looks like it was well taken care of.

What's an N1 spec engine? Does ARC have make a box like that for the FC? How do you like it so far?

The car has 68000 km but received a complete engine overhaul. N1 Spec was how the called the sepc at Okabe Jidosha (where I bought the car). I must admit that I don't know exactly what it means but it's on my data sheet :rofl:

Actually the mechanic of Okabe Jidosah who takes care of their two race cars (one FD and one Z33) initially planned to keep this car for himself and the previous owner put a lot of money in the body kit. Lucky me, he got married and kept the car for barely one year. My Amamiya kit is almost brabd new and I haven't pay a yen for it.

The ARC box is great to my opinion. Better that usual HKS or Apexi intake filters. there are two filter, on on the upper side, one in the lower. I bought this on the advice of Okabe Jidosha's techs. Same for my SMIC and it's really effective. I checked but it seems it doesn't exist for FC3S, sorry.

And I LOVE the car. Simply the best car I've ever driven. Power, incredible grip, excellent brakes (with the mods), excellent balance and the sexiest shape within any other Japanese sport car. I'm definitely addicted...

[Phoenix7]

haha, are there a lot of race events over there? I'm envious.

[Kotetsu]

haha, are there a lot of race events over there? I'm envious.

A friend of mine introduced me to Okabe Jidosha (www.okabejidosha.com). These guys have been in the Super Taikyu championship for years with two then three FD3S and collaborate with MAKERS. Now the have a Z33 partially supported by Nismo and on FD3S. They invited us to join them on the Fuji speedway and we spent the day in the paddocks with the teams. Very nice guys.

Some pics just for you guys:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SFWikwewtfI/AAAAAAAACEU/kVfX511mAQc/s400/DSC_0064.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SFWilztE7mI/AAAAAAAACEw/lClok2nMj2U/s400/DSC_0067.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SFWitwkn1JI/AAAAAAAACGY/38qJee3TYJA/s400/DSC_0080.JPG

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SFWjCC7mGvI/AAAAAAAACLY/5KcBys_UFbY/s400/DSC_0119.JPG

Mr. Nagashima, the boss of the company and pilot on the first car of the team:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SFWjOK3dPVI/AAAAAAAACZ4/SZS3GFnIPa0/s400/DSC_0138.JPG

Take a look at my album for other pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.ch/Kotetsu52/SuperTaikyu2008FujiSpeedway

[Phoenix7]

WOW! That's cool! What jacks-stands (hydraulic jacks??) are they using there?

[Kotetsu]

WOW! That's cool! What jacks-stands (hydraulic jacks??) are they using there?

Yes, built-in stuff. And the FD si completely stock except for the IC piping and the exhaust, + inner valve of the seq turbos removed. 350hp and OJ still get the lap record ont he Fuji Speedway in his category with their private RX-7. Really fast!

[Phoenix7]

:willy_nilly: that's just very cool to see. Rotaries are so fun!

[KaiFD3S]

Hello Nick....

[Phoenix7]

What's the next event over there? how was 7 day? Did you go?

[Kotetsu]

No I didn't. I'm a kind of busy man...

There was the Tokachi 24h last weekend but it was in Hokkaido, a bit far for me to go.

Honnestly, the next big event for me will be the mapping of my PFC on the dyno!

[Phoenix7]

that's a big event. Keep us updated on your new 7.

[Kotetsu]

It took me less than 15 min to install my Power FC

http://lh4.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SJQgDlJRU4I/AAAAAAAACsI/aHN3F3YfS_w/s800/DSC_0029%20%282%29.JPG


R-MAgic Commander holder:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SJQgD0hafQI/AAAAAAAACsQ/N7mYXCFdvus/s800/DSC_0030%20%282%29.JPG

And a small video...
http://www.youtube.com/v/x5N6LOtDUo0

[Kotetsu]

Two more pictures taken in front of my wife's grand parents' house yesterday:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SN9ooSQ6QXI/AAAAAAAAC00/vvgeycL5b1Y/s800/DSC_0057.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SN9opDij05I/AAAAAAAAC08/hnFJ77iNMA0/s800/DSC_0058.JPG

[SpooledupRacing]

WOW... just beautiful.. thx for sharing :)

[Phoenix7]

very nice!

[Kotetsu]

thanks guys... I can't wait for my PFC's mapping to be done...

[RX7_GRL]

wow, im jacking your picture lol...white fds always look great. welcome

[87turbo_turtle]

Sexy Sexy Sexy

[Herblenny]

Two more pictures taken in front of my wife's grand parents' house yesterday:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Kotetsu52/SN9ooSQ6QXI/AAAAAAAAC00/vvgeycL5b1Y/s800/DSC_0057.JPG



I have that bumper also.. I'm thinking about running that on my blk FD... at 7stock RE was having a special for FREE shipping.. so, I'll be getting the CF undersweep and CF canard from them:) Wife's going to kill me!!

[KaiFD3S]

So that's what my car will look like if I get that bumper..HMMM

[Herblenny]

So that's what my car will look like if I get that bumper..HMMM

LOL! I hope you're not going that direction.. otherwise, we'll be twins:) I'm actually going to also get my feed type 2R painted just in case, if I run into you:)

[Kotetsu]

So that's what my car will look like if I get that bumper..HMMM

Definitely! :rofl:

I was thinking about having a carbon fiber hood for mine but finally, looking at your picture, I realized that I preferred the all white type...

[Kotetsu]

Sorry, I've been away from the form for a while. My business takes too mcuh of my time and I'm mostly focus on Europe at the moment.


As I haven't gave any news about the car for a while, here are the latest mods:

I was definitely not satisfied with the fitting of the rotary Art pod as you can see on this picture.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SQ1PSgIqYrI/AAAAAAAADRI/0QFg6mMm8Ks/s800/DSC_0226.JPG

The guy from Rotary Art were really nice and refunded my defective pod.
But I decided to keep it like this for a while until I find the "right" thing.

Someday, after several month without any news, I received a mail from Frank Lee Jr. who told me that the pod I requested back then was available. I was really surprised because I thought he totally forgot me.

Nice surprise indeed so I confirmed the order right away.

I have to say (no offense to Rotary Art) that Frak's pods are a lot better. Higher quality, no need to dremel the thing, allen key provided with a notice and explanations, rapid shipping and extremely nice communication. The best pod I've seen so far for this car and as it's impossible to find and equivalent thing in Japan, I'll also recommend thes products to my friends around here.

So enough for the bla-bla. Here's the installation (quite easy).

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/Sbyxaf2uJBI/AAAAAAAAHJM/4-NegHdjkWo/s800/DSC_0296.JPG


Say good bye to the old pod:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SbyxbDTSPrI/AAAAAAAAHJU/N6Pkoqa9yvE/s800/DSC_0297.JPG


Add just a bit of tape on the meters, lock the small screws and that's it.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/Sbyxbqzd2eI/AAAAAAAAHJc/D50oKuT-uyQ/s800/DSC_0298.JPG


10 seconds later it's done.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SbyxcQOj2kI/AAAAAAAAHJk/VgL_fPKG4K8/s800/DSC_0299.JPG


http://lh6.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SbyxeBhVd2I/AAAAAAAAHJ0/ZRme4WyimW0/s800/DSC_0301.JPG



Then I decided to arrange the interior a little bit.

My shift and handbrake boots were a bit "old":

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SdcK3fBPf5I/AAAAAAAAHOQ/9z9vVu-YMF4/s800/DSC_0322.JPG

Get rid of the old boots.
For the hand brake it's quite easy; juste remove the staples, adjust the new boot and put new staples et voila!

For the shifter, as there was not model specifically made for the FD I bought one for FC3S and modified it.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SdcK4AU0EMI/AAAAAAAAHOY/FL36Sq43ZWA/s800/DSC_0325.JPG


I took good cisors and a cutter.
I removed the aluminum base and cut the boot at eh right dimension.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SdcK4zegBhI/AAAAAAAAHOo/3KjXciBOawI/s800/DSC_0327.JPG

With the cutter I made small notches (I hope it's the right word in English)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SdcK5Y_a6cI/AAAAAAAAHOw/xYPwQgT6U1Q/s800/DSC_0328.JPG

Then just reinstall normally.

et voilà!!!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SdcK6rcTn8I/AAAAAAAAHPA/7HvEKyjQV5Q/s800/DSC_0332.JPG

[Kotetsu]

And here is the pièce de resistance:

I needed new brake calipers because my old zenki models didn't like too much what they took last time I went driving on the Fuji Speedway.

I was about to buy a used set of AP racing calipers with two-piece rotors but after taking with Mr. Nagashima, owner and pilot in the Okabe Jidosha Motorsport (which where my car come from), on his good advice I decided to go for stock Spirit R calipers. As a matter of fact, Okabe Jidosha race cars are set with this calipers and according to Mr. Nagashima and Mr. Yano, this is the best system for an FD on the track (better than any other after market brake system for this car actually). To get along well with these, I ordedered Dixcel FS rotors and Type Z brake pads (still like what OJM uses on their race cars).

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/Sd1EqajKwGI/AAAAAAAAHRw/qcsZUGFegF8/s800/DSC_0340.JPG


I entrusted OJ for the installation of the brakes as I don't have any equipment to do it myself yet.

They called me when the work was done and I was invited to be there when the did the brake test on the bakre tester then we lifted the car to check together that there were no leeks anywhere. Dot 4 fluid was injected and the even replace the brake fluid reservoir's cap fro free. (Trust me, Japanese service is the best on the planet)


http://lh6.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SefntxFjMQI/AAAAAAAAHW0/Uowhsz5MREY/s800/DSC_0373.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SefnveucQVI/AAAAAAAAHXE/4ilGGAg6WPI/s800/DSC_0375.JPG


The feeling is perfect. Brakes effective as soon as I touch the pedal but really progressive and easy to control. Definitely a excellent choice for brake upgrade and more over, it's half the price of a used AP racing system which would have given me nothing more but trouble.

[Chibana]

Wow. Very nice.

[Brent]

Hey Kotetsu,
Can you confirm or deny that the Spirit R Calipers are the same as the RZ calipers, only painted red? Also, do you know how thick your rotors are? Cost of the rotors? Sorry for all the questions :D

Brent

[Brent]

Hey Kotetsu,
Can you confirm or deny that the Spirit R Calipers are the same as the RZ calipers, only painted red? Also, do you know how thick your rotors are? Cost of the rotors? Sorry for all the questions :D

Brent

[Kotetsu]

Hey Kotetsu,
Can you confirm or deny that the Spirit R Calipers are the same as the RZ calipers, only painted red? Also, do you know how thick your rotors are? Cost of the rotors? Sorry for all the questions :D

Brent

Well I don't know for sure but kouki calipers and Spirit R calipers don't have the same part numbers. I do believe they're the same though because both are made for kouki version of the FD.

Concerning the rotors, we work directly with Dixcel and have pretty good prices on them. Please send me a PM or a mail if you need a quotation.

I don't remember the thickness however but they're the same as OEM kouki rotors.

[Kotetsu]

I was visiting Okabe Jidosha yesterday in order to see somes cars to export and I parked my FD next to the two race cars. Another customer arrived mnutes later and I couldn't resist taking the picture.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_S3--DHhT5OQ/SmJz-kArs6I/AAAAAAAAKig/tTak5p6xHNs/s800/DSC_0359.JPG

[NOBAIL]

now thats a sweet line up of FD's

[Kotetsu]

now thats a sweet line up of FD's

Sure it was! But there were at least 6 or 7 other FD in the shop that day... I never get tired to go there!

[Kotetsu]

Some News:

I just replaced my rear PMU brake rotors with Dixcel HS rotors and Type Z pads. Breaking power is just perfect with my Spirit R front calipers and definitely, Dixcel products are great!

I also installed my new SLICK camcorder clamp on my rear tower bar, it fits perfectly and I can't wait to go driving on the Fuji Speedway!

http://img27.xooimage.com/files/5/c/0/support-slick-143ee1e.jpg

Next mod will be a Okuyama Rollcage and some new Bridgestone RE11-S tires. I won't change a lot of other things from there...