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Took Frankn7 out for a ride today


slngsht

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the engine is all aluminum. It's 430 lbs, which is about 70-90 lbs heavier than a typical 4 cylinder. The tranny is kind of a pig... it's a T56. It can be upgraded to a TKO500 to save about 40 lbs there. To give you an idea, a Rotus with a totally stripped 13b rotory is 1525 lbs. Same car with my LS1 setup is at 1670.

 

Also, the front of the block is still behind the diameter of the wheel, so I don't think it's any more nose heavy than before, but I haven't done any weight balancing.

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slnsht could you post some pics of the engine compartment with the v8 installed. I always thought the LSI and TKO tranny would be a nice combination.

 

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/ls1.jpg

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more pics:

 

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/2006-01-08_190354_CIMG0203_Medium.JPG

 

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/2006-01-08_190539_CIMG0212_Medium.JPG

 

 

 

This picture shows the cross member under the transmission. It had to be cut. Apparently most of the later cars don't even have this cross member. It was reshaped and welded back in place.

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/2006-01-08_190710_CIMG0218_Medium.JPG

 

 

 

The side members had to also be modified to fit the tranny. they were carved, and re-enforced in place.

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/slngsht/2006-01-08_191131_CIMG0217_Medium.JPG

 

 

 

 

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my car had a olds 3.5 v8 with a tranny from a TR6 (I believe). The "R" in Rotus is not for Rotory engines.

 

 

 

Chris Custer, the founder of Rotus, was a toyota dealer, and the R was a little inside joke on the mis-pronounciation of "L" as "R" by japaneese speakers.

 

 

 

Not very PC, but pretty funny.

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Having driven behind Frankense7en iin my 200 HP Superlight at speed , I can say that it is CRAZY FAST. Although that might have something to do with its driver! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

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Having driven behind Frankense7en iin my 200 HP Superlight at speed , I can say that it is CRAZY FAST. Although that might have something to do with its driver! http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

 

 

 

The problem is always the loose nut behind the wheel http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

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What did you do with the exhaust routing?

 

 

 

Didn't answer this one... Currently I'm using the stock Camaro exhaust manifolds. With the high flow heads, there is about 40 more horses to be unleashed if I go to long tube headers, but I don't have the cash at the moment (nor the time to make them) - they have to be custom.

 

 

 

Off the manifold, it's a simple gentle 90 degrees, through the sheet metal, then another 90 degrees towards the back.

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  • 2 months later...

Nice job Mazda! A car like that can be blisteringly fast, but most folks won't be able to extract it's potential, and it could easily end up big splat on some blunt object.

 

 

 

Just listing engine weight in itself is somewhat deceiving, because you need the drivetrain to support that sort of torque. The 6-speed tranny for that engine is a tank, for instance, and you'll need a very stout rear end, but those are the big ticket items. What does it net out at?

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Nice job Mazda! A car like that can be blisteringly fast, but most folks won't be able to extract it's potential, and it could easily end up big splat on some blunt object.

 

 

 

Just listing engine weight in itself is somewhat deceiving, because you need the drivetrain to support that sort of torque. The 6-speed tranny for that engine is a tank, for instance, and you'll need a very stout rear end, but those are the big ticket items. What does it net out at?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Yes, the T56 is a pig. IF money were no object, instead of the LS1/T56, I would have gone with a 402 cu.in. LS2 and the TKO500 tranny. I recall that the T56 weighs 140 lbs. TKO500 is 112 lbs.

 

 

 

As for the stout rear, as of 2 days ago, I was still running the original Toyota axle from an '81 Supra (the mighty 110 hp version http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif ). Due to lack of traction (open diff, R-compound 225 R 15 tires), the rear held up fine.

 

 

 

The car is in the shop getting a different rear now - GM 10 bolt from '02 Camaro SS, with torsen diff. This rear is FAR from stout (it fails frequently on modded Camaros, heck - even stock ones), but I figure since my car weighs half as much, I may be fine with it. If it does fail, there is a direct replacement for it: Moser 12 bolt. The camaro rear set me back $350. The moser unit is $2K. I figure it's worth a try.

 

 

 

With the camaro rear, I'll be able to use the spare set of wheels I have for my vette, so traction should not be a problem now. I'll be using 305 R 18 tires in the back, 275 17's in the front (simply because I have these already. I can go smaller since I'll be using a popular 5 bolt pattern now). I figure the larger wheels and brakes alone will add 50 lbs to the car. The wheels are approximately 19 lbs each (I don't remember the exact figure. I can also get magnesium wheels relatively cheaply for the vette, which I think are 17 lbs). This is probably too much tire for an autox setup, but although I run autocrosses with it, I think of it as just a fun car, so ultimate autox performance is only one consideration.

 

 

 

I will have the weight of both the Toyota unit and the GM unit for comparison.

 

 

 

Just after the engine conversion, I weighed the car. With me and various other bits in it, it weighed 1900 lbs. I went home immediately afterwards, carried everything that was in the car to the bathroom scale, and including me, it added up to 200 lbs. I figure there was about 30 lbs of fuel at the time I did this.

 

 

 

Since then, I replaced the huge (16 gallon) steel fuel tank with a much lighter aluminum one, and got rid of the front fenders... Those should add up to 40 lbs or so in savings.

 

 

 

The lightest rotus I know of belongs to OldYellow on this forum. He runs a completely stripped 13b rotory in his. His car is an autox car only, but I think he still has headlights, wipers, and turn signals. His car weighs 1550 lbs (or maybe 1520). So the Rotus is not very light to begin with (it is BIG compared to a Caterham).

 

 

 

My goal after this round of mods is sub 3 second 0-60 times. I did 3.8 on my old setup, and never went past 1/2 throttle. Maybe, just maybe, she'll get some respect from those pesky bike engined cars http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

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You know, in 4x4 circles the Toyota axles have a better reputation than the 10 bolt stuff for durability behind 'Merkan V8s.

 

 

 

If the Supra axle is the same as the axles used in the Toyota mini-trucks from the mid-late 1980s it may be worth hanging on to regear and add a TAD after your 10 bolt goes boom.

 

 

 

Your car being light compared to a piggish F-body that may be a long time though.

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Thanks for the feedback! I suspect that you'll have trouble breaking the new axle, even with the wide tires unless you're gonna take it to the drags.

 

 

 

Sounds like you're being honest about weight. With sevenesque guys, weight is kinda like horsepower or penis length - often lied about. I once watched a certain well-known car weigh in 300 lbs. over what it's owner had previously claimed.

 

 

 

I'd love to hear corner weighting results too.

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As if Mazda's car wasn't quick enough before this round of upgrades. He'll make all us "narrow bodied" car owners pony up for the little Yamaha V-8 soon enough!

 

 

 

FWIW, the only mods I'm doing before 7-7-7 are fixing little things (WTG sender still flakey, retrim Jill Judd hood so that Wolo light bar shows, replace a few snaps that haven't been holding so well. maybe spring for a tonneau.) The semi big ticket item that's on the books is a trailer!

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Mazda: Are you going to be at the next run 'n gun? Super Stalkers have taken top dawg the last two times, but it'd be mighty entertaining with you, the Viking and the Ultralite's in there!

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You know, in 4x4 circles the Toyota axles have a better reputation than the 10 bolt stuff for durability behind 'Merkan V8s.

 

 

 

If the Supra axle is the same as the axles used in the Toyota mini-trucks from the mid-late 1980s it may be worth hanging on to regear and add a TAD after your 10 bolt goes boom.

 

 

 

Your car being light compared to a piggish F-body that may be a long time though.

 

 

 

My nephew is WAY into Toyota trucks and offroading (he reads these threads every once in a whilehttp://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif )

 

 

 

The toyota axles in those trucks are 8" axles. This is a 7.5" axle. And I agree, those are more stout. I bought a ford 9" (the king of axles IMO) from LocostV8, but ultimately to get Torsen diff, aluminum calipers, the bolt pattern that I wanted, and the width that I wanted, the camaro rear offered all those out of the box, so it was hard to resist.

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Mazda: Are you going to be at the next run 'n gun? Super Stalkers have taken top dawg the last two times, but it'd be mighty entertaining with you, the Viking and the Ultralite's in there!

 

 

 

Someday I'd love to go to the run 'n gun. I know Jerry (powderbrake) is always reminding me http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/smile5.gif

 

 

 

It's tough to make the time commitment to do that right now. I also have to upgrade my roll bar. The list never ends.

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Yeah bring that beast to Run and Gun. I am anxious to see that monster in action on the track. If you wait till everything is perfect you will never make it to the event. Get it safe and reliable and let it rip.

 

 

 

I need to make a poster of this and hang it in the garage http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/lol.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, the rear is in place... Driveshaft is next (hopefully in the next couple of days). I just ordered all the materials for fabbing up the A-arms, pushrods, etc... for the front. Hopefully I didn't miss anything.

 

 

 

This pic is with 305's in the back. I didn't have lug nuts handy, so the wheels isn't straight. The axle is about 2" wider than I had hoped, but I guess that leaves room for 335's in the future http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/biggrin5.gif

 

 

 

http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20070408_195839_305.JPG

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