I know the regular commonly noted differences, such as the lines in the tach, the lines in the A/C panel temp "spectrum," the exterior paint quality, the interior texture, etc. But recently, I noticed a few things in my '93 that I'm pretty sure aren't in my '94 (but I don't have my '94 w/ me to compare).

- In the '93, the A/C panel switches (temp selection and fan level) have little "windows" that light up red when you turn the dim lights on. I'm pretty sure my '94 A/C panel switches don't have this.

- I've also noticed that it seems the seats in the '93s sit higher than the '94s. I'm not talking about the car itself (which would be affected by rim and tire size). Rather, it seems as if the whole seat situates you in a (more) elevated position than in the '94. I just feel like I'm higher (not compared to the outside, but compared to the inside...eg compared to the dash).

Those are the two striking things I've noticed, and I thought at first it was just in my head, but now I'm not so sure. Anyone else notice these?

~Ramy

 

I'd need a pic of the 'windows' you speak of to really know.

I have two friends with 93's and their seating position seems identical to my 94... although I wasnt paying much attention when in their cars so maybe it is differant.

I've seen two differant types of 'restraints' on the sides of the seats used to hold the seatbelts at the right height. Solid plastic ones with slots for the belts to slide into and the elastic fabric ones like mine that clip into place.

 

94's have longer seat rails I belive. The further back you are seating from the steering wheel, the lower you seat because the seat rail is set at a slant.

 

Don't know if this helps...but this is with the car off and the dimmer switch on high. As you know Ramy, mine's a '94.

 

^ nice pic

 

Mike, thanks for the pic (VERY nice pic btw). Yea...I guess the '94s have 'em too, but for some reason I don't recall EVER seeing them in my '94. I circled the lights on talking about (they're 3, on the *****/switches themselves).

~Ramy

 

Ramy, just to stir the pot even more, my 93 R1 does not have those circled pieces illuminated.

 

Must be some more of that good ole' Mazda weight reduction, like the spark plug wires

Oh yea, and my 94' HVAC ***** illuminate identical to those pictured above, although the cold section of the rheostat is blue, looks like the coloring is worn away in that image.

 

Rich, that's interesting, cuz my '93 R1 DOES, but I'm 99.99% sure my '94 R2 does NOT. I woulda noticed 'em by now

Dopefishlives, yea the cold section of the rheostat (wow, such big words ) is blue.

That would make sense, b/c the way I sit in my '94, I have the seat bottom back aaall the way to the 2nd to last click. In the '93, I have it at the last click, and I thought it didn't seem as far back. I guess it's slanted even more (or that extra length really makes a height difference) in the '94

 

Well, I stand corrected. I guess you can tell I hardly ever drive my FD anymore, which makes me sad . Check out the pic:

 

LOL. Nice one Rich

 

The major change between the early 1992 made FDs and the later ones is under the rear. Mine does not have the two extra braces going from the inner rear bottom subframe up front to the body. This strenghted the rear. I can not find it in my manual to properly name it

Rich,

With a couple more lights, your interior will qualify as a Christmas Tree!!!!

 

Some of the 93s I've seen have a really dated looking seatbelt clamp that I haven't seen on any of the 94s.

Rich, very classy looking dash. What was your inspiration a Las Vegas Carnival?

 

Yea the '93s have that dated seatbelt clamp. VERY dated indeed. But I think that's been mentioned before.

Does anyone else NOT have those little lights in the A/C control *****?

 

Chuck,

I have thought about 'upgrading' to pick up the braces....would this require swapping out the entire rear subframe?

Christina, i have considered getting rid of the boost controller, egt gauge, boost gauge, fuel pressure gauge, and wideband because they're all fairly useless. Perhaps you should post up current interior pictures of your FD so we can all see how it's really done ?

Also, is it just the pass side seatbelt on the 93s that looks like it belongs in a bus? i might have to call ray to get a price quote, knowing mazda I'm sure it costs around, oh, $500

 

Hehe, I had the rear subframe from a 94 installed on my 93 for this reason.

 

 

Yeah, I saw that the seatbelt buckle on my 93 did look old(looks like something out of a 1980s GM vehicle, lol), I will be updating it to the 94 style as well.

 

HAHA yeah this is so true, i've always found it strange that the driver/pass seatbelt clickers(at least on the 93s) are different and the passenger one looks like its from a car from the early 80's or a school bus.

and christina had some harsh words but having electronics that matched a little better wouldn't hurt, the red/blue/green combo doesnt really please the eye for most....

-edit-
rx7 94, are both passenger and drivers seatbelt things different, or is it just that the passenger belt clicker matches the drivers side?

also it would be intresting to find out why mazda put a different seatbelt clicker on the passenger side for the 93s....

 

it's a drivers car, so the lame looking clicker is to make the passenger feel even more worthless, the console tilted toward the driver achieves the same

also 94 and 93 cars have different snap in tabs for the jack and wheel iron covers in the trunk... 93 has the thicker tabs.

intake elbow is different colored.. so is the crossover piping.. (93 = gray 94=black)

94 have a translucent white coolant overflow tank cap attached to the dipstick. 93 has a black cap which doesn't match the tank.

 

most US cars are based on the type-x luxury version (JDM), the r1 cars are based on the type-r sports version - which is why you see the little differences there.

93 USDM cars are based on the version I (JDM), the following cars (94, 95) are based on the version II. There are lots of little differences - upgrades AND downgrades, as the version I was released during the 'bubble economy', and the II, while fixing some niggles, was also a major cost-cutting exercise - and you can see the downgrading in each version that followed - carpet, sunroof types, use of urethane, real leather, and so on. Though, of course, lessons were learned and technology marched onwards. I'm certainly glad my car is a version II.

 

Thanks for the comments about the pic guys. Nope, the blue hasn't faded, it's from the longer exposure of the picture, that's why the dash lights appear so bright. Here's the ac color in blue....

 

Rich,

The next time I am over at Klye's house, I'll take a good look at his 94 to note the exact differences.

 

One thing I've found recently is the A/C lines and or the condensor piping is different. I've bought 2 condensors from 93's that wouldn't fit my 93 lines. Is there differing part numbers for the condensor from 93 to 94/95?

Tim

 

Mike...this is a perfect picture. See how the light on the ***** looks like a white line? Mine look exactly the same (but I don't think they're backlit). My 93, however, looks diff. The white line is sold on each end, but in the very middle of the line, it's transparent. It's like there's a little clear plastic window in the middle of the line...to the point that even during the daytime, you can see a bit of red in the center.