This FD3S Mazda RX-7 does not need much of an introduction is one of the many cars here in Japan that I have on my list for far too long ‘to photograph’.
But in the end, after the stars had recently been lit, I managed to get the cool guys Car shop (CSG) to bring their time to attack Mazda in a quiet location away from the crowds of the daily chaos of Tokyo.
I can remember the first time that I was watching this RX-7 was probably the second battle Evome round that I had treated in February 2015, and it was dramatically lit by the first pair of rays of morning light that break over the horizon. The adapted bronze color seemed and reflected, and I thought immediately, “Damn, that 7 looks hot!”
Just like all cars participating in Battle Evome, CSGs RX-7 has evolved over the years, aerodynamics that maximize its performance up to a round of 56 seconds on Tsukuba Circuit. That, my friends, is terribly Quick – especially in view of the fact that it is not powered by a professional director, but rather the man who runs car shop Glows, Yukimitsu Hara.
The most surprising thing about everything is that CSG cannot be classified as a tuner, because the most important company is all about adapted automotive LED solutions and light upgrades. Hara-San, however, loves racing, and time attack is of particular importance, which means that he was once transforming his street car in something that is much more track-oriented than road-friendly.
The FD3s can still be equipped with a navigation system, speakers and even an ETC machine for paying highway tol in Japan, but the days that the pulling out for a solid Sunday drive are almost over.
The Mazda is low on a set of Aragosta dampers tailor-made by pisto racing. Suspension connections are rose joint, and each bus has been replaced by a polyurethane equivalent or, where possible, solid material mounted on the chassis.
As I referred a moment ago, the way in which the RX-7 cuts through the air has been refined over the years with a large number of upgrades that build on the already impressive Re Amemiya Ad GT wide bodykit. Everything is beautiful and beautifully executed; Car Shop Glow is proud of the wet carbon parts that they create.
But let’s look at it closer – firstly, in the front, where the Reamemiya bumper is easily recognizable thanks to that characteristic central air inlet. However, everything else is masked by some serious-looking Aero additions.
The big main splitter is covered and accompanied by a few Canards in place with support bars to ensure that bending is kept to a minimum. It could not be a serious JDM time attacker if it did not exchange his side mirrors for a few traditional square carbon articles that will change the profile of a car immediately – as they do here. A re -amemiya diffuser is modified and accompanied by a few vortex generators, while a CSG cabbage wing adorns the deck of the FD.
It all combines to create a targeted machine that seeps the presence and needs time to fully absorb. The more I looked at, the more details and small details I noticed.
From this angle, for example, I was blown away by the number of air stores that have been worked out at the front. Since Aero engineer Andrew Brilliant has always told me when trying to explain some of the secrets of aerodynamics (which I can usually follow about 30 seconds before I am out of the outlet), you have to dump as much air as you absorb and do this as smoothly as possible while using it to your advantage. Or something like that! The front of the FD’s front end channels air away from the motor compartment and the wheel arches, which are recently equipped with lougles and top outlets in an attempt to find more front-end downforce.
The air that flows around the car profile must also be managed smartly, and here extra skirts do exactly that.
They meet at what one of the most popular over-fender sections for the FD IS is simple, but it adds so much effect to the overall position of the car. The candy paint is something I also have to work on – the basic source tint is actually inspired by a Nissan -Cubus color, but extra metal flakes have been added to really make it pop.
Finishing things are RE Amemiya fixed project orientities instead of the original pop-up headlights and the latest LED Small Light and indicator units from Car Shop Glow.
Then of course there are the wheels. Until a while ago the RX-7 ran on one of my favorite wheels that are there: the people Racing CE28N from Rays. It is now on a set of ZE40s, which are not only stiffer but also lighter.
Then we get the brakes, and this is something that always makes me chuckle when it comes to RX-7s. This is a 56-second car on Tsukuba-56.4 seconds to be precise, but it succeeds in achieving this time stock brakes. Okay, so the liters are of higher specifications because they are ready-made PFC items, just like the pads in the front and rear, but that tells you everything you need to know about racing and following a lightweight car. Good luck with Tour of Sub-60 seconds at Tsukuba in a GT-R with factory stoppers!
Taking in the details I also saw what looked like another new addition at the back of the car: a wet carbon stem spoiler that wraps itself around the rear lights of the RX-7.
The lights contain adapted car shop GLOW LED Inners, which results in a unit that wins a lot of exposure thanks to social media.
Here is another angle of the adapted rear wing of CSGs adapted carbon fiber with a number of large end plates. It reminds me a bit of the do-luck wing on the R34 GT-R-Slechts an extensive high-mount version of it.
As you can see from this image of the RX-7 from the last time I saw it in Tsukuba, the wing is a new addition and something that they are testing to see if it makes a real difference through the corners.
We have almost determined that this car manages to break the fungus when it comes to standing out in a sea of coordinated FDs that Japan constantly throws at us.
But the thing that this RX-7 makes the performer it is is what goes away under the ventilated bonnet.
A motorcycle of this nature is certainly outside the Autoschow -Glow’s Realm, which is why they have worked with Rotary Specialist Zest Racing in Chiba.
Zest has given the type of power and delivery that a car that competes in time attack needs, so you will not find a 3-rotor monstrosity that develops four-digit output, but rather a well-coordinated 13b that checks all the right boxes. The bridge-ported engine produces 530 hp, partly thanks to a gigantic trust T88-34D turbocompressor, but not to stagnate the fast spooling and responsive nature that Rotary Motines are known for, Zens came up with an adapted V-Mount setup for the intercooler that holds the pipe work as a straight and right. An HKS F-Con V PRO-Motor management system processes the tank and ignition and can extract a usable torque curve that peaks with 490 Nm with 490 Nm.
Zest has also manufactured a straight titanium outlet with an extra long silencer to erase the bumper and diffuser.
Opposite the exhaust outlet, the air flow is well used from under the car by walking a small but efficient transmission cooler.
Hara-San will continue to perfect his FD with the immediate goal of breaking the 55-second barrier. That of course will not be the end – it is never – because the love and attraction for time attack naturally ensures that you want to see how far you can push things.
No off-season passes where the car is not improved or developed in one way or another. It is the core of this discipline, and to see that people and stores put together these types of machines, remains the most inspiring in the Japanese coordination scene.
Unlike in other countries, the time attack in Japan is still very small. Apart from what essentially small track day events and magazine sessions are organized by titles such as REV speed And Option, There is nothing like a national series. That is precisely the reason why there are no more large tuners or parts makers involved, which is a bit sad and depressing on the one hand, but on the other hand this sport keeps it at a Grassroots level, making it all the more special.
There are a number of aspects of car figures in which Japanese tuners and builders are left behind – one is motor management solutions, and the other interior and chassis preparation. With regard to the latter, the CSG RX-7 is at a different level, something that becomes clear as soon as you open the door.
The metal outer shells continue to exist, but the inner trims have been removed and replaced by lightweight carbon cards.
There is a modified roll cage that is ordered to the chassis and is submitted to different locations and has arrived at different locations for extra strength and stiffness. It really helps to get the most out of the scale of the FD, which according to modern standards on the stiffness side of things is missing.
The cage extends to the back behind the Recaro drivers to join the rear towers.
Only the head pile and middle stacking part remains; Every extra trim has been removed to expose bald metal. But in real JDM style there are a few electronic additions in the mix, including a HKS boost controller, HKS circuit attackers Timer and three A’pexi meters. You can also see how the navigation head with double dinner is left in place that is quite strange to see in a time attack, but a reminder of what kind of machine this RX-7 was ever.
Although Mazda now enjoys the spotlights that his new Roadster/Miata/MX-5 streets affects all over the world, I hope it will not forget a very special group of diehard supporters-a rare breed that will probably never give up their passion for the shaky engine.
As long as boys like Hara-San at Car Shop Glow and other Rotish heads all over the world continue to show how this timeless classic remains more than relevant in today’s car World, the RX-7 will shine for many years to come.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: Dino_Dalle_Carbonare
