Will always have an FD but this car is going to convert a lot of GT3 owners and may grab some old school FD owners as well

CARandDRIVER

 

Yes, I've been seeing alot of hype over this. We know the Cayman is a good platform. Even better now that they offer it with a proper GT designation. But people forget about the cost factor.
I'm sure people looking at GT3's aren't going to scoff too much at pricing. But 87g's for a Porsche Cayman?!?! And God forbid you start to option a few things on it. Probably hit closer to 100G's. And that's 100G's US!!! Holy crap! That means here in Canada we're looking at $115-120 on the road (provided you're not optioning anything else on it)

I don't know where these people are making this type of money. It truly boggles my mind how many people are looking at this vehicle as a "viable" alternative.

Truly insane...

 

I shared a bunch of Cayman GT4 links with my buddies this morning. The previous owner of my FD is driving a used base Cayman.

Here's a good (if long) video with a Porsche manager describing the car in detail: http://www.evo.co.uk/porsche/cayman/...sive-evo-video

Some people have the money, but not me for sure.

 

Had a 91 FC as the first RX7, sold it and now have an FD....

Currently looking for an FC again so I'll have both to keep forever!

 

I've been here through the multitude of crashes and member join date resets. Had the car since '98 I think..... Funny that some of the guys from the original "big board" are still around. I just put a TurboJeff battery tray in today. Been modding since about day 5. I just keep adding stuff as it comes up or I revisit my interest in the car. If I had money, this thing would be long gone for a 911, ... maybe....

 

Again... If I had the money and didn't have an8 week old daughter. I'd be on the list for one of those too. I love the FD, I love the car... But I'm also afraid of the thing falling apart down around my ears every time I drive it as I have for the last 20 years..

 

Wait I don't get it why are you so afraid of the car falling apart? Being that you have had the car for years I'm curious to see what you are worried about? To me it seems that with a conservative tune, reasonable power demands from the motor and excellent boost control in place the car is as reliable as any sports car, no? I think if every FD came factory installed with a pop off valve on the elbow set to whatever safe PSI your car is tuned for 90% of the blown engines wouldn't have happened. You would be seeing mainly wear related failures, like bearings and coolant rings, if at all. My FDs haven't given me any trouble except for when I've overboosted the motor like crazy.
And once the car is simplified sequential, non sequential or single turbo it has to be one of the easiest vehicles to work on out there. If I had the money I'd still stick with the FD because I get gratification out of building my own super-car rather than some fancy overpriced Porsche, and because the FD platform really is just that fantastic.

 

Door handle falls off. Windows don't roll up. Interior parts in general break due to age or cheap manufacturing. Suspension is fragile and aging. Bearings, seals, wear parts, bushings..etc etc on forever, not to mention all the electrical parts that are fading and every component in the engine bay that is just old. I just had to rewire my car last year when it stalled then flooded in the middle of my driveway. I don't want a car that I'm constantly fixing or buying something for any more. It's not fun like it used to be. I want a new, factory fresh, bad ***, fast good looking sports car that stuff isn't old, worn out, fragile, brittle, or should have been engineered correctly in the first place on. In the going on 20 years I've owned this thing, I can't thing of a single time period when it didn't need something and usually a few things. Even the day I drove it home I had to push it into the garage in the rain. I should have known.....

That's my reasoning anyway. And I love Porsches.

 

How many miles are on your car? Do you track it? What kind of turbo setup are you running?

I think a lot of the stuff you describe happens on all cars over 20 years old. I just sold my manual trans 95 F150 that I loved because of too many 30 dollar fixes annoying me or leaving me stranded. I also just spent 15k restoring my 1997 boat because I want to keep it forever, it needed it. If you are saying you want a brand new car I can understand that. To say that the same thing won't happen to that Porsche in 20 years, I can't say that I know for sure, but I think would be wrong. What I'm saying is that it's not the FDs fault that it's 20 years old. I don't really think it's that crazy unreliable or a burden compared to other sports cars. I think the detonating and blowing motors every time issue is by far the most serious flaw and inexcusable, but once boost control is completely handled the rest of the car requires normal maintenance if not less than other sports cars. That the price for performance cost is extremely hard to match, it's beautiful, rare, has unique engine design, handles like a racecar, can keep up with 2015s with 5k in mods, is extremely affordable even for a low mileage example. The fact that I need to point out all of these incredible offerings of the car means you are burned out and long overdue on moving on to another car.

 

I was going to say, all things age. You can't expect something like a car that has alot of intricate parts to stay "brand new" forever. Things wear out or they become brittle with age.
Compared to all the other marquees like Porsche, Mercedes, etc, the up keep on an FD is way cheaper than any of those type of vehicles. Not to mention a whole lot prettier. The FD has curves in all the right places (very much like a woman )

Thankfully we have a community that is very diverse in all areas of life. I can't tell you how many times the "walk thru's" on this site has helped me understand this car better. Don't have to rely on the dealership to do work on the car.

After owning the girl for 17-18yrs, there is no other sports car I would rather have. She speaks to me in ways modern vehicles can't. It truly is one of the best "analogue" cars you can own. And one I much prefer to own than any of the new "digital" cars.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the new Porsche GT4 is brand new. My reply was concerning the things that go wrong with my 20 year old car vs what don't on a new car. I'm tired of $30---$300--- $3,000 fixes all the time. So you have my answer.

I've driven 20 year old Toyotas that had exactly nothing wrong with them. Hell, I've owned 8 Toyota trucks that went over 100K miles and had nothing go wrong with them. In the entire time I owned them I replaced a thermostat and had a wire loom break off and land on the converter which blew a fuse. That's it. Rx7.... Well, if that's ALL that happened in even a year's time that would be a banner year for reliability. Even my damn glove compartment door is broken. Sports car vs truck, yeah I know.. But if you're trying to make the argument that the FD is a reliable car with robust well built parts... no. I drove my friend's 30 year old Porsche around for a while and again, nothing broke. I live my car, and I've had it for damn near 20 years, but....

 

Everyone's experience is different, my 2002 Toyota Tundra with 80k so far:
Power steering pump replaced
Replaced the $300!! six foot long power steering hose
Front ball joints replaced (twice!)
Automatic transmission repaired (first gear clunk)
Secondary air valve replaced
Throttle control motor replaced
Water pump replaced
Replaced all the vacuum, fuel, and coolant hoses (got tired of a series of failures)
Idle air control valved replaced.
MAF cleaned on a yearly basis (really needs replacement).
Door limiter repaired.
Rear tailgate latch mechanism, several repairs and replacements.
Drivers window switch replaced.
And that is just off the top of my head, there are probably more that I'm forgetting. Go on to the Tundra Solutions forum and you'll see these are not the legendary bullet proof Toyota trucks of yesteryear.

In comparison the 7, which I've owned since new, has been a paragon of reliability. OK, I realize I have now jinked myself and I am in for a series of catastrophic failures.

 

Going to be an FD/FC owner for life here. I've had my FC for 11 years but it just doesn't give me quite the enjoyment of even just sitting in the drivers seat of the FD in my garage. The nimbleness and pure driving essence of a properly sorted rotary FD is second to none.

 

Yeah.. Good job. You're screwed now. The FD also has a little known bank card reader in the driver's seat. It knows exactly what the balance of your checking account is and it will break something JUST under that right when you think things are going well. Stay close to home....

 

I think your FD breaks down a lot just because of the negative energy. Your car seems nice, if I had your address I could steal it and it would be a win win for us haha.

 

I only have liability on it since I never drive it. You'd have to lite the garage on fire or something.

I've always loved the RX7. I loved the first gen in grade school. I still have the dealer brochure for the 2nd gen somewhere. I made my dad take me to the dealer and look at them even though I didn't actually drive yet. I just wanted to see them and sit in one. The 3rd gen cam out not long after I graduated highschool and was obviously too expensive at that time. 6 years later however, I was in position to buy my dream car. I knew they were out of production (US production/sales anyway) but I happened upon a dealership while working out of town that had a few. I took time after work to drive back to the dealership and look at the cars. I think they had 4-5 of them. I was hooked. That cockpit driving position with the car warped around you, and that beautiful sexy body...
Took a day to decide and went back to get my car. Unfortunately it was out on the road already. somebody bought it right before I got there. Determined and pissed at the sales guy, I found another car and saleman. Dumb luck I guess. I went from a black '93 touring to a red '94 R2!! Didn't know anything about the different trims at the time but what a good stroke of luck huh?!?

First night I drive it home: POURING rain. Can't even see. No idea where 1/2 the controls are. Headlamps are blinking on and off and the car is jerking. Driving for about 45 minutes with this condition (also noticed the dreaded 5th gear grind that I had read about on the big board prior to ownership) I stopped at a gas station... Where the hell is the fuel door opener?!? Get gas, pop the hood. The positive battery terminal is too big for the post and is bouncing on and off over bumps... From the dealer!!! Drive it home. Stall it in the driveway in the rain of course (may have been the battery, I can't remember) and have to get my GF to help push it into the garage... End day one..

Still have it. Just put a TurboJeff battery tray in it the other day finally. Been waiting for that for 10 years or so with the R51 battery flopping around. The car has just never once in it's entire live not had things to fix or need replacing. It's still fun to drive, but I feel like I'm driving a live hand grenade. It looks great, it is pretty nice for 20 years old. I don't know... I really want a Porsche though..

 

From what I've learned over the years, the most reliable cars are the ones that are driven often, and consistently. The one's that are taken out once a month or every other week almost always have issues. This rule of thumb goes for every vehicle. Let a car sit without properly preparing it for storage and literally every seal will get brittle and wear out prematurely.

My .02 cents.

 

I should chime in on why I eventually decided to get an FD. I've always loved them since day one knowing how great they are in terms of looks, handling and the rotary engine but avoided them due to cost and 'reliability issues'. As a track driver over the years, I've driven all (and owned some) top sports cars like R32, R33, R34 GT-R's, Supra's, STi's, EVO's, NSX's, 911's, FD's etc. For me, nothing in terms of driving experience is better than the FD (ie I get the FD). In time, it became clear to me that it was the only way to go despite the potential baggage that can come with it.

So, in short, I'm committed pretty much for life since there is simply nothing better in terms of a true raw/direct FR sports car with razor sharp handling (and never will be) for me.

I also think some forget how great the FD is when plagued with issues or lengthy projects (ie long periods of time without driving it). But once they get that feeling back, it's very difficult to let it go.

 

You may have missed the factory recall. The new software waits until your bank account is at its lowest then breaks something costing twice what you have in your account.

 

Ha Ha to you, I keep it locked in the garage if I'm not in it, several members of the San Diego Club have already told me they're waiting for the day I forget to lock it up. Fortunately, we have a club member with a pristine black R1 with less than 20k miles. I figure his will disappear first.

 

Some merit to this but more importantly just garage it and keep the fluids fresh

Probably nothing worse for any car or anything than baking in the sun day after day without moving

 

Yes, taking the car out for regular exercise is very good. You don't have to drive it every day (although, if you have the climate for it, go nuts!).
Mine sits out of commission for about 1/2 the year. I do top it off with fluids before putting her away and use some fuel stabilizer. Before I use it I make sure I change the oil out and change the plugs.
Take the battery smart charger and try to get rid of some of the flat spotting on the tires.

Trying to get use to the power is the only learning curve I have to get use too. After about 20min's or so, she feels like I never left her.

 

Wow great to hear the FD is your favorite since you've tracked cars that I've dreamed of owning! You should try a GTS Gen II and let me know if the FD is still your favorite. I agree, it's a very special, too often bashed and underrated platform!


Donovan I should give you a break, you've had the car since new. I know some things get old after a while but great things like the FD should not get old. I can't say for sure though I've owned 4 FDs for a total of 5 years. I have a GTS Viper in the driveway and all I can think of is when my FD gets out of the paint booth. I say you get yourself the Porsche and keep the FD too and see how it goes...

 

Here's my fav track car list for pure driving exp:

Cup car (just pick one they are all bad ***)
FD (would trump cup if setup equally but really close)
GT3
Cayman (much more practical than the GT3 so probably the overall winner)
etc...

The GTS would be way down the list

 

Fritz what do you mean by cup car, A Porsche? Why do you say a GTS is way down? Too much torque and lack of control, no ABS etc?

I've only road raced once, did a weekend at Sebring with an instructor friend and started off learning on my commemorative edition Viper with 6000 miles while it was still under factory warranty.
I was sick to my stomach the entire first day thinking of what would happen if I wrecked it. The second day I calmed down and had fun but it was too much stress in that kind of car.