58 November 2010 Japanese Performance

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Words & photos: Dan Sherwood
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RX-7
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hey say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but
to serial modifier Ed Roberts, you can’t beat originality
when it comes to pushing the scene to greater heights. ‘I
don’t see the point in blatantly copying what someone
else has done,’ says Ed when we meet him and his
heavily customised Mazda RX-7 at a deserted industrial estate on
the outskirts of North London. ‘I’d rather create something unique
that makes a statement about me. After all, adding your own
personality to your car is what modifying is all about, isn’t it?’
Ed’s uncompromising view of modifying has been applied to a
whole host of modified rides, each one more extreme than the last.
‘I’ve had loads of different cars over the years, and have
modified them all,’ says the 36-year-old motor trade consultant. ‘I
went through the whole hot-hatch phase with a Peugeot 1.9 GTi
on throttle bodies, and then an Audi S2 turbo with an MTM turbo
upgrade. They were great cars and a lot of fun, but nothing
comes close to the RX-7, both in terms of looks and performance.
In fact, not much does. It’s in a completely different league.’
Ed was initially attracted to the swooping Viperesque curves
of Mazda’s rotary rocket after seeing one and noticing its
resemblance to the car of Gotham City’s crime-fighting caped
crusader.
‘When I first saw the original Batman film, I just fell in love with
the Batmobile,’ laughs Ed. ‘It was just so damn cool. Then, one
day, when I saw a black FD3 RX-7 it just brought back the same
feelings. The proportions and the styling are like something out
of a comic book. There’s just no other car like it – apart from the
Batmobile, of course – and the performance is simply stunning.’
Ed acquired the 1992 Mazda RX-7 in August 2002, after
importing it from the Far East through a recognised Japanese
importer. In mint factory condition, with a genuine 60,000 miles
on the clock, Ed was more than happy with his new purchase.
However, with modifying running through his blood, he had
already commissioned the car’s first modification before he had
even picked it up from the importer.
‘I had the factory seats retrimmed in BMW red leather before I’d
even seen the car in the metal!’ Ed chuckles. ‘I just didn’t want to
drive a standard car. To me, the personal touches are everything.’
As the first rotary-engined ride that he had owned, Ed made
sure he was well aware of the potential pitfalls that can come with
RX-7 ownership.
‘Yeah, I’d heard all of the horror stories of blown engines and
horrendous fuel consumption, but I just didn’t care,’ he says. ‘I
knew I’d be modifying the engine heavily, so any problems that
came up would just end up as another reason to upgrade.’
And, true to form, it was just a year later that an engine fault
signalled the beginning of what would become a truly monstrous
transformation.
‘The engine developed a chipped rotor tip, which is a very
common problem for the RX-7’s twin-rotor motor,’ explains Ed.
‘On inspection, the chip was fairly minor, but I don’t mess about
where engines are concerned, so I had the motor fully rebuilt. I
also had the sequential twin turbos replaced with a larger single
turbo for more power.’
The single turbo route is a tried and tested method of
significantly increasing the power of the FD engine, and it
also gets rid of the complex ‘rat’s nest’ of hose work
which can be the bane of many RX-7 owners.
However, Ed’s enjoyment of his new turbo installation
didn’t last long, as before the ECU had even been fully
mapped, he already had a new modification in his sights.
‘I was out with my mapper, Jason Dullforce, when we
saw a mate of mine in his RX-7,’ explains Ed. ‘He had
just had a new single turbo conversion and when we
had a little race, he just blew me away. That was it. I
knew I had to get a bigger turbo.’
And it’s this kind of constant evolution to
ever-improved and uprated components that has shaped
Ed’s car into the masterpiece that it is today. Never one
to compromise, Ed’s RX-7 has been through more
T
Right: Custom Mazdaspeed recliners use Sparco harnesses
Top: SSR rims really help set off the wide-bodied FD
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RX-7
different parts than most of us get through in
a lifetime of running modified rides.
‘I’m constantly striving for perfection,’ Ed
says. ‘To always have the very best available
and to be unique.’
The current specification of the car,
which sees a gargantuan 650bhp at the
flywheel and enough torque to peel the
tarmac from the road, is a result of a chain
of upgrades that has seen four different
engines, each one more powerful and
higher-spec than the last.
‘Unlike many RX-7 owners, I’ve never
blown an engine,’ Ed says. ‘The reason I’ve
gone through four of them is that, rather
than continually improve the same engine,
I’ve had new engines built with better spec
Japanese Performance November 2010
and then sold the outgoing engine to help
fund it. Most of the engines that I’ve sold on
are in perfect condition and have done less
than 10,000 miles.’
To produce such huge power figures the
FD motor has been lavished with a host of
custom modifications and the largest turbo
in GReddy’s current line-up.
‘JayDee is a legend when it comes to
tuning rotaries,’ says Ed as he opens the
RE Amemiya AD9 carbon bonnet to reveal
the heart of the beast. ‘There’s a lot of
power to be gained from porting, but you
really have to know what you’re doing, and
Jay is awesome. He has built the motor with
a load of custom internal mods, trick seals,
and an oversized street port to make the
most of the boost from the larger turbo.’
The huge GReddy T88H-38GK turbo sits
on a similarly branded stainless steel
manifold, connected to a GReddy TR-spec
4in turbo back exhaust system. The boost is
controlled by a GReddy Profec B Spec 2
boost controller and an A’PEXi Power FC
Pro ECU, via a GReddy Type C racing
wastegate.
This hurricane of pressurised air is then
cooled by an A’PEXi GT front-mounted
intercooler and an Aquamist water injection
system, before moving on to enter the motor
via a pair of Cosmo RE upper and lower
intake manifolds.
The immense amount of go-juice that is
required is supplied by an A’PEXi BNR fuel
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Ed Roberts’ Mazda RX-7 Turbo
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Engine
1.3-litre, twin-rotor, rotary FD3S engine, custom
fully rebuilt engine with trick seals, custom
internal mods and oversize street port, Cosmo
RE upper and lower intake manifolds, GReddy
T88H-38GK turbo, GReddy Type C racing
wastegate, GReddy stainless steel manifold,
GReddy TR-spec 4in turbo back exhaust
system, GReddy Profec B Spec 2 boost
controller with steering wheel switch, Power
FC Pro ECU with commander, A’PEXi GT
front-mount intercooler, PWR alloy radiator,
water injection with custom alloy water tank
and manual override, Aeromotive fuel pressure
regulator, KG Parts secondary fuel rail with
1680cc injectors, Sard 660cc primary injectors,
Banzai Racing sump brace, uprated engine
mounts, HKS twin power ignition amplifier,
NGK racing spark plugs, GReddy strut brace,
3-bar map sensor, hardwired A’PEXi BNR fuel
pump, uprated fuel lines, lightweight
underdrive pulleys, custom in-tank fuel
cell/baffle
Transmission
Factory 5-speed manual with Fidanza
lightweight flywheel, ACT 6-puck clutch
Suspension
Lowered on Tein Flex coilovers, Cusco anti-roll
bars front and rear, uprated differential mount,
Powergains Motorsport upper and lower rear
adjustable trailing arms
Brakes
(Front) 330mm discs with Wilwood Superlight
6-pot calipers and Hawk pads, (Rear) 325mm
discs with custom Wilwood Superlight 4-pot
calipers with integrated handbrake and
Wilwood pads, uprated brake and clutch lines,
Hurst line lock, Wilwood adjustable brake bias,
larger brake master cylinder
Wheels & tyres
Custom 9x18in and 11x18in SSR Professor
MS1 3-piece split rims with 235/40x18 and
265/35x18 Toyo R888 semi-slick tyres
Exterior
Custom black full respray, customised
Mazdaspeed GTC sideskirts, customised FEED
wide rear arches, Customized Abflug rear
spats, Ganador carbon wing mirrors, RE
Amemiya carbon door handles, RE Amemiya
carbon door sill covers, RE Amemiya AD9
bonnet with custom carbon NACA duct, Attain
carbon exhaust guard, RE Amemiya carbon
GTII wing, RE Amemiya AD05 front bumper
with carbon canards and carbon front diffuser,
RE Amemiya H11 sleek headlights, Kaixen HID
bulbs
Interior
Custom Mazdaspeed sports recliners, Sparco
harnesses, Momo Jet steering wheel, AEM
wideband SPA dual boost and EGT gauge, RE
Amemiya gearknob, Pettit Racing short shifter
ICE
Alpine 9855R head unit with iPod connection,
Pioneer 4-channel amp, Pioneer 6.5in
components, Pioneer 5x7in full range rears, JL
Audio 2-channel amp, 12in JL Audio W0
subwoofer, Optima Yellow Top battery in boot
Thanks
Jaydee – aka Yoda – (the force is strong with
this one), J&D Autobodyworks, Kerim at
Powergains Motorsport, Stuart at KN Solutions,
Geoff and Chris at REWorx, my loving wife for
putting up with the stress
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RX-7
pump and Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator
to a set of Sard 660cc primary injectors
and a further set of 1680cc injectors which sit
on a KG Parts secondary fuel rail. Needless
to say, Ed doesn’t worry about fuel economy,
or his carbon footprint. Unless it’s his carbonfibre footprint, that is…
Lowered closer to the tarmac by a set of
Tein Flex coilovers with Cusco anti-roll bars
front and rear, the RX-7’s gorgeous resprayed
black with gold metallic paintwork is dripping
with the finest products available, including
the obligatory black weave.
‘The carbon bonnet, rear wing and
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canards not only look good, but they help
reduce weight,’ says Ed, who has created
his own unique look for the Rex by blending
and customising the body parts from four
different kits.
An RE Amemiya AD05 front bumper with
carbon canards flows into customized
Mazdaspeed GTC sideskirts and on to Abflug
rear spats and FEED wide rear arches – a
necessary component to house the
mammoth custom-made 11x18in SSR
Professor MS1 three-piece split rims with
265/35x18 Toyo R888 semi-slick tyres.
‘I’ve gone through so many different body
parts,’ laughs Ed, remembering the car’s
varying stages of visual metamorphosis. ‘I’ve
been through three front bumpers, three rear
wings, two bonnets, two sets of lights and
four sets of wheels. I’ve tried to blend the
best of Japanese RX-7 tuning with the best
that’s available from the US, all blended with
my own UK style. It’s been a long process,
but I think I’ve got the look perfect now.’
And keeping that perfect body shiny side
up and out of the nearest hedge is a set of
330mm discs with ultra-rare Willwood
Superlight 6-pot calipers up front and 325mm
discs with even rarer Wilwood Superlight 4-
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pot calipers with integrated handbrake at
the rear.
‘I’ve been told that this is the only set of
these brakes in the UK,’ reckons Ed. ‘The
stopping power is just insane. It’s like
you’ve hit a brick wall!’
The addition of Wilwood adjustable brake
bias and a Hurst line lock system means that
dragster-style burnouts are also a piece of
cake and highlights just one of the areas in
which Ed likes to use his car in anger.
‘I like drag racing, but this car is built for
much more than just straight-line speed,’
says Ed. ‘I’ve also spec’d it to be able to take
it circuit racing too. The wheels and
suspension combination gives massive grip
and it corners like it’s on rails. Which is where
the custom Mazdaspeed sports recliners and
Sparco harnesses really come in handy –
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they hold you in
place much better than the factory seats, so
you can concentrate more on driving and
less on sliding over on
to the passenger seat.’
On the road, Ed has given up on racing
supercars, saying that there just aren’t any
cars out there that can provide a suitable
challenge for the super-7’s stratospheric
performance.
‘I’ve smoked so many supercars it all gets
a bit boring,’ laughs Ed. ‘Now I hunt down
superbikes, as they’re much more of a
challenge. They’ve got the jump on
acceleration due to their light weight, but they
can’t believe it when I come flying past when
we get into higher speeds.’
And it’s this kind of devastating
performance, combined with equally
insidious good looks, that has left Ed with a
bit of a conundrum. ‘What’s next?’ With no
other cars available for under six figures that
can even come close to the RX in terms of
sheer ability, Ed looks set to be keeping the
metal Mazda for a while longer yet.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever sell it,’ says Ed. ‘I
reckon I’ll get buried in it! I just can’t think of
another car that I’d want instead, no matter
what the price.’
And this is what modifying your car
should be about. By focusing on being a
leader rather than a follower, and searching
out the most unique modifications and not
relying on simply creating a carbon copy of
someone else’s vision, Ed has created his
dream car that is as personal to him as his
own fingerprint. Whoever said originality
was a sin? G
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