Video from last Friday at NJMP. I was able to overlay the data from the Performance box onto GoPro video :)

NICE!!! We've got to get to the track together ;)

Like the wheels!!

Car looks at home on the track! Hopefully one of these days I'll get my rx7 to the point to where I can come along on some track days with you John.

My new DD / Tow vehicle..... My FD is just too reliable and I was getting bored :lol:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6008/...7d344399_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6122/...e113c7a5_z.jpg

Range Rover, the only vehicle that might spend more time on jack stands then RX-7's :lol:

john, you are really inspiring me to get project going. i bought a set of those SA60M's for my FD earlier this year. ran into your car while google image searching FD's with those wheels and then accidentally fell in love with the GT-C bumper. never realized your car was stateside until recently.

sooooo, hopefully you won't be upset knowing that your car may have an evil twin in the distant future.

i just started doing some track events this year in my S13 mainly for some seat time. hopefully, i'll have some good experience under my belt for when the rx-7 is ready. definitely caught the road racing bug.

keep comin' with those updates!

Ben

Update!

....Nothing to update :lol:

The FD has been great since the completion of my winter build. It has given me zero problems and it is an absolute blast to drive on track (street not so much). I plan on just running it as is for a while, the only thing that needs attention is the front bumper needs to be replaced due to damage it has sustained over the past 6 or so years.

Unfortunately my summer track events got put on hold because I got sent down to Puerto Rico for work. I am on a 6 month assignment until the end of January. Although, for now I am not really missing the track too much....

The most beautiful beach I have ever been to
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6090/...95ff0777_b.jpg

...It even had a tank!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6066/...fc0636e2_b.jpg

The caves
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/...95ca508b_b.jpg

The rainforrest
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6089/...19476cee_o.jpg


PR has it all! Next on my list is to find the drag races so I can see some crazy rotaries!


Glad to hear you caught the road racing bug... it really is addicting!

As long as you dont paint your car blue we will be ok :squint: haha

no worries, going white.

that sucks about your bumper, it looked fine in the pictures? you going to try to source another GTC?


and just curious, how do you like the 10" wheels up front? do you regret not going with the 18x9 +23? what size tires are you running? any fitment issues?

thanks

Beautiful pics of Vieques In PR, looks like you had a great time.

john, great choice in wheels. car looks bad ass! congrats

So after about two months down here on the island I FINALLY found some rotaries... they could not hide from me forever! :seeya:

I accidentally stumbled upon the "Dia Nacional del Mazda" which was basically a huge rotary show.

Everything I have heard about Puerto Rican's and their rotaries holds true, but the most surprising thing was the amount of pristine low mileage cars there were.

Some pics:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6151/...848c5333_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6174/...a3179659_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6164/...cb2121f4_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/...4c77c52f_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6155/...563b432d_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6153/...c3159f00_z.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6156/...d96fe067_z.jpg


Hopefully I can update this thread with some updates of my own car... but for now it sits in the garage waiting for me. I may be attending a track day one of the weekends I am home in October if I am lucky :driving:

Ya know, I was going to PM you about that event on 10/16 & 17.... I'm about ready to register, just need to get my tint pre-approved so I don't drive 3.5hrs just to get turned away. I may just swap rear hatchs... anywho..... John, if you could make that NJMP event it would be great to see you again.

Yep, that's the event. I am 100% sure I will be there. I'm just not sure if they will let me drive or not. I have been speaking to the organizers about letting me sign up for just one day because I will be traveling back to Puerto Rico on Monday. They said they are not ready to open up single day sign up for anyone other than people with absolutely no experience. I should have just said I have never done an event before haha.

Regardless I will be there with a tech form, my helmet and my checkbook.

I know of two other FD's that are already signed up. What is the issue with the tint? I have not heard about this rule before, is this something specified by this group?

Yes it is. Mine is dark and I'm a little worried they'll turn me away. If you're in contact with Jeff, ask for Vic's email and they can get you through their whole pre-approval gig.... kinda retarded but whatever. Have you ever run @ NJMP before?

I love this thread.

Cant wait to see the rims in 2 weeks John

Hope they let you sign up for one day.

sweet pics. hopefully they'll let you on the track.

not sure if you missed my questions before (don't wanna nag), but curious as to what tire sizes you're running on your wheels. do you have any fitment issues up front or regret not going with the 9" +23?

thanks

18"x10" +36 Front with 255/35/18 AD08's
18"x10" +20 Rear with 255/35/18 AD08's

Fronts fit perfectly with no rubbing issues at all. I would not change them at all.

Rears, are VERY close. Driver side does not rub at all, but passenger side rubs slightly due to an issue that occured when rolling that fender. That rear quarter panel had previously been replaced, and one of the tac welds broke when rolling preventing the ability to roll any further.

Ideally I would like to run 265's all around. The fronts MIGHT work, however there is no way the rears would work without flaring the fenders some.


and BTW... I saw that you got a brand new authentic Mazdaspeed GTC bumper. I officially hate you because mine is such a POS. That is all. :rofl:

thanks for the info.

i keep hearing you say that, but your bumper/car seems to look damn good in pics. it's authentic right?

any tips before i destroy mine? you running a rebar?

HA! Its a replica that is about 7 or 8 years old now, so it has seen some abuse. It is a shitty no-name replica too so when I got it, it dident even come close to fitting. I spent probably about 20+ hours worth of body work making it fit, and it is still not right. It is actually about 1/4" to 1/2" too narrow so the fenders have to be pulled in which makes it so the headlights can never be aligned quite right.

I have lived with it for all these years, but I cant take it any longer. Im trying to find a used authentic one, or a good fitting replica (if that even exists). If you have any leads let me know. I have been browsing yahoo auctions Japan from time to time but the used ones in decent condition always seem to go for $1500+. Maybe I just have to suck it up and spend the money.

The covers are not authentic either, I purchased them from a member on the other forum who was making them a while back. However, they do look fine.

I do not have a re-bar, but I wish I did. The OEM should work with some trimming.

It looks good because I really only shoot my car from certain angles to hide the uglyness. :rofl:

See uglyness below.... Some of that cracking has turned into giant missing chunks :(

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/...c3e05339_b.jpg

oh man, all this time i thought yours was authentic. sneaky camera work! actually, the guy who i bought mine from changed his mind and needed to do some cutting to the bumper for what he plans on doing. he couldn't bring himself to cut the authentic one, so he bought a really good replica and sold me his... i'll have to dig up the name of that replica.

i think i counted 39 predrilled holes in this authentic one, and it came with all sorts of hardware and brackets. i was pretty blown away by the quality. i test fitted it with just two bolts in the top, and this is how it sat:

http://fototime.com/063BE1172A0EDEE/orig.jpg
(excuse the disgusting car behind it)

i think it's worth the money...

Garage Kagotani is who makes the decent replicas, i think they're still $850-$950.

Garage Kagotani makes a VERY similar bumper, but not quite the same... unless of course they also produce replicas of the GTC?

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...E/P1011140.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...E/P1011123.jpg


If it is not too much trouble, would you mind taking some more detailed pictures of everything that came with it and some shots of the predrilled mounting holes. Im curious to see the detail of how they bolt the signal cover on as well.

wouldn't be much trouble at all. the signal covers only have 2 or 3 bolts at the top if i remember correctly. it also came with some double-faced tape, not sure if that's where that's supposed to be used.

maybe i'm wrong about the garage kagotani bumper, i'm just going off of what the guy told me. i'll ask him. i'm willing to bet that's the bumper he's referring to though.

i'll try to take some pics tonight.

alright, you forced me to open up all the sealed stuff i got with the bumper. kinda glad i did it now.

diagrams!

http://www.fototime.com/19711B5B98FAC62/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/854B8C59918276E/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/2C9A4F3FFBEDA42/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/0AD18E189B5D7AC/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C8B54293A8E4DA9/orig.jpg

for the lens covers, there's one insert that goes in the bumper in the top corner. it just squeezes in the hole, then the long tiny screw threads in it. then there's a little tab that screws into the top middle part of the lens cover that goes in the rectangular slot of the bumper. the bottom has two clips that go on the bumper, and then there's the double faced foam-like tape that goes around the whole thing.

http://www.fototime.com/900D279EE582F70/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/350466C8942D9BD/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/A021960FA0DD550/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/F4E0AA6D2861855/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/7F964E1C448C0E1/orig.jpg

license plate brackets which i haven't opened yet:

http://www.fototime.com/EC008712F36570E/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/84932A08CB8DC5F/orig.jpg

side vent grill appears to be glued or epoxied on
http://www.fototime.com/C86A3F06EF69784/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/CF840BCD4A20D6C/orig.jpg

decent look at all the mounting holes
http://www.fototime.com/C2DAE79566E2B79/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C48C1B2D49491C4/orig.jpg

actually i can just send you a link to the album instead of junking up your thread. let me know.

This is an excellent resource for me. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

So after getting turned away from the track event two weeks ago at NJMP Lightening that TitaniumTT attended I managed to get squeezed into another event last weekend at Thunderbolt.

This particular event was more strict than all others that I have attended in that the Green group was restricted to no passing and they had a pace car out in front of everyone :icon_tdown: I was nice to just get back on track though.

Anyway, no data acquisition or videos this time, but here are some pics...


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6109/...02a32787_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6222/...f764ec1d_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6103/...3ec5423e_b.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6038/...268d26d3_b.jpg

Damn that looks good.

Also, I always wondered if the GTC front would go well with the Sanai sides, now I know haha. I've always loved the GTC front, and I have the whole Sanai kit on right now, but I'll try not to bite your style haha.

maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan that looks good.

i really gotta get started on my build!

That really sucks about not being able to pass. And a pace car? Really!? Car certainly looks great.


John

Yep, it was pretty lame haha

another pic of my car not moving :-p

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6044/...325b14df_b.jpg

No passing and a pace car? Really?!?!?! Isn't that an instructor I see in your car? You guys need to come with me to roll with CART @ Limerock.... I doubt you'll have issues with noise restrictions, I never have, and they are pretty lax. All this lock down crap is one of the reasons I'm thinking about bailing on the PCA 3-day event.... that I don't want to be the only rotary in a sea of boxers

[QUOTE=JhnRX7;169430]
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6222/...f764ec1d_b.jpg

I LOVE this pic, don't know why, think it's the color.

subscribed !

New desktop background! http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ns/awesome.gif

love the car! great to talking to you!

2012 Plans

So my assignment in Puerto Rico is scheduled to be finalized at the end of January. So in order to get the project moving when I get home I am going to start planning out everything that needs to be done now and order all the parts so they will be all ready.

This winter will be more focused on fine tuning and details as opposed to last winter when the car made a huge transformation.

First item on the list will be the front bumper. I have decided on the Pettit GTC replica. From everyone I have talked to and all the pictures I have seen it fits close to perfect. It is really my only option considering the amount I am willing to spend on this. This will be ordered shortly as they are made to order and could take up to a month to get.

Pettit fitment:
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...fitment001.jpg


Next item on the list will be a front splitter for the track. I am going to pick up a 4'x6' piece of Alumalite from a local supplier and use that as the main material. The other option is making the splitter out of wood, but I am going to try out the Alumalite first. This will be a consumable item that WILL get damaged so using the alumalite or wood is preferred over more expensive carbon fiber for now. Im starting to work out a plan to fabricate brackets that will not interfere with the ducting that I already have in place.

Alumalite:
http://www.signsforspokane.com/Porta...alumalite1.gif


One thing that I considered last winter while installing my bushings was adding zerk fittings. The general consensus is that they are not need with the SuperPro bushings so I decided not to install them. I never installed the SuperPro's on my front suspension arms, so those will be going in. While I am in there I am going to go ahead and install zerks anyway, could not hurt to lube the bushings every once in a while. I don't want any binding to occur.

Zerk Fitting on Chadwick's FD:
http://www.tweakit.com/rx7/zerk.jpg


After the suspension work I will need to get a new alignment. I plan on running slightly less camber this time around. Then I will be getting a corner balance as well.

For some finishing touches I plan on taking a whole bunch of parts to the powder coaters to get coated. The thing that really needs to get done is that giant sun reflector between my headlights AKA radiator shroud.

The last item will be sway bar mounts. I plan to upgrade sway bars in the near future, but before I do I need to get rid of the flimsy OEM mounts. I will probably get the beefed up mounts that RotorSports sells.


And as always... a new pic:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6091/6...303be7ce_b.jpg

Hey John, not sure how much attention you paid to my belly pan last time we at the track, but I gotta say, I was surprised with how rigid it was when all was said and done. I used some plain 5052 .063 aluminum. There are a string of bolts around the front bumper, it travels all the way back to the subframe, and has a few pickup points in the center. When it's all snug and in place, I was surprised. I was expecting the need to box in some of the larger unsupported sections by riveting C channel in place, it just wasn't the case. I have no experience with the cored AL pieces, just the standard flat sheet.


This we should chat about :D

Aaaaaan tuning as well, correct? When I get some more details on dyno rental I will let you know. I'm sure something can be arranged though.

:drool: Beautiful as always.

Hope all is warm where you are, it's dropping into the 30's up here