1998 Mazda RX-7 Type RS-R — Zimax-Built / Factory Sunburst Yellow

• 04/1998 Mazda RX-7 FD3S Type RS-R

• One of only 500 Type RS-R examples produced

• Factory HZ Sunburst Yellow

• 50,882 km displayed

• Long-standing Zimax-built car, featured in Zimax’s official gallery

• Comprehensive HJA-commissioned Zimax engine overhaul in 2024

• UK engine running-in and calibration carried out by Redline Tuning

• Post-run-in rotary compression test – 8.3 / 8.0 / 8.0 and 8.3 / 8.4 / 8.0 kg/cm²

• 401.4 HP recorded on the dyno

• Nearly £30,000 invested by HJA in mechanical and cosmetic recommissioning

• Stock code: TBC

[HJA Presents: A Very Special Type RS-R]

This is definitely not your average FD3S.

At its core is a genuine Mazda RX-7 Type RS-R, one of only 500 produced to celebrate 30 years of Mazda’s rotary engine and finished from the factory in HZ Sunburst Yellow.

Mazda based the RS-R on the Type RS but gave it key performance equipment from the more focused Type RZ, including Bilstein dampers, high-performance tyres and its own limited-edition detailing. Mazda introduced Sunburst Yellow specifically for the RS-R alongside Brilliant Black.

This particular car then went down a very different path.

[LONG-STANDING ZIMAX HISTORY]

The car has a genuine long-term connection with respected Tokyo rotary specialist Zimax.

It remains featured in Zimax’s official Gallery as “S-san FD3S”, where they describe it as a street-to-circuit specification retaining its comfort equipment. Even better, when the car returned to Zimax for our latest recommissioning, Zimax checked their own records and found that the engine had last been removed by them 17 years earlier.

So this isn't simply an RX-7 that happens to have some Zimax parts on it. It's been associated with them for a long time.

[WE TURNED IT INTO AN HJA PROJECT]

When we bought the car, we could have simply recommissioned it and sold it as it was. Instead, we got slightly carried away.

Before it left Japan we sent it back to Zimax and commissioned a comprehensive mechanical overhaul, including a comprehensive rebuild of the 13B.

Once in the UK, it went straight to Redline Tuning, who followed Zimax’s running-in instructions, properly bedded the fresh engine in on the rolling road and then carried out the final setup and calibration.

The car was mechanically very interesting, but the paintwork had simply lost some of its freshness over the years, so we decided to have the complete car professionally refinished in its correct factory HZ Sunburst Yellow.

The older bucket seats were replaced with a brand-new pair of red RECARO RS-Gs and we fitted a fresh set of Enkei RS05RRs. Importantly, we kept the period SSR Professor wheels from its Japanese specification, and they're included with the car.

[THE KIND OF FD THAT STOPS YOU IN YOUR TRACKS]

There is also no getting away from how this thing looks.

The standard FD is already one of the best-looking Japanese sports cars ever made, but the FEAST wide-body, RE Amemiya front end, carbon aero, enormous VOLTEX rear wing and Sunburst Yellow paint give this car an almost ridiculous amount of presence.

It sits incredibly low and wide, and the RE Amemiya Sleek lights completely change the face of the car. From the rear, the huge wing, widened body and single-exit titanium exhaust make it look every bit as serious as the specification underneath suggests.

It feels like a proper Japanese tuning car from the era rather than something recently assembled to imitate one.

It is certainly not a subtle RX-7, and that is exactly the point.

[LATEST ZIMAX 13B OVERHAUL]

The latest engine specification is based on the work we commissioned directly with Zimax rather than simply relying on the car’s much older build sheet.

The 13B was removed, completely stripped, cleaned and measured before being rebuilt.

Both rotors were renewed along with the front and rear rotor housings, front and rear side housings and intermediate housing.

Zimax fitted a fresh 3-piece apex-seal arrangement with WPC treatment and Hyper Moly coating, together with new apex, side and corner seals and associated springs.

The rebuild also included extensive renewal of the oiling and cooling systems, bearings, seals, and O-rings, along with a new oil pump, oil-pump chain, water pump, and thermostat.

The fuel tank was removed and cleaned, the fuel filter and injectors were renewed, the starter motor was rebuilt, plugs were replaced, and numerous ageing fuel, vacuum, silicone and heat-resistant hoses were renewed. Zimax also refinished the engine bay before installing the rebuilt engine.

[RUN-IN & SET UP BY REDLINE TUNING]

Once the car arrived in the UK, Redline Tuning carried out the engine running-in process under controlled load on their rolling road following Zimax’s instructions.

After the initial run-in the oil and filter were changed and inspected, with everything coming out clean. The car then went back onto the dyno for final calibration and boost setup, followed by road testing.

The final result: 401.4 HP at 1.2 bar, the boost setting Zimax set in Japan.

For us, that is exactly the sort of power this car should make. Properly quick, but without chasing a silly headline figure at the expense of what is still a road-going FD. After the completed run-in and setup, a dedicated rotary compression test recorded 8.3 / 8.0 / 8.0 kg/cm² and 8.3 / 8.4 / 8.0 kg/cm² across the two rotors — healthy, closely matched readings across all six faces of the freshly rebuilt 13B.

[HISTORICAL PICTURES]

[CONCLUSION]

All in all, this is a genuinely special FD — rare at its core, properly built in Japan and now comprehensively refreshed with the hard work already done. It looks outrageous, drives as it should and would be extremely difficult to recreate today.

________________________________________

[LATEST ZIMAX ENGINE OVERHAUL]

13B-REW removed and completely stripped

Engine internally cleaned and measured

New front rotor

New rear rotor

New front rotor housing

New rear rotor housing

New front side housing

New rear side housing

New intermediate housing

New 3-piece apex seals

WPC apex-seal treatment

Hyper Moly apex-seal coating

New apex-seal springs

New side seals and springs

New corner seals and springs

Oil seals renewed

Internal and external O-rings renewed

Stationary gear metals renewed

Needle bearings renewed

New oil pump

New oil-pump chain

New water pump

New thermostat and gasket

Inlet-manifold gaskets renewed

Fuel injectors renewed

Fuel tank removed and internally cleaned

Fuel filter renewed

Starter motor rebuilt

Spark plugs renewed

Fresh coolant

Fresh engine oil and filter

Fuel, vacuum, silicone and heat-resistant hoses renewed as required

Engine bay refinished by Zimax before engine installation

[TURBO / FUEL / ENGINE MANAGEMENT]

APEX RX-6 single turbo

TRUST Racing external wastegate

APEXi Power FC ECU

APEXi FC Commander

Zimax vehicle-specific calibration

BLITZ Dual SBC boost controller

Nismo fuel pump – inspected and retained by Zimax

SARD fuel-pressure regulator

850cc x4 injector configuration documented in the historical Zimax specification – injectors subsequently renewed during latest recommissioning

HKS blow-off valve

TRUST compression/intake pipework

Performance air cleaner

Zimax oil catch tank

Knight Sports oil filler cap

TRUST aluminium pulley

Air-pump delete

[COOLING & INTAKE]

Knight Sports V-mount system

Zimax one-off air guide/rectifier panel

V-mount retained through latest engine overhaul

[EXHAUST]

APEXi stainless exhaust manifold

APEXi stainless front pipe

Metal sports catalyst

Stainless intermediate pipe with ECV exhaust control

Yume Kobo titanium muffler

80 mm main pipe / 115 mm tail

APEXi Active Tail Silencer

[TRANSMISSION & DRIVETRAIN]

OS Giken 5-speed full-cross transmission

OS Giken Super Lock LSD – Zimax specification

OS Giken STR twin-plate clutch

Stainless braided clutch hose

Rigid engine mounts

Rigid differential mounts

Red Line Heavy Shockproof gearbox oil

[SUSPENSION & CHASSIS]

Zimax PCR dampers

BESTEX springs

Pillow-ball tension rods

Pillow-ball toe-control rods

Pillow-ball tie-rod ends

Mazdaspeed reinforced Power Plant Frame

AutoExe front strut tower brace

Mazdaspeed rear strut tower brace

AutoExe rear member brace

RE Amemiya Stabilizer Bridge Bar

Carrosse 5-point roll bar with padding

[BRAKES & HYDRAULICS]

Brembo F360 4-pot front brake conversion

RDD two-piece front brake rotors

Front Brembo callipers fully overhauled by Zimax

Rear callipers fully overhauled by Zimax

Rear brake discs resurfaced

Brake master cylinder overhauled

Project Mu HC+ front brake pads

Project Mu HC+ rear brake pads

Fresh DOT4 brake fluid

New clutch master cylinder

New clutch release/slave cylinder

Fresh clutch hydraulic fluid

[EXTERIOR & AERO]

Factory HZ Sunburst Yellow

Full professional repaint in correct factory HZ colour

FEAST wide-body conversion

RE Amemiya Facer N1 05 front bumper

RE Amemiya Facer 9 under panel

RE Amemiya Canard Pro Carbon Kai

RE Amemiya New Sleek headlight conversion

RE Amemiya Sleek air duct

RE Amemiya Hood 9 carbon bonnet – colour matched

Aero bonnet catches

RE Amemiya Mirror Pro FRP mirrors

RE Amemiya carbon front-fender diffusers

Zimax carbon side-step generators

VOLTEX Type 1 GT wing

Colour-matched carbon wing element

High-mount / extended wing stays

RE Amemiya rear diffuser

G-brand rear garnish

RE Amemiya front towing hook

Rear towing hook

Clear side indicators

Custom LED rear combination lamps

HID headlight setup

[WHEELS & TYRES]

Enkei RS05RR wheels with Michelin Pilot super sport tyres – Currently fitted

Period Japanese-spec wheels included with the car:

SSR Professor VF1R 3-piece wheels

Front – 17x9.5J, -8 offset

Rear – 17x9.5J, -16 offset

KYO-EI R40 racing wheel nuts

The old Japanese wheel setup also used Yokohama ADVAN A050GS 255/40R17 tyres.

[INTERIOR & INSTRUMENTS]

Brand-new red RECARO RS-G bucket seats x2

MOMO steering wheel

RE Amemiya quick-shift knob

Mazdaspeed 300 km/h instrument cluster

Mazdaspeed Sports Meter Link system

Three additional gauges

DEFI control unit

Shift indicator

Sabelt 3-inch 4-point harnesses x2

Two-seat conversion

Okuyama rear battery relocation

Mazdaspeed rear-view mirror cover

[UK RUN-IN & FINAL PREPARATION]

Controlled Redline Tuning dyno engine run-in following Zimax instructions

Post-run-in engine oil and filter service

Removed oil inspected and found clean

Dyno calibration and boost setup

Road test following calibration

401.4 HP dyno result

Post-run-in rotary compression test – 8.3 / 8.0 / 8.0 and 8.3 / 8.4 / 8.0 kg/cm²

Genuine Mazda oil-pressure sensor fitted

Wastegate vacuum line renewed with silicone hose and additional heat protection

Further rotary-specific engine oil and HKS filter service