Hello, I am currently waiting for the owner of a 1986-1988 Fc3s to sell me their car. i was wondering if anyone knows how to increase reliability of the car? Any kind ideas will be a great help. Thanks. (New to rx7's)

 

turbo or non turbo?

 

do all the maintenance and don't modify it, just repair stuff if it breaks. but you will have to lower your expectations of "reliability" on a 25 year old sports car

 

This is an old car. So go thoroughly through the entire car and replace anything that is worn out. You will find a LOT of worn out stuff when you start looking (for example, probably every bushing) but in the end, you will have replaced the weak points and the car will be as reliable as anything else on the road.

 

I find stock un-molested cars to be EXTREMELY reliable, but if the thing has been sitting around for the last 10 years not being driven the answer would be the same for any other car- hoses, belts, tune up, tires, brakes, all fluids, flush radiator, maybe think about a water pump and thermostat
Luckily all that is cheap, drive the car for a bit and see what the suspension needs, I had original 155k mile suspension in my car up until 2 years ago and it was actually not TERRIBLE.

 

Don't believe all the "hype" people might be telling you. Rx7's are just as reliable as other cars on the road today. It's when you start going for big HP gains that reliability is compromised in any type of engine. You should get anywhere from 120k to 150k+ miles on a stock engine, similar to US vehicles.

I had an 87 TII back in the mid 90's and absolutely dogged the crap out of it. I drove it from the time I was 16-18 when it finally caught on fire (caused from neglect, it was leaking gas for a month or more before it finally caught fire). I slide around in it so much that I broke the rear shock mount. I slide it into the side of a building in my back yard when it was muddy. I was a nightmare to it. I didn't realize what it was, and I didn't honestly know a thing about it, I figured out rather quickly that it could outrun most any car on the road, and it would drive sideways with a little finess (this was before "drifting").

Get one and you'll never look back. They are great cars. You'll occationally see people who get tired of throwing money into their rides and selling them off claiming "I'm done". If you watch it's only a matter of time and they come back looking for another one, and regretting ever selling their original.

Regular maintence is the key to reliability in any automobile.
Upgrading the cooling system (radiator, hoses, etc) is a good reliability upgrade.
Rx7's use oil (about a quart per 1000 miles), so they need oil added more often then a piston engine.

 

+1. most of the reliable cars here are the ones that get worked on the least.

to modify these cars successfully, is possible but it does take attention to detail.

actually just about everyone who posted in this thread has a reliable modified car (aaron, rob, arghx), all three cars have been gone over with a pretty fine tooth comb.

with the exception of a couple things like aarons intake, all three cars are pretty basic setups. its just a good sized turbo, free flow exhaust, good intercooler, and an aftermarket ecu with a "safe" tune.

no water injection, trick engine parts (dowels, pins, fancy apex seals)...

 

a rotary will last long time , as long as the owner takes care of it
stay stock

 

some gms use more oil then rx7's though lol. when the 454 ss truck came out dude i work with said it went thru 3 quarts in 2000miles not beating on it. took it to the dealer and they said it was normal. then again gm sux

 

1. be attentive to the needs of the car.
2. drive and maintain it with common sense.
3. as much as you can, make sure it stays cool.

i think those are the basics to life with an Rx-7.

 

+1.

Keep it cool. And let the engine warm-up before jump into the gas pedal.



-mike

 

i agree with everyone.

KEEP IT BONE STOCK

DRIVE IT RIGHT

AND DO THE BASIC TUNE-UPS DONT SLACK ON ANY OF IT.

my rx7 as 188,xxx miles bone stock N/a and runs great.

gotta treat it good its an old car.

 

If the vacuum lines look brittle or cracked, replace them with silicon vacuum lines.

 

At this age on these cars, especially given the underhood temperatures, I think just about everything made of rubber should be replaced. I've been gradually doing everything a little at a time, which makes it easier on the pocketbook.

 

+1 on stock lasts longer, but if built right, Modded cars can last too, just take more maintinance.