elizer

IS THE RX7 TURBO II a SAFE CAR? CRASH WISE, LIKE IMPACT....

ponykiller

It has the handling, acceleration and braking so that you can avoid a wreck - which, in my opinion, is always the best alternative.

hyperdaddy7

it is a 2800 pound 80's style japanese sports car. If a truck cuts me off, i back off, because i know i will die and he will walk away. However, i have never hit anthing in my 7 due to the fact that it is so responsive, i feel safer in my rx-7 than i do driving my parent's jeep.

Rotorque

My car's brakes and ability to handle well in an emergency (steering to avoid certain crash whilst almost at brake lock up point) have saved me from crashing four times since I got it 1.5 years ago. These were instances where my previous car (a Camry) would not have stood a chance. Two of the these times would have resulted in another person dying - one time a woman pull out in front of me whilst I was doing 60k/hr and I braked hard and steered around the back of her up onto the pavement and back onto the road. The other time was my fault (I wasn't speeding, but I guess I wasn't concentrating either) and I did a similar manuevre to avoid a guy in a wheel chair being pushed across a crossing! Missed him by surely no more than 2 inches. I couldn't believe how lucky I was, not to mention the poor bloke in the chair! Not only that but in this case, I actually aimed for the back of a car on the side of the road rather than hit the guy, and I even stopped short of hitting it. Damn I love my car. It has saved me thousands of dollars, several lives, and possibly a bit of jail-time in that last case. All due to its responsiveness and good brake package.

darkwaveboi

stock bucket seats add to ability to swerve out of the way w/out falling onto the passenger

ALSO: 2 seater! i promise you that (im 17) if i had more than my 2 seats i would have been distracted too much and crashed by now..2 seats saves u a LOT of trouble (I have ADHD also..so i cant pay attention to **** w/out meds)

amemiya

lol this one time my friend didn't pay attention in his FD and he drove right under a s10. lol the tire was right ontop of the hood I got pics let me see if I can find them.

darkwaveboi

hahahaha wtf?

elizer

thanks for all the replies guys, ill be sure to show this thread to my parends and amemiya i would love to see those pics send them to elizer@cubecore.com

ikekrull

My RX *feels* much safer than many other cars i have driven, and certainly the ability to avoid accidents with good brakes/handling are important.

Is it as safe as a Volvo station wagon? probably not, but i feel a lot safer behind the wheel of my RX than i do in my toyota corolla.

ZenFox

Well, I'll be straight in what I think.

Do I feel that my FC (even though N/A) is safe? Yes. I feel that it is much nimbler than everything I've owned, and feel much more confident that I can avoid people and things that would otherwise cause hurt (like about 30 minutes ago, where an idiot Civic driver tried to make a right turn into the far lane of the street I was turning left in to). I do feel that in situations like that that the rx-7 is fairly safe due to it's ability to handle, >as well as< my own driving skills (I may not be advanced, but I'm not stupid and can hold my own).

However, how do I feel about other people's driving? Well, I'm scared of them. I don't feel that if my seven would 'win' if it was forcefully introduced to one of these lame *** SUVs where if they were a little wider and a little taller I could drive under. On top of that, SUV drivers are more agressive than most other drivers because they know just that. On top of that, combine this with a complete lack of airbags in the sevens (at least the FCs) as well as the rarity of ABS brakes, makes things a little less protected. Honestly, I'd love to have a nice Volvo Cross-country to drive around the city (for the extra safety and just because they are *sweet*).

So, yes they are safe and unsafe, but in different ways. If you get in a wreck, it's not going to be pretty. Thankfully, the other aspects of the car help prevent that. However, why do you want a TurboII? How old are you? Why do you have to convince your mom that they're safe? If you're trying to convince her to get it for your first car, then I personally would frown on that. A turbo car I do not feel is a responsible choice of car for a new driver. Inexperience + Lots of power = Front page news. (Just IMHO! No flames please.)

-ZenFox

Rpeck

I think most of you guys are all pulling legs here... Your one dead **** if you hit anything well built. No airbags, very light weight, lack of newer technology crumple zones, the engine is just about in the cockpit (thus the 50/50), I can think of a few other things ... but the beers make that fail at the moment. Don't get me wrong the best way to aviod injury in a car accident is to avoid the accident all together... this they are great at! (read above) However any sports car made in the late 80's that had to go through a "brain dump" to lower the weight before shiping to the US (tax reasons) is going to get alot of added alluminum, and first thing they are likely to sacrafice is safety. The power alone makes this car dangerous to a "unsafe" driver. If safety is your concern buy a big *** 3800LB boat with a V-8 thats made of steel. But it is all about sacrafice for the love of the ride. Almost anything made before these cars is heavy and made the old, hardcore way. Anything made after these cars has airbags and crumple zones. Safe ... I say not, but any vehicle is only as safe as the dipshit behind the wheel.

Then again what do I know I spend over half my summer on 2 wheels sitting on 1100cc's and 150ish horsepower.

My 2 cents

Blowtus

it's an old, powerful, light-ish weight rwd sportscar. I assume this is planned as a first car, your parents are damned right to be concerned... I know I'd have likely done myself in if I started out in it
Assuming you don't crash the thing, and it's somebody elses fault, then I imagine it's on a par with other old smallish cars...

Charlie

88 SE

Bieng able to avoid an accident makes it a safe car in that sense.

You wont die from bieng crushed as the uni-body construction is pretty rigid.

Besides, look at crash test data from when the car came out. It did very well in crash tests... compared to other cars of its day anyway.

Josepi

I'd think the crash aspect of the 2nd gen holds up pretty well. There are some pictures of a FC that went off of a highway flew threw the air and threw the wall of a building. It kept it's overall shape for the most part.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

The 2nd gen is actually VERY crash-worthy - the same features that make it a great sports car make it a safe car too. The chassis is VERY well designed and VERY stiff.

A few examples I've personally seen -

- Guy here in the club was cruising down the road one night. A drunk driver blew through a stop sign and went right in front of him, and he hit the other car straight on the passenger side - T-boned it. He walked away without a scratch. Car was pretty messed up, but the front crash structure did it's work - the engine wasn't even intruded upon. Hell, the oil cooler was still good since it was protected by the front bumper reinforcement.

- 2 of the guys here were in an '87 GXL stopped at a light. Another car came from behind, going down the road and totally not paying attention. Rear ended them straight on doing at least 35 MPH. The two guys had sore necks, but the car was barely damaged - some light damage to the paint on the bumper, that was it. The other car's front end was seriously messed up.

Again, these are incidents I personally witnessed - I wasn't in the accidents, but they were local guys in the club, and I saw the cars before and after.

The only advice I can give is to GET GOOD TIRES - a rear wheel drive car with crappy tires and an unskilled driver is oversteer city.

Dale

fuzzi

If your wearing a seatbelt and you arent doing anything totally stupid you will be fine in an rx7 ... This summer i got rearended in my rx7 ... Was sitting at a stoplight and some dude hit me.. The impact was hard but i was absolutely fine no injury nothing... the seats held be in real good and the body of the car took most of the impact... boy do rx7s crumple.. Anyhow i got a loaner car while my car was getting fixed .... i was sitting at a stop light again on my way to work... toyota corolla loaner.. i got rearended again!! well it wasnt as hard as the other crash and there was very little damage to the car but.. my back started to hurt there after because the car ddnt hold me in enough.. I know lots of people that have been in accidents in there sevens and have came out without a bruize i think they are very safe... My friend spun out at like 150 and hit the side of a cliff... he totalled the turbo II but he walked away without a scratch ...

poor college student

it's my first own car, and i have to agree, it feels very safe just being able to maneuver much better than driving my dad's suburban or my mom's old old benz...

RarestRX

Yo,


Safety is a relative term. What do you mean by it?

I think the FC is a safe car in a crash, I saw Mtn. Racer's car after it rolled. It was in remarkably good shape. I also remember seeing pictures of other FC's after being brutalized...the owners usually walk away.

Do I think the TII is a "safe" car for a new/inexperienced driver? No, I do not. Rear wheel drive and turbo power make for an dangerous mix...at least for the rookie.

KS
1989 GTUs "Drive NA, live longer."

yearrgh

I guy I used to work with had an 87 na. he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed nearly head on with a semi at a combined speed of about 70 miles an hour. the car was crushed but he didn't get hurt at all.

LT1-10AE

Dale, you forgot about Rory's car. He tagged a tree head on right in line with the driver's side frame rail. The frame rail had been pushed so far back that you could stand (without touching any part of the car) where the battery should have been.

He walked away with no harm done. It buckled the floorpan, firewall and everything forward - but didn't even crack the windshield.

Too bad we didn't get pics of that thing before it left.

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

negatives for me: NO ABS, no airbags, rear toe control can mess up handling in oversteer situation if not used to it, kind of a small car (2850 lbs, less than 170" long)

positives: great brakes, neutral handling, predictable

Overall, i would say its fairly safe...

OC_

If you have to ask, then no, its not safe.

All we need is another teen death statistic.

scathcart

Depends on the kind of crash. If you're hitting someone else, you want to be in something heavier. If you're hitting a solid opbject (concrete barrier), yoyu want a lighter car.

Overall, the FC is VERY safe to be in. 30 minutes prior to my accident in an NA, someone hit a stop sign, and knocked it behind a fence, and drove away. I didn't know the area, and drove through an intersection that should have had a stop sign to see. I hit a ford van at 70, complete t-bone, and walked away. I hit the thing dead between the tires, and it dented the hodd and shifted the front tires over about 6 inches from the rear. Both cars did complete 360's, to give you an idea of the energy to be dispersed. The police could not tell which direction I came from in the accident, or the other driver.

The engine was untouched, but the rad was pushed back through the fan.

I feel very safe in my car.

fastrotaries

90 MPH head on against a concrete bridge abutment. and we both walked away. I'll try to scan some pics. the car bent like a banana, and the back window exploded. front glass cracked. when we bounced off and stopped the engine was still running. i immediately shut it off. Just some BIG bruises from where the seatbelts were.

OC_

hitting another car broad side is the best way for you to crash. That is the softest/ weakest part of just about all cars. Its like going into cardboard boxes! If you did the same crash head on into a parked 76' Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, you would be dead! http://members.aol.com/JonathanD2/Cadillac/specs.htm