soon to be fc3s owner...suggestions?
 

I was recently forced to sell my 240sx...im 18 and I work at mcdonalds ya :rlaugh: :rlaugh: :rlaugh: it up. I love cars, especially performance driven cars. My 240 was amazing, but ive always had something for rx7s. The sound of the rotary engine, the styling (on both fc and fd), everything about the car. long story short, ive made up my mind and am getting an fc (perferably s5). It took me a while to decide (choices where mkiii supra, another 240 or an fc3s). I just started saving and have around 1k. I will probably buy it off of craigslist. Ive seen postings as cheap as 1500 for a running fc. My first question is how much should I expect to pay for a decent running fc (both turbo and n/a). My second question, people (none have an rx7) claim that it isnt reliable, I refuse to believe that. If I properly maintain is it a reliable car? Im looking for a balance between performance and reliability, should I start out with a tii or a n/a? I talked to an fc owner at an autocross meet and he told me that he suggests going n/a and turboing it later? If I already know I want the tii, should I just save up for it, or is settling for a n/a until I get the money to boost it practical? I look forward to driving my fc...any suggestions or help until I get the money to buy it would be appreciated.

If its your first rotary, then you should probably get an NA to get more familiar with the engine and how everything on the cars work. Once you feel comfortable with how much you know, you can get a TII or do a swap.

The cars can be very reliable with proper maintenance. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they are talking about. Ive daily driven mine for almost 2 years. Keep it in good shape, regular maintenance, plus I drift it and drive it really hard and its still in great shape with 120(front)/121(rear) compression at 100k miles.

S5's have more wiring problems compared to S4's. Mazda skimped on the money when making them. Plastic sway bar end links, shitty soldering and wiring. The only reason S5's have more power is because of a few ecu tweaks and the AFM. S4's are lighter, and the GXL, GTU and TII came with clutch type LSD's, where as only the TII and GTUs S5's came with viscous type LSD's. It's all up to you with what series you want to buy, Id get whatever comes along first, depending on condition and price.

I've got my 2nd 7 now and I gotta say that Not having to deal with some of the issues turbos bring up on my first RX7 was kind of a blessing. I would highly recommend getting used to your first rotary in the NA platform as well. It makes things alot easier to get used to like mentioned before. One big thing I can say though is don't skimp out on the compression test and other tell tale signs of failure, smokey, ya know the basic stuff you would look for anyway. But a little maintenance
goes a long way in these cars, most of the time it is worth the extra cash to find a well taken care of 7

what he's not telling you there is how much he's spent in maintenance. yes there a reliable car, but expect to spend alot replacing stuff as it goes. new coolant/vacuum/fuel/thermostat hoses should all be done immediately. that'll cost $100+, then you should probably have the injectors cleaned and rebuild the OMP while your at it thats another $100, changing all the fluids $100, then you'll realize the brakes need work thats another $100, replace or remove PD, probably gonna need new struts and bushings and balljoints almost 1k. it really starts to add up fast, i'm almost 5k into a car i paid 1800 for and i still have quite a ways to go.

the most important thing to look for is compression like these guys said, any smoke coming out the tail pipes is bad, and rotary engines aren't like piston motors were, you can just take the heads off the block to get to something internally wrong, the entire motor has to be taken out and torn down and rebuilt. possibly having to replace housings.

FC is definately not for someone on a tight budget, it's an old car that needs alot of TLC but this is just my opinion

I am mechanically inclined and planning to learn the rotary engine inside and out. I get about 350-500 a paycheck and curently still live with my parents (moving out to go to college this september). If I buy this car around mid july, early august, do you think I would have enough resources to get my fc to good running condition. Im going to listen to you and try and get an N/A s4 fc...swap the tail lights (main reason I like the s5 more) and port it as soon as I get the money. Thanks for the help, is (was) anyone out there in a similar situation? How did it work out?

Gas mileage is killer on rotaries if you plan on making it a DD. I think the mian problem with the turbo models is that they come with tiny wastegates that cant handle anything more than stock boost and stock parts

About $1,500 for turbo or na that runs, $3K for a decent one. Pricing is about the same for na and turbo at the lower end of the price scale, but the turbo car will usually cost $500-1000 more at the higher end. See the stickys on this forum for links to buying an RX-7.

They were reliable when new, but these cars are very old now, and your budget may not allow for a well-maintained car. The same would apply to the Supra.

Bad idea. Either buy the NA with plans to sell it and buy a Turbo II later, or just buy the Turbo II to begin with if that's what you really want. The reliability and highway gas mileage is nearly the same, and the insurance is exactly the same with most companies.

Ranked #1 in food services and #109 overall in the Fortune 500 companies, over $20 billion in revenues, nearly $30 billion in assets, with benefits competitive with the big Dow 30 companies. You have much to learn about economics, young one. ;)

For the sake of the thread and since the OP will be DDing the car, do N/A's get a lot better MPG than the TII's?

Yes, if you consider a 1 MPG difference in EPA ratings a lot better.

porting it is the last thing you wanna do, rebuild the suspension and brakes first. thats gonna cost probably as much as you pay for the car. whats the point of being able to go fast if you can't stop or make the corner?

the motor has to be completely torn down to port, and you might as well give it a complete overhaul while your at it thats gonna cost you 1500-2k.

how much money do you have right now? lets just say you have 500 bux right now and you'll make another 1500 in the next 6 weeks ( the beginning of august) that'll give you 2k to buy a beat FC your gonna need atleast another 500 just for the basic maintenance, and depending on the condition of the car it could be more or less.

how much money will you have while at college? will you be able to fix things if they break? or have a place to work on it?

i'm not telling you to not buy an rx7 just beware what your getting into before you buy it,

well young skywalker, Im 19 and i got my first turbo2 s4 when i was 17 almost 18, i payed every penny i had for it (3600$) and it had TONs of shit done and was raped to death, day i got it it overheated and wouldnt start back up. i didnt check it out that well when i bought it and i spent over 3k to get it smogged and running good. so almost 7k total. so just warning, be very careful when purchasing the car...., i now own a stock 89 turbo2 which was never modded. it just depends on the cars history. if it was beat up then ur gonna spend a handful, if it was taken care of by a true car enthusiest then you will most likely be able to afford it(even with the shittttty mpg) thing is fc3s rx7's are.....for the most part all beat to fuck. to many kids buyin them that dont care about maintain only play. :/

just my 2 cents!! good luck man, if u do get one....and take care of it....ull love it. ive owned mr2's and other lil imports but nothing has compared to the turbo2

Wouldn't a TII use more fuel under hard accerlation than an NA? Forced induction means more air so more fuel?

Forced induction only means more air and more fuel if you drive it in boost. If you keep it out of boost, it's pretty much the same as an NA. If you have a lead foot, the Turbo II will get lousy gas mileage, but somebody who is concerned about gas mileage shouldn't drive in that manner anyhow. You can see the EPA estimated mileage ratings in the factory sales brochures posted in the 2Gen specifications sticky:
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/specifications-what-did-2nd-generation-rx-7-come-w-options-standard-features-642372/

It would be pretty silly though to buy a TII and not boost it regularly.

Give me 6000 double cheeseburgers and I might sell you mine

don't boost the n/a motor, since the n/a got the 6ports going "find out more with a search" anyways, t2 are an okay daily beat, though be ready to pay a hefty amount for gas, pumping 91 i pay about 60 per fill

Almost as silly as somebody who is concerned about gas mileage but still drives it like they are at a race track.

Yes, be prepared to pay a hefty amount of gas unless you happen to read the owner's manual that states the Turbo II is rated for 87 octane just like the NA. ;)

im not concerned about gas milage right now, that might change when I actually get the car and drive it. What are some of the first things that I should do when I get the car? Im planning on getting an oil change, checking all of the filters, new spark plugs, spark plug wires and battery right away. Is there anything else that I should do?

READ POST #4!!!!!!!:shocking:


dont listen to these guys(about gas mileage). i get over 20 mpg in my streetported T2. and i boost usually 2nd gear maybe a little in third when i start from a stop.


i also have NO INCOME right now. i finished my tech school and am interning and i dont make anymore. my loan pays for gas and food and my apartment. i only have my mommy give me money for oil changes which are >$20 at EZ lube. and all ive had to change is my started.

so it just depends, some are taken care of, come arent. its all in the pre-sale.

Yeah, don't listen to those Mazda engineers or those guys over at the EPA. They obviously don't have a clue. Internet forum posters have far superior methods for measuring gas mileage and establishing a baseline for a vehicle.

Yes, I know it will consume more gas then an average car but I expect at least some performance increase over other cars. What I want to here is how proportionate is the drop in fuel efficiency and increase in performance (out of both models)

are you not paying any attention to what i said above??? the car will need about $500 right of the bat for :

plugs
wires
vacuum hoses
fuel hoses
coolant hoses
Flush and pressure check Coolant system
Fuel filter
Oil Filter
Engine Oil
Tranny OIl
rear diff OIL
brake pads
Brake FLuid
CLutch Fluid
OEM THERMOSTAT
rebuild OMP and lines

after those are done you'll want to start with the suspension

Balljoints
Tie rods
Struts
Bushings

OH and when you go looking for a car make sure it's 5lug not 4lug, 5lug have much larger calipers and wheel selection

well seeing that EPA ratings are not always correct sinec every car is different, and i actually drive the fucking car i would say im accurate about my car.

and since my car is streetported the EPA's dont fucking matter anyways. and seeing as how my car is pretty much stock except the port i still get around stock gas mileage.

and i was talking about the POSTERS HERE! i did not mention EPA or mazda. so dont ASSUME shit.

i paid attention:) :icon_tup:

thats what i was trying to say. most people on this forum get a streetport, but dont always keep everything else stock.

once again, im streetported at stock PSI, intake, 3inch turbo back, ported wastegate and i get above 20mpg with "ok" driving.

does that help?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ca...23159.html...I have money but dont know the extent of the problem. Is this a good buy, and if not, how much should I try to get it for?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/360723159.html

this is the right link