Noobie of this forum...
 

Hey everyone, I just thought I should introduce myself to the forum.

My name's Stephanie and I'm from New Jersey. I've been interested (more like obsessed) in rx7s for a couple of years now and have been frequenting rx7club and other sites because of that. I've pretty much read all the noobie stickies and other posts that have caught my attention in every section. I'm more into fds, but after much thought, I've decided to purchase an fc instead. My lack of money and lack of knowledge is preventing me from actually purchasing an fd instead. I'm hoping that I can learn all I can from purchasing and maintaining the fc (I'm determined to do all the work myself!) so that when the time finally comes, I can get that fd of mine. ^_^ Until then though, I've got much to learn and I apprepriate all posts, comments, and replies. Now that I've introduced myself, I want to voice some anxieties that I have. I hope I don't sound too much of a noob...haha

I don't really have experience with driving a rwd and I'm sure that GT3 and Colin McCrae games don't help much with real life driving. So, I'm kinda scared by the thought of driving a rwd car. I'm terrified about controlling weight distribution, oversteering and spinning out. =X Another is that I know that some fcs don't come with abs. That's another thing that I'm not familiar with and I've been told that I will have trouble in the snow and/or rain. There's also the decision of getting a n/a or a turbo fc. Personally, I don't care too much about speed, racing, and/or drifting. What captivates me about the rx7 is the rotary engine...how it works, how it looks, and the bodyline of the car. So I'm leaning towards n/a. The final nag is actually finding a suitable car on sale. They seem so rare in this area and if I don't get an rx7 now, I might not get such a chance years from now. *sigh*

All I wanted to do was say hi, but this post ended up way longer. Haha Anyways, I hope to learn lots so that one day, I can be a veteran rx7 owner. ^_^ Until next post, drive safe guys!

Welcome to the boards. Good to see that girls are also intriged by rotary's. I'm sure you'll find all the info you need here as well as much you dont need haha.

for the love of god, dont post your photo.


welcome to the forum:)

lol! welcome

Welcome to the club.

As for your concerns about snow and rain, i live in Alaska, and thats about the only weather we get. I drive my 7 all winter with summer tires and no studs and i do just fine. Its a little tricky taking off some times, but it stops great, even on ice. Its a perfect year round car.

Welcome.

This forum is a wealth of info, and it's helped me more times than I care to admit.

If you are looking for an N/A FC and don't mind a bit of a drive, there is an 88 GTU down the street from me that the fellow wants 300 bucks for. The rear drivers side quarter panel has been dented due to someone sliding into it while parked. I'm going to look at it tommorow. I don't really have the space for it, but will buy it just so it doesn't get crushed or beaten to hell. The guy has already admitted to having made a mistake in purchasing the car, and really needs to get it out of his yard, due to a landlord complaint. I'm taking $100 dollars with me, we'll see if I get lucky. I'll try to get some pics and post them. If you aren't interested, maybe someone will be.

Thanks for the welcome guys!

Jinx, I'm actually debating on the car. If it's a good deal, I'll most likely drag someone along for the ride down. Let me know what's up and I'll get back to you. Thanks!!

In releasing your sex to this forum, please be prepared for plenty of attention from the rest of our members. They tend to attack in packs whenever they see a female, and scare the majority of them away.

I recommend every owner start with an N/A. They are simpler, will tolerate more mistakes without huge cost, and are gernally a good car to learn on. Good choice on that.

I recommned you associate yourself with a decent local rotary mechanic. I am sure someone from NJ will pop up posting his phone number to you.

RWD is not that much different than a FWD in normal driving. Spinning out the rear only happens under hard lateral acceleration, and usually, you are aware when you are driving that hard. Just ease into the car, don't hop into it and floor it around the first corner you see, and you will never have any problems.
Even better, take a weekend course at a local race track. They will give you some classroom information on driving, then take you out with an instructor to teach you exactly what you need to know.

RX-7's aren't terrible in the snow, but they are not great. They lack a significant amount of weight over the driving wheels. That being said, just don't be stupid with the car and it will be fine. I have never been stranded by my car or had the car freakishly spin out on me.

ABS is usually nice, but not normally necessary. If you are driving conservatively in the rain and snow, the tires won't just lock up on you. In the dry, with good tires, its pretty hard to stomp on the brakes and lock up the tires.
They will teach you braking at a course as well, exactly how to properly brake in all conditions so that you don't lock-up.

You seem to be into the car for what it is and without pushing the car very hard, it will never surprise you. I promise you'll be fine in it, the scariness of RWD is EXTREMELY over rated, typically by16 year olds who hop into a new car and push it as hard as they can first thing they do.

If you are used to front wheel drives... Here's a good example. If you push a FWD car too hard and give it too much gas in a corner, the car understeers (or goes straight ahead instead of tunring). It is typically as easy to do this in a FWD car as it is to step out the rear of a RWD car.

One last thing to note: The posts in this forum are there because people need help with their cars, not that these cars are problematic (despite debate). No one ever posts that there car is doing fantastic, so don't let all of the problems you read about scare you away.

Welcome to the RX-7 community. If you have any questions, be them very vague or extremely specific, there are several extremely knowledgable members in this board who have these cars memorized, and can answer any question you have.
(As a side note, this forum features a fantastic feature: the ability to click a button and ignore any user who asks you for a picture. :D)
This subforum is very specific, please make sure to read the FAQ's at the top of the page and the forum rules. As this thread is actually an introduction and does not pertain specifically to second gens, it should technically be posted in the lounge, so don;t be surprised if it gets moved.

Unless, of course, someone can start some tech about the FC? ;)

Sure thing, If you like it and come down, my Girlfriend and I will take you out to lunch or something. I'll get the pics up sometime tomorrow evening. I'm sure its gonna need a little work, but it runs and has a new exhaust. Anyway We'll seehow it turns out.

scathcart: I'm familiar with understeering and oversteering. I've sat in my boyfriend's s14 way too often. Haha I'm concerned with rwd only because I've got a friend who owns an s13 and she always manages to crash her car every winter. (Not to mention that the car has millions of other problems. I think it's dying on her...) But yeah, thanks for the info.

Jinx: Do you suggest driving the car from Virginia to New Jersey (about a 4+ hour drive) or just shipping it over here? (Ouch!! It's $450!) I'm also wondering if it's stick or auto? If it's auto, I probably won't bother...=T Thanks again!

First of all, don't get cheap tires. That will help you a lot with eliminating oversteer. My first car was a Mustang GT, and it had lots of power oversteer because of aweful, cheap tires. That said, my rx-7 is amazing in corners. You can tell the instant the tail comes out and its easy to correct, even in the rain. ABS is a nice thing to have, but if you drive sanely and don't stomp the brakes in fast corners, you'll be fine. Assuming you have good tires and working brakes, FC's stop amazingly well.
Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the wonderful world of rotaries.

welcome! you need to post some pics of your car.

Yes, welcome to our humble home. There is sometimes an over abundance of information thrown at you in some instances about certain topics. Be prepared to read and read and read. I'm sure we will all be more than helpful in helping you with your car. Welcome to the family.
Enjoy,
Charles

Where about in NJ are you located? I'm over in Mercer and theres a few other FC/FD owners around here. I too just started with the whole rotary thing and found these forums really useful, just keep reading posts even if you don't understand them and eventually you will understand a lot of the info.

explod: dumbass. =P

sideways7: I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.

nlc1179: I didn't get my fc yet, so no pictures to show...

ocelot: I'm in Middlesex and I know of three rx7 owners in my area but I haven't seen them or their cars ever!! Anyways, I've been reading lots in this forum and it's pretty interesting...

Please no flaming on this board!

Ok, update. Sorry it's so late. The guy called me today and said he had something to do today, but I could come look at the GTU tommorow at 1:30. I pulled up next to it today and looked it over from the outside. The rear quarter panel is pushed in even with the tire, it's not horrible, but definately noticeable. The dent extends about 3 inches into the door just about level with the keyhole. I didn't bring my camera with me so I'll have to get pics tommorow. BTW it's black.

:crackup: :crackup: :rofl: :rofl: :rlaugh: :rlaugh:

omg SO FUNNY, SO TRUE. i play cs and can definetly relate.
wow rofl.

Bleh, it wasn't a flame! The gif was making fun of me. =T The end of the gif has a stick girl saying dumbasses and so I said dumbass as a joke. Not a flame! Hence the =P. Anyways...

Thanks Jinx. I suppose the dent doesn't matter considering the car is only 300 bucks. I'm more concerned about the rest of the car...how it's running, if it's stick, any major problems, stuff like that. Thanks for all your help and info!

"Please no flaming on this board!"

whats flaming? and how do i properly quote someone?
nice story explod. i especially like the pic of the guy who says, "a FEMALE?". hahaha. classic.

welcome aboard i'm glad to see females are interested in rotor power

press the quote button, just like i did.

It's a 5 speed, and from what I understand, it runs well. It's only been started up and driven around the block once a week from what I understand. You'd definately want to get the dent fixed. It doesn't look like the rear wheel is leaning or anything, so I don't think anything is bent. $300 dollars is what he initially asked for, but I told him I wouldn't give him that much for it since he stupidly admitted not having payed that much for it.
And you're welcome for the help, I don't know nearly as much as alot of these guys, but I'll always offer to help someone out if I can ( I think it appeases the rotary gods ). :) Anyway, I'll let you know tommorow about the car.