Derek 357i

I made it though the 12 page dissertation on the LS1 951 and some other threads, and you guys seem to be very open minded as well as knowledgable about the FC3S (2nd Gen RX-7).

For building a streetable, track capable car, it seems like a toss up as to which to choose.

951 Pros:
Great Balance w/v8
5 gears very well suited to track use
ability to accomodate large tires front and rear (265 F & 295 rear)
Access to real TRACK parts
no need to buy T56
It is a P Car

951 Cons:
Cruise RPMs a little high at 60 for a v8
cost of car itself a bit higher
Little heavier than RX
Conversion kit a bit more expensive

FC3S Pros:
Very light weight
Well Balanced with V8
Well documented and proven swap
Cheap as hell to buy
Low cruise RPMs & high milage on highway

FC3S Cons:
Need widebody fenders for wider than 235 front tire, will hold 265 rear
T56 has 4 good gears + 2 OD gears (RPM pickup in 5th is lower than pickup point in 4th)

Any more thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Also, any input on which 951 would be the best candidate for swap would also be appreciated.

D

porshhhh951

I will say the rx7 is a much more common swap and one that I personally know of alot better. Both are pretty well balanced cars. The rx7 will be a little lighter and more importantly cheeper. Their are tons of swapped rx7's already out there so the market for your needed parts will be readily available to you.

although having something a little different is pretty sweet too. If you want to go cool and different go 951 swap. If you want to get it done cheeper go rx7 route. Because I personally think both swaps would perform nicely.

MPD47

Would I rather do a 944? Yes.

But knowing what goes into both I'd opt for the FC. I'm going to be helping with a 944 LSx swap this summer probably.

Porschefile

The FC also has a TON more aftermarket support. There's such a huge amount of suspension, brakes, etc available for those cars that it would be "nicer" to work with IMO. Also, because of the transaxle layout of 944's, I would think an FC would be much easier to swap a v8 into.

J Chen

Aaah but you're forgetting one very important element.
The 951 is more solidly built & it has alot more driving
feel to it.

Porschefile

A large part of this is due to the way our cars are setup in stock form (suspension wise). There are so many aftermarket options available for FC's that it would be very simple to set them up to feel just as good, if not better. It's really just a matter of what you like better. Personally I like the 944 better, however you have to admire the aftermarket for Japanese cars. On top of that, the FC has a more conventional layout (no transaxle, no torsion bars) and would be 10 times easier to work with because of this.

J Chen

Hi Porschefile,
Agreed but I also have driven quite a few highly modified
Japenese cars. Though the overall dynamics are good, it
does somehow lacks driver feel. Don't know about you but
for me, I always enjoy driving my 951. It just makes me
feel more closer to man & machine as one.

Driftomagnifico

Eh? ... those cars must have been lacking. The 944 feels the same as a 240SX or a FC to me. The 951 has excellent stock balance which is something the 240SX doesn't have, but that is easily solved. Ultimately the 951 is harder and more expensive to modify, and the results are debatable as too it being a superior platform in my opinion.

If the oppotunity arised, I would buy a 944.

Zeff

I had an NA FC and did tons of stuff to it, full TII drivetrain swap, full exhaust (loud), manual rack.

My FC was very comparable to my 951 handling wise, but the interior was another story. The FC is known to have a very very fragile interior, ie vents break just because you hit a bump ect..

For a track car I would go the FC route.