RX7 opinions please :)

My opinion is you better do your homework before purchasing ANY FD RX7.

 

Plan on an engine rebuild every 50-60 thousand miles. The value of any given RX7 often has a lot to do with its needing an engine or not.

Also the general condition of these cars varies quite a bit. Some relatively low mile cars are beaten to hell, while some high mileage ones look like new. I think this has to do with the fact that they're unique, but not particularly expensive to purchase (initially). As such, the value of any given car depends heavily on its attributes.

You should be looking at anywhere from ten to fifteen grand, I'd guess. But go read up at some place like rx7club.com

 

My brother had a '93 RX-7 (touring). I loved that car. Handled very well and predictably. Looked great and was fast. Classic sports car. If you can find one in good condition and get a reliable PPI that gives the "thumbs up," you will not be disappointed. I would consider looking for one myself but I already have one more car than I have garage bays.

 

Rx7 owners are future Ferrari owners. Simply put.



as for one thing if you want to make sure that this car passes a dealer compression test - meaning if its got flying colors and its a clean car go for it
but also check the oil cooler - if its dirty - you can sure bet you will have to get a new motor soon.


Just remember RX7 require more service then the next car - so make sure you have some deep pockets for it as well.

as for the value think any where from 6k - 12k depending on body and condtion.

 

These cars are very receptive to swapping in an LS1/2/3 etc Chevrolet V8. The engine is lightweight and due to some undesirable features that came from Mazda, the weight distribution is nearly unchanged.

 

Dont Do it! I had a 93 R1 and Touring. Looked awesome, never worked to my expectations. I never really drove it with confidence. Not many "qualified" mechanics back in 98-2000, I'm sure even less now. Twin turbo system way too complicated.

The good, is that it was a great looking car. I'm sure it could turn heads still today. With some rims and OEM spoiler its a timeless design, and felt super fast. Great drivers car when it worked.

The bad...
1. Rotary engine is ticking time bomb with those turbos. Design is bad where any seal goes bad in the rotors, to many parts have to be replaced.
2. Not many mechanics in this time.
3. Runs VERY hot, cooks vacuum hoses.
4. Too much headache for what you get.
5. Most vendors arent around as much for parts and aftermarket if youre going that route.
6. 80k miles on that engine is way high and asking for a rebuild.

Good luck!

 

i've had multiple rx7's over the last 5 years and they always leave a huge smile on your face. light and agile and don't need a ton of hp to be very fast. they have a bad reputation because most people up the boost on an angine that runs at higher temps then a normal motor to begin with and it just gets hotter which can cause problems. hp is easy to build but u can't do it cheap and you need to really focus on cooling. you can order kits to replace all the vacume lines with silicone hoses fairly cheap and that is something that i would suggest. the biggest thing is to find a clean car with not much or anything done to it under the hood which can still be found but usually runs about 15K

 

Nicely said

 

Too true! I had a 95. loved that car!
Sold it when the engine went at 55k.

 

I think RX-7 was best looking Japanese sports car ever made. It reminds me of Ferrari like flow of design.

 

also has maintenance characteristics of a Ferrari - . Nothing wrong with that but just if people who buy them and dont take care of them just shows what happens.

Oh ya dont forget to pre-mix your fuel

pump 89 + E85 + 2 cycle oil = blue flame

 

3mm apex seal's will extend the life between rebuild's, especially when turning up the boost, and if you can live with that I say have fun and git 'er done.

 

Have to agree with most of the comments here. I've owned a '93 for 8 or so years now. Daily drove it for more than 5 years while at the same time autocrossing and attending track days. I drive it mercilessly hard. My car is a semi-retired on the weekend vehicle as I can't fit the kids in it during the week and I now drive an open wheel car in competition. The FD is an absolute blast to drive but they do have their quirks. As much as I love the car I would never recommend someone buying one who does not work on their own cars and has some rotary knowledge. You'll go broke or at least broken hearted otherwise and that's assuming you know somebody who even knows what the heck these things are. Good rotary mechnics are tough to find. The LS1 swaps are a blast as well; one of the ultimate street cars in my opinion. Like everything else it comes down to who did the work and some of these cars are cobbled together while others are real jewels. Again, you have to know the car to spot the basket cases waiting to happen.

These things are all now 15 years old and the electronic and turbo control systems under the hood are very complex. A new set of turbos will cost about as much as a motor and the turbos typically start blowing oil before 100K. Most of the cars you'll find have been "modified" or "improved" by monkeys who have no idea what they are doing. I purchased my car with 65K on the clock and put in a new motor at 98K. That motor has another 50K miles on it already and is doing great. Like some Ferraris these cars can be purchased cheap but they are not cheap to keep in proper mechanical shape. Once you've gone through the entire car as I have the car is dependable and has few issues. I love them but they are absolutely not for everyone.

 

If you like the looks of the Rx-7, hopefuly you like the sound of a Corvette because the way to build these cars, is a simple swap to an american v-8. Modern day Shelby Cobra.

 

Wow, where do I begin..............I had a 1993 rx7 for 6 months with only 16,000 miles on it before I sold it. 2 months of that time was spent in the shop. The factory hoses are junk. After i replaced all the turbo hoses two weeks later a two inch hydrolic hose falted leaving me stranded in the middle of an intersection and all the new hoses had to be ripped out again. $$$$$$$$$ The twin turbos are very unreliable leaving the engine with week horsepower. Also the paint chips very easy exposing the white factory primer underneath. There are many lemon sites dedicated to the 92 -95 twin turbo rx7. Don't by one. lee

 

People who advice you against getting one either never owned one and base their opinions on what other people have said/read. The others who tell you not to get one who have owned one most likely bought a lemon and mark all rx7's as crap cars.

Yes, the car needs rebuilding every 60K miles, but some people have pushed over 100K miles. But its not all horror because its very cheap to rebuild them (a rotary expert will charge you around $4K in the states i believe).The engines dont like boost very much, but if you want extra powers go for a T78 or GT4088 turbo and run it at 1 bar of boost, maybe 1.2 on high boost, with any of those turbo's (and supporting mods) on that boost level expect around 380-450whp, enough to leave your average Ferrari or porsche well behind. these engines LOVE revving to the redline, and instead of punishing you to do so it rewards you.

A friend of mine has one, with a rather large turbo on it. It was due a rebuilt when he took it for a topspeed run when the engine blew at...some miles per hour (nearing 190).

Dont use it for small trips only though, the engines will flood themselfes if they're only used for very short trips, or moving it from your driveway to your garage often.

If you buy a well known car or if you can, from a rotary specialist you will drive around with a big smile every time.

If i would fit in one of them there'd be one on my driveway too. Oh well, R32 GTR soon enough

 

My 20 year old 328gts was far more reliable than my 2 year old (at the time) 93 RX7. more common problems were the door handle latches breaking, interior center console scratches because of cheap paint which was later recalled and replaced with a mat finish that looked like crap and the inside of the car gets hot from the heat of the engine coming through the foot wells. You will find yourself driving with the AC on everytime. The paint chips easy on the hood exposing white primer as well as the front windshield chipping easy. turbos were unreliable. My car had low miles and high problems. maybe mine was a lemon, i would not buy another one.

 

Hot car, especially given Japanese manufacturers weren't lauded for their design prowess at the time. Personally, I'd find a 300ZX Twin Turbo - better reliability, similar performance (albeit it's much heavier than the RX7).

As a Datsun owner, I am biased towards the Nissan product. Both cars have aged well in my opinion, but the Nissan isn't as temperamental.

 

But my god....working in the z32's engine bay.....TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT!

 

Hahah! So you know from experience!

Mang - what sort of Scooby are you looking to buy? Not sure of the family situation, but I almost bought a 5 speed Legacy GT. It's AWD and has the turbo boxer engine...rated at 250HP, but I've seen dyno numbers that indicate it's closer to 280HP, and the performance numbers would seem to back it up.

Of course, for ultimate performance, the WRX STi is the way to go, but if you need some room and are carrying the precious cargo, the Legacy is a nice option. FWIW...

 

I would love to hear your reasoning behind your statement " Rx7 owners are future Ferrari owners." Very interesting comment .

 

the WRX STI is the one to have. Beware though, it has weak big ends and the gearbox likes to go pop when you run more than 330hp. Atleast thats the case with the euro + JDM vehicles, and to my knowledge they havent changed either of those things for the US market.

What about a supra? bolt on a big turbo and some supporting mods and run around 600hp. good fun, and toyota reliability.