FD JDM Mazda Rx7 special breed | Maintenance & Upgrades

When a car like this comes in, it is time to step back and appreciate what Mazda built back then. 
The RE-Amemiya body kit is one that will turn heads. 

This car is one of our customers that came in to have a Greddy V mount upgrade. This upgrade is an excellent addition to the car as the V mount works better than a larger (than stock front mount) especially here in Colorado because of our thin, hot air. I never recommend a front mount as the air to cool your radiator is now transferred heat (from the intercooler) at the worst possible time to be asked to now cool the radiators. Heat transfer is always best when the difference of air coming in has a greater difference than the heat being rejected. 

When we get into FD's of this nature, it is paramount to have experience / knowledge on what to pay attention to. On this project, the factory turbo's and their weak points need to be addressed when you are getting this deep into a performance upgrade.

The main weakness of the FD (besides age and parts wearing out) OEM turbos is the water, oil, vacuum lines. First we get access, then we get going on the replacement of lines that are past their usefulness. These cars are meant to be driven, this one has been cared for and driven as a performance car. Next, we check the water pump...bearings are squeaking, time for a new one. 

The key to performance upgrades like these kits is more than just bolting up components, because the car is of this vintage, it is critical to make sure that the car is maintained / upgraded along the way. Adding / replacing the little things keeps the car running properly. Proper inspection of many small vacuum lines / hoses especially when you have it taken down this much just makes good sense.

If you look closely, you can see we removed the cross support brace, sanded / welded up a few small developing cracks and gave it a fresh coat of rust prohibitive gloss black paint. We also replaced approximately 14 (6mm x 1.0) bolts (due to corrosion) and of course every small spring clamp got a new SS proper spiral clamp (about 24 of them).

'ok next is the belts and pulleys.
Not all is well, this kit came from a non-dealer and that may not sound like a big deal, however it was missing a very important component. One of the pressure side cast upgrades, now it would be easy to re-use the factory casting. That would be a pressure side mistake. Going from a smaller / longer tube to a larger intake to the intercooler means a volume drop when you least want it. 

We were able to source another replacement, that means additional time at the shop. 

Keeping these cars on the road pulling hard takes more than just basic maintenance, it takes proper inspections and careful attention to the details. On the FD, the details really do matter. If you have the patience for it, the FD is really a wonderful analog seat of the pants driving experience. 

Just so I get it right, The front bumper is a Mazdaspeed GT-Concept bumper. The quarter panels, skirts and aft fenders is the RE-Amemiya GT-AD kit and the rear bumper is the RE-Amemiya AC 987 bumper.