Vellum Venom FD Design Critique
 

The Hagerty Vellum Venom article on the FD design using my car as the subject dropped today. Check it out if you're interested in an auto-design-school-informed detailed critique of the FD design and the obligatory comparison to the C5 at the beginning. Enjoy:

https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinio...mazda-rx-7-fd/

Never gets old.

Thanks for posting that and for letting them use your car for the review! Really interesting!

Best part though - "and near-luxury NVH engineering." - they didn't get to drive the car and enjoy the chorus of creaking interior plastics I guess :)

Dale

^Yeah that part made me spew my coffee LOL-ing! "Near luxury NVH engineering" was probably at the bottom of the list of priorities for Mazda when the FD was being designed, while lightness & performance was at the top. Hence why an FC has luxury-like NVH characteristics when compared side by side to an FD.

IDK, I think a stock FD is actually quite refined. I did give Sajeev a ride in the car after we did the shoot.

The FD was built with the same level of NVH control that was becoming widespread across the industry in the 90s. The comment tracks in my experience. My FD is easily more refined than my old Z32 300ZX was (it has a smoother engine and the lower curb weight/double wishbone suspension allows for a softer spring rate), it is also much quieter at speed than my 1994 Integra GS-R as well as the Porsche 968 I drove.

It's been a while since many of us have driven a low-mileage stock one that hasn't been disassembled multiple times. They're pretty nice.

I am pleasantly surprised with mine. Near stock, lowish miles and its not a rattle box. I always hear people talk about all the squeaks and rattles in their FDs but I haven't suffered that issue in either of mine. My first one I sold with 150K miles on it and it had a few clunks here and there (mainly the diff mount) and this current one has around 46K miles, not a single squeak or rattle and its super nice to drive. I'm still afraid to pull some of the plastics apart when I install a new head unit and work on a few other things but for the time being its quieter than my 2018 Titan.

I’m happily surprised Hagerty spent time on a Japanese car. Seemed ‘Imports’ didn’t get on their radar all that often.

Bump

Great read; thanks for sharing. I do find myself looking at the same unique curves over and over again and never feeling bored!

Lovely car :icon_tup:. Congratulations I'm sure you are very proud.

It's awesome and entertaining that hagerty did a piece on the FD. Although I wish they would stop comparing the FD to the C5. The FD came out 5 years prior so it should be the other way around.

​​​​​​Anyway, that's my own gripe that extends from all the times people have said to me "how much the FD looks like the C5". I'm like "bitch no. The C5 looks like the FD" lol

Playing forum catch up and am glad I tripped over this write up

Counter to everything in my build's (as Mr. Hahn calls) ethos, but I think a more subtle exhaust would do it well. Understandably, a choice you had made that I can respect regardless

Your low mileage "build" (or less is more if anything) is great. This was a very clean example for a period piece write up

Glad this was bumped up. What an enjoyable read!

Quoted for emphasis…I’ve made that same point several times and for the same reason.

Appreciate the thoughts. The titanium catback is my favorite aftermarket part of the car - I would never get rid of it. : ) A single exit of medium diameter is exactly what I wanted in an exhaust.

I think the look is quite subtle, but I seem to be in the minority on that as several people have said they think it is flashy. It fits perfectly and doesn't stick out as far as some of the pics suggest. It reminds me of tuner cars growing up, and for me that is enough.

No offense intended and no explanation needed - I like the exhaust