I am 33 and have owned 4 first gens. My GSL-SE was my pride and joy before I had to sell her. To be honest though the first gen. is just a little old now and I'm not sure I want to play with them anymore.

The second gen. is a more comfortable car but I don't think as fun unless I could come across a nice vert.

The 3rd gen. I have not had a ride in much less driven. But I believe I would be more satisfied with an aging 3rd gen. which will always be a classic as well as a formidable foe against future cars.

My question is do the older folk enjoy the 3rd gen. or is it too race carish. Is a 3rd gen. in stock form with the proper fix's worth the money? or is it a money pit?

I'm not a wealthy guy but think I would enjoy a 3rd gen. for years to come on Sunday drives or great summer days. Will this car fill the bill?

 

I am 44 and have had my car for 4 years. I use it for summer months only and it is not a daily driver. I thoroughly enjoy it. You must like working on cars, because it takes some care and cash. Do a search on reliability modifications or go to the Rob Robinette web site.

 

I'm a youngin'. So, my opinion doesn't matter, however; I was once told that the FD's are classic cars. They are hard to find and they are ahead of their time. Fun to drive once and awhile, and it's always a better experience everytime you get in and out of the car.

 

i'm 28 year old. personally, i would NOT buy a FD unless it was a project car. some may disagree, but if you want a fun, maint. free weekend/summer car the FD is not it. it's 10+ year old. things will require fixing. now, if you consider working on cars fun then that's another thing.

 

the question is, do you got a job which pays more then 8 bucks an hour, if so you can afford a FD. Personnaly I think fd's have nicer interiors then most cars out there but if you are really huge, its might be a bit too tight for you. FD's dont seem to have aged very much and seem nicer then some of the new plastic cars which are comming out. I love my fd and use it as a daily driver (they are normal cars and love to be driven). FD's are a huge jump from a FC much less a FB. I suggest test driving a couple to get the feel for them. the car should keep pulling really good thru all the gears and get scary after about 130mph but should keep pulling past 140-150 Most guys with FD's I know of get freaked out by the speed sooner then they run out of power and let off.

one thing to note is that fd's still dont have low end torque. It's ok though, just keep revs up

if you do run in to problems, being 33 and with a job, you should beable to either buy new parts and just fix it or just pay someone to do it for you. if you need a new engine, just buy a 3-5k new one and if you found a good mechanic, it should be fine for another 100k miles or more. Most fd guys are in college or are younger without good paying jobs.

BTW: I don't think 33 year old is that old. When you get to 70 or 80, then that might be getting a bit old for a FD hehe

 

I'm 26 and own my FD for 1.5years now. If the mod bug bites you, its definately a money pit. But if YOU are satisfied with the near stock power level and do the realiability mods you should be fine. Just dont mess with it if its not broken... then things tend to go messy, lol

I'm no mechanic and can do most of the things by myself or get a mechanic and tell him what to do (I wish I have had a lift and proper tools).

 

28...Definately buy an FD.

 

Tom B. (tcb100) is the original owner of his silver 1993 R1. I've met few other guys with the passion for the RX7 that this guy has. He beats on it constantly running 11.6's at the drag consistently and he drives the thing to work. He may be the reason I bought an FD. He's also 50+years of age and still in love with the car.

 

Expect to spend about $20k to get the car into condition to drive for the next 50k miles without any major issues (purchase price + cleanup).

As with the rest of the rotary you have some higher maintenance costs (i.e. oil changes every 2000-3000 miles instead of every 8-15k like you can do on a Toyota Camry, new spark plugs every 10-15k instead of 50k, etc) but we're not really looking at Porsche/BMW costs.

One good tidbit is the consumables (brake pads/rotors/etc) are cheap since you have such a strong aftermarket for the FD. Tire costs are also not too bad since 225/50R16 is a very common size.

If you don't plan on racing (autocross, track, etc) the car you should be perfectly happy with the stock power levels (especially coming from FB/FC) leaving the costly modification bug in hiding (and costly tire bug, race rubber/DOT-R tires != cheap).

With the stock struts and touring springs on stock size rubber the ride is moderatly hard (hard enough that in the 'truck lane' of our CA freeways my CD player will skip). The R1/R2 models have more firm struts so if you end up with one of them you may be able to find a free swap with somebody on the forum looking for a bit more performance so you can have a bit softer ride.

Even though my primary use is autocross I didn't want to start with a R1/R2 model since I really enjoy the moon roof. Other than that you gain cruise control also in the Touring though I don't find myself using it very much and I don't plan on any 500 mile drives (I think if I start looking at events that far away I'll trailer the car).

Drawbacks are every kid in a Honda with a CF hood will want to race you, you'll have groups of teenagers hanging out around your car in a parking lot, and if you enjoy going a bit too fast on those weekend cruises Mr. Police Officer also has a keen eye for the FD.

 

FD will make you feel 18 all over

 

if you want a reliable fd buy a 94 or 95 with a blown motor and pretty low miles and take it to pettit spend about 5k and come back and youll have a brand new car just do oil changes

 

This always gets me, how the fd is much different than the previous two, maintenance wise. I mean if you ask me, someone who has owned rotaries in the past should be pretty well off when owning an FD, than an average joe. I hear the FB's holds up to 200k, so the maintenance is probably much different than the FD, due to the fact one is turboless, and uses carbs, but both still rotaries. Would I be correct in saying that an FC turbo model is probably the most connected to the FD, among the RX7's.

 

I have owned two first gens, and know how you feel. The FD takes a little while to get used to, because it is an entirely different car. I suggest that you try to find a low mileage car, so that you don't have to deal with the problems that the higher mileage cars have. You will spend a little more money, but you will get to drive and enjoy the car instead of spending all of your time working on it.

 

I am 50. Just bought a 94 3Gen. It is relatively stock and the former 2 owners did a good job to keep it well maintained. I have owned an 83 and 91 RX-7. This is a different beast and has more power than you can use legally. It is far more fun and comfortable than my previous sevens. Everyone who sees it thinks its some sort of Ferrari. Keep it as close to stock as possible. The recommended reliability mods are essential. I would say buy a downpipe first off, followed by a boost gauge and aluminum AST and maybe relocate or rebuild the intake to suck in cool air from the outside. Heat will kill these cars. Keep up all specified fluid changes and you should have a reliable car. One other note, a compression test before you buy is manadatory. Minimum should be in the neighborhood of 94-94-94 on front and rear rotor faces. The $20,000 figure is reasonable for a 94, once you get done putting someone else's car back together, paint fixes, reliability mods, new tires. Stay away from exotic stuff or highly modified cars and you should have no trouble. I am aiming to drive mine as a daily driver (spring, summer, fall) and I will do it on a budget, or my wife will kill me.

 

I am 29 and I love my FD !!!
But I have it as a second car, not a daily driver
If you get it, be sure you have the cash to maintain it

 

That is the clencher statement right there. My friend and I both own heavily modified FDs and he daily drives his. I pretty much drive mine everyday, except when installing something new or it is wet/hot. My FD has really never had any problems. The only ones it has can be attributed to me working on the thing myself (psuedo mechanic skills) or my water seals going out at 80,000.

These cars can be daily drivers and very reliable if modified "intellegently. I drag race mine every-so-often at the strip and rag the hell out of it when out in the country. Since I live in a rural area and commute to work/school via the country, mine sees plenty of ragging.

Everyone gets so damn scared about the reliablity of these things. They are very reliable if you are informed and know how to maintain a "high maintenance" car. I used to worry about every nuance and noise that occured, now, I don't give a damn because nothing bad has happened, except for water seal failure in the 3 years I've own my FD.

Now that I think about it, I did break an axle from wheel hop at the strip, but that was from repeated abuse. The axle break can also be atributed to me not anchoring down the rear so it didn't brutally hop. My unintellegent decision that I payed for with an axle and differential.

It seems to be en vogue on this forum to doom the owner to a life of misery once they have an FD. That just isn't true for me or for my friend, Jayseven, with almost mirror mods. The only problems you can have is a bad mechanic (ie. mazda, or anyone else not familiar with 3rd gens) and or a uninformed/unintellegent owner.

I suggest you buy the thing with both turbos working properly, the engine getting good compression. Preferably a reman or rebuilt engine. Also, do your own maintenance and do all the modding yourself in order to be on top of the complexities of a 3rd gen. I would suggest you get a mechanic that can help you in a bind. Do mods such as the vacuum hose job to get well aquainted with the sequential turbo setup. After climbing that mountain you are truly a minimaster of the 3rd gen matrix.

Have cash for:

93 octane
oil changes frequently
reliablity mods
and always have crisis planning (extra money for something the previous owner fucked up on that you didn't catch) or in other words 2000 dollars for a reman engine and a 1000 for labor

You will not regret buying a 3rd gen if your heart and mind is in it.

 

I agree with Garrett.

 

word

all too true

mike

 

I guess I am one of the few. I orderered my R2 in 1995 and after the first year of teething, where I decided it wouldn't last like my (and still have) '83. I am finally upgrading her from near stock after a hard performance trouble free life of autocrossing. Just added PFC, DP, Blitz SMIC, ...

 

And yes the 3rd gen is worth it even when purchased as new at new price. Words from a 48 year old, a 911 at half the price.

 

When the FD RX-7 hit the streets in early 92, it was an instant classic.

No wonder Mazda kept production up for so long. Timeless & purposeful

Long live the FD RX-7

Nov-91 - Aug-02

 

i spent about $22k on my car... bought it with 32k miles for $19k. spent about $1000 on tax, tags, title, registration, etc. the other $2k was for new tires, thermosensor, head unit (didn't have a CD player in it), and a flush of all the fluids. so far (knocks on faux wooden cubicle styled office desk) i've not had to do anything but upgrades on it sure, i spent a little more on it, but from some of the HORROR issues i've heard, it was the right thing to do.

 

I have had my FD for a year and a half now. Due to uninteligent decistion a waterseal broke for me too.(note: if water buzzer goes of, stop the car i didnt
But with reliablity mods and frequent oil changes you should be fine. I have used my car as a daily driver, but now im going to have to drive much less since im off to university again after some fine IT years.

The most costly on a "sunday" car is probobly the insurance.

Gas and oil cost mostly come into play with a daily driven car.

BTW the gas in sweden is 5.3$/gal so you US ppl dont have gas costs

 

I've had mine for about a year and a half. My dad and I went in half and half, I'm 19. I found a one-owner stock 5-speed for $20,000 with 28,000 miles. Not a daily driver at all. Only used in spring/summer months and on weekends basically. The person I bought it used it as a daily driver. I know this because when I bought it, the tranny needed new synchros... they had to have been shifting it in traffic like mad. But if you want a stock with low miles you're looking at $20,000, but IMO, it's worth it. Mine is staying stock besides reliability mods. The car is amazing; fast, the engine is smooth at whatever RPMs (rotary's rule!) and the car stock handles amazingly! It stays really flat in turns. If you want a weekend driver basically no one else will have go for this car! You might have to do some mechanics work cause the car is 10-11 years old, but hell, it's fun!

 

welcome to the club farani you little neon drivin' fairy just kidding man. just kidding. glad you took my advice and decided to come and be edumacated