KingTurd

Greetings everyone! Ive never posted here before so bear with me.

Anyways, im in the market for a new car. I currently own a 240sx with 202,000 miles on it. The suspension is quite shaky, timing chain is getting loose, etc etc. The list could go on. I love my 240 to death, but I need something with less miles with a more firm suspension. Its either I spend a ton of money getting everything thats wrong fixed, or I spend almost the same amount getting a new car.

Right now, im considering a DSM. I know some of you are probably thinking "ugh", but im looking over my options. A good friend of mine who works as a mechanic at a Nissan dealership recommended to me an rx7, particulary the 2nd gen. Just wanted a few opinions before I consider a rotary beast.

I drive alot. I mean ALOT. I think I put 35,000 miles a year on my car. Drive to and from work (i work as pizza delivery), and sometimes to my moms house (130 miles one way). I think I drive more than I sleep sometimes.

So, firstly, the car has to be reliable. Ive read most rx7's for sale that the engine has been rebuilt. Thats kinda scary, but is there something that those owners are not doing that causes the engine to be rebuilt? I did a little research on a rotary engine, and its fascinating, but most of the times the apex seals bust.. i think. My mechanic friend said that you have to run rx7's hard. That wouldnt be a problem for me, but if I have to rebuild the engine every year, I dont think I could afford it. Most of my miles are highway miles.

Secondly. What is the cost of maintence? E.g. Alternator dies, starter fails, etc? I understand that its a foreign auto, so its probably gonna be a little more expensive, but how much expensive?

Turbo or no turbo? I prefer to have turbo, but they are hard to find.

I love to take care of my car, any car for that matter. My girlfriend thinks im nuts when I wash my car 1 or 2 times a week. I think im just being normal

I have a $3500 budget to work with. Looking to get a car within the next month.

If anyone out there has any suggestions or opinions, good or bad, I would love to hear them. If you know of any FAQ's or anything to the like, I would love to read them.
Thanks very much in advance,
Brady

InfiniIIIREX

well with $3500 as your budget you probably won't find a good Turbo II without breakng the budget. So I would say find a nice 89-91 NA, preferably a GTU if you want some kicks, and they will be more reliable then a turbo model. The engines typically need to be rebuilt every 80,000-100,000 miles but that depends. The owners don't do anything to cause them to get rebuilt, they just put miles on them. It's true that RX-7's like to be driven, but they also liked to be taken care of, they can turn on you if you forget a oil change or any other regular part of maintenance. So these cars are pretty high maintenance, the turbos needing more maintenance then the NA's. If you are obsessive about your cars, than an RX-7 is a definately what you want, all my friends and family are getting worried about how much time and money I put into my rex, but that's okay. Good luck in finding your RX-7, you won't be dissapointed.

KingTurd

Thanks Infini.

I did some research and found that the GTU's have 146 - 160 hp stock (diff. years of course).

How hard is it to get more power out of the N/A's? Someone a while ago told me that you can turbo a N/A for around $1000. Puzzled, I asked him how. He never replied, unfortunately.

Brady

FPrep2ndGenRX7

Do a search about adding a turbo to an N/A car and just surf around the 2nd gen section of the forum otherwise well be beating the dead horse again. There might be something in the archive also.

J-Rat

iTrader: (2)

IF it makes any difference, the engine on my 87 base went 206,000 miles before kickin the bucket...

vaughnc

KingTurd,

Hey welcome to the forum.

If you love driving the 240sx, then your going to be THRILLED driving a 2nd gen rx7. They have excellent grip and handling (rear steer), a soft ride, fast acceleration, wide powerband, love to be revved (no pistons to break), and fits you like a glove feel.

Besides a sweet sports car, the international following is the 2nd best part of owning a rx7. There's 4 continents of rotary fans & companies developing for these cars still. That gives you ALLOT of performance upgrade options, BODYKITS, accessories, magazines, model kits, slot cars, etc.. etc.. Mazda and several other sites still make replacement items as well.

The NA (non turbo models) are fast sports cars, the convertible is a sweet daily driver, and the turbo II is A SUPERCAR. The turbo II can handle 450+HP and the 3 rotor engine upgrade can handle 650+ HP. The NAs can be modded to about ~200HP fairly reliably.

The Turbo II can be a reliable daily driver, and listening to how you take car of your cars would be great for you. The convertible is another good platform to buy as it's a sweet car and makes a great turbo II project ugprade project. The GTU and GTU-S are designed with SCCA track racing in mind and the Turbo II is designed with porsche racing in mind

Here's a general idea of when rebuilds are needed for the 2nd generation rx7s

86-88 2nd gens
base models - 250K-300Kmiles
Turbo II - 160-220K miles

89-92 2nd gens
base modesl - 180-220K miles
Turbo II - 130-150K miles

Acutally buying a well maintained rx7 with a rebuilt engine is a great deal. You have another 150+K miles of engine lift left Most people either pay a premium for a well maintained rx7 with low rebuilt engine miles or buy it for dirt cheap and rebuild it yourself. Either way you get lots of engine life & reliability.

Just like any other car, the previous owner determins if repairs are needed. Usually around 85-120K miles you need a new TPS sensor and there are a few electrical quirks that you can self repair fairly easy. These cars can be very reliable if you take care of them and don't improperly modify the engine for performance.

Have a look at some 2nd gen pics from my photoablumn:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292175051

And some bodykit pics to get an idea of what's out there:

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292175087

From what you're described I'd recommend picking up a base model like the SE (base), GTU (racing), GTU-S (lighter racing), Sport (racing), or GXL (luxury). These tend to have the best reliability/performance ratio. The GXL has the most creature comforts as well, so keep that in mind.

Yes the Turbo II is a supercar, so if you eventually want MASSIVE HP I'd recommend starting with this platform. Then again you can do like me and get the convertible as your daily and turbo II as your weekend eventually.

Any other questions?

-- vaughnc

Gene

iTrader: (1)

Not to discourage you from getting a 7, I love mine to death. BUT... the thing I was strongly considering before going for my T2 was to get a totally ragged 240sx, and dropping a J-spec SR20DET motor in there. You could probably fix your creaky suspension (read: new shocks and springs, not a hardcore coilover kit) and get the motor in there for just under that budget. Here's something to get you started

http://heavythrottle.com/

KingTurd

Thanks for the posts guys.

I knew from the beginning that these cars were high maintence, just didnt know how high it could be.

They sure seem like a fun car, but I dont see a whole lot of them around (and I live near cleveland ohio.. the ones that I did see were probably stolen.. lol j/k). That kinda makes me think how much a water pump or a caliper would cost.

I too thought about the sr20det swap, but I wont get into that in a rotary forum (at least this section of the forum). I dont think the engine swap would work for me, because I have to buy the engine, all the misc stuff (piping, fuel pump.. whatever else), not to mention that my ball joints are shot. .. doh, promised i wouldnt get into it

Anyways, I guess ill leave it to the pros to drive the rx7's. With the amount of miles and the type of driving I do, I dont think the cost of maintence would be worth it, unfortunately.

Oh well, maybe when im older and richer.. well maybe richer, but older for sure Maybe ill graduate from a college (puh) and make enough to afford a 3rd gen.

Anyways, enough babble for me. Take care guys, happy motoring!

Brady

LITESPEED

Check this link out.....

http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm

aghoris

Hey vaughnc do you know where i might be able to find that pan-speed body kit?? it is pic number 58 in your album the yellow rex in the show display. i like that kit and was wondering where i might be able to get it...

vaughnc

Well get a civic as your daily and a 7 as your weekend if you worry about putting an extreme # of miles on the car

mazdaspeed7

Since you drive so much, and Im sure this will be your only car, so it has to be completely reliable, I think you should stay away from the TII's and look for an 89-91 n/a. The GTU is the base model, GXL the luxo model. The GXL weighs more, and is less performance-oriented. I have had 2 GTU models, an 89 and a 90. The 90 is what Im driving now.

Full exhaust and intake will put a GTU into mid to high 14's. And from what Ive heard the n/a's are a little more tossable than a TII, just not as fast(normally, there are always exceptions).

As for maintiance, the n/a's are completely reliable if you take care of them. Regular oil changes, basic maintainance, and 150-200K wont be a problem.

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like you need a beater pizza deliverer/ winter car and then a fun car for weekends or whenever.

Going from the 240 to the DSM you lose one great thing. RWD. The RX-7 is RWD and has great, neutral handling.

However, I would hate to see a nice RX-7 being driving around 35,000 a year delivering pizza. Not what the car was designed for.

The Turbo IIs are hard to find, but they are great cars. Plus you dont have to worry about anyone in town having the same car (Important to me, I live in Ford Country, where every other car is a rustang).

If you maintain an RX-7 properly, you could very well drive it 35,000 miles a year

vaughnc

I hear ya on the rustangs

I'm in the ritch south - so it's all new GTs and Cobras.

Well there is a red 87 TII near me and several NAs, so not too bad.

The cops take care of the ricemobiles for me, but the mustangs still wanna race and the cops don't see em.