fd tranny in fc

[stefanzhr]

I'm just checking out my options here.
I pretty much researched everything about swapping a 13b-rew into an fc and think that it's worth the trouble.
I haven't, however, been able to figure out if an fd tranny would fit without too much of a hassle.
The car i'm looking at has a dead engine and the tranny was seeing its last miles before the engine blew so if i want to do the rew conversion it would seem to make sense to me to just buy an fd engine/tranny combo than an fd engine and TII tranny separately.
If it's not a a direct swap, what would be needed to get the fd tranny to fit?
Also, just out of curiosity, how do these two transmissions compare in terms of strength?
Thanks a lot for any and all input.

[drftk1d]

i'm not sure about fitment and/or adapters to fit the tranny or whatever, but just know that the TII tranny is stronger overall

[Tim McCreary]

Originally Posted by drftk1d

i'm not sure about fitment and/or adapters to fit the tranny or whatever, but just know that the TII tranny is stronger overall

Not really. The TII transmission is good for about 200hp. They were just barely adequate for the S5 TII engines. After that, components start to break easily. The problem with the 13B-REW tranny is the synchro rings. They were fixed later on with the 1999+ RX7's. They are good to about 300hp. They will bolt to the TII motor or any other rotary motor for that matter, but the problem is with the mounting point as they were held in place by the PPF on the 3rd gen cars.


Tim

[drftk1d]

Uhmmmm...ok.

I personally know people running way more than 200 wheel hp on a TII transmission, and none of them have had issues with broken components or anything like that.

[Tim McCreary]

Originally Posted by drftk1d

Uhmmmm...ok.

I personally know people running way more than 200 wheel hp on a TII transmission, and none of them have had issues with broken components or anything like that.

I'm not saying you can't get more hp and keep a tranny together, I am just stating facts that have been known for some time that the TII transmissions were barely designed to adequately and safely handle 200hp. Just like the original N/A tranny is only designed and good to about 160-170hp. The TII transmissions are IDENTICAL to the Mazda B2600 tranny (except the gear ratios and 4wd unit attached to the end). If you would like a picture of a B2600 tranny, I can email you one for comparison.

The 3rd Gen transmission was a refined, updated, and stronger version versus the TII tranny and was specifically designed as a sports car transmission. It was designed to withstand much more power than the TII. What people get confused is that the 3rd gen tranny had inherent 5th gear synchro problems which make people believe that they are not as strong. These issues were resolved in the later year RX7's (1999-2002) with an updated gear and synchro setup.

FYI, I may be new to this forum, but have been with other forums for years. I have owned numerous RX7's along with many many other cars and trucks. The information above is not my opinion, it is just a compilation of data that I have gathered over the past 22 years working with rotary engine vehicles.

Tim

[drftk1d]

Fine, I never thought you were green to this sort of stuff.

I DO know about the synchro problems in the early FD transmissions, but then why would some drag racers choose a FC trans over the FD? (maybe because it's easier to replace when they grenade them, idk)

[Tim McCreary]

Or because they are cheaper to replace and about 10 times more plentiful (TII engines and trannys were installed in other japanese mazda sedans, thus the plentiful supply). I am not saying they are bad trannys, but the mechanical limits are lower. Basically, the gearsets are very similar, but there were definite improvements to the 3rd gen. I have heard many people needing 3rd gen rebuilds because of the 5th gear synchro or 1st gear synchro, but rarely because the gears or bearings fail. I have seen many people looking for TII trannys to replace their worn out ones at 100000 miles.