When you own a Rotary Powered Car you are one of a very small handful of people who actually know anything about them. There is a group of about 15 people in my state that know anything (really) about Rotaries. I happen to be one of those people. Because of this these cars end up being DIRT CHEAP which makes it almost impossible not to pick one up when someone has invested tons of money and can't get the car running. This same principal also leads to a huge influx of high dollar tuning parts on the market for very reasonable prices. Ultimately the Rotary community is usually very tight knit, more of a brotherhood. When I was having issues with my home life (5 years ago) a member of this forum in AZ opened his home to me (didn't take him up on it) but the brotherhood is still there..

These cars are fun to drive, easy to work on, and undoubtably very 1980's.. (Even the ealy 90's cars are throwback body styles)

After parking 30 of these at my various homes in the last 15 years I would say that it is absolutley like Alcoholism, "Hello, my name is Trevor and I'm a Rotorholic. It's been 15 days since I bought my last Rx7. I saw one yesterday on craigslist for cheap with a few parts I would like for my car but didn't email the guy to buy it... These twelve steps seem to be working. Although I did email him to see if he was interested in trading for any of the parts I have left over.Hopefully he won't lower his price anymore or it would be dumb NOT to buy the whole car......"

 

NO PISTON

The world goes round and round not up and down

 

Lol.. I love this... I am sort of in the same boat as far as nobody nearby knowing these cars.. I've got (as far as I know) the biggest collection of fc parts in eastern ky.. There is only one other forum member I know within 100 miles. The online community is probably what keeps me from leaving triangles and sinking money in to the ga16de daily I've got.. lol.

 

Why are rotaries so addictive?
Because its a special engine

Everytime I am in Jersey and go to fill up at a gas station, I always hold off the guy pumping the gas so I can add in my premix. They always have a puzzled looked and ask me what Im doing, then I spend the next 5 mins explaining.
Its nice to strike up conversation on the car.

 

Definitely one of my addictions...the smell, feels so raw.

 

is the fumes. they **** up your brain lol

 

because you inevitably end up building them from the ground up and knowing what every part is for and how it works and why you need it or dont or will modify it to suit you. It becomes an extension of yourself or a reflection of you. But somehow they end up with their own personality. They are there for you through the ups and downs (even if they are the cause of said "down") and the smell and sound blah blah, and as mentioned before because...RACINGCAR!

 

to tell the truth i have every reason to say that they are not addictive...(i have a v8rx7 and
a rotary rx7). I mean my v8 one is far more fun and i am going to v8 my current one as soon
as it dies but those reasons are mainly because i am a piston engine mechanic and do not
understand how to work on the rotary internally(and don't have the $$$$$$ to throw into
learning) but every time i try to find an argument against them it always comes back to how
much i love my rotary 7 despite all of its problems.
so i guess there really is not a reason that you can pin down as 'the' reason it just is
and i will probably get another in the future.(when i have money to throw into and light on
fire that is)

 

Daeldalus >> If you can work on a piston engine, you can certainly work on a rotary It's very easy. Have you watched any of the rebuild videos yet? [If not, start with Aaron Cake's engine building video on Youtube]. Assuming your running rotary is NA, there's not much to worry about with it. Just go through all the steps carefully and it should run great. I built my first rotary on the floor of our garage with nothing more than the Atkins video to guide me and having never taken any engine apart.. It ran great for 3.5years until the very eroded coolant channel wall broke in two places. XD

 

all of this is true, especially the extension bit

 

I love my rotary because it could be 9 at night after a long day at work or school and I could go out to the garage and work on it for hours and it would seem like no time has passed. That and the simplicity of the 4 port turbo engine taken down to the rawest form of emissions removed and only running what you need a true sports car that a 16 yr old can afford.

Plus I love all the weird looks I get when i put oil in my gas tank..

 

Well its not a engine that you come across in every corner in every city like a v- tech engine, they also have alot of history and were known as sport engines to many that know of it. Also knowing the fact you have an engine that requires in some cases a specialist to work on.
The Front-Mid weight Distribution is a plus in terms of performance in balance and control wise vs. other cars

 

The sound of the engine revving has a sweet pitch and the handling of the lightweight makes you want to tackle as many corners as possible before heading home. xD