Esser's LS3 Powered FD3S RX-7 R1

Esser · 08-14-2018, 02:33 PM

I went to a car show this past week and they had a dyno competition there. I put the FD on the rollers and did a couple runs. With some small changes and a new ported intake manifold I was able to lay down some better number: 434hp and 440trq

It was enough to win a trophy for the highest HP NA V8 at the show!

and the badass camshaft trophy!

ZontheRocks · 08-14-2018, 02:47 PM

Oh man that trophy is fire! Congrats!

Esser · 11-20-2018, 02:04 PM

Finally updates.

LS fest was in early September, and I had a ton of prep work I needed to do. One of the main points being a corner balance and an aggressive auto-x alignment. I was happy with my RE71r tires for now although wider on all 4 would have been desirable, just couldn't source CCW's in time. I took my car to a shop in Louisville, KY called The Winning Formula - they specialize in performance alignments. I told Aaron exactly what I was going to be doing at LS fest and what I expected out of the car. I chose to compete in the Grand Champion Event which consists of two different auto-x set ups, a drag race, and a road course type challenge. I figured this would be a great way to really test the all around performance of my setup.

I trailered my car to The Winning Formula, they have a ton of cool projects going on there. Here are some photos from the journey:

Do you even Miata????

They even had a minty fresh stock FD they were working on.

They got my car on the rack and got to work.

Here is what Aaron ended up with on the corner balance and alignment. It is a fairly aggressive setup, but a good compromise for all of the events I plan to participate in. He was impressed with the way the car drove, and I could immediately feel a difference once I took it for a spin. Aaron was able to catch some small issues with some joints that had loosened up over the break in period, so I'm thankful he took his time to look over my work. He also raised the rear of the car up 5mm to aid in traction.

I trailered the car back home and went over the rest of my drivetrain components, checking for other fasteners that loosened up any and snugged them all up. I changed oil again, washed the car, and deemed it ready for some abuse!!

Esser · 11-20-2018, 02:34 PM

All loaded up and ready to go down to Bowling Green at the NCM track! Super excited to compete with other LS's and get some nice advice from other drivers. I'm a bit in the minority with a import car there, but that's okay I like the uniqueness of it all.

I drove down with a buddy that has an LS swapped rx8 that was also competing:

LS fest was packed, there were over 200 competitors for the Auto-x. they split them up between two groups (one at each track) to let everyone get their runs in. On the second day we switched locations.

saw a fellow norotors friend "Kevin Doe" there, with his much more purpose built FD! It was nice being able to talk to someone with similar setups!

Some on course photos below. Yes this is me loosing traction and hitting a cone lol.

After all the day's festivities I was able to relax while the car show happened. I got a lot of questions and compliments on the swap:

The first night was the drag race. I knew I wanted to see what the car would do, but I was also afraid to break my stock Mazda rear diff and not be able to compete in the next day's races. So I left off idle and completely fugged the 60 foot, but was still satisfied with my time and trap speed despite the slow take off.
In line waiting to make a pass:

And the slip...

My goal is to come back when not on street tires and make a better pass! the event also made it apparent how much the 4.10 rear gear was holding me back. I was having to shift into 5th to cross the 1/4 mile which was killing time and trap speed. The traction is also hard to control with the 4.10 on the track, some courses I had to shift as well. A gear change is in the near future.

All in all, I ended up placing in the top 15% of the entire group based upon the Auto-x times. I was super happy with this, as the cars in front of me were purpose built cars dedicated to auto-x. And I was on the smallest tires at the event ha! It's some good motivation to get a new tire setup and come back next year.

Esser · 11-26-2018, 12:28 PM

So I made the first road trip in the FD, a trip to Tail of the Dragon. It was my dream to take this car down there at some point, and so glad I did. It was over 1,000 miles round trip, and the car never had a single hiccup. I was able to go with some buddies from work: 2JZGTE IS300, C6Z, and STI swapped RS. All of us were in the same realm of speed, I drove down on my auto-x setup and ripped on the dragon, it was a blast. Pics below.

I made it to the top of one of these mountains, amazing views!!

And Also got to do some drags with the C6Z, and we were neck and neck - a drivers race for sure. This has lead me to the decision to do the next logical step... a simple cam swap for some more cheap power.

Rusty · 11-26-2018, 01:06 PM

There is a lot to drive on down there.

Esser · 12-04-2018, 12:32 PM

Put the FD back up and jack stands and I tore everything back apart so I could get the cam ready to go in. I worked with Cam Motion and EPS to get a cam designed that would meet my needs (road course, auto-x). We agreed on a grind that would hold the lobes stable at high RPM and still make some pretty good power up top. 228/240 sized cam.

List of items I bought to install:

Camshaft
Katech C5R timing chain
Melling HP oil pump
BTR valve springs
Titanium retainers and hardened push rods
Ported throttle body
LS2 style tensioner (ditched the LS3 style)

I previously made it so that the radiator and fans could be disconnected fairly quickly so that future projects like this would go quick!

Started with taking the valvetrain all apart and keeping everything organized:

BTR platinum springs and Ti retainers in!

The I went on to the cam and oil pump. The Cam motion ground cam was made of their 8620 alloy, which has a bronze like finish to it, and it was nicely polished up! It's an impressive looking piece of machined metal!

I primed the engine again, flushed a bunch of oil through it because im super anal about keeping this engine clean, and put on a fresh filter. I overlooked all of my connections for a few minutes to make sure I didn't forget anything and fired it up. It started on the first go, and idled like a champ. I'm on a speed density tune, so it will need some attention at the tuner soon. I am hoping for about 50hp gain and some strong midrange power inceases. Although the cam is somewhat small for most LS3 cams it does have a pretty choppy idle, the volume of the exhaust has increased tremendously. Idle video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mY0umGbHUk

Rusty · 12-04-2018, 12:41 PM

What's the lift on the cam?

Esser · 12-04-2018, 01:40 PM

It's .629"/.604" 113+2

LS3's really like the high lift on the intake lobe!

Zingston · 12-04-2018, 06:25 PM

Damn! That sounds so awesome coming from that ride!

Rusty · 12-04-2018, 07:17 PM

It's lobby.

jchammond · 12-04-2018, 10:28 PM

Sound's Great; Look's a bit different coming out a single exit

Esser · 12-10-2018, 12:24 PM

I love the bizaare sounds coming out of a single fart cannon ha, the confusion factor is real

Took the car to get tuned, it picked up some really good power everywhere in the rpm range! super happy with the cam choice.
Here is the before and after on the cam swap (this was done a dyno dynamics which reads a little differently than typical dynojet numbers)

Esser · 12-14-2018, 02:23 PM

New diff! It's a 3.90 gear ratio which will be ideal for me on the 1/4 mile. Previously I was crossing the 1/4 mile in 5th, so the new gears should wind out 4th all the way. Also instead of the torsen it's got the Turbo 2 clutch type diff known for its strength.

Old diff comes out and new diff goes in...

Oh yeah also got these a while back, needing to get them mounted for the strip. I figured I should make some attempts for a better slip at the last test n tune at Beech Bend this year. Curious what the car can do.

Esser · 12-19-2018, 03:11 PM

The hoosiers are looking fat on there!

08-14-2018, 02:33 PM	#76 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	I went to a car show this past week and they had a dyno competition there. I put the FD on the rollers and did a couple runs. With some small changes and a new ported intake manifold I was able to lay down some better number: 434hp and 440trq It was enough to win a trophy for the highest HP NA V8 at the show! and the badass camshaft trophy! JARblue, Tick64, Rusty and 4 others like this. __________________

11-20-2018, 02:04 PM	#78 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	Finally updates. LS fest was in early September, and I had a ton of prep work I needed to do. One of the main points being a corner balance and an aggressive auto-x alignment. I was happy with my RE71r tires for now although wider on all 4 would have been desirable, just couldn't source CCW's in time. I took my car to a shop in Louisville, KY called The Winning Formula - they specialize in performance alignments. I told Aaron exactly what I was going to be doing at LS fest and what I expected out of the car. I chose to compete in the Grand Champion Event which consists of two different auto-x set ups, a drag race, and a road course type challenge. I figured this would be a great way to really test the all around performance of my setup. I trailered my car to The Winning Formula, they have a ton of cool projects going on there. Here are some photos from the journey: Do you even Miata???? They even had a minty fresh stock FD they were working on. They got my car on the rack and got to work. Here is what Aaron ended up with on the corner balance and alignment. It is a fairly aggressive setup, but a good compromise for all of the events I plan to participate in. He was impressed with the way the car drove, and I could immediately feel a difference once I took it for a spin. Aaron was able to catch some small issues with some joints that had loosened up over the break in period, so I'm thankful he took his time to look over my work. He also raised the rear of the car up 5mm to aid in traction. I trailered the car back home and went over the rest of my drivetrain components, checking for other fasteners that loosened up any and snugged them all up. I changed oil again, washed the car, and deemed it ready for some abuse!! scratchdvinyl, JARblue and wideglideleon like this. __________________

11-20-2018, 02:34 PM	#79 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	All loaded up and ready to go down to Bowling Green at the NCM track! Super excited to compete with other LS's and get some nice advice from other drivers. I'm a bit in the minority with a import car there, but that's okay I like the uniqueness of it all. I drove down with a buddy that has an LS swapped rx8 that was also competing: LS fest was packed, there were over 200 competitors for the Auto-x. they split them up between two groups (one at each track) to let everyone get their runs in. On the second day we switched locations. saw a fellow norotors friend "Kevin Doe" there, with his much more purpose built FD! It was nice being able to talk to someone with similar setups! Some on course photos below. Yes this is me loosing traction and hitting a cone lol. After all the day's festivities I was able to relax while the car show happened. I got a lot of questions and compliments on the swap: The first night was the drag race. I knew I wanted to see what the car would do, but I was also afraid to break my stock Mazda rear diff and not be able to compete in the next day's races. So I left off idle and completely fugged the 60 foot, but was still satisfied with my time and trap speed despite the slow take off. In line waiting to make a pass: And the slip... My goal is to come back when not on street tires and make a better pass! the event also made it apparent how much the 4.10 rear gear was holding me back. I was having to shift into 5th to cross the 1/4 mile which was killing time and trap speed. The traction is also hard to control with the 4.10 on the track, some courses I had to shift as well. A gear change is in the near future. All in all, I ended up placing in the top 15% of the entire group based upon the Auto-x times. I was super happy with this, as the cars in front of me were purpose built cars dedicated to auto-x. And I was on the smallest tires at the event ha! It's some good motivation to get a new tire setup and come back next year. Rusty, wideglideleon and ZontheRocks like this. __________________

11-26-2018, 12:28 PM	#80 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	So I made the first road trip in the FD, a trip to Tail of the Dragon. It was my dream to take this car down there at some point, and so glad I did. It was over 1,000 miles round trip, and the car never had a single hiccup. I was able to go with some buddies from work: 2JZGTE IS300, C6Z, and STI swapped RS. All of us were in the same realm of speed, I drove down on my auto-x setup and ripped on the dragon, it was a blast. Pics below. I made it to the top of one of these mountains, amazing views!! And Also got to do some drags with the C6Z, and we were neck and neck - a drivers race for sure. This has lead me to the decision to do the next logical step... a simple cam swap for some more cheap power. JARblue, Rusty, Hotrodz and 1 others like this. __________________

11-26-2018, 01:06 PM	#81 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 35,218 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	There is a lot to drive on down there. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

08-14-2018, 02:47 PM	#77 (permalink)
ZontheRocks Track Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Central Florida Posts: 959 Drives: 2016 Nissan PW 370Z Rep Power: 34535	Oh man that trophy is fire! Congrats!

12-04-2018, 12:32 PM	#82 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	Put the FD back up and jack stands and I tore everything back apart so I could get the cam ready to go in. I worked with Cam Motion and EPS to get a cam designed that would meet my needs (road course, auto-x). We agreed on a grind that would hold the lobes stable at high RPM and still make some pretty good power up top. 228/240 sized cam. List of items I bought to install: Camshaft Katech C5R timing chain Melling HP oil pump BTR valve springs Titanium retainers and hardened push rods Ported throttle body LS2 style tensioner (ditched the LS3 style) I previously made it so that the radiator and fans could be disconnected fairly quickly so that future projects like this would go quick! Started with taking the valvetrain all apart and keeping everything organized: BTR platinum springs and Ti retainers in! The I went on to the cam and oil pump. The Cam motion ground cam was made of their 8620 alloy, which has a bronze like finish to it, and it was nicely polished up! It's an impressive looking piece of machined metal! I primed the engine again, flushed a bunch of oil through it because im super anal about keeping this engine clean, and put on a fresh filter. I overlooked all of my connections for a few minutes to make sure I didn't forget anything and fired it up. It started on the first go, and idled like a champ. I'm on a speed density tune, so it will need some attention at the tuner soon. I am hoping for about 50hp gain and some strong midrange power inceases. Although the cam is somewhat small for most LS3 cams it does have a pretty choppy idle, the volume of the exhaust has increased tremendously. Idle video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mY0umGbHUk wideglideleon and ZontheRocks like this. __________________

12-04-2018, 12:41 PM	#83 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 35,218 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	What's the lift on the cam? __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

12-04-2018, 01:40 PM	#84 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	It's .629"/.604" 113+2 LS3's really like the high lift on the intake lobe! Rusty and jchammond like this. __________________

12-04-2018, 06:25 PM	#85 (permalink)
Zingston A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2017 Location: Florida Posts: 4,028 Drives: like it's a rental. Rep Power: 2684370	Damn! That sounds so awesome coming from that ride! jchammond likes this.

12-04-2018, 07:17 PM	#86 (permalink)
Rusty Ronin Samurai - Assassin Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Fayettenam,Pennsyltucky Age: 68 Posts: 35,218 Drives: 2011 Nismo GM 6M Rep Power: 2684438	It's lobby. __________________ 浪人 - 殺し屋 "The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only" http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

12-04-2018, 10:28 PM	#87 (permalink)
jchammond A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Carolina Age: 58 Posts: 15,204 Drives: 13’ 370Z TS 7A/T Rep Power: 2684395	Sound's Great; Look's a bit different coming out a single exit __________________ MazWorx built long block \| FI-TT-100 Stage 2.75 \| IPT built 7A/T http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...s-musings.html

12-10-2018, 12:24 PM	#88 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	I love the bizaare sounds coming out of a single fart cannon ha, the confusion factor is real Took the car to get tuned, it picked up some really good power everywhere in the rpm range! super happy with the cam choice. Here is the before and after on the cam swap (this was done a dyno dynamics which reads a little differently than typical dynojet numbers) scratchdvinyl, Rusty, wideglideleon and 1 others like this. __________________

12-14-2018, 02:23 PM	#89 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	New diff! It's a 3.90 gear ratio which will be ideal for me on the 1/4 mile. Previously I was crossing the 1/4 mile in 5th, so the new gears should wind out 4th all the way. Also instead of the torsen it's got the Turbo 2 clutch type diff known for its strength. Old diff comes out and new diff goes in... Oh yeah also got these a while back, needing to get them mounted for the strip. I figured I should make some attempts for a better slip at the last test n tune at Beech Bend this year. Curious what the car can do. JARblue, Rusty, ZontheRocks and 1 others like this. __________________

12-19-2018, 03:11 PM	#90 (permalink)
Esser Base Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: St. Louis Posts: 83 Drives: 2004 350Z Rep Power: 19	The hoosiers are looking fat on there! Rusty, 3.7 ZPA, wideglideleon and 2 others like this. __________________

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