This is a car I've been meaning to feature for a while now. It was built by my friend Russ, the man behind the RE-Extreme blog, the place to go to for the latest news on anything and everything related to the RX7. Before Russ got rid of this, his second RE-Extreme project car, we met up in the Tokyo Bay ready to immortalize his very unique ride.
After much searching we ended up at a Hotel in Tokyo Disneyland, which provided a very nice, yet very un-Japanese backdrop!
Before embarking on this project Russ took lots of time to think about what direction to go with his FD. One definite requirement was to be as original as possible choosing a good mix of bits and pieces for that bespoke look. There is no denying the FD3S is by far one of the most aesthetically pleasing cars ever to come out of Japan, without even beginning to consider the possibilities the aftermarket offers. Flick through the pages of the Hyper Rev series of books dedicated to this shape and you will be surprised at just how many body parts are available, a list that keeps growing even if the car has been out of production for years now!
He got things going with one of RE Amemiya's most controversially styled front ends, the Facer 9 front bumper, with that unmistakable protruding central air dam. This was joined by a fixed headlight conversion and a vented carbon fiber hood, both from RE Amemiya. The Feed Afflux front fenders matched up perfectly to the front bumper, despite being from a different maker, giving a more menacing stance thanks to their increased width.
Feed rear over-fenders gave an equal widening to the back of the car and I think the riveted-on look really worked on this application. The carbon Feed side skirts and Craft Square side mirrors proved to be great accents.
Russ often took his FD out on tight and challenging mountain passes, touge in Japanese, so he wanted to unleash a few more horses from the little blender of an engine that is the 13B. He headed to Panspeed who managed to extract 380 hp thanks to a reprogrammed ECU, a full aluminum piping kit and intercooler upgrade.
Blitz filters and the GReddy elbow pipe helped give better throttle response.
Check out those nice Bride carbon-Kevlar bucket seats. I could never manage to sit in those things so I wouldn't be able to tell you if they were comfortable of not, but honestly when they look so good, who cares right!
Additional instrumentation was handled by Defi with this triplet of dials fixed onto the dashboard…
…and the water temperature meter on the other side of the main instrument cowl.
This was quite the tactile experience, the ATC Sprint alcantara shifter knob.
Russ did a great job picking the wheels, 10Jx18" silver Advan RS front and rear. They were wrapped in Neova rubber 255/35/18 all round. The Aragosta adjustable suspension allowed for a nice drop in ride height, which ultimately made the car a bit of a pain to drive around in the city.
What really enhanced the uniqueness of this particular FD was the color, a Mazda "Metallic Highland Green" Russ chose after much deliberation.
Here is Russ giving the camera a silly face!
Russ got rid of his FD due to the simple fact that he was using it less and less. He had no trouble finding a buyer and it was soon shipped off to the UK.
Since getting rid of the RX7 Russ now rides around in a new Mazda Roadster, might not be a rotary but at least he stayed faithful to the brand! It's one car I keep meaning to shoot but until I do so, you can check out his new GT Roadster blog to see what he gets up to with his new ride.
The specs:
Engine:
- Pan Speed ECU
- GReddy Elbow Pipe
- Pan Speed Intercooler and piping utilizing Blitz intercooler core
- Blitz SUS Air Filter Kit
- Blitz Dual Drive Blow Off Valve
- Blitz NUR Spec Exhaust
- NGK 10.5 Plugs
- Nology Leads
- Knight Sports Twin Oil Sensor Attachment
- Koyo Type Z Alloy Radiator
- VS-One Engine Brace
Transmission:
- HKS LA Clutch Kit
Suspension & Brakes:
- Aragosta adjustable suspension kit
- 10.3 kg/mm springs front, 7.8 kg/mm rear
- Cusco Stabilizer Bar front
- Cusco Stabilizer Bar rear
- Okuyama – Carbing 3 point strut Brace with Master Cylinder Support
- Cusco Rear Strut Brace
- Project µ Carbon HC+ pads all round
Wheels & Tires:
- Yokohama Advan RS Silver 10Jx18” +25 front & rear
- Yokohama Advan Neova 255/35/18
Exterior:
- RE-Amemiya Facer 9 Front Bumper
- RE-Amemiya Hood 9 Carbon Cooling Hood
- RE-Amemiya Sleek Light Kit Clear H11 type
- Fujita Engineering FEED Afflux Wide Fender Front
- Fujita Engineering FEED Afflux Wide Fender Rear
- Fujita Engineering FEED Afflux Carbon Side Step
- AutoExe Rear GT FD-02 Wing
- Craft Square Carbon TC/N1 Mirror
- Clear side markers
- Aerial Hole Filled
- Door Mirror Holes Filled
- Flip front number plate stay
- Mazda Metallic Highland Green (Genuine Mazda 2007 MX5 color) painted by Sugiyama Bankin
Interior:
- Bride carbon-Kevlar racing bucket seats (reclinable)
- Nardi Classic 360 alcantara steering wheel
- ATC Sprint alcantara gear knob
- Fet boss and spacer
- Defi Control Unit II
- Defi BF Meters: water temp., boost, oil temp., oil press.
- Carrozzeria CD player DEH P530 (color changeable display)
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Hi,
Nice car, wallpaper of the first shot?
Thx for sharing your friend's stuff
the blitz filters (as good as they are) only change the sound of the. it actually should produce less power, cause the engine sucks warm enginebay air instead of cold air. there few aftermarket air filters which give extra power without further modifcation. for the fd3s with stock turbos there it the autoexe option an. anyway, the point is, people think, that the car produces more power cause of the louder intake sounds. that more a mental think.
ps.
the in europe popular bmc-airfilters are that popular cause it's fairly easy to mount a tube in order to suck cold air...
isn't that a water temp gauge dino?the oil one is with the first 3 although by the temp they're showing it's like you.
but what bothers me is that the max speed is 180 km/h.how is that?is it part of that gentlemen's agreement or what?
The frontbumper somehow reminds me of the last gen (99') 3000GT: http://www.geocities.com/brett_farnam/images/sig2.jpg
well, every japanese car has a speedlimiter which is set to 180. some sort of agrement. in germany pretty much all car are tend to be limited to 250km/h. well, and when you have ayway a speedlimit 130km/h or something like that there is no reason to change tthis. i mean, you won't anyway faster then 180km/h.
Love everything about this car, except the front bumper.
SWEET!! THATS ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID
Great car all around. That wing looks like a toy though
I had the pleasure of parking my FD to this, one of my favourite FD's (although I can see this being a bit or a 'marmite' opinion) at Rotorstock this year. Gorgeous car.
Beautiful car, too bad he took a major downgrade with the Miata. Booooooo!
front is beyond terrible.
Anyone say 3000gt??
The front end of this car reminds me of a Caterham Super 7. Not sure if the author if this article would have noticed that.
quality done, and nicely different.
damn i want that seat and steering-wheel! :O
inspiring! Love seeing the nardi classic wheel. I agree with adam - definitely Caterham with that bumper, looks great
Rx-7's never get old. I love that he kept the rotary engine at a reasonable power output. I love the wheels which compliment the stance wonderfully. I only wish he had dumped it to where it was flush with the wheels but overall, a great build!
Awesome footage!
Very nice FD3S...
Love the bolt on rear overfenders, and that is the perfect paint-beautiful!! The front end is *different* and takes some getting used to--almost reminds me of the Panoz Esperante. Man, this post and Mike's coverage of 7stock makes me want to buy a rotary! My dream would be an RX-2 with NA RX-8 power!
Thanks Dino
Thanks everyone for the comments. I thought I'd wait to comment myself.
It's not surprising that the bumper gets a polarising opinions.
I am still surprised when people haven't seen these bumpers before though. I guess I am too far into RX7s. Yes, Amemiya-san stole the basic design from a 3000GT, but I got it for the integrated splitter and canards. I didn't want too buch bolt on carbon. Just the right amount.
The Autoexe Rear wing is adjustable and street legal. Unlike many huge wings and produces a balanced car. I had an 1800mm GT wing on the last car and the front couldn't cope with the rear downforce. For the street and track in this spec, it was a perfect match.
Pan Speed ECU took care of the 180kph problem. I don't know how fast. But off the clock for a long long time is a good answer.
Believe me. It's low enough.
Definately defines a perfect street/track/touge setup. Power output is just right for this application and im sure those parts would be super-cheap from living in Japan.