Hi. I was planning to purchase my first RX7 sometime very soon, and I was wondering if I should get an FC or an FD. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?

 

you posted this question in the fc forum, what do you think people are going to tell you?

 

fc's initial cost is 2k-5k plus maintenance and replacing stuff , Fd's initial cost 13k-20k plus maintenance, and fd's motors are less reliable

 

It's not the FD motor that's less reliable... it's everything else. And all of those things tend to pop the motor when they fail. You can replace them with a good amount of research, money and work. The FD motor still won't last as long because of the boost, but I'm guessing it could be made reasonably reliable.

The FD is far faster and better handling than the FC. The FD will put the RX-8, Corvette, s2000, Acura NSX, most brand new Porsches, etc. to shame on the track. It's also more cramped, much more expensive, much less reliable and has a much harsher ride than the FC. An N/A FC, OTOH might put an '87 Porsche or new V6 Mustang to shame; or match a new Civic Si or BMW 3 series. An FC can make a decent daily driver without doing anything to it, whereas the FD needs a lot of work to improve reliability (or you can continually replace things, including the engine, as they break).

Of course you can always buy a piece of garbage FC if you're not careful. And FD's require much greater caution. This page has buyer's guides for both:
http://www.rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/infofaq.html

My opinion? Go with an FC if you want a fun daily driver. Go with an FD if you want to win races and have tons of money to blow (not just to buy, but also to maintain). Heavily mod a TII FC if you want a dragster.