Brakes are good, brakes are important. You want to be able to stop the car smoothly, safely and consistently. Most of us are going with Hawk Blues up front and stock or Hawk Black pads in the rear. The fronts last for approximately 5 events and then it's another $75 for new ones. At Blackhawk Farms I use the Blues all the way around since the track is really tough on brakes. This also lead to braided steel brake lines ($100) and brake ducting.
The lower body valance from any 84-85 Rx7 has the verticle slits. The air horns fit snuggly behind them after you drill a couple of holes and bolt them on.
I used a tin snips to cut out a hole in the plastic fender well. The elbow joints are hose clamped to the air horn and 3 inch hose. Once I got it positioned, I used duct tape on the elbow so it won't twist around. I also put in a piece of door screen to keep the stones/bugs out of my rotors. I did the same for a similar driver cooling hose attached to the passenger side mirror. You'd be surprised at how much junk get's caught in the screen. The hose is just under 2 feet in length. This puts the bend in the right place so the tire doesn't rub on it unless you're at full lock. I found the hose easier to install if I cut off the wire inside it about an inch from the end of the opening.
The business end of things, the 'very expensive but worth it' Mazda brake ducts. Contrary to some reports the Mazda ducts actually do fit but you can't turn the wheel to full lock until the car's back on the ground (the sway bar is in the way). They direct the air to the center of the vented rotors where it then gets forced out between them. I've heard that if you only cool the inside rotor they'll warp or crack. I've also heard you should put new rotors on for every 2 sets of pads you go through. They've gone up from $55 each but a cracked rotor at speed can ruin more than just your weekend. As an alternative, Bill Hughes has an ITA Rx7 and went with a home made ducting setup. You can also see that we both got tired of using the stock lug bolts and spent the $50 for lug studs/nuts. You're adding all of this up, right?
Hawk Blues = $75 for a set of fronts, $55 for a set of rears
Mazda Competition Dept. brake ducts = $171
Braided steel brake lines = $100
Air horns = approx $35
Flexible heating duct elbow joints = 2 X $2.50 each
3 feet of high temp 3 inch hose = 2 X $15(?)
3 inch hose clamps = 6 X $1 each
1/4 X 1 inch bolts/washers/lock nuts = 4 X 25 cents
84-85 front lower body valance = $20 used
Total = I don't want to know!
Mike VanSteenburg out of Winter Haven, FL (941-324-2742) sells something similar to the Mazda brake ducts for $125. For the rear caliper, there is a special tool to twist the piston back in (Mazda part #49 FA18 602). You can try using a needle nose pliers but that's bloody knuckle time. Mazda seems to be out of it but Steve Haddad from Mazda Specialties pointed me towards AKS Precision Tools Phone 800-824-9655, part #AKS-900-0143 = $18. Don't turn the piston too far into it's hole as the inside pad won't stay where it's supposed to. Also, make sure the piston is lined up to go over the nub on the back of the brake pad or you'll get uneven wear on the pad. So far, the inexpensive Ford Heavy Duty truck fluid is working out fine ($2.50 a can). Also, Bruce Wentzel, an ITA RX7 racer out of Michigan (among others) sells Speedbleeders for $5.20 each. Highly recommended.
I hope you found this page helpful. If you did, feel free to buy me a beer when you see me. Better yet, buy a corner worker a beer and say it's from the Spec RX7 group!
