Hey guys, I am a newb here. I am really thinking about buying this 88 Rx-7. I fell in love with it. He's a buddy of mine and he BABIES his car. I know he does. It was originally automatic, and he had the manual swap done by himself and he replaced the stock motor and built one. Nothing stock on the car. I have heard about the apex seals, supposebly he upgraded his to 3mm. I am still a little IFFY on the rotary engines. I use to own a 95 Eclipse GST, running over 300 horses, but it finally gave out on me. So now I am looking for a car, and fell in love with this one.

http://www.mazdaforum.com/upfiles/20...C59734DE8B.jpg
http://www.mazdaforum.com/upfiles/20...63F7D49C11.jpg
http://www.mazdaforum.com/upfiles/20...879A981D27.jpg
http://www.mazdaforum.com/upfiles/20...E1651452E1.jpg
http://www.mazdaforum.com/upfiles/20...8326BAFEA4.jpg

These pictures are about a year old. He has a full kit on it now (not sure the name) Well, from what i got from him, he had it street ported out. And has a lot of other mods.
But my questions are:
1. Are these car reliable?
2. What are common problems with them?
3. Do you like this car?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

Hey agallardo, you may not get a lot of replies to your question just because somebody asks almost this exact same thing almost every day... However everyone has to start somewhere and you're asking some good questions.

Here's a great site to get you started with some super-helpful information:

http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/tech1.htm

It was created by one of this forum's moderators and should be required reading for anyone thinking of getting a second gen RX-7. Pay particular attention to the article on "How to Buy a Second Gen..." You should also use the search feature on this forum because there is a wealth of info available here.

In terms of reliability, these cars can be very reliable if you start with one that has been well maintained and you take the time to learn all the ins and outs of the car and keep after all the preventative maintenance. Because of the unusual nature of the rotary, it wouldn't hurt to make friends with a local RX-7 expert and/or join a club where you can talk about these cars with other owners. You can get tons of info that way.

Aside from total engine failure, these cars suffer from many of the other common problems of any 20 year old car: worn out transmission synchros, worn suspensions, various electrical gremlins, brittle interior plastic trim, etc... the RX-7 is not really any worse than any other cars in this respect. There are some unique quirks though like the tendency to flood, the need to check oil at every fill-up, the need to change oil and spark plugs often, etc...

As to whether I like the particular car you're interested in, that is up to you to decide. Like most members of this forum though, I do love RX-7s.

 

Thanks man! This guy literally BABIES his cars. Great condition. I was looking for rx-7's and every single car i saw, did NOT look anywhere as CLEAN as this one.
But thanks man, I appreciate your help.

 

That may be a problem. I have been in the RX-7 scene since 1988, and the worst blown engine I ever saw was from a car that was babied. If the engine is not revved up on a regular basis, the secondary fuel injectors do not fire, and gunk builds up on them keeping them from firing when the engine is finally revved up. Even the primary injectors can get clogged, especially on the air bleeds. Normally this situation results in a blown engine when attempting to pass another car in traffic. Some people on this forum will tell you that the engine needs to be redlined regularly, but this is not exactly true, as it only really needs to get up to the rpms where the secondary injectors are firing on a regular basis. If you think the engine has been babied, just pull the fuel injectors and air bleeds and have them cleaned, and be sure to replace the rubber grommets.

The 3mm seals tend to stand detonation a bit better than the 2mm seals, but they will not last any longer, and in many cases the reliability is actually decreased. Just FYI the 3mm seals are usually not worth the money for a typical street car, and I think maybe your friend installed them just to be cool. Plan on replacing the seals every 100,000 to 150,000 miles, with a normal rebuild costing around $2,000-2,500 USD. On the good side, there are no camshafts, valves, tappets, valve springs, piston rings, lifters, or timing chains to replace... ever.

No. No car that is 20 years old is reliable, and you WILL have problems with this car. When new or properly built these cars have very good reliability, and the RX-7's greatest racing victories came from endurance racing events.

See Aaron's link.

I don't like the style myself, but I am sure that younger forum members will like it. I think the car looks decent for that kind of style though.

 

Well, this motor was put in less than a YEAR ago. So it can't have that many miles. Fully built around. (something like that) Like i said I dont really get the rotary's YET. LOL!

As for the injectors. I believe he said his primary injectors are 460's (I believe, if thats even a size. i know they are bigger than 450's) and his secondary injectors were upgraded to 580's.

As for the looks, I dont really dig the stickers, I like clean cars. I know everyone has their own opinion.

 

its a nice looking car and it will hone your mechanical skills.. to make it look really nice, take off all those stickers and that huge tach and put in some turbo 2 seats.

 

I BOUGHT IT! So I willing be getting now ALOT more!

The car has a body kit and NOS, racing seats, too many guages to list, dvd player, etc etc. I willl list everything later, and show pics as soon as i get it.

So i am looking forward to learn more about the rotaries.

 

congrats...

you have a lot to learn, memorize the FAQ thread and the archives, and use the search function like there's no tomorrow and you'll be just fine

good luck with the car. don't do anything stupid.

 

Thanks for the info, im looking to get a 2nd gen too

 

Thanks fro the great comments on the car Alex. The seals are 2mm & not 3mm. I do hope you enjoy the car & I hope it treats you just as good as it treated me.
Sheldon.

 

Yeah man, I LOVE IT! I'll will definitely BABY that car. Ask Tyler how I am.

 

Post up pics man! And welcome to the rotary world.