1992 Mazda RX-7 (FD)
Name: Sheng Lu Age: 24 Location: Wellington Occupation: Project manager
NZ Performance Car: Hi, Sheng. Your batty is super sleek — what made you buy it?
Sheng: Hey, NZ Performance Car. I actually swapped my C-notched ’05 Courier for it, which I had picked up cheap anyway, and, since the RX-7 had just had a fresh rebuild from Stu Lawton — and I know he builds some of the toughest rotaries in New Zealand — it sounded like a sweet deal to me.
Not bad at all! Were the Equips hard to get your hands on in those sizes?
Yeah, I ended up having to buy them as pairs — one of which was black centred and the other polished. They were stripped down, refurbed to remove any damage, and repolished for that OG chrome look.
Are we wrong in saying that those rear hips look a bit wide, too?
You aren’t wrong there! Long story short, when I bought the wheels, the sizes and offsets [that] I thought I was buying turned out to be incorrect, so, when they turned up, they didn’t fit … instead of dicking around trying to resize the wheels, we got to work resizing the guards instead. It was important to me that we stayed with the factory lines in the rear and didn’t overdo it. Most people won’t notice a difference unless it’s put up next to factory examples.
It works pretty damn well. What’s the response been like?
I try to take it out every weekend, since it’s all street legal, and, wherever it ends up going, I’ll have a chat with people asking what’s been done and who built it, etc. The plate usually sparks up the most conversations and the occasional old bugger commenting on the smell of the two-stroke mix burning, and what that rotary ‘noise’ is.
And how does it handle on track?
It’s only been to a couple of track days — mainly Powercruise and, most recently, [the V] 4&Rotary Jamboree — but it’s been killer to get out on track in. Rides super smooth for such a low car, and the 13B has got some pull to make things hairy when you want it to. But that thought is always in the back of your mind, to be careful not to damage the rear end [laughs].
Never hurts to give it some shit! Thanks for sharing her with us, Sheng.