Hi everyone,

I sold my 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette and just bought a 1994 RX-7 Touring Edition and I couldn't be happier.

The one I bought only has 18,000 miles and still smells new. It is totally stock and has never been raced or abused.

Here's my questions....

1. It's going to need new tires. I'm not going to race the car or drive it too hard. What are my options?

2. What should I upgrade to help insure reliability on this car?

3. What is the average age of an RX-7 owner? I'm 45 and so I got plenty of time to buy Vettes, Mustangs and Cadillacs. I wanted a real sports car before I'm too old to get into it!

Thanks,
Bob in Calgary

 

welcome..
from a newbie to another newbie the search button is your best friend
Read all the stickys at the top of the page they are filled with days of information.
Glad you enjoy your car.. resepct the rules on here and this board will be very very helpful to you
Thanks
Harris

 

repete

 

the only thing which touchs the ground on a car is your tires! its really up to you on what you want. let me just ask you this, if your not gonna race the car, why the hell are you even considering a sports car? unless you are going for drift and dont need really fantastic tires as a beginner, i would suggest you to buy at least something which is relativly sticky. even the low torque of a rotary is still plenty enought power to spin the rears of a light weight fd, espeically in the rain. also, the speeds which a stock fd is capable of should also warrent good tires (if you have all 5 gears and a decent stock engine, i dont see why you cant get up to and over 150mph relativly quickly!)

as for what to upgrade, id say everything haha!

for average age, id say 20-40

 

I would run synthetic motor oil if it doesn't already have it. The stock radiator is pretty small, so an aluminum one from Koyo or Fluidyne would be nice. Keep your stock fans though, as they really do get the job done well. Little things like replacing the stock thermoswitch with a miata thermoswitch help also. Average age I'd agree, 20-40. These things are too small, harsh, and impractical for anyone older than that! I kid, I kid. Best wishes with the new car,
Evan

 

Im sorry but i have to comment on this quote, just because someone likes the feel and look of a sports car doesnt mean they HAVE to race it too.
Im trying to preserve and keep my FD in tip top shape, so i dont race it or beat on it. does this make me a poser?

 

Read the stickies. Read for a while longer. By then you will have some good ideas about what to do .............. and maybe who to take advice from, and whom to ignore

 

Yes!

-Alex

 

lol I was definetly expecting a 17 year old kid when I opened this :P

1.) Buy new tires or Dont buy new tires, those are your options

2.) search "reliability mods" in the newbie faq

3.) most people Ive met with FDs in person or online have been in the 18-30 range

 

There are a lot of good tires out there, but most popular are:

-Bridgestone S-03
-Toyo T1-S
-Kumho Ecsta MX

The latter two are the best-bang-for-the-buck tires you can get.


-Boost gauge
-Water Temp. gauge
-FC Thermoswitch
-Downpipe

People will recommend a metal AST and aftermarket radiator, but those don't go bad until you get up there in miles and w/ only 18K on the clock, I wouldn't worry about it right now. Synthetic oil isn't mandatory either.

Other than that, if you want absolute reliability, w/ the exception of the above, leave it stock, and stay on top of maintenance. Keep it @ 10 PSI of boost and the water temps. under 230F and the engine should have a long life.

Congrats on the new car and enjoy!

 

welcome to the club, you will enjoy the car. for reliable car, you should upgrade cooling first. do the search in the archives or faqs on top of the page and they should tell you everything

 

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pick up the car for? Any pictures?

 

I'm going to piggy back on this, but just because the car has only 18k miles doesn't mean that you should leave the stock AST on it. I would get an aftermarket one and a radiator just for insurance.

 

Remember... "Slow is Cheap" "Stock is Good"

 

Welcome. Pics.Pics.Pics.

 

Well Bob, Nice buy, whats diff about the touring edition ? If i were u i would change all your fluids..get a new oil and fuel filter,maybe newbelts if need be...get a after market intake and exhaust to get more air flow...oh and trust me after a month or 2 you will start to drive it faster and faster

 

I bought a set of Avon Tech M5000 in 245/45R16 , they work well with the stock wheels & suspension and were a good price. I bought mine from America's Tire Company , and they can also be special-ordered from www.tirerack.com . Many people haven't heard of Avon Tyres (not to be confused with Avon cosmetics), but the company is well-known and respected among by the sportbike & formula racing scene.

By the way, it's good that you're enjoying your RX-7. Please maintain it carefully, the twin-turbo rotary engine requires a bit of extra care. Change the oil & spark plugs more often, as well as the coolant.

-s-

 

Are you serious?

 

welcome to the club. before doing anything read up on the reliability mods. this is a great car to own and you don't need to race it to enjoy ownership. the best looking FD's are stock and in mint condition. so read up and enjoy.
Jeff

 

Congratulations and Welcome.......

 

Where are all these people finding these low mileage FDs?!? I don't think I've seen anyone come on here to report their new rx-7 and it have more than 65k in nearly a year.

 

I highly recommend Bridgestone S03's. They are pricey but worth every penny. S03's have excellent dry and wet handling characteristics. Moreover, they are relatively quiet.

 

 

I too have been seeing lots of low mileage 7s for sale

 

Hi Bob,
Heh, you're just a kid! I'm 47, and I have a number of track driving friends
in Massachusetts in their 50's. Not to push you, but you'll never experience
what the car can really do unless you try tracking it at least once...

Aside from the advice to read the forum for tips, and to get the "reliability mods",
I would encourage you to get the best wet traction tires you can afford, as a
very common end for a 3rd gen is to have someone break the rear tires loose
in the rain (or just when flooring it), and wind up off the road in a tree. Almost
always the driver's fine (the car is very strong), but we don't need to lose more
chassises.

I got to the point where I just ran 245/45-16 Toyo RA-1's all the time, as long
as you don't let them get too worn, they're good in the rain, and I never lost
traction unexpectedly once I switched over. During one run from Boston to Mosport
and back (~36hrs total), I was going 100mph in the rain, on worn RA-1's, and
the car felt great. Still a dumb thing to do, but it took it.

At least find a nice open parking lot late at night during or just after a rain storm,
and purposely break the rear loose a few times, both going straight, and turning.
You don't have to go very fast to get an idea of how the car handles these situations.

David Breslau
Widefoot Racing Co.