Mazda RX7 FD3S Review (LSX Swap)(LS7 Rx7)

00:52 - Car Overview of the FD3S
03:12 - Driving on backroads
06:00 - 0 - 110 mph pull
06:12 - Drive across the bridge into Louisville
06:45 - Hard rev to limiter, then rolling burnout from 2nd into 3rd to limiter
07:08 - Outro
Bryan reviews the 1993 Mazda rx 7, or FD3S as its known, thats got an LSX swapped into it in the form of an LS7 engine. Some people like to call this a Mazda MX7, substituting the R for Rotary with an M for Piston.
Bryan found the LS7 engine for sale some years back as a LS7 crate engine and decided to swap it into his 1993 rx7. This swapped FD3Srx7 is made to look like a Mazda rx7 2002. The crew often refer to it as doms rx7.
The swapped rx7fd is a great car to drive. Bryan reviews the outer features of the car and gives you a nice ride along on curvy backroads.

[@elr456]

This combination is fantastic! The engine is not even heavy so it doesn’t drive like a boat. Revs to 7000RPM while sounding great. The gorgeous RX7 and the legendary LS7 are worthy of each other. I love this car.

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thank you so much for the kind words, we totally agree.

[@dustinbenton6841]

Never heard the national anthem played so beautifully.

[@CarGuyFridays]

FREEDOM!!

[@VictorPitstop]

What an insane car... I bet that thing handles and goes like hell!

[@CarGuyFridays]

She gets down thats for sure. Thanks for the reply brother

[@f20turbo]

Dude, I lust after this FD absolutely stunning

[@CarGuyFridays]

You and me both!

[@atli126]

Glad this engine is still rocking the road trip to get this was alot of fun. Im glad this thing is finally getting out of your garage and into the masses

[@CarGuyFridays]

This car is at least in our minds perfection

[@blacksackjack9302]

When I was a kid, I want an RX7, now I still want an RX7 but with an LSX engine, don't care what wannabes in the car community would say about it

[@CarGuyFridays]

They would hate on it, tell you you are an awful human being and tell you how amazing the rotary engine is... all while most of the time they have never owned one. Screw em I say, it's just a car and life is too short to bother with haters. The car is an amazing toy

[@Ilovegirlfights2]

I think rotary faithful are two categories Guy who know how to fix them and work on them all time and the guys who bankrupt themselves paying others to work on them and leave them in the garage

[@CarGuyFridays]

That sounds about right to us! The only caveat being that the second kind seem to convince themselves that they are the first kind lol

[@Ilovegirlfights2]

@@CarGuyFridays i enjoyed that was funny

[@CarGuyFridays]

We do our best to be entertaining!

[@brianawd]

yes it does change how it handles. With the Ls there is now weight over the centerline of the front axle. I have driven mine then a friends back to back at an autocross. Now with that said. I love both ls swapped and Rotary Fd's. The chassis was just so ahead of its time

[@CarGuyFridays]

Yes there is a slight weight penalty we can agree, but unless you are going 10/10ths you don't really feel it. Yes the FD chassis was the best thing Mazda has ever made!! Thanks for the comment!

[@bryggu]

Its like Tom cruise under the samurai suite. Last samurai!!!! My dream car right here

[@CarGuyFridays]

The last Samurai, a great movie. Thanks for the love brother!

[@GR44N]

The more I see an RX-7 the more I'm glad I got a Mazdaspeed Miata NB ❤️ good enough, I don't care for the rotary engine.

[@CarGuyFridays]

Love the FD, but the rotary is temperamental so that's why LS7 resides under the hood. You have an awesome car in the MSM. We have a full review video on a MSM as well if you haven't checked it out yet. Thanks for the comment!

[@GR44N]

@@CarGuyFridays I most definitely will check that out I love your channel, QUALITY stuff you got!

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks so much, means a lot. We put a lot of effort into the videos and even if we don't become famous like cleetus it's just fun to make the videos. Glad you enjoy, we will have a lot more stuff coming out soon with the driving season finally upon us.

[@GR44N]

@@CarGuyFridays I'm already hooked on your channel, I'll make sure to like 👍🏼 I'm already subbed 😎

[@cairizzy]

Hey brother love the swap man! Thinking of doing this swap in a year. Mind if I ask you questions in regards? Thanks in advance

[@CarGuyFridays]

Sure feel free to ask away. Heck, I could even do a video to answer complicated stuff!

[@cairizzy]

@@CarGuyFridays oh absolutely! That’d be perfect. Sorry it took a while to respond, I just returned from europe. If I could get your email address, thatd be awesome as well! Thanks in advance

[@patrickstarr87]

Wow looks and sounds amazing! 🥰

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks so much!

[@CarGuyFridays]

More rx7 or should we do the 911 turbo, ctsv, a 2jz 240, or something else next time? Let us know down here

[@jowellz5956]

Ls swap Mk4 Supra, Or Mk5

[@r1freak1]

Gorgeous !!!

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks!

[@spikespiegel2246]

car goals

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks!

[@roblop21]

Enjoy watching your channel 👌 Great vibes , I definitely support big time 🥂

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks! Always good to know people like what we are making. We'll try to keep making more great content for you to enjoy!

[@mac_19]

did you face any problem like less space in the engine bay for the ls engine to fit?

[@CarGuyFridays]

There is plenty of space for it in there. Admittedly there is less than with the 13b. Comparatively, it fits better than some model year of camaro that had LS stock

[@joelgilliland6394]

Hey I’m just now getting into cars and was thinking about getting an rx-7 what engine was this?

[@CarGuyFridays]

That's an ls7 out of a 2007 c6 z06 corvette.

[@seeyeshua]

Pretty pretty good man , vid music & etc

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks so much!

[@SLO_MZ3]

Listen to that sound always love a v8

[@CarGuyFridays]

We agree, the Chevy LS series has a distinct sound that just sounds mean. Infact, we love all engines even rotaries !

[@irbengimz5489]

Is it possible to duplicate the layout/setup of the exhaust to mimic a corvettes? Or is single really the only way to go?

[@CarGuyFridays]

Corvette has a very unique muffler layout. I don't believe you can replicate a corvettes setup. You can do a dual exhaust setup though. At one point I had that. It's much heavier to have 2 exhaust systems so I went single.

[@lucaskik9866]

Looks sick, I’m glad I sort on new on reddit.

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks man! Well feature this car many more times in the future. We love it

[@mohammedatif9560]

That is so sick 👍

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks!

[@pfarraldcash6095]

this firebird looks cool . 👍

[@CarGuyFridays]

Thanks! Have been thinking about painting a bird on the hood to match it. Do you think it would look good or no?

[@tonyngo47]

Such a beautiful Rx7! Where did you purchase the 99 spec front end from? I prefer one with no front license plate just like this one.

[@CarGuyFridays]

Hi tony. I got it from a company called raceonusa. Check out a thread I made on rx7club back in the day about it www.rx7club.com/interior-exterior-audio-26/raceonusa-99-spec-plateless-bumper-pics-824780/ Appreciate the view. Dont forget to subscribe to see more fd rx7 content. Maybe I can cover the bumper in a future episode :)

[@tonyngo47]

@@CarGuyFridays awesome thank you so much! And yes I’m subscribed now. And yessss a video on that would be sweet!

[@ABModsBlevinsTuning]

Blevins Tuning dyno tune performing well i see!

[@CarGuyFridays]

We love you father!

[@anochieugochuku7176]

Which plateless 99 bumper is that? It doesn't have the beaky issue that I commonly see.

[@CarGuyFridays]

It's from raceon usa about 10urs ago. Its polyurethane. I think it was from the original re mold. I spent a bunch of time on fitment though.

[@DimV93]

Whats your suspension set up like? You have a 8.8 rear end?

[@CarGuyFridays]

The fd has an older set of Tein flex which are closest to the "street flex" model offered today. Custom spring rates of 8k front, 6k rear on the car. It's running a tanabe chromoly front sway bar and stock rear bar and polyurethane bushings all through out the car. It's currently on the stock rear end with the 3.9 ratio, which has held for a long time, although the car mostly sees backroads, streets, and autocross, not drag racing so that's likely why.

[@christianbrussatti4068]

It wouldn't happen to be for sale would it?

[@CarGuyFridays]

Not without a silly silly price tag that overpowers my emotional attachment to it

[@christianbrussatti4068]

@@CarGuyFridays best I can do is $40k

[@CarGuyFridays]

You can barely get a decent condition FD in todays market for that fyi

[@265justy]

Stunning looking car. But its true heart had been ripped out for something that's not even Japanese not to mind Mazda. Rotaries might be temperamental, but they are what makes an RX7.... an RX7..

[@CarGuyFridays]

You'd be surprised how nice the chassis is, regardless of what engine is in there. To us the chassis is the glorious part of the car. To each their own though!

[@jestgsx]

Entertain selling? 🙂

[@CarGuyFridays]

No sir this car is a lifer!!

[@wish9527]

How much did this car cost?请问这台车一共花了多少钱

[@CarGuyFridays]

Its hard to say how much it costs. We've had it for 15yrs now in one form or another and costs have changed pretty dramatically since then. The best estimate would be a clean FD + LS7 swap (14k?) + ~10k for misc things.

[@wish9527]

@@CarGuyFridays I estimate it will cost about 100,000 US dollars. A good FD is about 50,000 US dollars (the price is getting more and more expensive now), a brand new LS7+ gearbox is about 40,000 US dollars, and I need to repaint it to become yellow, plus other accessories and labor costs, it may cost 10-12 Ten thousand U.S. dollars, equivalent to about 800,000 yuan, is very costly. I need to save money for a long time, but I will not give up.

[@wish9527]

@@CarGuyFridays I owned an rx8 before, but I finally abandoned it and it couldn’t become my favorite

[@bufobuxoa2405]

How many HP?

[@CarGuyFridays]

500 wheel.

[@ranmas2004]

BETTER fix those stock heads LS7 known for dropping valves!!!

[@CarGuyFridays]

Already did haha. First thing we did to the heads was send it out to be fixed.

[@ranmas2004]

@@CarGuyFridays GOOD man. Hate to see that thing get ruined over that! I had a Heads/Cam LS7 swapped 1990 Nissan 300zx with a T56 Magnum trans! Made 585whp and 520tq! Thing was pure BEAST!!!

[@CarGuyFridays]

We love the z32 chassis I bet that thing was sick!!

[@arrivendrive6831]

I love that engine but not in the rx7. The rotary engine sets further back in the engine bay and much lower to the ground for better handling. If I wanted more torque I would just throw a 3 rotor in it. I dont understand why some people swap them. There are a few good rotary mechanics that will make your car a dream without any problems. I well built rotary engine is very reliable and not fragile. A rotary engine not built well or tuned well is a nightmare waiting to happen. Either way the car is beautiful and looks well built. Everyone has different views and mine has stayed rotary. When you build a car you build it for yourself so to the owner enjoy your car. For those still rotary brap on.

[@CarGuyFridays]

It's a good engine. The 20b is no where near the price range of even an ls7 swap unfortunately. We dont hate any engine at cgf tho. If anyone wants to donate a good 20b well throw it right in the car and make another video!

[@arrivendrive6831]

Lol. If someone was donating a 20b I would be the first in line. Lol. I dont know the cost of a ls7 swap but I do have an idea of a 20b. You are correct it is not cheap. I would have thought the ls7 swap would have been about the same in price. Either way I hope you did not take offense by my statement. Like I said before the car is built for you to enjoy.

[@CarGuyFridays]

No offense at all! Ls7 was bought for about $8k some years back. 20b rebuildable cores seem to cost that these days, then add in standalone, turbo, intercooler, etc etc and you quickly end up much more.

[@arrivendrive6831]

Ya a 20b is between 7 and 9k. It is always a good idea to rebuild it. Motor alone with rebuild is probably between 11k to 13k. For both swaps you will need a standalone and custom motor mount of some kind. I guess where the real cost in the 20b swap is the rebuild. Most rotards already have a standalone and single turbo with a vmount. A manifold for 20b is a bit costly also. . By the way that ls7 in those mountains sounds mean ad hell. Brap brap

[@AdamLewis1]

I still call this blasphemy

[@CarGuyFridays]

You'll find no hatred here. We like rotary engines here too!

[@jeremyluder494]

Please sell me this car!!

[@CarGuyFridays]

Sorry, no can do :)