Sean M3

I have talked to a few RX7 owners, and they say the engines aren't really reliable. Also, when I go on Autotrader and search for them, so many of them have rebuilt engines and turbos....Why is this??? If I were to buy one with 80k miles or so, how much longer would the engine and turbos last before I have to replace them? Also, how much does it cost to rebuild/replace the engine and the turbos? Thanks

yzf-r1

iTrader: (1)

employ "search" function, my friend

the rotary engine is reliable within a certain window of operation, and outside of that window, it tends to distintegrate rapidly

however, we of the FD faithful are addicted to the liquid smooth, seemless, euphoric rush of a boosted rotary, so we endure and persevere through the white knuckle anxiety of another WFO run on a cold night, because it's such good stuff, and we love to smackdown unsuspecting beemer and vettte owners with a miata on steriods

we are either eccentric car owners of unique character, or borderline idiots with dry bank accounts

have a nice day

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Read through this link:

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/buying.html

It should answer most of your questions. If you have any more afterwards, just post back.

Shinobi-X

3rd gens have problems!? ??? J/K

The engines are reliable so long as you take care of them. Just look at the many N/A rotary engines that have 300k+ miles on them. Do some reading about and you should find your answers on how to make the car more reliable.

EricM

Just a quick answer to your question,
cooling system of a stock 3rd gen RX7 is crap. You need to do some mods there, depending upon what you need and if you do it yourself, it'll probably cost $1k-$2k.

Turbo rotary fails usually because of blown apex seals due to detonation and o-ring failure due to overheated. So two things you CAN NOT have is detonation and overheating. With that in mind, there are a few stock rx7 engines that lasted 100k+. Expect to rebuild the engine every 80k miles. Of course all of this is not cast in stone.

Expect to fork out about $5k-$6k for rebuild engine, that's including installation and all. Pretty cheap compare to piston engine, but then again more fragile that those.
And prepare to learn about the car whether you're gonna be working on it or not. It's inevitable....

MichRX7

And after doing all of this reading, you will find out that the biggest problem with FD's would be the people that are not taking care of them

Shinobi-X

Honestly

shred

Its all relative. You work on a car to get it near the speed and capability of the RX7 in its stock configuration, you will spend more time and money keeping that car together then you would to maintain the stock RX7. My friends that either V-8 or rice it have more problems and put more money into their cars to do what mine can do stock. Their engines don't and won't last nearly as long as mine will (well, in its current setup anyhow, in a couple of weeks that might change!!).

Reliability goes out the door when you ignore the engine warning light, overheat the motor or deny the engine oil/forget to change the oil or upgrade beyond the existing stock components ability (injectors, fuel pump, computer and such). So its not really an unreliable car, its just a car more for people that understand cars and how to maintain them because you don't get as many chances to make mistakes or neglect your car with a turbo rotary. You can't drive this car when its showing all the signs of a serious problem and expect it not to break, in a very expensive way. You also can't upgrade it incorrectly and expect it not to kill itself. I personally believe that the engine got a bad rap from new people that blew it up because they didn't know what they were doing, don't want to loose face so blame in on the rotary design!!

You want a car that you can put 100k miles on without opening the hood, you can get a Geo Metro or a Ford Taurus put a 100 shot of NOS on it and you might get 2 passes at the track sub 14 second before you blow the motor. You want a street legal race car that can pull a sub 3 second 60-foot that can use almost all of its 180mph speedo for under 50k, and run like this all the time for 100k miles, your choices are limited.

So yeah, its not for everyone, and you should have a second car around because it can take time to get parts and you should have a place you can work on it when you need to. Beginners, so long as you take some time to listen and learn, its an excellent car that will give you years of driving pleasure. Experts, its complex enough to keep you reading and working on it for years!!

My take anyhow, I love it, even when it doesn't love me back.

MichRX7

Sounds like my life, my wife, my kids, my car, etc... etc... etc...

SoCalLove

When talking to the seller, ask him about the rotary, if he says "huh?" be warry. If he says its a 4 or 6 cylinder, walk away. Walked 2 times on dealerships who said cylinder and non negotiable, and once on oil leak .

ttb

let's be fair, maybe we should compare the new FD in Japan to the new m3 and vettes.

shred

If I wanted to blow that much money on a car, I wouldn't have bought this one. Even with all the mods and work, I still haven't busted 20k and mine is completly operational and in new condition.

So I can take a few more thousand and make something that I put together that will blow the hell out of a Z06 and yes, even an M3 (these are really not that fast) and still be over 15k below their suggested retail. Z06 is also not that fast, 12.4 quarter and a 3.9 60 foot, impressive for stock but nothing a few K in a RX7 would be able to beat, reliably.

M3-
Hell, for that I would buy a H2!! Anyhow, how many Z06's do you see on the road today?? How many RX-7's??

BoostCrzy

3.9 60ft.?????.....damn!...they musta put the skinnies on the back.....what did i say about lettin those honda boys help you?!?!......hope you meant 3.9 0-60mph...lol

TwinTriangles

There arent any problems w/3rd gens. !!??

rx7raca

rx7s are faster than m3s, m3s stock run a 14 in the 1/4. its the m5s that can beat a stock fd. i would much rather have a fd than any bmw...or vette
and yes you put about 2gs into your engine mods and u will keep up with any of those cars. jus remember to tune it right and u got your self a very fast car
geoff

twint78

shouldnt the title be what arent some common probs?

jkisineffect

this is my take on the fd.....or most japenese
sports cars such as the supra ,,wrx,,,300zx.....
you can modify the crap out of them .......they make so many parts for these cars and you can make your
rx7 perform or look better than the other guys

but if you buy a domestic like a vette or viper
what can you possibly do to it to seperate it
from the other run of the mill vetts out there
nothing.....all im saying is japenese cars are

for people that like to tinker with there cars
that being said i own a 800 horsepower single
turbo supra and compared to a 3d gen rx7
it feels like im driving a ups truck..........i had a
93 rx7 twin turbo back in the day it was the most agile car i have ever driven and i would love to buy one
but with dicks asking to much money for them
i dont know if the price will ever come down

m477

The MOST common problem with the 3rd gen RX-7 is that people ask the same goddamn questions every 5 minutes.

juliof

Please dont compare the FD with a M3 or Z06 Vette, it will get killed against both of these cars.Sure you can buy a FD for under 15K spend several $$$ and kick some *** but how long will it last with all that power 30K or less? give me a break.I love my FD but I know its not all that, Mazda went cheap with the FD and it shows.

gohorns

The big reason is coolant seals on the turbocharged rotary engine give out over time, mine did ~75K miles. Thats how much you can expect RE to last at stock boost levels and regular maintanence.

Try to find one with a NEW engine instead of a rebuilt one. Just my .02

mike172rg

Gosh, this post went from praise to vette craze. I happen to sell corvettes. I wouldnt buy one for the world. Sure they are fast from the factory. Sure they have a nice "chevy" paint job.Sure the Z06 is the fastest car made for 50 G's. But, a couple things still remain... At 10k miles, their worth 30 grand! At 10k miles, they creak, have horrible road noise, burn a quart of oil every 500 miles, smell like the Guido who owns it, still have tiny gold flakes in the leather from the Guidos fake Rolex watch chipping while driving, still have the nice Italion flag sticker on them too. Go ahead, buy one, I'll sell it to you and make the dealer 10 g's!

Air-Rex

So I guess your saying one of its down falls (to get back to the original post) is that after 5-10 years, a few other cars have caught up to it, in performance. if not passed. not to bad.

OneBadRx7

I seriously cant believe this thread is 2 pages long, considering this guy could use the useful little SEARCH button and answer all his questions. Man these ???'s get old huh!! Thats ok though I guess, however if I was a NEWBIE I would utilize the SEARCH feature, sorry if anyone thinks I am being out of line but I sure dont.

Sean M3

I did use the Search function, but there weren't any posts listing the common problems with it. There were a good amount of FOR SALE posts, and some others. Anyways, thanks for your input guys. I am goint to test drive a 7 and a MKIV Supra TT over the summer, and whichever I like more, then I will get that one

BoostCrzy

lol...all that talk about the vette and the m3 and hes holding the rx-7 against the supra...lol.....