Hi
Looking to buy a car here in Australia, 2001 Mazda RX7 Efini
VIN 6U90000FD3S602336
Basically trying to figure out if this is the real deal, or someone has slapped Efini badges on after market.
Any help greatly appreciated Thankyou!

 

Your Vin information states it was Manufactured in August of 2001

You can check the rest of the information here using this: https://www.japan-partner.com/check-...ture-year.html

It also just appears that someone may have replaced the original Mazda Badges with the Efini Badges

 

Jez thankyou for your reply.
I tried the website you linked, vin no came up with No Data on all fields.
Can you give me some insight as to how you can tell the badges are aftermarket?

 

what is your concern outside of it not being a "real" efini? there are a billion other things to scrutinize on an FD besides the badges.

 

Hi
Its not 'just the badge' that we are interested in.
Identifying the correct model and edition will allow us to make an informed decision on what a reasonable price is for the vehicle. If its a base model, with aftermarket 'fruit' then it is not in the same price category as a limited edition model.

 

“efini” isn’t really a model as such nor is it a special edition. That car is a base edition however being a series 8 RB. It’ll be a low power version without the tinted rear hatch glass and small brakes/wheels. Efini was a division of Mazda between 91 and 97. As such all RX7s from 1992-97 were badged efini. Anything after 97 including that silver RB would not have been badged efini.

 

Efini's were only built from 91-97 then they switched to Mazda so no its not a "real" Efini. Lots of people like to add those badges.

 

As the guys indicated, it’s a later model FD. The efini badges don’t make a difference. In fact, I prefer that emblem compared to any of the others (I run the efini badges on my 94)
If anything, you would want to see if that’s a real R spec bumper. That alone is a worthy upgrade. Especially if it’s got the under tray.
not sure who made the side skirt. It’s definitely not mazdaspeed though (as far as I can tell)

 

so what exactly does it mean that an FD is an efini or not other than being the older model. I am having a hard time understanding whats the explanation of the real deal is. It is an FD...

it is not an "efini", it is upgraded.

with that being said, it is a 265hp car, RB-S single oil cooler. regular sized brakes, and a 4.1:1 final gear.

 

From late 91-97 RX7's in Japan were not technically "Mazda" they were the luxury off brand of Mazda called "Efini." Just like how Nissan and Infinity here in the United states are the same parent company but Inifinity is the "luxury" Nissan. The Inifinity G20 is essentially the Luxury version of the Nissan Sentra. Same with Toyota and Lexus. Late 1997 Mazda got rid of the brand "Efini" and just kept Mazda, so RX7's in Japan from late 97-2002 are all Mazda RX7's.

 

I dont even think its an S package lol. It would have been the absolute base model with no rear wing from factory

 

They did not product the Type S after 95.

I believe the "S" packages were mainly Automatics. RB is the base model which depending on the person can be a plus because they are also light weight. They added the sub models of a few as well like the Bathurst RB. Biggest downside is the lack of the second oil cooler.

 

No, the RB-S (or RB-S Package) was a 99- car that was essentially an RB with the 99 spec wing. Otherwise the 99- RB came spoilerless.

 

If you can PM Kypreo (mostly on Ausrotary I suspect now) or distract Akagis from his major Opus of translating manuals, you might be able to glean more info.

The ugly body kit, disco gauges and the hatch damage would be enough have me discounting the price at the very least. With a basic knowledge of model minutiae, the steering wheel appears to be non-genuine for a V6....which raises a question or two for me. I'm not sure if local importers or compliance shops have improved in recent years - doubtful! Before seriously considering a bid, I'd be purchasing a Japanese auction report to check to see if there was any accident damage shown.......or cluster shenanigans.

 

That is what I was illuding to, it was an RB but a sub model. The plain type S stopped in 1995.

Either way, any FD is a good base, the OP needs to decide their end goal with the car and see if the package really matters. For a full build it really doesn't matter because everything is going to get replaced.

 

thank you for the explanation but you missed the point of my question. I knew the history behind it what i am failing to comprehend is the definition of the “real deal”

 

i saw this in the mazda brochure in the past. I have the brochure somewhere buried but if i recall the RB was the automatic 255ps and the RB-S is the manual 265ps.
and these are for the 99+ spec models
i

found this on the web

 

hmm I’m pretty sure there were RB available in manual in 1999-. For example FD3S600089 I think is a Manual 265ps RB (not S package).

 

I'm the one that handles Build Sheets and verification for Japanese FDs. From a glance at your pictures, it's just the wrong badge put on because (fill in the blank) reason. I can't recall the exact changeover from eFini to the Mazda Flying M badge (sometime in 1998 I think), but this is a minor issue at best.

MSC Code F147-1C0 is a Type RB with Manual transmission built after September 2000. They made 412 of them. If you want to know the rest of the details, let me know.

 

I think the brochure is pretty clear… RB-S being the manual version of the RB, and the regular RB is the automatic…
in reality no one calls them RB-S . They are all RB

 

OK so here it the definitive answer. A number of the above posts were correct, but I'll put everything into one post and fill in the gaps.

FD3S-602336 is a Type RB manual in Sunlight Silver Metallic - 22V. VIN check matches the build plate.

Build date 23 August 2001, making it the middle of the version 6 production.

Type RB manual is to be distinguished from Type RB-S.

Both RB manual and RB Special package (RB-S) came with 5 speed manual, 265PS engine combo, single oil coiler, no strut braces, regular sized brakes, 16" wheels, regular gearing (4.1 final drive). With the special package, the extra features over the RB manual were the rear spoiler, fog lights and suede seats (like the Type RS).

This is definitely an RB, not an RB-S. The words "Special Edition" on the VIN decal are on every FD with a VIN decal (VIN decals stopped for the 2002 model year and so they are not on Type R Bathurst and Spirit R).

As for the Efini badging, well Mazda replaced Efini badges with the modern flying M in the middle of production of the version 4 car (95-98 model) - the change happened in around 1997 but I can't be bothered looking up the exact date and chassis number for the change - it is in the parts catalogue. This switch coincided with Mazda ditching Efini as a dedicated sports brand for the Japanese Domestic Market at that time (and they also ditched Eunos which was their luxury brand).

You can still buy the FD Efini badges from Mazda in Japan and it is popular to fit them to later model cars for whatever reason. I've seen them on Spirit Rs. Usually when this happens, it means the car was resprayed at some point. That will have happened here with the ill-fitting bodykit and poorly aligned bonnet and headlight covers. There is a strong correlation between Efini badges and poorly treated cars. To use an example that will make sense to Australians, it is like Holdens fitted with Chevrolet bowtie badges.

I would stay away from this car. New imports advertised through Lloyds and Grays are usually R grade cars (accident damaged) and the lowest of the low quality from Japanese auction houses. You can buy better cheaper by getting an agent to buy you a car in Japan and import it yourself.

 

I can see why you might think this from the main brochure pages, but it is not correct.

At the back of the brochure is a table with spec list and there are three columns for Type RB - Type RB [4AT], and Type RB which is divided into 2 columns: one for normal Type RB and one for the S package. See extract in following post.

Then, when you do a full VIN check using the EPC, there are two model spec codes for version 6 RB manual: F147-1C0 (normal seats, no fog lights, no spoiler) and F147-1C1 (suede seats, fog lights, spoiler). From the factory, RB-S also came with higher spec tyres (Bridgestone Potenza S-07)

 

Type RB manual vs RB S-package vs Type RB [4AT]

 

Thanks for the clarification. I have not seen the brochure in probably in 20 years lol

you brought up a very valid though. A lot of the dealers would actually import R grade vehicles from japan.
. personally i dont care what sub model it is because i always modify them. what i really care about is the accident history..

in cyprus,( being a kypreo) the car dealerships were flooded with rx7s in the mid 2000s after a tax change. The vast majority of them were accident cars.. the reason why i ended up with the car i did, its because it wasnt an accident car but it was a type RB. I had another Fd at the time but being one of the very few that was not involved in accidents i decided that i had to get it when it was listed for sale as a rolling chassis

 

The brochures and Japanese model designations are all very confusing. It has taken me years to decipher it all.

The RBs definitely make a good base for modification. In Australia we get a wide range of cars imported, but usually the best examples are privately imported while dealers understandably look for the highest profit margins and that comes from buying accident repaired cars cheaply in Japan and flipping them quickly.

I have a lot of family in Limassol and miss them greatly. I was living in the old harbour area behind my aunt and uncle's cafe for 6 months lol. Unfortunately it has been almost 20 years since I last went - it's a long trip from Australia and there's the whole issue of military service obligations. Now my kids are older I'm hoping to come back again soon!