The Fc3s Touge Special

When we decided to do this short 80’s theme I knew just the car I wanted to post up. I featured this orange FC3S a while back for a magazine, but despite the fact that some of our US readers might have seen it in print, I thought it would be a pity not to share it with the rest of you. It is the embodiment of the no-frills driver’s car, modified with the sole intent of carving up the challenging corners that dot the Hakone and Izu mountain areas just south of Tokyo.

The owner, Yoshi, is someone we know well here at Speedhunters; he’s the guy that in 2014 will be taking his Dandy-built pre-production R34 Skyline GT-R on the salt of Bonneville and attempt to go as fast as no man has ever dared to in a stock-bodied san-yon. While Dandy-Tanaka continues to slowly build his GT-R, Yoshi can usually be found putting his FC to good use, honing his skills through the mountains, which is actually where I first laid eyes on this car.

It happened back in 2010 when I, along with a few friends, decided to head down to the Izu Skyline to let off some steam and drive our cars hard for a few hours. Yoshi showed up with in this bright orange RX-7, a car I had heard about but hadn’t seen before. He proceeded to outdrive every single car in the group, the FC’s boasting a power to weight ratio we all dream about! I knew right then and there that a feature was a must.

So to find out more about the FC I met him up one late summer day and chatted about him as we immortalized his pride and joy against the Tokyo Bay backdrop. The orange exterior came to be out o pure coincidence, following an accident on a wet highway where the car was pretty badly crashed after aquaplaning out of control. Yoshi thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give his, then gunmetal grey car, a few upgrades which included rigidity -boosting upgrades, some choice aero parts to replace the damaged body and a rather catching color change.

The color is the same orange as used on the 911 GT3 RS, a nice touch that gives the 80’s shape a little bit of spice. Part of the body upgrades were these vintage Pan Speed mirrors.

Under the vented hood however…

…the engine survived the impact, a good thing because this little bridge-ported 13B is half the secret to Yoshi’s untouchable pace through the mountains. Built by Prestige, a rotary shop located in Kyushu, it delivers a 500 HP punch and an unstoppable appetite for high revs.

Force feeding it is a T04R, plumbed into position courtesy of custom stainless steel headers and aluminum piping, channeling the 1.5 bar of boost…

…through the front mounted intercooler…

…towards the engine via a straightened out GReddy elbow and stock throttle.

It’s a pretty wild tune for a 13B but Yoshi isn’t really one to care for reliability, he just wants the best possible performance out of his car. Supplying the fuel are four Sard 1000 cc/min injectors fed by a modified R32 GT-R fuel pump controlled by the HKS F-Con V Pro piggy back ECU tuned by Top Fuel Racing.

Joining the PCR custom gassed dampers Yoshi also threw on a JIC front strut tower bar and Nagisa Auto Gacchiri supports, to help inject a bit more structural rigidity to the front of the ageing chassis.

This has helped a lot, tightening up the steering feel, a welcome effect when putting the car through its paces…

…on those deserted Japanese countryside roads.

I’ve always been a sucker for a well tuned FC, a car that has always been one of the most appealing eighties JDM rides for me. Yoshi has done a good job of turning it into a proper street racer, even taking the time to come up with a thin front splitter, held in place with metal wires onto the Foresight bumper. Feeding fresh air to the cone filter is a Pan Speed headlight cover with built in air intake – again adding to the whole functionality of the project. Looking at the car head on it’s also easy to spot those wider front fenders, 30 mm wider on each side, allowing wider wheels to be ran without problems.

Thankfully there is no rear wing to be seen, a great omission that helps keep that simple rear end just that – simple. As a little aid in stability an RE-Amemiya diffuser and vortex generators were added, but if this is actually functional is anyone’s guess. Still as Yoshi says, it does look pretty good!

The dark silver Advan RSs are shod with 255/40R17 Toyo T1Rs, a nice and square match for the 9Jx17″ +22 sizes. Seeing the toll a properly driven mountain road can have on any braking system, Yoshi didn’t take any chances and upgraded the front with Endless 6-pot calipers and matching slotted discs, the rears with a simple oversized disc kit. For better pedal feel the master cylinder was swapped out for an FD3S item.

The roll-cage is also something that was added after the accident, as was a nice dose of spot welding around the door openings. The sills were even injected with self-expanding foam, a popular way to boost stiffness where it counts the most.

It’s all about functionality in the interior too; we find a well used Cobra bucket seat with Takata harnesses….

…as well as a simple Momo steering wheel, the first upgrades that were carried out.

There is plenty of gadgetry to play with too, from the Blitz boost gauge and Defi gauges, to the Billion fan controller and old PRofec B boost controller.

The main carpeting and everything aft of the seats…

…has been stripped out. Open the hatch and you can also see the Cusco rear strut tower bar and two obsolete speakers. While they are actually still connected and functioning…

… if you have ever heard a bridge ported 13B screaming though an open exhaust and an external wastegate, well music is the last thing your ears will pick up!

As pretty and as ageless the FD may be, the FC has always been an equally attractive generation of the RX-7. There is something about it, something that only cars born in the eighties seem to have; maybe it’s the simplicity of it all, the tackiness and boxiness of the interior, or just that it brings us back to a time when Mazda was in the midst of creating some of the most unique and impressive sports cars of all times. Whatever it is, there is no doubting Yoshi has built upon the FC’s potential, turning it into an impressively fast car capable of embarrassing very exotic and very expensive modern day performance cars.

Specs:

Engine: Bridge-ported 13B; MazdaSpeed engine mounts; HPI engine damper, air filter; custom-made T04R turbocharger; HKS external wastegate, F-Con V Pro ECU; custom-made exhaust system; custom intercooler piping; Trust triple core intercooler; FD3S intake manifold; BNR32 GT-R modified fuel pump; Sard FPR, 1,000cc injectors (x4); NGK Power Cable ignition leads, platinum plugs; Twin layer radiator, FC3S oil cooler setup

Transmission: ATS twin plate carbon clutch & lightweight flywheel; MazdaSpeed transmission mounts & LSD; Mazda FD3S 4.3 final drive

Suspension & Brakes: PCR custom set-up suspension kit; JIC carbon front strut tower bar w/ custom bracing; Cusco rear strut tower bar; Autoexe member brace; Nagisa Auto Gacchiri supports; Endless 6-pot front calipers & 324mm 2-piece slotted discs; stock 1-pot rear calipers & 315mm oversized discs; rear caliper offset adapter; FD3S master cylinder

Wheels & Tires: Advan Racing RS 9Jx17″ +22 (f/r); Toyo R1R 255/40R17 (f/r)

Exterior: Foresight front bumper, wide front fenders (+30 mm); custom front under diffuser; Aero hood; RE Amemiya carbon rear diffuser; Aero mirrors; Porsche 997 GT3 RS orange paint

Interior: Custom 9-point rollcage; Cobra driver side bucket seat; Takata harness; Mazda FD3S passenger-side bucket seat; Momo steering wheel; Night Sports combination meters; Mazdaspeed shift knob; Defi gauges (water temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure), control unit II; Trust boost controller; relocated battery

-Dino Dalle Carbonare

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112 comments

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1

What a perfect article. Dino it is perfectly fine if all you ever feature from now on are proper touge cars. It's so rare now to come across someone that actually knows how to drive quickly on the street.
 
Big thumbs up to Yoshi for building an excellent car!

2

I love the 'battle raedy' look/stance this fc has

3

As stripped road cars go this is just perfect. Looks incredibly purposeful and clearly has the specification to match its looks. (Oh, and great article as well!)

4

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

5

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

6

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

7

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

8

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

9

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

10

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

11

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

12

Nice wheel hubs...!!!!

13

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

14

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

15

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

16

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

17

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

18

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

19

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

20

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

21

i think you guys should feature toyota KE70 for this week :)

22

This is THE car

23

This is THE car

24

This is THE car

25

This is THE car

26

This is THE car

27

This is THE car

28

This is THE car

29

This is THE car

30

This is THE car

31

Beautiful! And nice subtle touch on the wheels..!

32

God I miss my FC3S Turbo... What a brilliant car. I'm not in love with Yoshi's color choice, but everything else about the car is phenomenal. I can only imagine what it must be like to drive this car with 500hp - I had a blast in mine with only a 3" turbo-back and intake!

33

Wow, this is exactly the type of environment I'm building my FC upon.  I am definitely counting on having my car featured on this website someday, as I have some big plans in the works.  Great post Dino!

34

I love seeing street cars like this that are built to carve the mountains. Most street cars we see nowadays are all drift cars or straight line cars.

35

AMAZING! Im a huge FC fan since I was a wee lad. This car represents everything that was right about the 80s tuners. Fantastic post!

36

Amazing car and has to be such a great time behind the wheel on an open stretch of twisty roads. Man I love the FC when it gets attention like this one did. Nice feature!

37

dude needs to vent that battery.

38

what does it mean "stock 2 pot rear calipers"......fc rear calipers are 1 pot. i'd like some info on the rear setup

39

any chance of seeing a video of this anywhere?
 
 
perpetualroad.wordpress.com

40

also i wonder if he can even here the radio lol?

41

I like the function over form way of thinking, when building street cars. If you want to go fast you better be able to handle it. I am sick of stock cars on rims, with stickers. The stance crowd is more of a race car fan boy. But this is something totally different, I love it !! Keep em' coming Dino.

42

@izzy_ortiz I'd like to see one as well, this car sounds insane

43
StefanHartbrakeAce

perfect amount of tire perfect ride height.

44
speedhunters_dino

@StefanHartbrakeAce Indeed, adds to the overall feel of the car too!

45
speedhunters_dino

@MCCLIFTED Thank you sir, and I will!

46
speedhunters_dino

@MCCLIFTED Thank you sir, and I will!

47
speedhunters_dino

@MCCLIFTED Thank you sir, and I will!

48
speedhunters_dino

@MCCLIFTED Thank you sir, and I will!

49
speedhunters_dino

@izzy_ortiz impossible, even at idle lol

50
speedhunters_dino

@izzy_ortiz impossible, even at idle lol

51
speedhunters_dino

@izzy_ortiz impossible, even at idle lol

52
speedhunters_dino

@izzy_ortiz impossible, even at idle lol

53
speedhunters_dino

@MitchThompson  @izzy_ortiz Maybe next time we his the mountains together

54
speedhunters_dino

@MitchThompson  @izzy_ortiz Maybe next time we his the mountains together

55
speedhunters_dino

@MitchThompson  @izzy_ortiz Maybe next time we his the mountains together

56
speedhunters_dino

@MitchThompson  @izzy_ortiz Maybe next time we his the mountains together

57
speedhunters_dino

@AlexanderIvanov Ah my bad sorry!  Just the stock rear so yeah, one pot sliding calipers + larger rotors

58
speedhunters_dino

@AlexanderIvanov Ah my bad sorry!  Just the stock rear so yeah, one pot sliding calipers + larger rotors

59
speedhunters_dino

@AlexanderIvanov Ah my bad sorry!  Just the stock rear so yeah, one pot sliding calipers + larger rotors

60
speedhunters_dino

@AlexanderIvanov Ah my bad sorry!  Just the stock rear so yeah, one pot sliding calipers + larger rotors

61
speedhunters_dino

@TonyDember It sure does! And thanks!

62
speedhunters_dino

@TonyDember It sure does! And thanks!

63
speedhunters_dino

@TonyDember It sure does! And thanks!

64
speedhunters_dino

@TonyDember It sure does! And thanks!

65
speedhunters_dino

@Hanma Yup it's refreshing ...

66
speedhunters_dino

@Hanma Yup it's refreshing ...

67
speedhunters_dino

@Hanma Yup it's refreshing ...

68
speedhunters_dino

@Hanma Yup it's refreshing ...

69
speedhunters_dino

@FCtouge3S Thank you!

70
speedhunters_dino

@FCtouge3S Thank you!

71
speedhunters_dino

@FCtouge3S Thank you!

72
speedhunters_dino

@FCtouge3S Thank you!

73
speedhunters_dino

Get another one!

74
speedhunters_dino

Get another one!

75
speedhunters_dino

Get another one!

76
speedhunters_dino

Get another one!

77
speedhunters_dino

@andrewhake Thank you!

78
speedhunters_dino

@andrewhake Thank you!

79
speedhunters_dino

@andrewhake Thank you!

80
speedhunters_dino

@andrewhake Thank you!

81

Nice!  I have the overwhelming urge to point out that the passenger seat is not one from an FD, but is actually from an Infini(not efini), which was a limited version of the FC.

82
speedhunters_dino

@nate91242 Will have to ask Yoshi but thanks for pointing it out:)

83

@SeanStott I am sure there are setups like this all over the world but it do notice a ton of builds here that have the battery just chilling like that on the interior.  Silly.

84

Love the feature, it let's me know I'm in the right track with my T2 project.

85

It Just makes me miss my Fc3s. Best car I have owned. I wish I had never sold it. 
These are some of the best handling 80`s cars ever produced. plus, nothing beats a screaming rotary with a huge exhaust.

86

hope to build my fc as cool as this

87

Wow, just wow. Love this car, form AND function, the way it should be.

88

Yeap infini fc3s factory bucket seat. Very rare and expensive outside of japan @speedhunters_dino @nate91242

89
speedhunters_dino

@Ollie78 Time to get another one?

90
speedhunters_dino

@FredoFredfral Thanks ;)

91
speedhunters_dino

@nzjoleeh  @speedhunters_dino  @nate91242 Wonder if he has the driver's side one too!

92

This one gets me very hard!!

93

I must admit I kinda had a thing for FCs and was kinda waiting for a special car to ignite that fire, and this car is it. I love your posts the most Dino, keep them coming and coming and coming.

94

Also Dino, where's your project car article? D:

95

@speedhunters_dino  @nate91242 i would love them in my FC but doubt i would fit in them haha. really nice feature by the way, cheers

96
speedhunters_dino

@CrisCiunganu Check back tomorrow;)

97
speedhunters_dino

@CrisCiunganu Thank you Cris!

98

@speedhunters_dino Yesssss, I can't wait :D Skylines are my thinggg.

99

Can I have it?
 
One day I will have one like it.

100

Can I have it?
 
One day I will have one like it.

101

Can I have it?
 
One day I will have one like it.

102

im a sucker for a nicely done orange car!!
anyone else notice the center caps on the wheels?

103

im a sucker for a nicely done orange car!!
anyone else notice the center caps on the wheels?

104

Gotta love FC's, amazing cars, lightweight + a lot of power = urban race car. Loving the color, great choice!

105

@Nikhil_P Good eye.

106

@CrisCiunganu As a Honda guy, I always had a thing for RX-7s.

107

@MCCLIFTED  I rather have an internally stock engine with basic bolt-ons, but extensive suspension work coupled with wider wheels and sticky tires.

108

@speedhunters_dino  @andrewhake More touge specials, pretty please!

109

I had to come back and read this all again, I love the car and the color and the whole package, such a fun car!  Great feature and this is got me hunting for an FC again, oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

110

@AlexanderIvanov if anything is cool about FC rear brakes its that some models had vented rotors out back which is pretty rare for sportscars and it is great help for track duty.

111

Really interesting project. 2 years ago buy a FC and did not know how I would change it. when I saw this article, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
I hope to finish it next year!

112

nice build

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