mattp

iTrader: (3)

Had just a little luck searching..

thanks

cpt_gloval

iTrader: (1)

i drove mine every day for a year. then replaced it with a civic. it's much happier now.

peejay

They are excellent daily drivers. They're real GTO cars - all you need to worry about is Gas, Tires, and Oil

brownmound

I've driven my GSL-SE for about five years as a daily driver and in that time put about 45k miles on it. It is great to drive, obviously, and pretty dang reliable. I think it only left me stranded once (leaking water hose with nothing to fix it with).

The biggest thing you have to consider is that by driving it every day you are going to put a lot of wear on an already old car. thus you will start to spend money replacing things as maintenance items whereas the 3rd gen guys are spending money on performance. For instance I've spent money on a new driveshaft, wheel bearings, control arms, fix leaky oil seals, transmission rebuild, etc.

My car looked and ran great when I first bought it. Now it needs new paint, suspension and exhaust....and a lot of money and time to get it back. I am struggling with that decision right now..whether to sell it or rebuild it. For the price of a good paint job alone I could buy a pretty low mileage mint GSL-SE....it all comes down to love.

Right on.

rotor-lynn

I drove my first 85 GSL daily for 6 years with no problems, just remember if you're driving it that much to check the oil frequently.

85RX7GS

iTrader: (1)

I've been putting about 45 miles on my car each day and it seems to hold up fine - it's got 165k miles too.

Rotary-MG

iTrader: (1)

I put 60 miles per day on my '85 GS for 3 years and it was fine. Completely stock car except for the stereo.

My commute was really great and really nasty. Even amount of crowded surface streets(stop and go), freeway (up to 95 at times), and a short section of Mulholland in the Hollywood Hills (Awesome!!!).

I really miss being able to toss that car around in traffic, does everything you want it to do, point and shoot driving, out manuver those dang driving billboard SUVs.

Interior could get hot, AC didn't work a damm, the exhaust was kinda loud....but heck.

WackyRotary

I go through engine lifes like water. LOL! But the way I drive, I expect a short engine life. Ofcourse, I have a bridgeport and the carbon apex seals are not intended to last very long. But I just took the engine apart because I shattered 3 apex seals on one rotor for some reason. The other set had less then .05mm of height missing from 11,000miles with 1.5mm of acceptable thickness to go through yet. I think I ran into detonation which broke a apex seal on a high speed run, but then started running bad at a intersection one day, then some of that seal broke lose and wrecked the others. Oh well, 3 new apex seals and a gasket set later, and its all fixed up and ready to race some more.

PaulFitzwarryne

A stock RX-7 is a fair daily driver remembering its now a 20 year old design. Any car after that time is going to have wear problems and become costly. In reality any modern car is much better- cheaper and more relable with usually a better performance. But if you like a classic then a RX-7 can still be a daily driver, if you have access to a good rotary mechanic and cheap spares. It really helps if you have a good friend like Mike P29 who will do work for beer or sex!

A modded RX-7 is a very cheap way of getting a performance car but hates daily driving in traffic

Pittdp

I drive mine 2 - 3 days a week, and have no problems.
Maybe because I keep up with normal maintenance.

S2-13BT

I would drive mine everyday, and it's perfectly streetable. The only problem is that the turbo engine (S5 13BT) drinks way too much fuel and so costs a bloody fortune. It probably doesn't help that I can't keep my foot from mashing the loud pedal into the carpet.

See ya's

drewroman

Before I got my FD in Jan I drove nothing but 1st gens for the past 10-11 years... great daily drivers... not the most practical cars sometimes, but at least I never have to drive when my friends and I go out for a few beers...

drew
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smackfu.net

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I have used mine as a daily driver for the past 9 months with the only problem being a bad starter. Other than that its been pretty good. I wanna get a beater though so I don't have to expose it to another NJ winter.

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

Truer words are rarely spoken.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

the one that i had before my current car, i drove it for 7 years! it was a pleasure to drive daily. it was reliable as hell! only time i got stranded was when the fuel pump crapped out on me in Brooklyn. i went through about 6 motors and 1 tranny, but it was all my fault (racing and RACING HARD!!!)
in terms of gas mileage, i learned that modifications should be kept to a minimum. i ran about 3 different setups during the time i had that car (stockport 12A, streetport 12A, and a 13B 6-port) ... the best one that i had was the stockport 12A with headers and full exhaust. it gave the best gas mileage for the power!

Felix Wankel

I used to drive mine about 200 miles a day and the only problem it gave me was the stock fuel pump quit on two seperate occasions for no apparent reason, only to 'fix' itself the next day.

RIXSEVEN

I have driven my 1985 RX-7 GS for over 7 months just about every day. It holds up great. I have never had a problem with it other than those few times I locked my keys in the car. LOL!!!! This is not to say that nothing COULD go wrong. Therefore, what I did was bought a shop manual for the first generation RX-7 so if a problem arrises, I could get a clue as to how to go about fixing it. Also, extensive manuals often show how to tune your car and how to remove/replace almost EVERYTHING!!!!

rbrianj

I bought my 1985 RX-7 12A in 1993 and it has been a daily driver for almost 10 yrs. I bought it with 71k and it now has 143k. I even drove it across country once. I have more than got my money's worth. I 've had to replace worn out parts now and then, but haven't had any tranny or major engine work yet, knock on wood. It 's fun to drive, maybe not the best on gas for a small car, but I love mine. It's my baby.

rotorhead

i've been daily driving mine for about 4 years now, no probs at all. my commute to and from work is about 60 miles which doesn't take too terribly long when you're doing 90 the only time it has stranded me was when my fuel pump went out.... a brand new holley pump. replaced it and i'm back on the road! i always change the oil every 2k miles, which in my eyes is cheap insurance. keep the cooling system clean as well and keep general maintennance up-to-date and you shouldn't have any problems. btw, between all 3 rx-7's i've owned, i've been daily driving in rotaries for about 9 years. take care of your car and it'll take care of you.

Josepi

My old 83 GSL was a daily driver for 6 years. The last 2 years it spent doing 40-50 mile commutes M-F. The hold up well as long as you stay on top of maintanence and don't let problems develop into worse problems. Got it with 131K and ran it till the oil seals let go at 186K.

eddierotary

iTrader: (7)

i drive mine everyday and the wierd part is that i only put 60 miles a week

rxtasy

i put over 100,000 km on my '85 GSL-SE. through snow and heat waves, hardly any problems (after the engine rebuild 6 years ago) and the car now has almost 300,000 km. i just recently retired it as a daily driver and it seems much happier. it feels more powerfull after i haven't driven it for a while. and now i don't have to worry about it leaving me stranded on the way to work.

peejay

My 12A SP had no probs with traffic. Actually more low end torque than stock, and watch out when the tach swings past 5500!

Plus it's cool to sit at a light, engine loping along....

mattp

iTrader: (3)

Well it was my general impression that they were typically reliable cars.

I'm going to check out an 83 GSL this weekend. It's got 70k miles, but has been sitting for quite some time now. If it's in good enough shape I'll pick it up.

thanks