First timer
12-08-03, 07:33 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: santa monica, california
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
First timer
Hi everyone,
After admiring the third-generation 7's for a long time, I'm considering finally buying one. But first I need to have some questions/concerns answered:
(I live in California, so I'm interested in U.S. spec cars only.)
1) i've heard terrible things about this car's reliability? is this true? what are common problem areas?
2) how much does an engine rebuild cost? what about the turbos? how many miles do the engines usually last before they need to be rebuilt? how stout is the tranny/diff?
3) what changes were made during the model run?
4) i often do track days and am intending to do many in this car if i get one. what mods do i need to make in order to make it a reliable track car. do the brakes fade easily?
5) if i had $5K to put into modifying the engine, how much horsepower can i expect?
After admiring the third-generation 7's for a long time, I'm considering finally buying one. But first I need to have some questions/concerns answered:
(I live in California, so I'm interested in U.S. spec cars only.)
1) i've heard terrible things about this car's reliability? is this true? what are common problem areas?
2) how much does an engine rebuild cost? what about the turbos? how many miles do the engines usually last before they need to be rebuilt? how stout is the tranny/diff?
3) what changes were made during the model run?
4) i often do track days and am intending to do many in this car if i get one. what mods do i need to make in order to make it a reliable track car. do the brakes fade easily?
5) if i had $5K to put into modifying the engine, how much horsepower can i expect?
12-08-03, 07:45 PM
#2
Z06 powered FD
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Dallas, Texas
Posts: 1,883
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
12-08-03, 07:57 PM
#3
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: my pants
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
1) reliability depends on alot of things. There are people on here that have 200K miles on their engines and still going. You need to take care of the car and do some reliability mods and you should be ok. Its a preformance car, no preformance car is relible, they all break because of the large amount of stress they undergo. If you want somehting reliable get a honda.
common places for problems are, cooling system mostly and a bunch of other little things like brittle fuel lines and vacuem hoses.
2)engine rebuild can cost you from 150 to a few K if you damage the rotors and housings.
depending on your mods/tunning/and how you drive it the motor can last from 200k miles to 5k. Do thngs right and it will work well for you.
diff is alright. I dont think you will need something stronger unlese you plan to make over 450rwhp. Tranny is not the strongest point but its pretty solid, but if youw ant to run 550+ rwhp and drive the **** out of the car I think you will have problems.
3)if you mean the recalls? the 7 had a break recall, cooling system recall (think they lowered the pressure in the system a bit) and another recal I cant remmber
4)upgrade cooling. Get good radiator, monster dual oil coolers, new hoses for everything (vacuem, fuel, radiator, etc). Brakes are fine for street driving but will need an upgrade for the track. Diff brace and rear and front braces would be nice to keep in together. The list is pretty long but thats all I can type now cuz I want to go home and the trafic will get bad if I wait longer. Dam bay area ^^
5) 5k in engine work? does that include turbo? These cars are turbo cars, if youw ant to make power look in to turbo upgrades. If you want to spend 5k wisely, get a street port, cleam up the exaust ports. Put the rest in to the turbo. If you want some nice work done in the engine look in to racing beat and what they offer. You can get 10k worth of engine work alone form them. Light weight rotors, cut groves in the engine coolant path to help with the hotspots, plasma coatings, etc etc
http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda2.htm
common places for problems are, cooling system mostly and a bunch of other little things like brittle fuel lines and vacuem hoses.
2)engine rebuild can cost you from 150 to a few K if you damage the rotors and housings.
depending on your mods/tunning/and how you drive it the motor can last from 200k miles to 5k. Do thngs right and it will work well for you.
diff is alright. I dont think you will need something stronger unlese you plan to make over 450rwhp. Tranny is not the strongest point but its pretty solid, but if youw ant to run 550+ rwhp and drive the **** out of the car I think you will have problems.
3)if you mean the recalls? the 7 had a break recall, cooling system recall (think they lowered the pressure in the system a bit) and another recal I cant remmber
4)upgrade cooling. Get good radiator, monster dual oil coolers, new hoses for everything (vacuem, fuel, radiator, etc). Brakes are fine for street driving but will need an upgrade for the track. Diff brace and rear and front braces would be nice to keep in together. The list is pretty long but thats all I can type now cuz I want to go home and the trafic will get bad if I wait longer. Dam bay area ^^
5) 5k in engine work? does that include turbo? These cars are turbo cars, if youw ant to make power look in to turbo upgrades. If you want to spend 5k wisely, get a street port, cleam up the exaust ports. Put the rest in to the turbo. If you want some nice work done in the engine look in to racing beat and what they offer. You can get 10k worth of engine work alone form them. Light weight rotors, cut groves in the engine coolant path to help with the hotspots, plasma coatings, etc etc
http://www.racingbeat.com/FRmazda2.htm
12-08-03, 08:09 PM
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: santa monica, california
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: First timer
Originally posted by kdm_usa
Hi everyone,
After admiring the third-generation 7's for a long time, I'm considering finally buying one. But first I need to have some questions/concerns answered:
(I live in California, so I'm interested in U.S. spec cars only.)
1) i've heard terrible things about this car's reliability? is this true? what are common problem areas?
2) how much does an engine rebuild cost? what about the turbos? how many miles do the engines usually last before they need to be rebuilt? how stout is the tranny/diff?
3) what changes were made during the model run?
4) i often do track days and am intending to do many in this car if i get one. what mods do i need to make in order to make it a reliable track car. do the brakes fade easily?
5) if i had $5K to put into modifying the engine, how much horsepower can i expect?
Hi everyone,
After admiring the third-generation 7's for a long time, I'm considering finally buying one. But first I need to have some questions/concerns answered:
(I live in California, so I'm interested in U.S. spec cars only.)
1) i've heard terrible things about this car's reliability? is this true? what are common problem areas?
2) how much does an engine rebuild cost? what about the turbos? how many miles do the engines usually last before they need to be rebuilt? how stout is the tranny/diff?
3) what changes were made during the model run?
4) i often do track days and am intending to do many in this car if i get one. what mods do i need to make in order to make it a reliable track car. do the brakes fade easily?
5) if i had $5K to put into modifying the engine, how much horsepower can i expect?
Engine rebuilds can get pricey depending on what you did to the car. Just refurbishing the rotors can be decently cheap, but if it's a full job including turbos, it can run north of 5k. Look for a car with a freshly rebuilt motor, and MAKE SURE YOU GET THE NAME OF THE BUSINESS WHO REBUILT THE MOTOR. You may have to cash in the warranty, if any, that came with the motor.
The only major change made to the car was the AC, I believe. It was changed to a poorer-working system in 95. Feel free to correct me on this if I'm wrong; I think the R2 option was deleted for the 95 model year.
The brakes are pretty good on the Rx7; new brake pads are definitely required if you're going to track this car. You'll hear this more than enough if you frequent this board; UPGRADE THE COOLING SYSTEM. New radiator, oil coolers, and intercooler are basically required, and install a boost gauge if the car doesn't already have one. The average Rx7 intercooler will heat soak itself under 5 laps on a course.
If you're putting 5k into that car, pour at least 2k into the cooling system. Change the turbos to non-sequential, do a mild street port, and turn up the boost. As long as your exhaust and ECU are up to the task, you'll be having loads of fun for under 5k. You might be able to see 300+rwhp for 5k, but do NOT overboost/overheat the motor, or else that 5k will go straight into a new 13B.
Be sure to save some cash for repairs and unexpected things with this car; I've heard of many a 20 year old purchasing this car and having to sell it after a year because they couldn't keep up with the repair costs. Remember safety; pick up a good 4-point harness if you're going to track the car. It'll be the best hundred bucks you ever spent.
Have fun w/ your new 7, and welcome aboard!