RX7 Rotary life length
 

hey, i was just wondering aprox how long you get out of a motor from a first gen, and i mean from taking care of it. Also how much work the average one needs. Thanks.

Average 12A life is about 150K.

Uh, no.

200k is almost a bare minimum without stupid things happening like running it out of coolant or oil.

Many people get 300k. The hard part is getting the *chassis* to last that long, things get rusty.

yes to people like us i agree but most people dont take very good care of their cars. most of the dead cars i get have around 150k on the clock. but yea, shit, if you have a good motor and take care of it 200k should be no problem.

yeah...
 

I'm running at 244,000 original miles right now. Little bit of smoke at start up.

294,963 original miles as of 8/17. Runs great, change oil every 2000 miles

No to be an ass but do a search (in all gens) this has been covered to death.

Also, how long is a piece of string?

It ALL Depends on the driver/service/driving technique/ and just how much care you really put into your car (and any car for that matter)

I got over 174k miles my my rx7 (basically stock) before it got stolen and it was running as if brand new

I got my car at 174,xxx, and it ran strong but didnt like idling, etc, basic stuff. But i did a basic tun-up, rebuilt the carb, plugs, etc, runs and idles great. My first car.

On one of my junkyard cars, the clock was at 287K or so. The motor runs strong (weaker than my main motor, but strong) after a little tuning up.

your car will last to 182, 342 miles...

Im joking... theres no way to tell for sure, it all depends on the engine and how it has been treated or abused in the past. If a rotary engine is treated well and maintained it can last a extremely long time, but sometimes stuff happens...

Pushing 200,000 and still strong as hell.

mine still runs but i dont drive it because it steams like mad while its warming up and it had 236K on the ticker.

Life is a Game of Statistics
 

As with any kind of mass produced machines, you will have a lot of variation in the service life. Unless you are buying a brand new one, you have no control over the way it has been driven or maintained. If you buy a used car, what really matters is AVERAGE life. It is well understood that the rotary engines are less tolerant to loss of oil or coolant than the average piston engine.

Engines prior to the first RX-7s (RX-2/3/4) had early generation apex seals and the cast iron housings were not nitrided. Here in the US, these engines tended to have a life of about 75,000 miles.

Starting with the first RX-7s in 78-79, the cast iron was nitrided, and had improved apex seals. These engines will average about 110-130,000 miles, but of course there are exceptions and a lot of variation. Here in the US, anything over 150-160k would be exceptional for these engines.

The longest life rotary Mazda has made is the GSL-SE. This is the first engine with direct oil injection into the chambers. Everything before the SE had the oil injected into the carburetor. Everything after the SE has the 2mm apex seals, which are much less robust than the 3mm. It is not unusual for an SE motor to run 225-250,000 in the US. Anything much more than that is very unusual.

I bought both of my 84 GSLs with dead motors, one with 84k and bad coolant seals, and the other with only 63k and lost an apex seal.

What he Said.




It is common for the 79 and 80 engine to die around 100k, the 83 to 85 12A's will leak oil, Caused by the poor oil cooling that was used in them. the 81 - 82 engines last the best.

I have not had a 12a go over 150K, My first car I put the 3rd engine in it with 160 on the odo. New owner is putting th 4th in at 190.

As long as you take good care of it (tune-up, oil change, good cooling, correct timing) it should last quite a while. If you do all of that, and drive it like you stole it (redline several times a day) it might just last forever. :)

I'll also note that my STREETPORTED motor has about 220K on it. Of course, about 70K ago, it was taken apart for the port, but no major components were replaced (soft seal rebuild if you will).

Other than a grinding noise which has been fixed (Detonation!), it runs like a champ.

I just bought my 5th rx-7 with a 12A engine, all 5 have over 100k miles, 3 are over 150k, and all were running great. When you pay $250 for a car, and you just have to time it, change the oil and plugs, fuel filter, and call it good, I call that reliability. Sometimes people panic when they have a bad ignitor and the car barely runs, and they think they blew some mysterious "apex" seal. In reality most people don't know what an apex seal is. I daily drive mine with 125k miles on it, and I fully expect at least 75k miles more without a problem, and wouldn't be surprised to get 300k out of it. The key is making sure the omp is functioning to spec, but that is easy to test.

The Older I get ----
 

Kentetsu - "Older I get/Faster I go!"

Me too, but I think that is because when you get older, you can afford faster toys!

Well, that and the fact that you get smart enough to watch out for the authorities. It does help if your car looks nice and well kept though (no rice please). :)