j n

sup everybody, anways, i lost my FC awhile ago. it was a nice little n/a with light mods and i always kept it in good running condition, even did 2 rebuilds for it, so much blood and sweat has gone into it. it was closing 300k miles on the chassis. but its all gone now and ive been saving up for a t2 fc. but to be honest i really want a newer car. and the fd came to mind.

question is, i hear alot of stories that the fd is not reliable for a daily. psshh... people told me my FC wasn't gonna last for long, and they went nuts when they saw my mileage near 300k. so can i get some opinions from fd owners?

2-compare to my fc, how often would you say, on average does the motor tend to live before needing a rebuild? i know for fc's the average was around 150k. which is entirely my opinion haha.

3- and most importantly, does the fd's come with that buzzer that goes off when you forget to shift or when you corner to hard and it doesn't get enough oil?

ive done alot of research and i just really want opinions from fd owners. i found a ton of stuff like the reliabilty mods. so if you have any info you think i should know please let me know.

im not to sure hwo often a question like this is asked, but in case its answered alot, im sorry

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

Were you the original owner of your FC? If not, how long did you own it?

According to some people I trust very much, the oil system is about the only robust part of the FD. I've never heard of people having lubrication issues except for maybe the OMP failing.

The general thought seems to be, the closer to stock you keep your FD the more reliable it will run. However they are impractical DDs for more than just reliablity. You've also got to consider the fact that they terrible gas mileage(my friend has a near stock 94 PEP and he gets maybe 13mpg). I've never heard a shift buzzer driving an FD, and I've hit the rev limiter before.

For the average driver, FD motors seem to last about 60-80k. For heavily modded or neglectful owners, that number seems to drop signifigantly, and there have been some FDs that are floating around that have over 120k on the stock motor. It seems to be a bit of a lottery when it comes to that.

This question gets asked maybe 5-6 times per day, but you should know that since you're doing reserach

For reliability mods, search Rob Robinette's site. http://www.robrobinette.com/reliabiltiy.htm

Honestly, if you want a "newer" car that is still rotary powered and it's to be a daily driver, you might want to look into an RX-8. You can pick up a nice used RX-8 for around the same cost as a good condition FD, mid-high teens.

Oh, also, cornering hard while under 1/4 tank of gas has been known to cause lean conditions blowing the motor.

rexhvn

Even though they are not practtically for daily driver's, I daily drive mine everyday and don't have any problems. My FD is pretty much stock. Mechanically, my FD is great... never had a problem.. but FD's have their problems.. mine clunks and blah blah blah, you certainly get sick of it, but i'm used to it now... I just love the ride. Gas mileage is the main problem... for a daily, its kills... but again, I don't do much so my FD doesn't see much of the road the majority of the day, but I have another car just incase something happens and need transport. The longtivity of the motor all depends on how its driven and maintained. If you drive it like you stole it, than it will go much sooner, but being a daily, I don't suggest you do. My FD doesn't see boost much when I drive it, unless i'm in a weird mood... good luck!!

j n

i bought the car from the original owner when the car was at 89-90k miles, long before i joined the forums. it was my first car.

haha well that link you gave me, it was the one i was talking about. so doesnt that kinda contradict itself? i mean your telling me that its best to keep it stock but then the reliability mods are brought into talk, iuno haha.

and yea maybe i did kinda exaggerated a bit when i said alot of research with some ^^

im not to sure about the rx-8 though. i kinda had my heart on a boosted car next. call me a ricer

so theres no buzzer? serious?? i love that about my fc, felt like it was talking to me heh " shift up you dumbass!!!!" or " i need oil!!! "

goz

"Oh, also, cornering hard while under 1/4 tank of gas has been known to cause lean conditions blowing the motor."so thats why i heard a guy sayin u should always run over half a tank,thanks for clearing that up sloasfk

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

Just a few things...I said it's best to keep it as close to stock as possible. Basically, you want to upgrade your cooling system, remove your precat, etc. That's not to say that you want to put on a huge single turbo, running 20PSI on pump gas and a stock feul system.

If your mind is set, then your mind is set. All I can say is, if my mind wasn't set, I'd be driving an RX-8 right now. But I'm subborn as all hell.

There is an oil buzzer and a coolant buzzer, but I've never heard of them going off in cornering, only if you run your oil or coolant low. And ya, I'm pretty sure there's no shift buzzer, unless it's been broken in the FDs that I've taken up to 8500RPMs.


goz, The FD gas tank has inadequate baffling, causing the gas to slosh away from the feul pump durring hard cornering. If there's less than 1/4 tank(or 1/2 tank to be safe), the gas moves away from the pump(s) and thus causing the unfortunate lean condition.

goz

j p ,you could always install a buzzer or shift light if you love "talking to it" that much..just a thought.. thanks again sloasfk...custom tank it is....jk

str8ryd

iTrader: (473)

Are you guys sure there is no buzzer? I could almost swear that I had one when my car was on stock ecu. It used to go off right when I hit redline and I would shift.

j n

hmm i guess i have some time to decide, still got about another 2-3 months before i hit that $15k mark to get either car. as long as the fd has the same preparation/maintaince as the fc, i think i should be okay, any real difference between the two? also i heard that if i drive the fd, i should always get the second turbo to spool when i drive it, or else it'll build up oil and eventually poof on me, true?

R1chard

iTrader: (1)

I am on the stock ecu, and I definately have a red line buzzer. And I would be suprised to learn that the previous owner had that installed. The car was bone stock when I purchased it.

rexhvn

My FD is stock and I have a buzzer at redline... all you hear is BUZZZZZZZ until you shift.

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

Sorry for the misinformation, guys.

I guess the FDs I've driven have had the buzzer disabled, or I really didn't notice when I was running them up to 8500RPMs...both are entirely possible.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

SLOASFK, do you have a Power FC installed? Because some ppl (like myself) have lost the redline buzzer upon installing the PFC. Regardless, the FD does indeed come w/ a redline buzzer. Man I miss mine...

~Ramy

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

My car will, when "the guys" are done with the build.

I was reffering to my friends FD mostly, he has a stock california ECU. However the interior was reconstructed at one point, I think. That could have been when it was disabled?

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Sounds like it.

FDWarrior

iTrader: (6)

I to went from a FC to a FD. I absolutly love my FD. My FD has actually ben more reliable than my FC. If you take care of the car and dont forget the important things like checking coolant and oil it will run forever. I have 40,000 miles on my car, and I do autox it. I have never had a failure and it still makes 240 hp to the rear wheels. My car is lightly modded at factory boost. I just have the reliability mods done like the aluminum ast, fluidyne radiator, and rotary performance catback.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

That's why it's reliable Most of us are trying to pull 500 hp out of a 255 hp motor. Gee...I wonder why she goes "pop!" lol.

j n

ahh icic, yea ill prob be okay since the only modding ill do is the reliability mods and a few light mods, i doubt im going to need 500hp haha