Silverstone

I wanted to pose a question to the forum members. What factors do you think are responsible for the current poplularity of the FDs? Or do you agree that they are popular? The reason I ask is that with its sexy good looks not-withstanding, it seems to be a fairly trouble prone automobile. If you agree that it still holds somewhat of a "cult legend" status among muscle car enthusiasts, why do you think this is? Let me list the reliability problems I think the car has and why it was eventually discontinued in the US back in 1995:
1. Famous vulnerability of twin turbos
2. A heat monster
3. Famous 5th gear synchro problems
4. Malfunctioning Air Conditioner systems
5. Famous oil leak problems, especially in its trademark oil metering pump
6. Lack of technical and mechanical support from Mazda dealers
7. Increasing difficulty in parts availability (relates back to #6 and the fact that imports did cease in 1995)
8. Poor gas mileage
9. Paint chip problems
10. Malfunctioning stereo head problems tied into theft deterrent system.

All this being said, I must add that I love my 7 and wouldn't be a member of this forum if I didn't share the feeling that even with all the problems these cars are unique and deserve their legendary status. Even though mine is for sale right now, the fact that I've fixed a lot of these problems makes me tend to *not* want to sell it. It's almost like a child that I've raised and put a lot of effort into solving all it's adolescent problems. Now I don't want to part with it.

coolvette

the looks of the car are still amazing!the current technology with all the new turbos and fuel mgmt systems allow the fd to compete with just about EVERY street car on any venue,strip,autocross and roadracing.I just sold my 2nd fd and the both of them combined had way less problems then my 98 c5 sold with 44k on it.

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

There are always rumors around of RX-7's being remade and brought back to the U.S. but I have yet to see any solid evidence. In my opinion, the problems you listed are very common.. but they do not relate only to RX-7's. Sure if the car would have been kept in production in the U.S. maybe there could have been an influence to fix some of the problems. I've heard numerous occasions of EVO's and WRX's transmissions going out on a factory vehicle.

I think the current popularity has to do with a number of things.

1.) Hollywood (PINKS, Fast and Furious, etc)
2.) Many new owners from the previous price drop
3.) Magazine covers, I see FDs on the front quite often.

The FD is one of the only rear wheel drives that can handle as well as some of the all wheel drive cars. It's a popular track car... Initial D is becoming more popular as well as drifting.. its a trend for a lot of people... and I still run into owners who have no clue what the engine is or how to take care of it. Its a sleek looking car for a low initial price. A lot of people have no clue what they are getting into.

In the last 3 years I've dumped at least $20,000 into my FD... i'm on my 4th engine. 1st blown from redlining a stock motor with 35k, 2nd from single turbo 23psi, pump gas. 3rd motor someone here on the forum ripped me off and said it was built but it was a POS. 4th is currently in the car running strong. But I don't think i'll ever get rid of it, at least not anytime soon.

TurboTagTeam

I'm glad our cars are getting more popular. Makes them hold value better.

BLKTOPTRVL

1. My twins are fine. Yes, the vaccum tubing needs attention every once in a while. I concider that maintenance
2. Runs hotter than piston engines? So?
3. In Three 7s, never had any problems with the tranny.
4. Never had problems with my AC - except when my FC compressor got tosted after 200K miles, and when a rock hit the condenser of my FD.
5. No oil leaks in any of my 7s since I have cared for them.
6. A rare system. Is every mechanic expected to know the car?
7. Old car.
8. As good mileage as most sports cars.
9. The paint on my cars looks good. Rocks have chipped my paint and my windsheilds. Don't all cars get chips?
10. No problems.

The stock FD probably has average to slightly below average quality issues. All other RXs seem to be highly reliable.

The problems that you are referring to seem to be mostly in poorly maintained, or hightly modified cars. That said. It is a beautiful car, with good mileage, great handling, great power. If anything, it may get too much attention.

rx7ofdoom

I dont own an FD yet.
these cars while they have their problems and are worth it if you can afford it.. which i cannot at the time :-p.
every car has its problems and i've owned tons of problematic cars and it comes with the territory. If you own a sporty/sports car that you drive the **** out of.
when i get some more $ working this summer or summer after next im going to blow most of my savings on one and use it as my second car.
they aren't that popular because for average honda guy they are too expensive and unpractical... but reason for their increased popularity is low intial cost for such an attractive car that handels better than most awd's, with a few mods it is just as fast as anything else and im sure drifting added a little but stupid drift kids gernally can't afford an FD.

Its a small price to pay and when something breaks you just have to upgrade it .

MusmoSpeed

Fd's look great, In my opinion I'd have to say it's one of the top best looking sports car at the time, it even looks great now.

Not to mention ALL FD's are twin turbo. Compared to the 3000GT, 300ZX, and the Supra which came in both N/A and turbo.

Oh yea and they're only around 14,000 in America

adictd2b00st

they will always have a place for a number of factors. its a rwd, factory turbocharged, import. its a rotary (always will have a following as a niche car). and it looks damn good (even 14 yrs later, hard to imagine this car came out that long ago isn't it?)

kwman

The RX7 Is timeless. The most beautiful car to come out of japan with a unique take on performance, balance, and technology. Nothing will be like it, nothing will take its place.

Silverstone

Words I've had to live by for sure! Well my FD came with a few problems but I've got them all fixed now. The biggest problem for me is that some replacement parts have gotten rare and even my mechanic is telling me that he doesn't know how much longer some of the parts will be around. The aftermarket stuff seems to be have a fairly healthy availability though. It's just if you need some stock part where there is no aftermarket replacement that could be a problem in the future. With limited supply comes higher part prices as well I imagine.

Silverstone

Very reassuring for an FD owner. I completely agree

KeloidJonesJr.

iTrader: (8)

When it comes to looks, FD's are slutty.

rx7ofdoom

ya i found some problems finding parts for my 91 n/a. i would imagine the fd have the same problem :-/.

ehos

They are popular because once you drive one, that's IT! It's easy to 'put up' with anything just for that little hit of crack that is the FD.

JConn2299

Your list is grossly overstated. Many of the problems you mention were cured in the first year.

Maybe you weren't around at the time all this happend. I was. I'm an original owner of a '95. I have virtually everything published on the car at the time, and some things that weren't.
There is a simple reason Mazda discontinued the RX-7 in the U.S. Sales were slow, for various reasons......(reliability wasn't talked about the way it is now...the cars were still new...) and it would have cost Mazda about $10,000 per car, based on '95 sales, to bring the FD into compliance with the OBD II standard.

Would they have continued with the RX-7 as a halo car, as some others did, if they hadn't faced the OBD II costs? Maybe. I have a '96 sales brochure that shows a picture of an RX-7. Interestingly, it doesn't mention the year.....doesn't call it the '96 RX-7....just lists it as one of the models in the lineup.

You're looking at the situation with hindsight. Remember, the web didn't exist back then as it does today. There were one or two small car clubs of which I'm aware that dealt with the car, and you had what appeared in the mainstream car magazines. That was about all you knew back then. The main problem the RX-7 and the other Japanese sportscars had back then was the price. Due to the currency exchange rate, what were perceived as mid-priced sportscars appeared to most consumers to have priced themselves out of the market.

hus

People like them because they're small enough to put in a garage ful of s**t and still be able to work on them with out moving things around

But seriously, they're at the top of the car food chain of import sportscars of the 90's...Supra Turbo, 300ZX TT and the FD TT. All 3 offer something different but the FD is the only one you can call fast and sexy! You could probably throw the NSX in there to.

Improved FD

good ol jconn

soon enough, some major failure will occur to shatter his fantasy of bone stock FD reliability...'95 or not

turbogarrett

iTrader: (1)

I think the fd's looks are it's top selling point, whereas the rest of the 90's affordable jap supercars are starting to look dated imo - 300zx,, 3000gt and even the supra. People who aren't familiar w/ the rx7 have a hard time believing my car is 12 years old! lsx conversions are hot right now and have pushed the prices of rollers up to $7k+ for one in decent shape.

Silverstone

Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not attacking the FD so much as stating what I think are some very simple facts. All the problems I've stated were ones taken right off this forum and some I even had first hand experience with on mine which is a very low miles clean car. The problems I mentioned were ones I had that seemed to be backed up by similar problems posted by other users. Also I like to ask my mechanic about things to find out what is unusual and what is common.

I gotta say the biggest mistake Mazda made was locating the upper cat right next to the turbo which is inundated with sensitive actuators and hoses. That's why almost the first thing everyone does is get rid of that pre-cat and replace with a downpipe. The other very major achilles heal seems to be that dang 5th gear synchro thing. Seems very common even on low mileage FDs, especially the 93s. I agree with the viewpoint that had the FD stayed around longer, Mazda would have been able to address most of these issues and future FDs would have come with updated parts fixes. But as things happened we got the RX-8. Anybody rushing out to buy one of those? After owning a 7, I don't think so. I've had a lot of offers already to trade my 7 for an 8 so what does that tell you. Anyway, off the track a bit (no pun intended).

I commend you for getting a 95. At least the 95 got the benefit of the most Mazda upgrades they could come up with at that point. I'll tell you honestly as an owner of a low miles 93 that I had problems with the Bose stereo (wieny item hardly worth mentioning I know), the 5th gear synchro, coolant leak under turbo (pretty common from this forum) and my AC was trash. My mechanic theorizes that someone put an incompatible oil into the system at some point which clogged everything up so can't blame that on Mazda. But I have heard that it is common in an FD to get one and not have the AC working properly. The coolant leak was likely caused by sitting too long with the same acidic coolant. My mechanic says FD rotaries are built like batteries with unlike metals sandwiched together in layers causing a pronounced acidic condition that will eat thru metal coolant pipes.

Silverstone

2. Running hot is no problem except it is the major cause of the twin turbo shortened life and failure. Especially a problem with the pre-cat location.
3. You are lucky. 5th gear synchro is very common problem. Do a search.
5. Again, do a search. Leaks are legendary among all the RX-7s, not just the FD
6. The point is that Mazda dealers certainly should know their cars. Shouldn't they?

3rd and final 7

iTrader: (9)

im really not that happy about it im going to buying within the next yr and im going to have to pay a grip of cash for one even more sense im moving to cali and i cant import a 7 from another state unless it came from cali in the 1st place!

BLKTOPTRVL

Lucky? No, I think I just take care of my car and don't abuse it.

If I do a search I will find that these are the problems of people who report the problem. In other words... What is the percentage of people who have the problems listed to those who do not and have not reported it?

If these are the common problems, but only occur in 5% of all cars then again - so what? If on the other hand 50% of all owners report these problems- yes, then we have a huge problem.

As I said, just remember that some are not maintained as they should be, others here are highly modded and abused - as compared to how they were intended to be operated.

If you want a true list of problems I suggest you survey those who have stock cars.

MusmoSpeed

Vihn Diesal drove it in FF. haha jk......well accually it's probobly one reason it's popular

Silverstone

Well maybe you are right about abuse. But what is abuse of a car that has "160" printed on its speedometer? Lets face it. These cars were born to be driven hard and perhaps that is part of the problem. I would be more inclined to think it is just a problem of abuse if some of the problems didn't happen to my FD as well. I know I drive the car pretty mellow. I'm no teenager and I don't fuel my 7 on testosterone. The car itself has only 46K original miles on it. I've babied my mostly stock car more than most. Come on you are telling me that the rotaries don't have problems with oil leaks from the oil metering pump? That's not an abuse type of issue. Are you saying that driving them hard causes that? Are you telling me that changing your oil more would prevent that? I want to be with you on this but to me this sounds like some kind of argument where you're just saying it only happens to other people; not me. I used to think that. Must be nice to still live in that world. I'm just sayin . . .

Silverstone

Yes, you can. I got mine from Texas and had it shipped to Cali. Smogged out perfectly here. But if you do the same, be sure to take it to a rotary specialist to get it smogged. Most smog stations here in Cali including the Mazda dealers themselves don't know jack sh*t about the FD. The mechanics just look at you with a sh*t eating grin on their faces and shrugged shoulders.