Well.....safe in a crash....about as good as similar makes/models. Good first car? No way! I love my TII but I would have killed myself in it when I was 17. I thought I was a great driver and would have been way over my head in the cornering and acceleration speeds that a TII is capable of. At 17 it's just too damn temping to push hard in this car. Get an N/A and go from there.

Todd

 

i wouldnt say safe. im 6'6", and im no position to get in a accident in this car. god forbid, but my neck would be broken before i knew what happend if i got hit in WRONG way. but overall these car handle(or should) really well. now thats always a good thing, but then again their rear wheel drive, and in the rain they can get loss real easy.
they have their ups and downs when it comes to safety.

 

For a first car, I wouldn't get one. I wrecked the **** out of my first car (still had it fixed, but it was expensive as ****).
Any car driven responsibly is a safe one, but My problem was (and possibly yours will be) that it wasn't driven responsibly.
I have a Volvo 240, and it's built like a tank, and it's a very safe car, but I still was almost hurt real bad when I wrecked the **** out of it. I probably would have broken my left arm and leg if the timing had been maybe half a second different.

 

The car itself has a rigid structure and has pretty good crash results for the occupants. I believe there is a guy on the fc3s.org mailing list who rolled his 6 or 7 times and walked away from it. However, a TII will get up and go if you want it to. A new driver that has no wheel time shouldnt drive one imo. Hell Im only 17 and have a tii, but Ive been driving since I was 14. I had 2 years experience in my parents vehicles and 1 year driving my piece of **** probe (damn you ford!).

 

Yes these cars are pretty safe,

One experience i had, and will never forget.

(this is a shortened version)

My friend and I rolled his 10th AE on the freeway. on our way home we hit a storm, the rear tires on the car were bald. So we started hydroplating and went into the wall with the right front and then the right rear and then over and sliding....
got out of the car upside down and just looked at the car, (friend was like," **** I JUST ******* TOTALED MY 10th AE)



more pics here
http://members.rogers.com/rtsracing/ryan.htm

I am 17 as well and own a TII. I love my car, its got power, looks and is overall fun to drive. Im glad i never got the 93 TSI i almost bought before the 7. Although i drove a 97 TSI today running 9lbs and, wow, those cars move give me a run for my money in my TII thats for sure, if not beat me.

 

ACTION RT: you make baby jesus cry

 

Lies make the baby Jesus cry. Smashed RX7s make homer cry.

 

I was rear-ended in my old GXL by a Semi going 20 MPH, when I was stopped in traffic on the highway. The car was totalled (frame damage to the right-rear corner), but I was fine and the car still drove perfectly after that.

 

Action: I was just about to post that pic... you beat me to it

I've also heard a story of someone rolling their '87 NA and driving it away... broken windshield, severe damage everywhere, etc... but STILL drivable. Got it home. He was unhurt. Was having some fun in the twisties, hit some gravel, lost the tail, and that was it.

 

does anyone have anymore crash pics....I would like to see what i can expect when someone hits me..
I say taht because i have never caused a wreck,but have been hit twice and am ALWAYS dodging horrible drivers....NASHVILLE DRIVERS SUCK by the way....
heed my warning.....
more pics please
=-dustin

 

I knew a guy in Monterey Ca. who rolled his 2nd gen THREE times at 80 mph! In my opinion he wasn't the best driver, but he walked away unscathed!

 

Sorry, can't do that anymore. lol

Tim

 

Step 1.. Dont crash it
Step 2.. Avoid other people crashing into it

 

Man, as far as I know, I think S5s had airbags, at least as an option. I know mine does. In fact, the airbag controllers seem to be made by Ford!

:-p

RX7 = Safe compared to, oh, Corvair or old bug.
RX7 = Unsafe compared to iron body old Caddy or Volvo 240DL.

 

mine doesn't


i'm with everyone else. i feel i can avoid wrecks easier in the rx (thanks to the light weight and incredible brakes). but say i was going to get hit and there was nothing i could do about it, i would much rather be in my 93 lumina Z34. i really disagree with an RX being a first car though, they aren't great to learn in, i see them as an intermediate car. i know if i had RX when i started driving at 16 i wouldn't be typing this now. just wait it out, save your money and buy an RX when your 18 and your parents can say anything, it will mean alot more to you then. (jesus h, i'm sounding like my mom!)

 

I got hit the first week I had my GXL!!! I tried to avoid it but the car just slid and barely changed trajectory. The drunk driver turned in front of me I didnt have any time to react. The car is as safe as the driver...You can have curtain, side, front, leg, ***** airbags but nothing will save you if you truly drive like an idiot and you do stupid ****.
Hassell

 

1990 Verts had Airbags I think.

 

This is an article on the ClubFC3S forum about a guy that thrashed his FC

http://clubfc3s.com/iboard/index.php?act=ST&f=9&t=370&

 

I ride a motorcycle every summer.

The RX-7 is certainly safer than that.

 

TII's are perfectly fine for 16 year old drivers if you know how to watch your right foot. Take it easy in the rain and don't live in Michigan. I won't be driving mine in the snow for control and rust reasons.

 

Of course he has to ask!

Asking is the smart thing to do. WTF is he supposed to do got out and have an extra one crash tested?

Geez. His age has nothing to do with the crash worthiness or crash avoidance capabilites of an FC.

It's a "good thing" that he's asking this question, it means safety is being considered. Quit giving him @$#% just because of his age.

 

get an n/a

 

TII is just fine if you're responsible and don't mind doing regular maintainance and fixing stuff as it breaks.

as far as safety, it is great in a roll and is designed to crumple on impact. It is a stereotypical Japanese crunch car. The car will take a beating so that you don't. It is better than most cars in avoiding accidents (like 4 wheel disc brakes and 4 piston front calipers) and in an accident fairs just as well as other cars its size of its time.

Basically (safety wise) you'd be getting an accord that had one helluva roll bar and brakes to stop on a dime.

 

Nothing safe at 120 MPH!!

 

They are very safe cars. I got hit in mine, and put it into a tree, driver's door first. The car almost broke in half, but I survived, and almost all of the drive train did too.