We've seen references to the differences between FDs sold in the US versus those sold in Canada but I haven't seen a thread about it. Maybe there is a thread, but a quick search did not yield anything substantial

So this is for future searchers.

It seems to me that many US FDs are being imported to Canada. Not sure why..maybe price and availability...dunno. Importers are forced to 'Canadianize' their US FDs to conform to those originally sold in Canada.

Conversely, in the future, I predict that Canadian FDs are likely going to become desirable in the US, primarily due to low mileage (they are only driven for 5-7 months per year and will have lower mileage). For example, mine has never seen snow except thru the garage window.

So how will you know if you are evaluating a US or CDN FD?

Chime in if you can add or clarify.

Speedo & Odometer The obvious difference. In Canada they use kilometres, in the US they use miles. A mile is about 1.609 km, so a CDN FD with 100,000 on the clock is about 60,000 miles.

The Headlight Pisser CDN FDs came standard with a headlight washer (no wiper, just spray) which is acitvated by a switch on the console...(the centre switch in the bank of 3 rear the ashtray). To my knowledge this was not available in the US. Anyone know why? I don't.

Front Bumper Reinforcing Bar Canadian collision safety standards are slightly different than in the US. So the front bumper re-bar is slightly more beefy (as far as I know) compared to the US version. Something to do with very low speed collision. Seems goofy to me, since we all have insurance.

The 'Tan' Interior This one I'm not so sure of, but I've seen several posters claim that the Tan interior is a US-ONLY thing. Can anyone verify this? I can say that I've never seen a CDN FD with a tan interior, but I have not seen very many CDN FDs to begin with. Oddly enough, every US FD i have seen has the tan interior.

Block Heater Mine has one. I just discovered it after removing the big plastic undertray. Most, if not all, vehicles sold in Canada come with a block heater as standard equipment.. I assume it was standard on the FD, but it was likely an option in the US, so not likely a determining factor.

'Anniversary' Strut bar I don't know if this is folklore or truth. I've been told that Mazda equipped the 1993 CDN Touring models with the red 'RX-7' R-model strut brace. Can anyone verify this? When I purchased my FD (used), EVERYTHING was stock....but it has this strut bar. Seems to me this would not be the very very first mod someone would do, so why is it there?

V.I.N. Well, this is no fun, because it's hard to remember when you're out seeing an FD that you didn't expect to see. Is the V.I.N. able to tell you explicitly that a model was sold in US vs Canada? I suspect so. Anyone have the data?

And no, the US FDs did not come with optional rifle-rack, and CDN FDs did not come with optional tire chains and French enabled Acoustic Wave systems

 

My dad bought a red/tan 93 rx7 from virginia and imported it to quebec, canada. No problems there...

It needs the canadian front bumper reinforcement bar, it must pass provincial inspections in quebec, you need to have the stock catalytic converter.

Otherwise, we just bought one from the us cause it was cheaper, RX-7 sells for more than 20 000 $ CDN (~16 500$ USD) and this price is for a normal condition, stock rx7. If you want a low milleage and modded FD here, it's 24 000$ cdn and above. The difference are that our cars just came in the black and red interior. We have R-1, R-2, Touring and Base model like yours. One thing that i discovered lately is that my friend has a CYM Base model. I knew that in united states, CYM was only on R-1 versions, but in canada, you can find a CYM on a base model, a touring model or R-1 if i'm not mistaken.

No Mazda didn't equipped the touring model in canada with the red rx7 strut bar. And yes, usually Canadian FD have low milleage.

Mine is a vintage red base model, with 103 000 KM, original motor, no rust, new paint, in nearly perfect shape. And i paid 21 000$ cdn for it last year.

Hope that it helps a bit.

Cheers,

Max

 

Yeah the only difference I can think of is the headlight washer and the cym base FD's..

 

That's right. I knew there was a difference with the CYM, but couldn't remember exactly what.

 

I had a 93 MB Base that was a Candian model.

Metric gauges like you mentioned.

No headlight washers.

Didn't see a block heater and I had the original motor out of it.

Bumper reinforcement appeared to be the same as US models.

Daytime running lights in the blinker position.

The owner's manual was in English and French.

Since it was a Base model I don't know about the strut bar or the tan interior, this car was black interior.

 

yeah the headlight washer ... i don't even tried it lol ...

 

yes sir, the front bumper reinforcement is the same than the us one, just another colour, white for the us one and black canadian or contrary.

 

Oh and yes the VIN is different than the US model.

All US VINs start with
JM1FD331

All Canadian VINs start with
JM1FD332

 

Ah yes. Daytime running lights. I knew I was forgetting something. The parking lights activate when you disengage the parking brake.

If the reinforement for the bumper is the same, why do so many guys have to change them out to conform?

 

Wind sheild washer container in the engine bay on the US fd's and the Canadian ones were in the trunk.

R.K.

 

Windshield washer under the hood on US models?
I didn't know about that one. Thought they were all in the trunk.

I wonder which would be better for weight distirbution?

 

we had to buy the front bumper reinforcement bar from a junk yard, and we took pics of the canadian bar on the car, and we just paint it, and returned the piece. If you buy one from mazda, it's around 700$ cdn. We paid just 100$ from the junk yard, and with our contact that is mechanic, we just returned the part.

I would recommend buying a stock FD from the US... because modded one is a PITA to import here.

Max

 

Here is a couple of pics of US engine bays that I found on the forum. Look closely where the battery is right by the hood support rod and you will see the filler neck for the windshield washer fluid.

R.K.

 

I'm pretty sure that the hood located wiper fluid neck is for base models here in canada, w/o the rear wiper(spray maybe), whereas touring models got the rear wiper and sprayer, hence the rear mounted reservoir. As for weight distribution, I don't think there's much difference, but I'll take any ounces I can get back there

 

The bumper rebar *apparently* is not the same. The US FD has 5mph rebar and the CDN FD has a 8mph rebar.

I have taken them off and theres no difference I can tell by my eyes. To be honst its BS. But, they have to be changed because the canadian goverment crash test standards are higher and the RIV requires it to be changes in order for it to be regesterd in Canada.

 

You're lucky because in Ontario the RIV will only accept a new Mazda OEM rebar with reciept. BTW its $900US.

 

Base model candian FD with washer tank under the hood.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...72583569MYMGXJ

 

OK so rear wiper = rear fluid reservoir. No difference then. Makes sense.

 

The 2nd tank for the headlight washer would be next to the rear washer tank in the hatch. The switch is the center one missing on USDM touring models. One of my projects was to buy the kit and use it as a intercooler sprayer. Was keeping it a secret, but oh well ...no money or motivation anymore.

The Canadian cars are cheaper, not more expensive. Their $ is about 3/4 of ours. I was going to buy a touring model that had all the R1 accessories and prototype Efini wheels but it took a month for the paperwork and it was sold. That's the only problem, is getting the letter from Mazda to import it.

 

^ Nowadays (in Vancouver, BC anyway) it seems like prices are higher for FD's compared to the ones in the US. Avg price here is still about $23-25k (modded or stock) which is about $18k in USD at today's currency.

 

Very interesting stuff! I know there are a number of minor tweaks Mazda had to do to the car for sale in various countries.

The headlight washer system and DRL's are documented in the shop manual. I know there's a whole separate wiring diagram showing how the DRL's are set up.

It would be interesting figuring out all the differences that Mazda did for different markets. I imagine Canada, Australia, the UK, and Japan would be the primary markets for the FD - maybe Germany as well.

Dale

 

My FD was imported from Canada The original owner moved here from Canada, so I don't know anything about importing legalities. It is a 94 touring and it DID NOT have the front strut tower brace. It does not have a block heater.

I was also told that Canadian models have glass headlights and US models have plastic. I have not taken them out to confirm, but from what I can see (and feel) they are indeed glass and seem brighter (maybe just clearer) than US FD headlights (which is not saying much I know).

I really like the DRLs (helps others see such a small silver car), but I have never used the headlight sprayers. I also like to see the look on people's faces when they see 280 on the speedo.

The real interesting question that I have never found an answer for is how many Canadian model FDs were produced? I am sure they are much more rare than US FDs.

 

i imported mine from canada, to import it i needed a letter from mazda saying it was legal in the us. Then i had to pay a border tax fee of like 3% i think. and deal with a few hours of paperwork.

here is a pic of the different dash (all metric)



and here is the headlight washer button:



as far as the strut bar goes, i have no clue if they came with it, my touring didnt have it when i got it so it could have been taken off. No block heater, and their are some slight differences in the wiring on the car.

 

oh and i got a nice suprise when i picked up the car. i was told it had 86,000 miles on it... when I got the car I realized it was 86,000 kilometers which is roughly 53,000 miles

 

Yea thats defintely a bonus. Can I ask you guys why you would get an FD form canada when theres a lot (like hugely) more avaliable in the US?