I'm looking to buy an FC as my first car when I get back to the states (And no, I'm not a 15 year-old who wants more car than I can handle), and I had some questions about reliability and reasonable price, etc...

What I'm looking for is an 89-91 Turbo II (GTX/GTXs would be ok, but I'd rather have a turbo.), preferably red, black, or white (in that order).

I don't know where to look for cars in my town (In southern Alabama, where I've only seen ONE FD since I've known FD was...) since I never see any ads for RX-7s. Whenever I find Turbo II's online, they're always 1,500 miles away and the owner always wants too much (like 250% blue book value!), or they're not turbo.

What kind of issues should I expect if I bought a TII with 120,000 miles or so, whether it had been previously rebuilt or not?

I'm looking for one in decent condition (I think small dents and scratches give things personality :P), with 120,000 miles or less, few or no modifications (no fun for me if I don't get to do them myself...), manual transmission (well, duh, if it's a Turbo II) and for $4,000 or less.

Is this reasonable?

What sort of maintenance and gas costs should I expect, assuming that the maintanence isn't due to a blown engine?


Before I came to Japan, I wanted an FC, but I was considering just settling with an 240SX, but after coming here, and seeing so many FCs, FDs, Skylines, S15s... I've fallen in love with the FC's style. I also have a preference for light cars, and the FC is slightly lighter than the FD, right?


Apparently, a decent FC (which I can't help but pronounce as "Ef-Shi" because of hanging around Japanese street racers and watching too much Initial D) costs like $2,000 or less in Japan, but I don't have the time and money to get a Japanese license, or to buy the car... I'd also have to pay a crapload (something like $90 a month) for parking, not to mention obscene gas costs, etc... So no JDM cars for me unless I decide to come back after this year is over.


Ok, finally, anyone have an idea about how much a 19 year-old (well, I'll be 20 by the I'm back in the states for a month or two) with no accidents (I've never hit anything... although I'd say that's maybe half luck) would cost to insure?

My mother certainly doesn't approve of my aspirations to buy a sports car... Not because she things I'm gonna try to tackle a touge or become a street racer or something, but because the insurance would be obscene for a person of my age.

I can't wait till I'm 25, dammit.

 

One more question:

What sort of things can be done to the the 13B to increase it's lifespan and reliability?

 

Change the oil every 3000 miles.

-Joe

 

^ I thought that was a given?

But another point. NEVER let it over heat. Upgrade your radiator.

 

Yeah, I was thinking of getting an electric fan or something...

(Err, isn't changing the oil every 3000 miles something you're supposed to do with every car?)

 

you should be able to find a good priced s4 turbo II via the forum, or other means in your area or nearby for your 4k price range. I picked mine up off of a forum member for 3k.. Its sporting a atkins rebuild with only about 13k on it, full 2.5" exhaust, FCD, no emisions, 6 puck clutch, and many many new parts. I have currently purchased a ported stock s4 turbo, and a warlboro to increase reliability further until I can get the FCON I am wanting...anywho, I have a pretty bad record. Two accidents where cars have been totalled, a speeding ticket, and a few other fender benders. I pay only 119.63 a month liability via allstate indemity. Insurance for you should be about $486 I think every 6 months if you go liability only....I think that was what I was quoted if I had a clean record. I am 20 years old as well. Just search around, I'm sure you will find a FC that is suitable for you, although it may take some time.

 

I love planning things way in the future down to tiny details, so I already have a list of about 50 possible upgrades totalling more than the car is worth (naturally)!

Paying for a car, gas, tires, insurance, maintanance, college, and all my other addictions (*cough* Initial D Arcade Stage *cough*) is going to be tough. Hehehehehe...

(I've been playing Arcade Stage for a long time, but I didn't even buy an FC card until yesterday... It rocks even in the game.)


Just curious: How much boost would it take to get the 13B (with a full exhaust and intake system upgrade, ignition upgrades, etc) to 350 HP?

And how much would it kill the gas mileage, and lower the lifespan of the engine?

I think 350 would be as high as I would ever want to go, even if my Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune FC3S card is at 620 right now... lol

Oh yeah, and I reeaaaaally prefer the S5 for several reasons... mainly because the taillights (uber-sexy) and the power boost.

 

hmm......rip out the turbo?...that'll add about 200k more miles onto the engine

 

Is this a joke? (the above) Anyway, 350hp is going to take a hell of a lot more than just a full exhaust and intake and ignition. With my modded stock setup, I am probably only getting 210-220rwhp at 8psi. 350rwhp will take fuel modifications, if not a standalone, and another turbo, hybrid or other. If you only want 350 flywheel, that will be a lot more easy, but still some sort of fuel management is going to be necessary. At least you have come to the right place, ask questions, most importantly use the search function.

 

Errr, no, I meant with a boost controller. I was saying "how much boost" over an engine that already has intake and exhaust.

 

With a RB exhaust or a good 3" straight piped exhuast with a FCD, a good intake, a boost controller and a BOV I've seen S5 TIIs make 250hp with the stock turbo pretty easily. A turbo upgrade would be necessary for 350hp.

 

Yeah, I think 250 sounds like a better goal...

It's not like I could afford ~10 miles a gallon or a turbo upgrade anyway :P

Wait, do FC3S TII's come with dual exausts, or single exausts?...

Either way, my preference is for single cat-backs with tips that don't look like they need to go on Jenny Craig (big is ok, but coffee can fart pipes are lame), have a clear sound, make a deep idle noise, and aren't too loud... while still getting good HP gains and not costing more than $550 or so... hehe.

Any suggestions?

I was thinking of headers, a high-flow catalytic converter, and a cold-air intake, as well... Plus some sort of high-performance spark plugs and wires.

...like I said, planning waaay to far in advance.

(mmm... RS Watanabe 8-spokes... *drool*)

 

hasnt this been covered like 10,000 times?

 

Most of this has been covered. There are numerous "how to buy" articles in the FAQ, and threads on basic mods in the Archives.

 

i think you need to test out the search function... how much money do you ahve to spend on this anyway?

 

Yeah but actual personal feedback is better. He's asking for suggestions not answers to problems. If you have $800 go full racing beat exhaust. They're dual but the nicest sounding exhaust you'll ever hear on a rotary.

 

Is it street legal, though? When I hear the word "racing" I tend to think "pulled over by cops."

Money? That depends on how much I work next summer, although I'll only have 2 months since I had 4 months this summer. It also depends on how much I spend from here till when I get back to the states.

I'm hoping for a bit of a "parental loan" for the car itself (my parents said they'd be willing to go up to 3,000 or so, but I don't know if they'll give me spit if I'm trying to buy a sports car...), but I could probably make enough in two months to get pay the rest of it, depending on how good of a deal I find.

Mods will probably have to wait until the summer after next, when I can get a full 3 months of work in. Any other money before then would naturally have to go into gas (not exactly the 7's strong suit), insurance (which my parents MIGHT pay part of), and maintenance (simply stuff I could do myself).

 

Racing Beat makes rotary performance parts. Check out their site if you are unfamiliar. www.racingbeat.com

 

A parental loan doesn't make you seem much better than a 15year old. Granted I'm only 18, but I have the pride to be able to say that I bought my car with completely my own cash. If you're getting $3000 from your parents for an FC for a loan that you probably won't have to pay off I see you as no better than that guy who got a brand new rx8 for graduation.

But since you are, as it seems, still dependent on your parents at the age of 19.5 I'll go ahead and respond to your insurance question. On my parent's insurance my FC only costs a little more than $400 (excellent records), but that is not including collision insurance or the fact that you're looking for a turbo.

I can only dream of having parents that would pay off part of my insurance, much more my car. I can also only dream of only working a few months a year and feeling satisfied with my savings plan. If I were you I'd pick up a savings plan so you don't need a "loan" of any type and don't have to worry about saving for the cost of gas. The stock market and layaway are great too (heh, google was up $8.89 today, thats almost $16 for me).

Sorry to be a biatch, but why get a car that you can't afford, to drive with gas which you can't afford, which will require maintenance that you can't afford, and insurance that you can't afford. Notice a trend?

As for your questions, almost any turbo vehicle that has over 100,000 miles on the engine is always going to be well through its lifespan. You should be able to find one for less than 6k somewhere here in the southeast. Fuel costs will depend completely on whether you like boost and what type of driving u do... I would expect maybe 20mpg average from a well tuned car na. The best way to make an engine last longer is to stay off the boost... like you'll have fun with that and make sure its clean and every thing that gets dirty/wears out is replaced in quick time.

You say you'd be willing to do some maintenance, but a major thing to consider with any used manual car is how much the clutch is worn. If dropping your transmission and driveshaft sounds scary to you you're then looking at $600+ dollars instead of $100 for the most basic things. It doesnt sound like you can afford that very often, if any driver really sucks you could have to get this done pretty easily every 3+ years (thats kind of a guess assuming you might drive 10k miles a year and don't absolutely kill the clutch)

O, and one more thing... if you're not going to race it at all (doesnt seem like you can afford track time either), then whats the point in the extra 40hp from the turbo?

 

If I had a full time job, then I wouldn't need a parental loan.

But I'm a college student who wants a car for personal transporation and fun.

As for the turbo, I want it because if I decided to get into power mods, it would make things a bit simpler (increasing boost, or changing turbines, rather than having to install a new engine or turbo conversion). Other fairly imporant reasons are because of the LSD, anti-lock brakes, and because the hood scoop is sexy, while having one without a turbo would be lame beyond lame (rice).

As for racing, I have little intent to do straight-shots against other sports cars on streets, but I am interested in possibly getting into auto-cross and dabbling into drifting, so long as I buy some cheap tires for the rear. An FC would be my introduction to performance driving, which is why I want one.


I'm willing to work hard in order to get what I want, so I don't see what's wrong with aiming for a 7.


Question: Do the non-Turbo II RX-7's have 160 MPH (like I'd ever go that fast, but it's still cool) speedos, or is that standard on all FCs?


(heh, still thinking of "EF-SHI" in my head instead of "EF-SEE")

Also, I don't plan on dropping the clutch too much, so I shouldn't have to do much more clutch work than normal. I don't think I tend to cause too much clutch wear since I do whatever I can to prevent wear (like shifting to neutral before stopping, rather than going clutch-in during the stop).

 

Ok whats with the lecture? Who cares who's paying for it. The thread isn't "Somebody buying me car. Is this morally right?" I paid for my car by myself but I don't go preaching it. Anyways to answer his questions. You would be more than happy with a non turbo. The '89-'91 non turbo's have 160mph speedos along with all TII's. Reliability and cost goes to the Non turbo for sure. Performance and upgrades definitly go to the TII. A fun and cheap non turbo would be like a '90 GTU. I would recomend getting '89-'91 N/A or TII. Or even getting a vert and turbocharging it would be cool. You're options are very wide so choose want you want to do with this car.

 

Ever thought of exporting a car from Japan to teh US while you are there? There are plenty of auction houses where you can get a mint FC for a real bargain. This is quite a common thing to do in the UK.

Obviously you would have to live with a right hand drive car and you would need to look into importation costs but it would probably still be a bargain.

 

trying to import a Japanese RX-7 into the states would probably be more work than it's worth. Depending on the state, safety and other such inspections, it is very hard to get a legal permit to drive a RH drive car in the states. It would also probably have to be a salvage title... I could probably go on and on and on.

 

Wait, so you are in Japan, with many many sick FC's all over the place not to mention RE-Amemiya, a gigantic street racing scene, and the homebase to the majority of our aftermarket companies, and you are asking US basic questions about the car? Not that no one wants to help you or anything, it just seems like uh, many here would kill to be over there to gain alot of that knowledge. That's like being at the Playboy Mansion and calling your mom for advice on getting laid.

 

Alabama?

When are you coming back?

I live in ATL and I MAY give up my S4 sometime next year. She's mint and runs like a bull (but most of the time she is babied). But I think it's almost time for me to upgrade to an RX8 or G35Coupe...Life is short!