superMazdaRx7

How’s it going everyone? New to this group. I am in the process of getting a 3rd gen rx7, just waiting for the right one to come by. Anyway my question is regarding long distance trips in 3rd gen RX7. I want to know how reliable it is in terms of making journeys of over 1000 miles. I know most rx7 owners only drive it on the weekends due to many reasons specifically due to high fuel consumption. I will be taking good care of my future rx7 but I want to be able to take it on road trips every now and then. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

I was also wondering what I should look out for most importantly when buying a 3rd gen RX7. I have gathered a lot of useful info from rx7 sites but want to hear it from actual owners. Thanks for the feedback(s) in advance everyone. Take care.

jwitzer

My R1 was my daily driver. Put 20,000 miles on it a year. Took trips from Tampa to Atlanta, Summit Point WV, etc, etc, etc.

No problem. Of course, I wouldn't pack the family and their luggage in it...

chinaman

I did numerous trips from New York to Virginia Beach. Did a trip from New York to Houston, Texas and then drove daily when it was there. Blew the engine a year later. Look for the normal things you would for a piston engine. Oil leaks, check a/c and heating system. Check for smoke. Have a compression test performed. It's hard to check the vaccum hoses 'cause the majority of them are under the upper intake manifold. This would be no big deal to me 'cause they would one of the first things I would change after purchase. It would be reallly good to have the car on a lift to check underneath (suspension, steering, ect). Take a magnet with you to check the body. If the magnet does not stick to a panel, body work was performed. There may be some other things I've missed. I'm sure one of these other fine gentlemen will fill in what I've left out or correct me if I'm wrong about something. Happy rotoring!!

JConn2299

No real problems driving long distances. The car seems to smooth out after a while and it just cruises through everything. It's great for darting around other cars. Not too crazily, of course, but it often feels like a jet fighter making its way through and around slower, bigger prop planes.
The seats could be more comfortable, but they're ok. Not much moving around once you're in place. Again, it's kind of a strapped into a jet fighter cockpit type feeling.
It can take a decent, though a not a great, amoung of luggage. (I don't have the Bose speakers.)
I can fit a two suiter suitcase in back. Odds and ends around it. You can pack more in the shelf behind the seats. And even with all that, you could fit a garment bag or some clothes on hangers on the package shelf
above the rear luggage compartment. Of course, if the woman in your life brings along her usual compliment of things all this goes right out the window. That's when you find yourself saying such things as, "My extra quart of oil is more important than these silly, flimsy shoes of yours."

the_saint

The FD is an AWESOME car to take on the highway.

One of the best roadtrips was in the FD, 3000 miles to the mountains and back. Great time driving in the mountains, passing was a nonissue, and gas mileage was respectable.

Obviously, only 2 people, and very little luggage.

superMazdaRx7

Thanks for the response guys. Really appreciate it.

Yeah when I was in us of a, I wanted to take a trip east c to west c but alas never had the time and left without fulfilling my wish. I will be back one day as I have plenty of friends back there to visit. At the moment I am planning a trip in summer hopefully in my future rx7 London to Ibiza, Spain and back with one of my good friends from states.

I am not so much concerned with luggage etc just the mechanical aspect of RX7 reliability during long distance trips. If more people could share their good experiences and bad experiences that would be awesome. Late.

jic

iTrader: (1)

wow, 3k mile road trip,im scared driving mine for 300 miles

RX7_Fanatic

the previous owner of my FD said he drove from san diego to yosemite and back, dunno what he could possibly bring with him lol...but he said he did it

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

stop being a sissy

I have driven my R1 cross country 6 times with no problems, and this includes some 150 mph highway pulls along the way. Usually highway trips are unevetful because there isnt too much boosting on long trips, just cruising along, which rotaries excel at. I have even gotten 27 mpg on a cross country trip before

RX7Wishing

damn goodfella to this day i still get a boner whenever i see you're sig.

Rocking Rotary

iTrader: (14)

Daily drove mine one summer and put 20k on it that also the trip from Huntington Beach, CA to Mason City, IA. Thats right I lived in Iowa when I bought it. I did drive very nice on the I state. I did need a o2 sensor so my milage wasn't the best.

TrevorC

when I first got mine, I drove it back from Miami, FL (where I bought it at) to Houston, TX (where I live currently)

a good 1,200-1,300 mile roadtrip. =O)

Rufio

do a search...i remember a good post on this subject

fd3typer2

Quite an interesting thread for me. I am planning to do the Speedball Run (Cheap version of the the Gumball Run) here in Europe. Trip will be from London to Amsterdam, Prague, Nurburgring and back to Devon, UK. Around 2300 miles. I was planning to ask this very question! (After some very thorough searching of course.....)

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

I just drove my fron richmond Va to san jose Ca in 51 hours. 3400 miles. Yes you can.

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...amazing+safari

maxcooper

I bought mine in Detroit and later moved to Huntington Beach. I drove my FD on the 2400 mile trek, including a stop for the night in Iowa (Des Moines). I just had basic stuff with me (the rest was on a moving truck) and I really enjoyed the drive. It was wonderful and I would like to drive cross-country in the FD again someday.

-Max

Narfle

iTrader: (16)

I think the longer the trip the better the fd is. Assuming you're short enough and your suspension and brakes can take it. I loved my trip in it and I'm tall and my suspension was beyond shot.

RE-Amemiya

Cruise control is your friend...

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

LOOOL

fastcarfreak

if my car got better gas mileage, i would probably take it with me to Myrtle beach for my spring break. Last long distance drive i took was to Rotarty Revolution (700 miles) and i only got 19 mpg (ugh)

Mr3plus1

iTrader: (5)

I make frequent drives from San Antonio to Houston and havent had a single problem. Fuel consumption is very tolerable so long as you keep it cruising in 5th most of the way. It gets a bit uncomfortable, but thats mainly because there's really no room to move around (and Im 6'1" so the car is already cramped). Ive put something like 20k highway miles on it in about 1.5 years and had no issues. It seems to break when I drive it localy, not long distance.

jic

iTrader: (1)

hey
cant help it when my motor is dying

the_saint

19 mpg? that is it?

I ended up with around 27-28 mpg cruising at 70 mph.

Nathan Kwok

Long distance is actually the least stressful thing for a car, its lots of stop and go traffic and short trips that wear it out. I do find the seats get uncomfortable after 4-5 hours though, this is where cruise control is a big help because it lets you move your legs around. If you plan on taking lots of very long trips, I highly recommend a model with cruise. I get about 23mpg cruising at 80mph.