engine swap question

I'm looking into starting a project Rx-7. I'm going to get a Second Gen (probably 88), and work on it. My question is this: Is it possible to swap a Third Gen Jspec motor in? I know it can be done, but how complicated is it and where would a good place to get the Jspec motor be?

i'm gonna repeat since last time i went on the topic a screwed up with wrong engine name, hahaha
you'd be better off with a 13b-re (im not mistaken this time) these a twinturbo cosmo (non-american rotary car) engine, the engine itself will cost you less than what a 13b-rew (3rd gen engine) would cost you
there are some little difference between both engine :
intake ports are larger and exhaust ports are smaller on the 13b-re. intake manifoil are different, turbos are smaller AND engine mounts are closer to where they are in an FC, that makes the use of engine mount adaptor possible, so you dont have to cut and weld stuff on your FC chassis.

here's what you'll basiquely need to do the swap :

MORE MONEY AND TIME THAN YOU PLAN SPENDING : it always cost you a lot for the 'oh shit, i've broke this' or the 'damn, the shit isnt working right'

13b-re cosmo engine : sold in frontclip or alone, these often come with the useless and heavy as shit tranny, they are sold for ~1000$us arround here. make sure to get a warranty and have someone rotary-knowledgeable perform a compression test before you buy it. check out the turbos shaft play and impeller condition. i think its totally useless to buy frontclips but some ppl are against this opinion.
you should as well consider a rebuild and some porting. the rebuilt because you dont know how the engine have been driven, plus its pain in the ass to instal an engine and finaly have your project delayed because the engines not working right, plus its always better to start off with a fresh engine. the porting because it can only be done when rebuilding an engine, its the right time to do so. but porting would make the car difficult to pass smog, if it applys to you. have someone do a vaccum hose job and have the emission system removed too, if you can.

engine management system : haltech or microtec, because you wont be able to use the stock one, because 13b-re only came with automatic tranny, and their ECU is not compatible with stick tranny. i know the haltech is sold with its own wirering, sensor and stuff, might cost you from 500-1200$ + tuning, if you plan on getting on the edge of what your engine is able to do

T2 tranny and rearend : optional, but n/a tranny arnt good for long above 250 hp, the T2 rear end is even more optional, but i'd get it anyway, tranny might cost 150-200$ and rear end with the driveshaft and axles are sold for about 300$.

Engine mounts : buy them from fc3s.org

Intercooler & pipping : unless you wanna run very ghetto and low boost, get a good intercooler

Improved radiator: heat kills your engine, but its optional


thats all i think for now, if you're getting serious about this, i have two friends doing these swaps, in an 87 and in a 85. i could hook you up and you could ask them whatever you wanna know.

Hey thank you for the quick reply. I'd really apreciate it if you could hook me up with your friends. I'm generally shootin to get the most out of the engine that I could. That's why I wanted to go with the jspec motor. I know from being a honda tuner head that the jspec motors normally have more power than the american motors. I'm hopeing for around 400 to 500 horses outta the beast. I'm willing to work on it for a while considering it's going to be a project car. But if you could hook me up with your friends that are doin the swap that would be cool. Thanks again.

Hey thank you for the quick reply. I'd really apreciate it if you could hook me up with your friends. I'm generally shootin to get the most out of the engine that I could. That's why I wanted to go with the jspec motor. I know from being a honda tuner head that the jspec motors normally have more power than the american motors. I'm hopeing for around 400 to 500 horses outta the beast. I'm willing to work on it for a while considering it's going to be a project car. But if you could hook me up with your friends that are doin the swap that would be cool. Thanks again.

i'll hook you up, do you have msn ?
this jspec engine is not more powerfull than a 3rd gen engine, it has 30 hp less from the factory, but since they're all automatic, this lost is not very considerable in the end. Jspecs engines arnt better than the one we got here, 3rd gens engines had been improved years after they stop selling the car in america though. those 13b-re are better than the T2 engines anyway, and like i said above, they require less customisation than 3rd gen engines, so that makes them very suitable for a swap in an FC. 400-500 hp is a very doable number with a 13b-re, but it would be easier and more reliable (lower boost, better everything exept fuel economy and pollution) to achieve this number with a streetport and a single turbo wich justifies the use of a standalone right away.

i thought just the primary turbo on the cosmo was the same size as the rew but the secondary was smaller on the cosmo than on the rx7 since they wanted more torque in the low end :dunno:

Well I don't have msn. I have a yahoo mail. But I always check my email. Are you talking about the 2nd gen Jspec motor or the 3rd gen Jspec motor. From the numbers and engine codes that I've seen the 3rd gen Jspec motor had the most horses stock than all the twin rotor engines mazada mad. Maybe I'm just being an idiot.

Are you talking about the 2nd gen Jspec motor or the 3rd gen Jspec motor. From the numbers and engine codes that I've seen the 3rd gen Jspec motor had the most horses stock than all the twin rotor engines mazada mad. Maybe I'm just being an idiot.

lets clear this up right away

s4 T2 engines : 13bt : 187hp
s5 T2 engines : 13bt : 200hp
cosmo 13b engines : 13b-re : 225hp
FD3S engines : 13b-rew : 255hp / 280 in s7-s8 models i dont remember, but these s7-s8 engines are too rare and would cost too much to get, never saw one arround.

for the s4-s5 dates refer to the FAQ

jspec or not, they all have the same horse power rating, only thing is the cosmo is a jspec or aussi-spec only car.

Thank you for clearing up the engine codes. I had never seen the 13b-re code before. Only the 13b-tt code. So i'm definently interested in hearing about how your friends are going about the swap and where they are getting parts from. If you would like you can give them my email address. PM me for it. Thanks again.

i had one of those friend looking a this thread,
he didnt took the time to answer but told me you'd be better off with a 13b-t swap, if your goal is 400hp.
these are very documented swap if you take a look on the rx7club.com

Ok thank you. I found a sorce for the 13b-rew by the way. Used motor is runnin 2400. I want to look at both options. The 13b-re and 13b-t motors for the lower price, and the 13b-rew for the druel factor.

Ok thank you. I found a sorce for the 13b-rew by the way. Used motor is runnin 2400. I want to look at both options. The 13b-re and 13b-t motors for the lower price, and the 13b-rew for the druel factor.

to give you an idea, i could buy a 13b-t from an s4 for roughly 500$ us

I bought my 13B-REW for $2300 but it was out of an american FD and it had a documented 20K miles on it. I got to see it in the car bfore it was pulled for a 20B swap.

The biggest problem you will have with the REW is the motor mounts. I had to have a custom cradle made = big $$.

The 13B-RE already has support for motor mounts that can be purchased from www.fc3s.org

Here is a thread documenting my swap. Feel free to ask any questions.

It would be better if you asked at no pistons I frequent that board more than here.

Good luck!

http://www.nopistons.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11528

13B-RE motor mounts for $250.

http://www.speedmachineperformance.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=1327