GTUs Turbo -HISGTUS-

[Phoenix7]

I finally get to go through the entire build. I'll do it in stages (1 post about the BEFORE, one about the after and so forth)


Backstory: I've owned an S4 GXL, S5 GTU and an S5TII up to this point in the story.

I hate street drifters/racers because I lost my TII avoiding one of them on the local backroads. Asshole didn't even stop. So I had a dead car and no shell.







My friend had a shell with a dead motor. I had just spent $4600 for a turn-key Mazda reman (another regret, it's one of those "if I knew then what I know now" type of deals) since the jerk sold it to me with blown seals. This is why I tell everyone buying a car to WALK AWAY IF THEY ARRIVE At A TEST DRIVE AND THE CAR IS WARMED UP. Ask for the car to be cold (at least 3 or 4 hours). I'm partially to blame for not knowing a damn thing, ignorance isn't bliss and you shouldn't trust anyone.

So, on with the build:

I bought it in 2003 and I'm still working on it.


I wouldn't tell anyone I got a great deal but it was the best I could do at the time. I owed him 300 bux and he asked for 700 more for the car. I needed it so I bought it. It had potential in my eyes. Lightest model, turbo motor.









TO BE CONTINUED...
GTUs~GTUsT~TOYS~FG DASH~RX7CLUB Info~WTB/FS

We removed the motor at his house but I wish I had kept the motor to practice on, or to have as a drop-in replacement (200K miles is quite a lot of miels). I just had no room at the time.

We had some garage problems (a long story) and rushed it. Finished the thing in one week, which isn't bad for my first ever real work on a car.

I liked the FSM and how simple it was to do the work. I have a lot of regrets but circumstances just weren't favorable. I have very little pics of this (another regret of mine) but here is the best I can do:





I installed EVERYTHING from the TII over to the GTUs. Sold the GTUs rear end, bought tools, read the FSM MANY TIMES and it still wouldn't turn over. The garage issue I mentioned earlier finally blew up and I towed the car to my parent's house. I went over the FSM for another week trying to figure out why the car won't turn on. My dad walked out and walked over to the car and asked: "what plugs in there?" and points at a harness with nothing attached to it. I look through the FSM and say: "Main relay."
I missed the main relay. I run to my friend's house and rummage through his parts and find a main relay and it turned on.





I have a video somewhere of it running off the DP.

So, now I needed a hood. Junpower from the RX7club stepped up and let me BORROW his hood and I rocked it for a good two years. BTW, those of you who recognize the following pics.


I drove this car for a few years. Stock turbo, 3" exhaust (went through a few), suspension mods, intake, boost controller. The best DD I've ever had! My now wife wanted an FC also and she got her GTUs. That car's thread will come soon.

[Phoenix7]

I eventually had to return the hood and didn't want a TII hood (too many people asking me stupid questions or revving at me everywhere) so I started looking for an NA aluminum hood but that meant I had to go FMIC before going FMIC.

I had a few choices. Spend BANK on a pre-made kit (Greddy), spend 1/2 the bank on another kit (corkspork wouldn't sell the the pipes only!) or make my own for 1/4 of the price.

I went the ebay route:






While this was going on I got a good deal on a Border/corksport front end so I got a different front end (I really can't pass up a good deal!!).





Halfway through the FMIC install my friend's shop got broken into. My car lost the interior, damaged the front end and had to start the FMIC all over. This guy broke into my car, 2 integras, and a Galant VR4. He came back AGAIN but my friend was staking out the place and called the cops. He was caught red handed in an integra!

That was great news! Until the court day came and they only awarded the integra guy money. He wasn't caught in my car so i got screwed.

SO I finally get started the FMIC again (thank God it wasn't a GREDDY!!) and here is the nasty elbow:








Painted the front end (half-assed but as you may already know, I don't care how it looks right now, It just needs to run well first.):





I painted the FMIC and I was careful to make sure it wasn't clogged but I'm not sure if this led to the ultimate demise of the turbo.

The whole point was to maintain sleeper status and to just fly below the radar. I loved it. It ran great, handled awesome but something was wrong.

[Phoenix7]

The car started to stumble more often. I'd tune, retune and repeat but nothing happened. Nothing I researched solved it. Boost would be laggy and it just wouldn't move. I did a compression test and it yielded 90s. One day I turn it on and immediately begins to act weird.

I know how the car warms up. I built this thing, I literally know what it will do but it didn't do anything that day. It idled much higher, and when it was warm it remained high (2K RPMs). I drove for 5 seconds and my heart sank when the temp gauge started to climb above it's normal point. I stop, get out of the car and popped the hood.

The turbo was glowing red. I run to the car to turn it off and the temp gauge is past the 1/2 way mark but still n the "safe" territory.
All I could think of was the oil cooking in the turbo and lines.

Did a compression test and it was fine, still 90's. I sent the turbo to get rebuilt. I think it was time anyways. Over 160K miles and most of it at 10 psi. so it was probably old.

Time for a new turbo. About a year ahead of my schedule. I wasn't planning on any extensive mods until 2009! Now I have to get a new turbo. WTF? New turbo means more fuel. MOre fuel means fuel control. Fuel control means wideband. Wideband means guages and datalogging.


OY!

To Be Continued...

[Phoenix7]

Time to remove the turbo:







Sent it out to Bryan at BNR, Decided to install the S-AFC From my old TII. I messed it up so I decided not to hook it up. I got a wideband but didn't install it. I got a 255lph fuel pump and 720cc injectors (good for 10 psi on the Stage 2 according to Bryan). I bought a Koyo for better cooling and the yoohoo belt, I had a Fiero fan so I decided to install it too. By this time I had already installed my HIGGI TB elbow.

Finally the turbo arrived, didn't take very long!







I finished the FMIC piping and I installed the turbo, used the gaskets, put it back together and immediately knew something was wrong. I know smoking is normal so I didn't worry TOO much. The squealing got to me. It woouldn't stop. At first I thought it was the yoohoo belt (it's pretty tight) but we took a stethoscope and pinpointed it on the middle, right between the cold side and the hotside. :wallbash: The smoke never stopped.

Damnit, what now?? She purred for a total of 45 seconds. Started briefly 3 times. she was still broken.





I call Bryan and he told me to send it back. Removed it that day and shipped it back. Apparently I had the wrong gaskets for the oil lines (great news to me) so it caused the smoking. The squealing was a dimple somewhere creating friction. maybe he can chime in and explain in detail.











So, the turbo came back and I haven't installed it. Between the rain and previous engagements I've postponed the install for a couple of months.

I found a Haltech E6X at a good deal and I now have to rewire the whole car. I'm stuck. I want to do it, I have everything I need, I'm just anxious and making excuses for not working on it.

This is where I am at today.

I need to finish my car so I can finally drive it:

BNR Stage 2 Turbo
Haltech E6X
wideband
720cc secondaries
550cc primaries
FMIC (might wanna get a larger core, )
competition motor and diff mounts
RB sways and endlinks
KYB AGXs all around
Eibach Pro Springs
225's for rubber
weight reduction
3" RB turbo-back
Koyo radiator
Fiero E-fan
FD Torsen LSD


I wanna buy some monitoring equipment (EGTs, AITs, oil temp and pressure, water temp , etc., etc.) but this is where my build is currently. Soon I'll have to post pics and start my install and tuning. Stay tuned.

[Phoenix7]

Once I finish the car (performance-wise) I'll focus on the exterior and interior. I'm not really the show-off type so I don't mind right now.

My goal? SleeK FC that is a little different than the rest. I'm tired of seeing the GP Sports kits. It looks nice but everyone and their mother has it on thier car. I have a project going that will ENSURE that it's not like any other FC I've seen.

Here are pics of the body (needs work) and extras I've picked up along the way. I paid ~$400 for all these things (front, rear, sides and wing). It's going to be repainted in black with red and black interior. The only pieces I'm missing are the RE-A rear difusser and the roof wing but I don't plan on buying until I'm ready for paint (or a great deal comes by).







The damage you see here was caused by a car with a HITCH. I went to the car one morning and the front end was damaged.






Here are the sides I bought really cheap.




Interior will be simple. Black seats, S4 belts, red harneses for the track, maybe a cage (dunno yet), black wheel, black boots with red stitching. My interior is all black so that's staying. I'm trying to keep it simple yet functional.

It sucks knowing you can finish it ALL off at once but I know better than to spend that much cash on a hobby. I gotta prioritize and slowly continue the project.

[Phoenix7]

Well, I bolted almost everything down. I need to tighten a few other things and then starting the body work. The tranny is making noises in the NA but at least this thing will be back home for a while. The NA gets priority when it comes to repairs and maintenance.



Looks so sad. A little more time and it'll be fine though. Main goal get it to safely move. Take it home, wash it and wait until I can work on it some more.

BTW, Classic Auto did something similar but with two different products. Great minds think alike.

[Phoenix7]

UPDATE: I went to work on the car today and it ran for a little bit.

It smoked a lot but after a few minutes the smoke stopped. WHOOHOO!!!!

It wouldn't hold an Idle (bounced between 2500rpms and 200rpms)

Efan won't turn on (it's an easy fix, i know which wire needs to be soldered)

it made a little odd noise but I can't tell if it's the new filter and TID.

There is no throttle response from the cabin.


I plan on checking the timing, tps, throttle cable, and anything else I can think of over the next two days. I'm looking for a haltech installer so I can dump my car with them to get it done.
ALSO: IF ANYONE HAS ANY TIPS, IDEAS, AND ANY WORDS OF WISDOM ON THE FOLLOWING:

I noticed that the RB sway bar barely touches the Koyo lower radiator pipe. I'm concerned about this since it could potentially damage the radiator.

[Phoenix7]

RX7 Turning ON briefly

The camera died on us but shortly after the car revs up to 5K RPMs and screeches from the turbo.

[Phoenix7]

I've PMed Bryan at BNR to see what he can tell me. Put the Stock turbo on and the noise was still there. I'll be installing the BNR again to make sure it's good. It has normal play and no in-and-out so it's should be fine.

Updates as I make changes.

[Phoenix7]

Well, I had a vacuum leak at the UIM. I figured it out after removing the BNR and replacing it with a stock S5 turbo from Junpower. The loud screeching noise was still going on. I drove home on the stocker (didn't want to reinstall the BNR) and I just parked it. After a few weeks I removed it and now I'm going to clean everything up.

Goal, 7stock.

I don't think it's supposed to look like that.


messy. Gotta clean the whole engine bay up.




Here they are side by side.


The one difference I wasn't expecting was the 3" TID opening vs. stock 2.5", other than that it's a direct bolt-on. I made the TID from a Honda Prelude Intake. I didn't plumb in the oil injector lines to the TID yet. Still trying to figure out what to so about the oil system. I'm thinking of removing the oiling system and pre-mixing (going S4 front cover and block off the OMP).

So, I'm going to start with vacuum lines. Oil lines, oil cooler lines, and start cleaning up the wiring for the Efan and see If I can get it running right. I bought a new t-stat, and radiator cap and I'll have to buy some ground wires. Higgi showed me a vendor online that has some really cheap if anyone is interested. I plan on going to work earlier so I can leave earlier and will try to work on it every day.

[SouthSideSlider]

very nice where did you get those headlight buckets? where they cut out a FC2000 kit or can you buy just the buckets.

[Phoenix7]

They're custom molds Higgi made for me last year. He told me he wasn't making any more though, I think he said it was a PITA.

You can buy the FC2K kit and cut out the headlights. Another route would be the CLASSICAUTO approach: He used the CP Racing headlights but they're discontinued.



Stick around though, it should be done soon and I'll update with pics.

[SouthSideSlider]

Originally Posted by phoenix7

They're custom molds Higgi made for me last year. He told me he wasn't making any more though, I think he said it was a PITA.

You can buy the FC2K kit and cut out the headlights. Another route would be the CLASSICAUTO approach: He used the CP Racing headlights but they're discontinued.



Stick around though, it should be done soon and I'll update with pics.

cool ohwell i guess i will just design them into my kit. have you ever thought of wireing a set of halo's as drivinglights/turnsignals? cant wait to see it BTW

[Phoenix7]

I see FCs around more now and I tend to see them either in stock form or with the same bodykits. I hate how eventually all the rx7s end up looking the same: GP sports kit, sleepy eyes, and a crazy wing or BONE BONE stock.

I wanted to be completely different while maintaining the original style and body lines. This is my attempt to give my 7 a "face-lift" in a manner that is completely different than what the rest of rx7 owners do. ClassicAuto have the same goal and our results kinda look similar but both cars are completely unique.

Originally Posted by SouthSideSlider

cool ohwell i guess i will just design them into my kit. have you ever thought of wireing a set of halo's as drivinglights/turnsignals? cant wait to see it BTW

I already have 4" lights and HID conversion. I'm still debating what to use for the turn signals. I asked the body guys to eliminate the stock turn signals.

what kit do you have?

[SouthSideSlider]

Originally Posted by phoenix7

I see FCs around more now and I tend to see them either in stock form or with the same bodykits. I hate how eventually all the rx7s end up looking the same: GP sports kit, sleepy eyes, and a crazy wing or BONE BONE stock.

I wanted to be completely different while maintaining the original style and body lines. This is my attempt to give my 7 a "face-lift" in a manner that is completely different than what the rest of rx7 owners do. ClassicAuto have the same goal and our results kinda look similar but both cars are completely unique.

I already have 4" lights and HID conversion. I'm still debating what to use for the turn signals. I asked the body guys to eliminate the stock turn signals.

what kit do you have?

im working on my own kit so it will be realy different. LOL you could get just a halo ring for turn signals.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...=p4506.c0.m245