Hey, I am new to this rotary buisness but recently have become interested so i went out and bought my car, a 1987 GXL, which is great but the previous owners buddy was told to fuel it, and put in 87 octane fuel, and now the car runs goofy, how should i tackle this problem i could use your help
Thanks

 

what the hell does "he was told to fuel it" mean? and gxl's being nonturbo don't need anythign higher than 87 octane. and could you perhaps elaborate on acting goofy?--that's not as specific as some might like.
People who call me goofy could mean i'm high on crack one day and i'm just being silly the next. you get my idea. explain you rproblem better son.
Matt

 

HE was told to fuel it means, he was suppose to put gas in it, and by acting funny i mean its running quite rough like the combustion is off

 

and the manual and everywhere else says it doesn't matter if its a RX-7, but in 91

 

i mean put not but

 

I am digging my self an early grave here, its late and i am tried but i will fix what i said. What i meant to say was , People tell, If it is a rx-7 with a rotary engine it needs 91 octane fuel or it won't run properly, but the more important problem is getting the problem at hand solved so if you guys can help please do so

 

The combustion being off is kind of a vague description. If youre a new RX7 owner and feel that maybe when you first start the car that the engine strains harder than other cars would then thast normal. Rotarys need time to warm up. On a cold engine, dont exceed 3rpm, or 2 rpms just to be kind. Make sure to put the car in second gear for most of the time and not try to gain speed in first gear. Other than that if you are new to Rotarys the engine is just something youll have to get used to. It runs really well, but youve got to baby the engine most of the times. If you still feel theres something amis with the gasoline, then try adding a solvent called 'Marvels Mystery Oil' next time you fuel up.

 

Maybe the connection on the harness on the airflow meter is loose. Mine came loose one time and it ran then bogged then ran then bogged, etc. Or maybe not...could be something else. Fuel filter's dirty, bad plugs?

 

The fuel filters clean and the plugs are new, and it runs like the other cars i have seen who had put the wrong fuel in so thats why i think thats the problem

 

...you have to baby the the engien most of the time????..what are you telling him...that our cars suck? or just when it is cold?..it wont break if you rev it to 4k if it is cold...but it is not good practice in ANY car because the motor actually does not heat up properly/uneven..(in piston engines head gasgets tend to go this way)...sounds like you have fuel issues/bad gas...drive it close to emptpy then fill up with good quality fuel and add some injector cleaner....drive it and if it does not drive better start checking everything on the car..fuel filter, plugs, plug wires, air filter, etc...

 

and dont forget to check for vac leaks!..they tend to be worse when the motor is cold and at low rpm

 

If you can't fix the problem, I'll give you $50 for you car...just kidding man. Probably something minor...hope you get it fixed.

 

Thanks for the help, i think i will enjoy this site, but being that the car is running rough due to bad gas how should i run it out, by idleing it out, because driving it is un-smooth

 

Did you check you Air Flow Meter? If it's starting to go bad...your car will run like ****.

 

throw in some octane booster.
If that doesnt fix it then you know it's not the gas.

 

Drain the fuel from the tank if you are sure that is the problem. It takes a 17 mm sockect if I remember correctly. Replace the fuel with 87 octane, as this is the best for the N/A cars. If you use higher octane, then you are just throwing money away. If the fuel isn't the problem then check into other problems that would make any car run rough. Fuel injectors, Bad plugs/wires. and make sure that there are no vacuum leaks. BTW if you find water in the fuel, then it's obvious you need to replace the fuel filter again.

 

when i bought my car i opened the top of my tank to check the pump cuz my car had a hard time running to .. i found out i had like 50 percent gas and 50 percent water. not good. not to mention i had a shitload of rust particles . looked like orange fish eggs. well i drained and complelty cleaned the tank . got a t2 fuel pump, changed the fuel filter and the car runs good. although i should send the injectors out to be cleaned .. but i think im selling the car soon so im not going to bother.. but dont under estimate the injectors..

 

if u ask people in this forum... they will all say 87 octane for NA, no need for higher octane
and 91+ in Turbo engines......

91 octane in turbo will prevent pre-mature combusion... but i don't think NA will need higher than 87 to prevent premature combusion (unless it is modded)

but if u think it is really the fuel octane... then ok, try 91 octane
People have lots of misconceptions of RX-7s.... 91 octane, expensive to maintain.... yeah yeah..... i treat it as a nice sports car... ANY nice sports car needs love and care =)

so hey, as most say in this thread, your problem is probably NOT related to the gas octane. but check it out, and tell us

 

Non turbos will make more HP and run better on lower octane (87) gas. Putting in any higher octane has been consistently shown to lower output HP on stock non turbo motors.

Octane boosters on a non turbo will actually lower HP and runability.

Probably has old gas in the car, but it next to impossible to really understand what the thread originator is trying to say. If it really is bad gas, then the gas tank will need to be drained and cleaned.