BlackTruenoAE86

iTrader: (3)

I did close to a year, it's really not that bad...I've daily driven worse... Keep in mind I had a brand new 2012 Nissan Titan sitting in the driveway but I still drove my FD daily unless I was going out with a girl. The worse part was stop and go traffic, I have a twindisk and that **** grabs when hot... But you get used to it. I live in Texas and the heat got to me, I work at a corporate office so coming in sweaty and smelling like exhaust fumes got old...

96fd3s

iv been dding mine for around 3 years now id guess, its pretty average i spose. It has good points and bad points..
it uses heaps of gas and is terrible in the wet unless you want to slide everywhere. That gets old real quickly when your just wanting to drive somewhere normally and a civic is faster then you because you just wheelspin, lol.
the good points is it goes like stink, lol

today was a bit lame, it was hot and my drivers window wiring is dodgy

edit; oh and the doors and really bloody long, thats kinda annoying, you pretty much have to worm your way out of the car every time. (well not every time but what would be a reasonable gap for a normal car will probably not be that easy in the FD)

SpooledFD3S

iTrader: (10)

i've daily'd a slammed s14 for years and I've started dailying the FD, it's not impossible but it can be a hassle. The only culprit I can see is the mileage but I love driving so I don't really mind paying for it.

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

If you have to ask don't daily drive it

billt

iTrader: (1)

DD for 14+ years!

XLR8

iTrader: (52)

You Sir are a champion!

$lacker

iTrader: (9)

I love my RX7 and really enjoy running it on the track/autocross, but I would feel like a putz if I had to drive it around every day. Not comfortable to get in/out of the Recaro, bad on mileage, loud, no cargo space, and a 5spd in traffic is unnecessary
As a weekend car it's perfect, but as a DD it sucks in my opinion

thatdon

iTrader: (9)

I have daily drove my 7 since I got it a year and a half ago...the following has happened to me since then

Replace Clutch
Exhibition of Speed Ticket (30 day impound, 80 hours community service)
Coolant Leak (Bad hose)
Blown Apex Seal (Having too much fun?) new rebuild with Mild Street port
Coolant Leak (Bad AST)
Oil Leak (Bad o rings)
Turbos leaking oil (just old)

and yet I still <3 my FD

Ninja636

iTrader: (2)

question for all you DD's that have had reliable motors how long do you let the car warm up before you start rolling in gear? and do you let it idle before you shut off?

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

Sure. I have a small step to climb in it then I pretend to turn on the radio and then I make motor noises brrrrum brrrrrum brrrrummm then tire squeek noises rrrrrr then waive to the hotties and pretend to beep the horn.

The few times it ran and I daily drove I always waited for the RPM drop, just as I do with all my cars but the rotary takes 10x longer on cold days or it seemed that way especially since it doesn't have remote start but the Z doesn't take as long. Shutdown, no I never let it idle and my turbo timer is disconnected. What I noticed from my motorcycle is idle cool down only works for about 30 seconds and then the engine raises temperature again. If you think street lights are drag strip trees then you may need to idle. But of course if you drive like that you will be way too impatient to let the engine cool down.

czar

I treated both my 7 and 8 similar. I dont just let it set there and idle but just gentle 2-3k low load , until the water temps get up to normal. The only issue I had was with the 7 the turbo started leaking oil a bit.

billt

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. I should clarify my definition of DD: I do not DD Jan - March but otherwise it's a DD commuting beast for the other 9 months of the year.

billt

iTrader: (1)

Ninja - I will warm it up if it's below say 40F and been sitting in the parking lot at work all day. I wait until the tach slows to normal idle and the temps are above 140-160. I think staying off boost for a few minutes before I park it and also opening the hood every night when I get home from my commute helps immensely! I have used my FD for commuting 9 months of every year for the past 14+ years and still have the original engine and twins. My setup still makes 13.5 boost.

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

DD for 13 years

I don't like anything that's big or numb I want to feel the road and how all my inputs effect what I'm driving at all times so that pretty much leaves only sports cars and once the FD is setup the way I like it there's nothing and I mean NOTHING on the market that beats it, NOTHING!!!

Z06s are obnoxious and I feel like I'm in a nice handling lowered truck.

Cayman it's heavy, slow and somewhat numb

M3 like the cayman only worse

GTR seriously........\

350 or 370 not in the same league

Any type of lotus is an overpriced impractical toy

etc....

The one caveat is a GT3 which I'm currently in the market for but it's still not able to match up to the FD in the DD department I just want one as a weekend warrior track car or all out track car.

Things I prefer on my DD FD:
Leave the airpump
HF cat
Typical bolts ons with twins, a good tune and 300 rwhp
Good radio with mp3
Good summer tires

This leaves you with a very reliable sports car that has the perfect weight and power and as a bonus it's cheap, looks great and each time you go to a dealer to check out the newer sports cars you won't feel the need to upgrade after the test drive you'll only feel sorry for that poor over weight gadgetry pig and leave with a big self satisfied smile because you were lucky enough to find the perfect car

Reasons the FD is the perfect DD for me:
Fun to drive
Cheap to own
Fun to work on
Looks awesome

If you an find something that's more fun to drive, cheaper to own, easier to work on and looks better please let me know

FC3Sdrift

iTrader: (5)

I just rebuilt the engine in my FD so I've been daily driving my FD trying to get it broken in before winter but there's still times Its more convenient to just hop in my '00 focus beater car, I daily drove my FC 9 months outta the year for 3+ years but thats alittle more roomier now its around 400whp with a twin disc clutch so it can be a bit of a pain sometimes. once spring is here i'll be using the FD as my primary car and drive the FC around on weekends and for fun. and let the wife have the beater car all to herself.....hahaha

my fd is RHD so thats pretty much where the inconviences come from. I'd rather go through the drivethru to get my coffee in the morning lol

SpooledFD3S

iTrader: (10)

go through the drive-through in reverse lol

i've been getting 16-17 mpg lately with about 50/50 street and highway driving

FC3Sdrift

iTrader: (5)

I tried to do that at taco bell last night , and they came out and told me i couldnt go through like that, I think it was too much jdm for them to take in

FC3Sdrift

iTrader: (5)

I think the biggest problem with peoples fuel mileage is they put in huge primaries, there's people running 10's still using the stock 550's , my fc makes 380-400whp and still use the 550 primaries I can get 26mpg hwy with that, you're better off changing the staging points than the prim injectors

oxide7

I just did the math last week on mine and I'm getting about 22 mpg (Fill up to half tank, did about 220miles.). That's great as far as I'm concerned.
I do DD my car. Its too fun of a drive not to take it!

PINTSIZEKILLA7

When I start it, I usually let my car idle until it stops smoking and then stay out of boost and below 3500rpm until it warms up. Before turning it off, I drive it the same way I drive it when it's warming up. This let's everything cool off a bit. Either that or let it idle for 30sec before turning it off. I only get about 12mpg, but I do almost no highway driving.

96fd3s

i dont let it warm up at all, i blip the throttle straight away to get rid of the high idle, then drive it slowly till warm.
and i dont let it idle at all before i shut it off. I pull my key out and turn my turbo timer off as fast as i can LOL. ( i need to hold the button down for about 5 seconds to shutdown turbo timer)
EDIT: i will sometimes leave the car with the hood up when at home after i finish driving.

Denorx7

I don't dive mine every day because it's running rich ATM so I can't afford that petrol cost week end only .

Tem120

iTrader: (5)

exactly how I feel..

except for hte whole porsche thing never driven one of those hah

HiWire

Ditto.

New sports cars are mostly unexciting for me. Heavy, gadget-laden, and, of course, expensive. Sure, I wouldn't mind owning an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, the new Jaguar F-TYPE, etc., but I'd still keep the 7. Nothing beats it for beauty and a pure driving experience.

It sounds like the new Porsche Boxster has a similar mission to the 7 – driver involvement: http://www.windingroad.com/articles/...rsche-boxster/

I hope the improvements make their way to the Cayman, eventually. The previous owner of my 7 got a Cayman, which drives very nicely.

spiritrmazda

iTrader: (3)

I will be daily driving my FD when I'm finished (hopefully next week). I bought the car from a forum member for cheap but the rebuild was more than the cost of the car. I replaced almost everything under the hood now. Looking forward to driving it instead of my Corolla.