It's a well known fact that Felix Wankel's pride and joy is notorious for producing ungodly amounts of exhaust heat--enough to make the exhaust tips sizzle. This year's SevenStock felt as if Dr. Wankel decided to throw us in on the intake stroke of a 13B and give us a whirl around for three rotations worth of heat. We were in the middle of Irvine, and the sun was at top dead center (ironic pun intended) and had us wishing for ceramic impregnated baseball hats.
Once we "got in" to the show (free admission), the heat took a back seat. A little bit of sun wasn't going to piss on our parade. Speaking of liquid, we'd rather be under sunny skies than caught in the middle of hurricanes and thunderstorms like everyone in Florida. Just think, the Super Street Tour was in about a week. What a mess. As that thought entered my ADD-laden brain, my fogged up specs landed on the clean mint-green FC3S sitting on what have to be the baddest wheels on the planet--BBS LMs. The interior was business as usual: one RECARO Racer SPG seat, OMP DA-408 cam-lock harness, and custom weld-in roll cage. The wheel is from MOMO's CORSE lineup. The coolest thing about the MOD 07 is that it is dished, eliminating the need for spacers--good for drivers that have limbs similar in proportion to the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
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205/50 ES100's envelope 15x8 Panasport FS wheels
After spending thirty minutes poking my head around Mint Green, I made my way through row 13B. Purposeful and understated, this first-gen RX-7 reminded me of 7th grade after school. This finest girl in school had a brother that owned one, and he'd always do a massive burnout--after he rolled through the gutter water sitting at the intersection. Funny as it may be, the owner of this car happened to be the same guy! Not really, but it would have been cool if it was. Big Brother didn't have the gummy Yokohama ES100's and timeless Panasports though.
The owner of this teal FC went a different route utilizing newer gram LIGHTS 57Pro wheels. Out of all the wheels our boy Yamz could have picked for his project S13 (see the October 2004 issue of SS for more), he picked these. They must be good. Better than good was the size of the turbo. I don't know the specs, but it looked devastating. FCs are known to rip off 12-second quarter mile times in stock trim with more boost. This one must hit 11's without breaking a sweat.
Stepping into the next decade, we found the more curvaceous FD3Ss scattered about. Amazingly, this is the stock paint. After 11 or so years, the car didn't seem to have one ding. See, it pays off to park a mile away from the mall. Seventeen-inch SSR Competitions gave the car ten pounds less of sprung weight at each corner. The trapezoidal sheetmetal under the hood is functional. Rotary motors generate tons of heat, so you're bound to find innovative ways of driving air into the engine bay.
"Hey! That thing got a HEMI?" No, just a turbo that can swallow one whole. Volk Racing F-Zero Challenge wheels hid under the fenders of yet another black FD. As inevitable as Kevin Garnett's double-double performances, this owner employed his own version: double the power and double the displacement. Ok, maybe not, but the turbo looked to mirror the size of the engine itself.
If you can't tell by now, let it be known--the turnout was massive. Since the show was outdoors, it gave participants a chance to let spectators hear their roar. Several large doses of 10,000 RPM stabs emanating from a 13B are intoxicating, to say the least. Three rotors spinning in violent synchrony was awe-inspiring and ear-deafening all at the same time. Imagine how the four-rotor R26B from the Mazda 787b Le Mans winner sounds. Well, if you made it out to SevenStock, you didn't have to imagine. The guys at Mazda fired it up, and if you didn't bring ear plugs, you were screwed. The sounds hurt so good (I didn't bring ear plugs). The engine was given a few blips back to back to back, and in all honesty, it sounded like a machine gun.
The FC-themed phenomenon continued along the apron of Mazda Headquarters. Check out these massive Work Meister S1's. The S1's had lips the size of your uncle's Peterbilt, both front and rear.
TiAL wastegates and blowoff valves seemed to be on every turbocharged car at the show. Even Ed Bergenholtz's Mazda 6 FF Drag Car had a massive 46mm `gate bolted on. Nice color choice, Ed. We liked it so much we picked one up for one of our latest projects. No, seriously.
The Golden Eagle Mfg. sheetmetal intake manifold helps Ed B's Methanol-powered Six to hit consistent 8-second runs at 180+ mph on the strip. Kevlar lines, dual Golden Eagle fuel rails, and a throttle body big enough to engulf a softball also help. The TB is attatched to the charge pipe via V-band for a more secure fit. The engine was born as a 2.3L, but has been destroked to 2.1L. Garrett supplied the turbo that looks like it wouldn't have a problem flowing 1000hp or so.
Rene Franco's '73 RX-3 came out to support the RX-3 contingent (for more photos of RX-3s, be sure to check out Page 2 of this article). The 13B-powered sled featured a Turbonetics Godzilla blowoff valve, Turbonetics turbo, and wrinkle-walls which are good enough to help Rene post a best time of 8.973 @147.47. Unbelievable.
This Protege5 caught our eye. We saw the Endless decal on the door and proceeded to search for the infamous calipers, but nothing doing. Maybe the owner simply had Endless pads. Either way, the Enkei RPF1's are sweet. We liked them so much that we might pick up a set for one of our project cars.
Those Endless flags are on the top of my list for must-have items for this years JGTC Race/Event GT Live. Rumors are floating around that the event has already been sold out. For more updates, be sure to make www.SuperStreetOnline.com your homepage. Info drops daily.
All it took was one quick 180 for me to see what I thought I wouldn't--Endless brakes! A cute couple consisting of two of THE hottest FDs at the show decided to hit SevenStock and dine at the Enkei/Endless booth. The Silver/Red/Purple FD wore classic NTO3+M's to the date. Hmm, I feel a decision coming on...RPF1's or NTO3+M's for the DA. Crap. Endless is what this article can't be, but I'll leave behind a fix for you Rotary junkies. Check out the gallery on Page 2 for more pictures!