AmusEd.

Start by introducing myself. My names Naomi and I am looking to trade my E46 325Ci for an RX7!


Couple questions.. read everything before replying I already know many of you will start shaking your heads after reading a few words lol.


I have read extensively about the rotarys so called reliability but it seems in most of those cases the car is always being WOT on a nearly regular basis. I plan on using this car to get to school and back shifting at 3k rpm and not exceeding 50 mph city and 80 mph highway. Also I go to the track about twice a month with my cousin and uncles. I will let loose on these select dates ONLY. Dont tell me I wont baby it or whatever theres a reason why girls have lower insurance costs! I have self control. I plan on keeping the mods at a minimum probably aiming for somewhere around low 300 hp. Again dont tell me I wont.. I have more important things to spend money on!


Any chance that would greatly increase reliability? I know its kind of shoot and miss random but it does increase my chances right?


Now for the one I am looking at.. opinions would be greatly appreciated.


Learning about the car should be easy enough. I have most of the components down and anything rotary related I can just ask my uncle.


1993 Mazda Rx-7 Single Turbo Upgrade. $10295
Montego Blue ORIGINAL PAINT!!! CLEAN TITLE!!
112,000 miles on chassis
15,000 approx on rebuilt motor
Single Turbonetics Upgrade
FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLER
Greddy Type S bov
Greddy Intake piping
Greddy pulley kit BRAND NEW!!!
3inch Exhaust
Diffrential Brace.
APEXI POWER FC
AEM TRU Boost
Greddy Turbo timer!!!
DYNO @ 310hp to the wheel on 7 psi! HAS ALOT MORE POTENTIAL!



Guy lives kinda far so I want some opinions to see if this journey is worthwhile.


Thanks in advance!

red_dragon

iTrader: (10)

I may not know as much as some of the other guys around, but judging from those mods and such, that's a really good deal for the car. Single turbo simplifies a lot of things in the engine bay, and in many cases, helps with reliability. If he's made all the rest of the reliability mods (aluminum AST or eliminate, radiator) , this car should be pretty damn reliable. Also 15k on the rebuild is a good sign. Just make sure you get the papers. Seems like a nice car at an awesome price. Good luck!

johnchabin

iTrader: (2)

310 rwhp @ 7 psi? Not likely.

Any fuel mods?

It's an expensive car to own, and I wouldn't recommend it as a commuter. But it sounds like a good price if the car has no issues...

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

It would be pretty pointless to own an FD and not got WOT on a regular basis. If you had read further you would have found that engines can die on these cars irrespective of owner driving behaviour.

Since reliability appears to be your first priority (why is reliability is such a high priority with so many prospective FD owners?) it would be hard to pick a worse car.

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

I think alot of people have their engines blow because they boost the hell out of it without the proper supporting mods not because they go WOT all the time. You should go WOT at least once in a while to clean out the carbon. Its actually good for the car. Ever heard of the mazda/rotary tune up? Babying the car is one of the worst things you could possibly do. I've heard stories of people babying the car and just having horrendous carbon problems. When you take your car out, make sure its always warmed up before you step on it and at least step on it once. Before you reach your destination, stay of boost so your car can cool down before its parked. There are so many more tips to follow...

It looks like we have alot of the same goals. I think if you make sure you don't get lazy with checkups, find a good rotary mechanic and spend the money you need to spend on the car, you should be golden. Remember to get a good tune. I recommend going AI but I think there may be some restrictions on them when you track your car. There is just so much information on this board. I recommend you do a good search.

Also pics of the car please!

FixableUnknown

iTrader: (8)

If you want a fun car to drive to school and back, don't buy a 3rd gen RX. You will just add to the long list of people who complain about reliability. I would recommend an RX8, STI, EVO, etc. They will cost a little more on the front end, but the factory warranty and lower maintenance cost will catch up quick. With one of these cars you will have a fun, cool reliable car that will get a lot better gas mileage than an FD. With that being said, a few points about the car you are looking at. The price seems good, (I have that much tied up in my current engine build and not even finished). If you are determined to buy the car, take it to a recommended rotary shop near you. If you cant find one, you may be able to find a knowledgeable forum member who lives near you to look at the car with you. Before you buy the car ask yourself all of the what if questions.
What if the engine blows next week?
What if the coolant seals fail?
What if the rear diff goes out?
What if the tranny grenades?
Where do I take it if it does break?
Can I live without my car for a month or more?
Can I afford 3 to 4 thousand if the engine lets go?
The problem with owning a custom built car, is that if you break a custom part you potentially have a long down time. I find myself doing something to my car at least once a week. This usually involves maintenance but sometimes it is dealing with a problem.
Now the good stuff.
I love my FD. It looks and drives like no other car on the road. I can park my car next to a brand new optioned out mustang and come out to a crowd of people around my car who don't even realize that the mustang is there. They are rare cars and can easily be mistaken for an exotic.
Good luck with your decision. I hope I wasn't too negative.

yourmom23

iTrader: (4)

10 will soon turn into 20 in no time flat. Especially if you dont do your own work. like everyone says they are a money pit like crazy. There is nothing like an FD though

AmusEd.

Hehe if I am not going for this car no way in hell am I going for an Evo/STI. Too common boy toy racers lol. I would stick with my bimmer.


Reliability isnt a high priority I just need to know where it sits.. its just something that people want to know.


WOT on a regular basis just isnt me. I dont plan on babying it but I only let loose on the track. I have seen too many friends get hurt messing around in their cars. I would WOT once a week to deal with the carbon. Uncle already gave me a heads up on it. I cant rely too much on him though because he lives kind of far and goes on frequent business trips. We go to the track whenever he comes home.


I definitely cant live without my car for a whole month unless I want to see my dads grouch face everytime I take his SL500 out. I have money to drop in case of problems but only enough for one major failure. I had 6.5k saved up for the new turbo that came out for the E46 3'er haha. Probably down to 3k now after I payed off insurance and tires.


I will probably **** a lot of people off but the RX7 was my second choice lol. It was a backup for Supra. Before anyone accuses me of being a F&F wannabe let me just say I havent even watched the first movie [no lie] I only watched about 30 min of the second.. watched half of Tokyo and still havent seen the newest one. My 2 uncles drive a Supra and RX7/8 their friend drives a E46 M3 and his son now has his Supra. As you can see its not fun tracking with them in a 3'er lol.


If this fails I am dropping down to a S2000 lol.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

that car could work out as a toy, but don't buy it without a backup vehicle and a place to work on it.

EDIT:

I always tell this to prospective owners:

if you buy an FD, one (or maybe a combination) of three things will happen:

1) you will become half an engineer and half a mechanic, or get close to that point

2) you will pay out the *** for somebody else to work on it, many of whom barely know what they're doing

3) you will get in over your head and sell it

twinturborx7pete

iTrader: (3)

This thread is dumb.

johnchabin

iTrader: (2)

+1

and it got there in a hurry...

moconnor

iTrader: (14)

Probably not a bad choice.

The problem with an RX-7 is that it really can't be your only car. Though, it sounds like you have the money to maintain it, which is a plus. Too many buyers look at the $10k price of entry and think they are getting a bargain sports car - which they are until something goes wrong.

It is fantastic car but buying one now is a bit like buying a '60s British sports car - it is not a very logical choice for transportation.

If you do want an FD, you can find very nice examples in today's market with 50k miles or so for ~$15k. A $10k FD is almost never worth it.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Listen to moconnor.

Also, the car you listed won't pass Cali smog.

A 15 year old car like the FD is not the best choice for a daily driver that sees occasional track use. The BMWs and Miatas and S2000s are better choices for that. They are much simpler and parts are readily available.

Farkel Jr.

iTrader: (10)

This thread has too much a vibe of you trying to prove things to us

MX3

iTrader: (4)

Consider putting in an LS1 or even an LS6 in the car.

They are extremely reliable and will give you much better gas mileage. The base LS1 will give you 320 HP and on street driving you'll barely use that power. However, on a close circuit racing track, imagine what you can do.

And, most here will agree with me I think, that if you maintian an LS1 properly you can no doubt use it as a daily driver.

There is a kit that is specifically made for an LS series to be easily installed in a 3rd Generation FD3S.

Look at this website site. www.v8rx7forum.com and you will see how many people have done the conversion successfully. Check out the photo section that shows a lot of users showing step by step how they did the conversion.

I think the rotary engine is an excellent piece of machine but parts are getting more and more expensive and harder to find. From what I have noticed.

Anyways, consider your options before you make your final decision.

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

LSx swaps are great but they aren't cheap. They are a minimum of 10k with labor I believe. She also has a single turbo 7. With a few more mods her car can be pretty bullet proof as long as she keeps up with maintanance. Ideally I think cramming an LSx engine would be a good idea. I defintely want one in my next 7.

As for parts, I think we will be covered pretty well. Mazda isn't going to be dropping rotary cars for a while I think. 13b-rew engines may be discontinued one day but I don't think thats going to happen for a whlie.

My greatest concern for the car is the quality of work that has been done on it already. Also the lack of pics (of the car please) makes sad thread very sad.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

As long as the engine is given adequate warm up and cool down, there has never been an observable difference in engine life if you "stay out of it" on the street. In fact carbon buildup and it's associated issues are more of a problem if the car is never driven hard (the track days would probably take care of that).

It's been said that 100 miles of track driving is worth 1000 street miles of wear on the car. Strictly speaking, 24 track days per year is more wear than even harshly driven daily drivers. So, the answer is no, your plan is no better or worse on the car compared to most other drivers. (All of this assumes excellent maintenance practices).

I'm not saying that all the track time is bad, it's just a lot of wear. I assume with all that seat time that you know how to work a car hard. The engine will get very hot and brake pads and rotors will be consumed often, but you know that. Reliability mods and cooling should be the utmost priority as you have stated.

I don't like the front mount, given your interest in track days. Front mounts are for drag racing mostly because they compromise radiator cooling.

The single turbo is a good step since it keeps engine temps down compared to stock at the same power output. It would be interesting to know which Turbonetics setup is there. I don't see some important reliability mods listed that affect cooling (such as aftermarket radiator, aluminum AST) so ask about that. I would definitely add water or water/meth injection to any car that see regular track time. You can learn about that in the AI section of the forum or just read the links in the 3rd Gen FAQ. AI is the technology that legitimately promises to make FD engines last a long time.

The v8 option is expensive. If you're not married in your mind to the FD chassis it's a whole lot better to start with a Supra.

As a dual purpose track car the FD rates like this:
- chassis/handling = excellent (you will need a BBK though for serious track time, but that's par for jap imports taken to the track)
- maintenance cost = fair
- engine capabilities = fair/good (you'll have to spend more than the v8 to keep up on the straights)
- reliability = good (if you've invested in what I mentioned above)
- practicality as a daily driver = crap. It's not comfortable for many drivers to do long trips, gas mileage is crap, expensive insurance, and storage space is tiny. It's definitely not like some other cars where you can stow a box of tools in an empty seat and your track wheels in the trunk.

Dave

twinturborx7pete

iTrader: (3)

Supernaut

iTrader: (83)

Great post Dave! I disagree on one thing though. Insurance is actually really cheap for me. Im 29 years old and I pay around $400 for 6 months. Thats ALOT better than alot of people in my area with regular cars. My sister pays much more for her scion tC and shes only a year or so younger than me.

Oun

iTrader: (3)

yep. ya'll ****** postin in a troll thread

exploder39

agreed. I pay $90 a month for mine and I'm 19.