LexFather

mmarshall

With the LS-1 torque, I'll bet you'll see some acceleration in that car. The 3Gen RX-7's body/chassis was very lightly built....TOO light, in some areas, where rough roads could bend some chassis/steering parts. However, the LS-1 engine is far heavier than the standard lightweight aluminum twin-turbo, twin-rotor the RX-7 came with, making it much more nose-heavy, so the handling/braking limits might not be as good on the skidpad.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Not too crazy about the way it looks, but the LS1 changed my mind. I need sound clips!!

bagwell

yep, LS1 is the only good part here IMO

and I'm an RX7 lover!

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

That is a wide body

shern

iTrader: (6)

Carbon Fiber Body

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

mmmm TE37s

baddis es

iTrader: (3)

seems underpowered for a an LS1 on boost...LS1's can get around 450whp N/A, i'd expect at least 600whp

however...the FD body and a V8 is one of my dreams. give me a pearly white FD with a 6.0L from and 05-06 GTO and i'm a very happy person!

Lexwang07

Wow! Whole body made of dry carbon fiber. The cost of carbon fiber parts are expensive. The engine sway from Chevy Corvette LS1 engine. It's an eye candy show car.

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

I suppose it varies, but the LS longblock is only heavier than the 13B-REW by about ~50lbs, which can be compensated through other mods (ranging from battery relocation to lower weight subframes). While the shortblock itself is light, when you consider the weight of the turbo system/plumbing, along with the cast-iron rotors and exhaust manifold, and other bits, it adds up. Its also interesting to note that the LS motors crankshaft and tranny sit lower than the eccentric shaft in the 13B-REW, which is a nice tradeoff to help offset the difference in weight.

The car actually handles and brakes virtually the same, if not better, while having a broader powerband to work with.

JessePS

Nicely done

Its a nice change seeing an import using a domestic engine.

speedflex

It better be really fast because it's ugly as sin. The stock RX-& is a handsome looking machine.

Faraaz23

I admire the incredible amount of work that has gone into that car, but i'm with mmarshall as far as the handling aspect goes. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the Wankel is decently smaller than the LS1 and was closer to the firewall. Therefore even if the LS1 is close to the same weight, the car will be more nose-heavy.

Lets Drive

iTrader: (3)

While the 13B-REW is smaller, you're only refering to the short-block. Once you dress the motor up with its heavier cast-iron components, the weight quickly increases. If you think about it, the fact that you can fit a V8 into the engine bay of such a small rotary motor, says something...the turbo plumbing and other accessories add a lot of bulk/weight to the engine.

While the aluminum LS does add a bit more weight, you're talking about a very small amount, and even then, the majority of the weight sits behind the front axle*. While weight isn't desirable, its also a matter of where you place it. The rotaries e-shaft sits higher, which also means the tranny sits higher in the stock car**. The LS' crankshaft and tranny both sit lower. Compensating for the remaining weight is trivial, when you consider a battery relocation easily shifts 40+ lbs from the upper front of the car. When you consider the weight difference in the swap is roughly 50lbs, it requires little relative effort to regain the 50/50 weight distribution (which isn't as important as made out to be). The cars handling remains excellent and many competition V8 RX-7s outperform their rotary counterparts, though thats due to a few other factors/bonuses, such as the difference in torque curve, gearing, and tires.

* http://www.rx7club.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1189361834

Up against the firewall
http://www.rx7club.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1180322876

**Tranny tunnel is huge...large enough to fit the Chevy T56.

http://i540.photobucket.com/albums/g...all/LS2001.jpg

http://i540.photobucket.com/albums/g...Bangkok016.jpg


Photos belong to their respective owners on rx7club and V8RX7forum.

muhbuhtuh

nice imformative posts shinobi

and i kinda like the carbon fiber body.. but other than that the car is hot!!