tonight, for the first time since i've had the car, i took it out for a good shakedown cruise.

this is the first gsl-se i've driven, but i did own a gsl up until mid january.

the differences were interesting.

the leather seats in the se have a higher seating position than the cloth seats in the gsl. reminds me a bit of the second gens i've rode in.

the car feels a bit more supple as far as ride quality and the added 13b torque feels a lot stronger than the 12a...

tho i did feel a lot more connected with the gsl. i'm not sure if it's that i'm not yet used to the SE, if it's the fuel injection is a bit out of adjustment, or if it's just the nature of the difference between carb'd and fi. the gsl didn't have power steering either.

all in all - i'm sure glad i found the car.

 

Thats odd, I have power steering and mine is a gsl. I've always wondered what it feels like to drive a SE. This is my first performance car with a carb and the first thing I noticed is that there is a huge difference in accelerator response. I didn't think too much at first but after driving other cars with carbs I noticed that when I drive cars with carbs I get this feeling like my right foot is actually part of the car because the response is so much better. I never realized that the quarter or hundreth of a second it takes for the computer to make sure the FI is running perfectly made such a difference. It slight but there is definately a difference

 

Yeah, my gsl was the first carburated car I had ever driven. All my older cars have been FI, including an eclipse gs-t, and even though the gst is faster, I've had more fun driving my gsl then I ever did in my gs-t.

 

I've got an 85 GSL with p/s

 

oh i wasn't saying that GSLs don't have PS - MY gsl didn't.

 

I wish my GSL DIDN'T have PS.

 

I don't like the PS in my -SE. Makes the steering very light and vague. Hopefully a smaller diameter steering wheel will fix that soon!

 

Change over to the cloth seats, it'll be low like the GSL.

 

It's interesting to see the dyno print-outs of a stock GSL and a stock GSL-SE. The hp curve is similar but the SE's curve is a bit higher. The torque curve shows that the SE's torque is strong from 2000 rpm, which makes its power band bigger and easier to stay in.

 

You also have to keep in mind that you're driving 20 year old cars. Depending on how they've been driven and cared for, there are any number of things that could be different about the cars now that weren't when they were new (spring rates, damper rates, ect...).

Just going from one GSL to another might give you the same impressions.

Having said all that, I hate the power steering in these cars. All of the steering feel is sucked out with it.

All other things being equal, throttle response with fuel injection SHOULD be better than a carburetor. The computer and FI system can react much more quickly to inputs than a mechanical throttle pump and a carburetor can.

All other things aren't equal though. The 13b has heavier moving parts and a totally different intake system than the 12a so that could make a difference in throttle response.

 

I've found that my -SE seems to have BETTER accelerator response tan the wife's carb'd S model.
I've always felt more in touch when driving my -SE, but then again, the difference there could just be me.

As for the seats, it actually has nothing to do woth the leather. My old -SE had leather, and the new one has cloth. BOTH sit higher than the wife's -S model. It's due to the extra seat tilt/height adjustment. I don't know if GSL's came with the extra adjustment or not. Your passenger seat should sit about the same as your old car.
I did find the cloth seats in my new car to be a little less firm than the leather ones on my old car, but that could also just be the seats.

Overall, although I love all RX-7's (even those bastard offspring, the 2nd gens) the GSL-SE is my favorite.

 

You know what, know that I think about it, my passenger side seems to sit a tad lower than my driver side. I have that tilt lever on the side. It never dawned on me.

 

Even though without power steering getting out of a tight corner is quite the ordeal. But yeah older cars with power steering steer like ships.

 

The differences are quite subsatantial. The LSD is a riot coupled with the extra torque. All in all I do believe I was most impressed with the higher torque allowing a larger but dyno impression (more than the 35hp increase in the 13b). The -SE is the one to get and if you havent driven one you should.

This signature thing blows...

 

I'm suprised to hear that people are so much more impressed by the SE. I've driven 3 SEs and probably 5 or 6 12a's and the only difference that I can really tell is the torque. The SE has a good deal more low RPM punch, but other than that they all feel like pretty much the same car to me. Suspension wise, I haven't flogged an SE but the ride and 5/10 handling don't feel any different to me.

 

Power steering on a FB, what a waste of time! If your arms are not strong enough, you shouldn't be driving any car! LOL!!!

 

agreed.. no P/S on my SE, I wouldnt want it. It just adds weight, and my car steers so nice

 

i gotta say the car is really growing on me. i haven't really driven any 7s around since last spring so i'm not used to how hard they are to drive slow.

it's a whole lot of good times.

 

the gsl-se is its ownbeast! the best of the 1st gen in my opinion

 

yeah the GSL had power steering but it doesnt work so she steers like a horse in parking lots...but the GS has a manual steering box so it actually turns really nice.. i prefer it over a broken power steering anyway..

 

a agree, i do not like the power steering! i prefer the manual steering!