Thread: I'm Very Happy

There are a lot of cars with intercoolers mounted behind the rad. Off hand, the 3rd gen RX-7 is set up that way. Mounting it in front is probably better, but then I would have to deal with putting pipe through the rad supports, and just generally dealing with more bends. Even if the intercooler is behind the rad, the temperature drop accross it will be significant.

i spose you cant sink the radiator back into the car towards the engine, making a bit more room for the intercooler??

It's not really room I'm worried about, it's the problem of shaping the pipe, and cutting holes in the car. I would like to avoid cutting holes in stuff because it can compromise the structure. And since I don't have a mandrel bender, I will have to have a local exhaust shop do it. This means that things have to be kept simple. Easiest thing to do would be to mount it behind the rad. It would only require a few simple bends in the piping, and should be nearly as efficient.

My truck's intercooler is in front of the radiator...and it is BIG.

Yeah, I have decided to bite the bullet and mount it in front of the rad. It's the best spot, but piping will be a little annoying

I think that'd just get a Turbo II and save myself the trouble.

Either that, or get a na 2nd gen and wait two or three years for the 3rd gen. to go down to more affordable prices.

I don't really want a TII though, I want my car. This is the car that I have put over 3000 hours of work into, and god only knows how much money. It's not just a car, so switching it is simply not an option.

I also don't really want a 3rd gen. Too unreliable, and they don't look as good as the 2nd gens.

Why are the 3rd Gen RX-7's unreliable? I really like the way they look compared to the earlier models.

3rd gens are unreliable for several reasons. The main ones being:

1. Too much boost. Mazda is boosting the 13B engine to 10 pounds, on Apex seals that are of the same size as those found on the TII and NAs. They were not designed to take that kind of abuse. I realise the shape of the seals was changed, but the basic problem remains.

2. Air metering system. It cannot compensate for much more boost than stock. This is not really a reliability problem per-say, as in order to get more boost you need to mod the car. But after you do exhaust and intake, you NEED to address (replace) the ECU.

3. Vacuum lines. My god, that engine is a nightmare. 70+ vacuum lines to control the two turbos. Several of those lines are prone to popping off, and when they do the boost skyrockets. Since the 3rd gen does not have a factory boost guage (Mazda: why the hell not?)there is no indication except for a few seconds of detonation and a dead engine.

4. Inadequate cooling. The rad is too small, period. And it is also layed out nearly norizontally under the car. Not enough airflow.

5. Inadequate dealer support. I lump this in with the reliability of the car because let's face it, most people will take their car to the dealer if they can't fix it themselves. The dealer's don't know a damn thing about these cars, so the standard answer is "the engine's dead...it'll be $4000 for a new one".

There are a few other little things, but I think it just boils down to overstressing the engine. The rotary itself is a reliable design (I have 241,000+ KM on mine), but when you stress it like Mazda did in the 3rd gen, you can expect problems....

(edit....oops...13B engine, not 3B)

[ 10-10-2001: Message edited by: Aaron Cake ]