the_glass_man

iTrader: (2)

I prefer the FD in many ways, but honestly the cars are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Two totally different beast. It could go either way. If I had the money I would have M3 daily driver and FD track/weekend car.

Rx-7Addict

iTrader: (2)

I made 340whp at 13psi and full exhaust, ECU, intake, and a fuel pump.

lilroach

did you buy back the bmw? It definitly doesnt look totaled

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Not to argue with you Gene, I sold this 58K miles 93 Base for $15K in July, 1st person, asking price. Pretty close to 50% of list.

http://community.webshots.com/album/144856693XzmifJ

I don't know if 58K is exceptionally low, but 1/3 of list and below is a little low for a CLEAN FD with decent mileage.

Someone might have already quoted Car and Driver in their review of a 95 M3, "the only car faster and cheaper is the Mazda RX-7".

I'd say for someone to make the decision they would need to drive both cars. The FD is light and feels great to people that like that type of car, the M3 is solid and fast but lacks that "go-kart" feel.

mitchelrl

Drvien M3's extensively. I'm going to go with an M3 this spring and a FD when I have more money to throw around =)

on a side note, my roomate just picked up a 99 ///M Roadster (Z3 with a M3 engine) today.. With lowered PSI in the rear tires it pulls a low 12.

also has a euro engine in it. Mechanical Lifters as opposed to hydraulic, individual throttle bodies, thing is making 350 Horsepower.

has a big break kit and supersprint exhaust from the headers back, new intake and aftermarket cams.

here's the kicker, my roomate is a 19 year old 100 pound girl. Drives with bare feet because she only wears flip flops and it's more comfortable for her with bare feet.

I'm freaking JEALOUS.

I've got footage of this car walking on 360's on a track day at Portland International Raceway. (The previous owner was a BMW SCCA Instructor though)

I'm sold on ///M's though, but I'd love to continue posting here. This place is a lot more friendly than a lot of boards.

MazdaLove

Unless the owner has tuned the vehicle 100% correclty, it will run beatuifully. If not, these cars go down the crapper quite quickly. Don't buy one that is under blue book because you know there's GOTTA BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT, or that person did not take car of the car. They can only be modified by professional or someone who knows what they are doing. They are very tempormental cars. They take a while to tune correclty with modificiation. DOn't be satsified with cheap bolt ons, they'll make the car deteriorate rapidly. If tuned right (i'm stressing the fact right) you'll have no problems with this car. And hell, you have an Audi for a second driver. Even if you don't buy my car, don't go to a cheap shop/cheap labor, you get what you pay for. IF you go the cheap route, just to let you know, you'll be on the "I broke my Rx-7" club. Good luck though, this cars kick ***.

gfelber

No problem! I hope you guys can prove me wrong on the resale as I've one in my stable

And why hasn't anyone asked my why I still have the seven and not an M3 or a 911?

Gene

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

I'll bite, why?

To me the 911 seems pretty expensive to mod, in stock form the older ones aren't really that potent. The newer ones are fast but much more expensive to start with.

The M3, I dunno, 500-600lbs?

plan9

I guess I can offer some good perspective on this topic. My car before I owned the FD was an E36 M3, a '97 to be exact. The car was excellent in every way - plenty of torque and low end power, beautiful driving experience, interior is pretty much perfect, amazingly comfortable seats, lots of power, great brakes sounds great, good gas mileage...couldn't say enough good things about it Plus, I love the look of the E36 M3s - I'm actually more fond of them than I am of the E46s - they look much more boxy and aggressive to me.

The RX7 is, in comparison, more of a sports car - obviously. Stiffer ride, interior not as nice, less creature comforts. On the other hand, its much faster, handles better, turns more head, is less common, and more fun to drive fast.

If you're going to decide between the two, you really just ened to take into account what you want - a true sports car, or a sports/luxury sedan. Oh, and another thing to consider: mods, repairs, and labor costs for the M3 are going to be much more expensive just because BMWs use so many expensive proprietary parts. oh, and the M3 will probably be about 3,000 more. I paid 17.9k for mine, with like 68k miles.

Btw, the only reason I ended up getting rid of the M3 and getting the FD is because it got hit and totalled by a drunk driver

Oh, and if you want some more advice...feel free to PM me.

Here's some pictures of the old M3 before/after the accident. I only had the car for 2 months until some drunk 22 year old girl rear ended me. Damages might not look terrible, but it ended up being quotes as nearly 17,000 dollars in damages.

2-Rotor

And why hasn't anyone asked my why I still have the seven and not an M3 or a 911?



I would like to know as well why? Due tell.

gfelber

Spot on. I spent $8K on my last 3.2 L Carrera for about 50 HP (though the mods were advertised to net much more). Additionaly, I've so much time and money in the 7, it's too hard to let it go. However, I'm seriously contemplating a new 911 and keeping the Spec Miata as my track car. That way I wouldn't be tempted to run a $65K car on the track.

That's this week's plan. Ask me in a week when I get the single turbo re-tuned

Cheers,

Gene

seanbrowning

Funny you say that because I drive an 88' porsche 944, and the first thing I thought of when contemplating a new car, mazda RX7! Very good show sir.

mitchelrl

nice color on the M3...It's not discrete enough for me, Not a single car on the road misses those cars. My roomate has not one, but 2 Dakar M3's and he gets way too much attention from the wrong kind of people.

I'd buy this one from him, but he didn't wait long enough to break in the new cylinder head, and it's leaking coolant into the oil system somewhere (bunch of coolant on the gas cap). He's selling it in about a week to get an E46 M3.

the girl on the car is my other roomate, the one who just got the tricked out ///M Roadster.

SleepR1

Plan9--that WAS a nice E36 M3. Hope you're loving your FD.

I think the FD Rx7 is the best track car I've ever driven. As an instructor, I've had opportunities to drive student cars (albeit @ lower speeds). These range from Viper GTS, 993/996 911s, BMW M Roadsters/M3s, etc--I'd still take my modded FD Rx7 over all those cars. It's the FD's 2750 lbs, 300 rwhp (11 psi), steering/handling, braking. I can churn out 4 unbelievably fast "qualifying" laps in the FD before something breaks Sure there are other cars that can do slower laps all day long without breaking--but what fun is that??

I also have a mint condition '97 M3/4-door with a Dinan exhaust and intake. I don't think the M3 will ever compare with my modded FD on track--without lots of mods--so my M3 stays as a road car.

dlambert

i am 67 and been driveing fast cars all my life i have two 95 rx7s one three rotor and a full modded 2 rotor these cars are for the purest. i wouldnt trade either one for three bmw cars both my cars are dependable and ride well with stock springs nothing short of a race car can out handle one and nothing beats a three rotor on the street buy that car for that money its a supper buy. mod the eng with a big intercooler and all the standard stuff and put on a rx6 single turbo and itl go like stink . call me i can give you much info on just what to do. my name is dick lambert phone is 920 8257468. hope to hear from you. good luck

keynote22

there are too many bmws out there. my neighbor has one, his has one, and his! I cant walk down the street without stepping in a pile of BMW. You really cant tell the diff between an M and a regular BMW until you step on the gas so most folks look at it and go Huh! another yuppy let's key it. (BTW I have one too..motorcycle) they are a great all around car but nuthin special..no real spice

The fd has massive wow appeal! Every time I drive it someone says something nice to me about it.

You already have a a daily driver
go rx!

or S4..the audi's all wheel drive makes a huge difference in performance and year round fun. The only car I would want over the fd is a fully blown 2002 s4 for track and street..or an elise for fun and a stock s4 for street...all wheel drive rules

keynote22

intake, full exhaust, large intercooler, power fc..dyno'd at 320 at the wheel..14 psi 85k miles and runnin' strong

13k for car and prolly another 2.5k in those mods

keynote22

mitchelrl...

I like your hood mod! How much hp does it add

mitchelrl

HAHA. She has too many issues and baggage, which creates stress on the driver and drag on the car. THANK GOD I don't have to sleep next to her at night.

I used to work at an Audi Dealership. You can not half *** it on modding their engines, you can't just chip them and throw on an intake and call it good. If you chip them, you have to get a turbo timer, but it's recommended you upgrade to bigger turbo's so you won't wear out the bearings in the stock ones in 3,000 miles. (I've seen it happen, even on my moms 1.8t A4).

I have been to a couple of track days, but I have not seen a single S4 there, mainly because BMW's are for people who want to DRIVE and Audi Owners like to get Driven and have automatic transmissions and what not.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

e36's are almost as much problems as fd's are believe or not..before i got the fd, i was gonna get an e46 for a good deal just as a time being car until i found the fd..but during the test drive, it wasnt all that great as i thought it would be..

now some of you might think that maybe it was just that car i drove and not others..well i have driven a handful of e36's and they are about the same.. my friend sold his to get an RSX LOL..

but i agree with the others, if you dont have another car as backup, the fd isnt the one for you unless you have a buttload of cash sitting in the bank.

2-Rotor

Just thought i would throw my 2 cents in on this topic a good friend of mine works as a technican for BMW and if anyone thinks that FD's are expensive and problematic think again. Bottom line if you want reliable go with Honda/Acura you cant lose but BMW's are way too technically advanced to be dead on reliable and if the car ever gets old enough and goes out of warranty it is very expensive for parts.

The pictures in this thread of the accidents which were "totals" by insurance companies is proof of what i am talking about.

Dan Stevenson

If the insurance company considers your BMW totaled, please let me know. I possibly might be interested. I have a 318ti that is in need of a 6cyl or a supercharger.

I would go with the M3. The RX7 is fun as hell to drive, but better as a second car.

mitchelrl

It's done and totalled and I MADE 3 grand on the car on top of that...I owed $5,000, made 8 grand and some change

I wanted to get the car totalled, it had too much crap going wrong with it all at once. Engine still drove like a bat out of hell though.

I'm going to give my adjuster a call tomorrow and see what they want to buy it back.

I actually wanted the car to be totalled, naturally I brought it to the most expensive body shop in Bellevue, Washington, RNR/Belred. $97/hr!

I figured if It's going to get repaired, it's going to get repaired right, I wasn't going to let my insurance cheap out on me, so they totalled and after quite a bit of negotiating, I got what I thought it was worth.


Only crappy thing now is that the Audi I was going to buy was sold. So now I may have to get an all wheel drive jeep for the winter or something....

I hate car shopping, especially when it's a car I know I'm going to hate.

Dan Stevenson

Thanks. One more question, auto or stick?

MR_Rick

iTrader: (7)

I sold my first FD to get a 95 M3. When I drove the M3 I was actually disapointed. I guess I got used to the FD driving caracteristics. The FD is not as problematic as people mention. My first one had over 140,XXX miles on the original motor and it was still strong with good compression. Is all on how good you maintain it and how you drive it. If you treat it with respect, it will be fine. Once I went with a turbo'd car I won't go back (another reason I didn't like the M3). I was planning on selling my current FD to get a 01 M3 but to pay $3k for a full exhaust, hell no. I rather pay that on my FD to get more out of it. I daily drive mine (is actually about 4 miles from the house to work) but i do keep it out of the rain.