The Mazda RX-7 is a beautiful, yet dangerous machine. It's one of those cars that we always desire, but sadly cannot have as reality laughs and points its finger at us, reminding us of the reason why our mom's station wagon is sitting out front in the driveway. Priced comfortably, yet still miles above the average Civic or Integra, the RX-7 remains at the top of the "I want, but maybe after I find a steady job and move out of mom's pad" list-hence the reason why we all continue to drive station wagons and live in our mother's basement. It's no Porsche, but the sleek, exotic design always triggers the double-look during rush hour traffic-it's an attraction magnet of sorts, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on who you are. Good, if you're a cute blonde, like the one John and I harassed in traffic one time, and bad for...well, I don't really know nor care whom it applies to. I'm still thinking about the cute blonde.
The good thing about Hass Dandachli is that even though he isn't scoop-worthy material, his RX-7 more than makes up for it. Simple yet intricate in design, this silver speedster is unlike most of the FDs that we usually feature. It's not from Japan and it doesn't sport any type of odd Japanese graphics that cause young school children to break out into epileptic seizures-it can already do that. The use of a C-West body kit does an amazing job of widening the front end, plus it leaves plenty of room to squeeze that fairly large GReddy intercooler core into the front air dam. By no means is this car tame; it lost its innocence long ago.
Now, most tuned rotary engines have had a good history with high performance and dynamic horsepower figures-that same rule applies here. Hass' 1.3L 13B-REW has the pleasure of producing an astounding 490hp at 17psi-on pump gas. At the track, the FD throws down a heftier 628hp while on race fuel and is enough to send him down the quarter-mile at 11.60 @ 132mph. Oh yeah, we should probably mention that all of this is done on street tires. This kind of power doesn't come out of nowhere, nor does it come cheap. A glance over the spec sheet reveals parts that can be dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced, but victorious for those who know how to extract their full potential. It begins with a street port, the most valuable modification a daily-driven rotary engine can see, which is essentially a modification of the port housing for the overlapping of the intake and exhaust. GReddy was the company of choice when it came to upgrading the turbocharger, in the form of a T78 turbine, and accompanying it are a Type R blow-off valve, wastegate, and exhaust manifold. Fuel delivery is enhanced through the use of a custom dual Walbro fuel pump setup, custom top-feed fuel rail, and a set of Bosch 750cc (primary) and 1600cc (secondary) fuel injectors. Air is ingested through a Blitz air filter, up through a bored factory throttle-body, and to an Extrude Honed intake manifold.
Without going heavy on the internal modifications, Hass made improvements to any rotary engine's weak link and upgraded the apex seals, which are known to blow out if the proper precautions aren't taken. Ignition upgrades are performed with HKS' Twin Power kit, along with a set of NGK spark plugs and wires. The drivetrain remains stock, although a six-puck ACT clutch kit transfers as much power to the ground as possible without sacrificing drivability. Additionally, a B&M shifter is used for smooth, short strokes when changing gears.