Esser's LS3 Powered FD3S RX-7 R1

gsx95

That car is beautiful, and this thread seriously delivers! You've done a really amazing job...congrats!

Chuck33079

That kind of instant torque has to be a lot of fun in such a light little car.

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

sx moneypit

Esser

Finally got the vids uploaded! Dyno vid and some exhaust noises.

https://youtu.be/r1W6DxtHWS8

https://youtu.be/QMcfAYrgWYQ

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Esser

Got a lot done this past weekend!

First I swapped out to the newer style 99 spec taillights. They do give it a more modern look, and are more suited to the typical RX-7 jdm look. They are also brighter.



I then adjusted ride height to about where I wanted it and went in for an alignment, made such a huge difference in the way it drives. I had attempted to align in my garage with tape measure but I can only get it so close. Once it was on the rack we could see the rear thrust was completely off. It got dialed in, and now it drives like a whole new car!





I did some driving and test hits and it sure does hook up much better. Still need to roll on the throttle in second, but third is fairly solid now. I ran into an issue with my fuel gauge reading funky. It would bounce to full every now and then, and after some troubleshooting I was able to narrow it down to the sending unit in the tank. I bought a replacement float and resister unit and swapped it in



It did the trick.

I brought the car out to its first car show as well, parked next to a buddy in his MKIV Supra. The car got a lot of attention. Although the FD gets dwarfed by the Supra ha, it's small size really shows.







All in all it was a successful weekend and it felt great driving to and from the car show, car is getting so close to getting all the minor bugs worked out. Engine now has about 200 miles on it, and is on its second oil change of break in oil.

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zeeder

It's crazy how much bigger the Supra and Corvette are. It's been awesome watching the journey!

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Zack
FI catback, HFC, and Start Button - Z1 Intake - Nismo S-Tune Spoiler - PasswordJDM V2 Shift Knob

Rusty

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
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Baronsmokes

I had not seen this before.Wow nice build.

Esser

Did some interior updates, I was able to score a really nice OE Nardi steering wheel with the red stitching from Japan. It is a hair smaller than the stock FD wheel, which helps give a bit more leg room. The wheel feels super nice in my hands and flows well with the rest of the interior.






I deep cleaned the floor mats and got them to an almost like new condition.

I have an auto-x I'm planning to go to this weekend and bought a set of 17" RPF1's that I'm awaiting from tire rack for the event.

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TerribleONE

Amazing work and great job documenting everything.

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Esser

Finally had time to do some more driving, I just got back from completing One Lap of America with Toyota (in a Prius lol). My LS3 engine currently has 700 miles on it, and is on the third oil change. I have been taking special care to break in this crate engine:

Initial oil used wen I fired it up was the BR30 Gibbs break in oil
First oil change was at 100 miles using a second change of the break in oil
Second oil change at 300 miles using conventional valvoline oil
Next oil change will be at 1,000 miles and switching over to full synthetic

I did do some break in drives varying the load and rpm, but definitely did not go easy on it. Based upon some research iv'e done, it's best to get the engine up to operating temp and then try to load up the rings quickly to help them seat.

This last oil change I did a full weekend of auto-x, and it was a blast. This was the first outing for the FD, and I was able to place in the top 5 for the weekend. This was even on street tires (200tw RE71), while three others in the top 5 were on slicks. I was super happy with how the car performed.

I picked up a set of RPF1's for track and auto-x duty. They saved me 8 lbs a corner over the XXR's that were on it, you can really feel the weight difference in the car



The first morning on Saturday was a hard rain, but quickly cleared up and the rest of the day was dry.



I went out and did some shake down runs first thing, the tires grip extremely well for being a tiny 255 square setup. I am able to dead hook 2nd gear which was not possible previously. The tein suspension did surprisingly well. With some tweaks to the shocks it was handling predictably.




The second day there was a lot more competition, and the weather was a bit hotter than the previous. On my last run the RE71's did start to get a little greasy and spin a bit. These tires definitely need to be cooled down between runs. Despite being a small auto-x track I was able to hit 70mph (top of second).



I was super impressed with the car's practicality so far, I drove to the event (1.5 hours away) and honestly was not sure how it would do being the first long drive I have taken in the car since completing the build. It rained on the way there and on the way home, but the car made the journey no problem. Ride comfort on the road is not too bad either, and exhaust does not drone. My passenger could have slept if he wanted to lol.



Next auto-x is on the schedule! and hopefully going to try and get some track days at NCM scheduled as well.

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JARblue

Awesome work! Such a quick build, too!!
I'd really love to see a video at some point

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ZontheRocks

Great pic! The profile looks gorgeous!

Esser

At this event there was a photographer thankfully, here is the photo dump from the event:

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Esser

Got my car weighed just for shiggles.

This is with half tank of gas



Definitely needs corner balanced, but super stoked with it being almost into the 2600's. Some different seats and lighter calipers should get me there.

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