DREYKO

My fc's factory engine had 265,000 miles when it overheated (threw the belt) and started using coolant, still ran fine, just lost coolant quickly. I slapped another used engine in (120,000 ish miles) and beat the **** out of it daily. Even if the engines only lasted for 10,000 I would still keep the wankle. It's what the car was designed around ,it is the car's soul. Who am I to change that?

Enervation

Couldn't agree more. Every time a young fella (im 22, so young = my age) has a look at my car, they ask me "Are you going to modify it" or "What mods has it got", and they give me a funny look when I say "No, it's stock standard, and I plan on keeping it that way". My car has done 120,000 KMs, with only a single rebuild at 100K. It's fast enough as it is, so I have little intention of fixing what ain't broke!
My flatmates give me **** when after every drive I pop the hood to let it cool down and make sure everything is in order, but I feel as though its a small price to pay (hell, I enjoy tinkering with it) for owning something as unique as an FD.

HardHitter

iTrader: (4)

The seller had to get rid of the car fast. He needed the money, he is moving on the 24th and can't bring the car, and he had no other interest from anyone.

When I did a search for hot start problems, it seems that most the problems are coming from 3mm seals and people are having better luck with 2mm and those builds. Sadly, the motor has 3mm seals, which mean my brand new rotor housings have been modified. In order for me to go 2mm, I have to buy new rotor housings correct?

I don't need 500rwhp or anything like that. Once I get a rebuild, the car will be broken in correctly and I would love to be able to run 420rwhp on pump (91oct) with my setup (will have water inj.) So many times, people don't keep track of what is going on with their car. They don't read the gauges, they don't check fluids, etc. Every time you gas up, I believe the hood should be popped and give it a once over while the gas is pumping, check oil, check for any leaks, check vac. hoses, etc etc.

But again, I love the rotary, I love the car which is why I picked the car up again, it is just a worry that if I do go with a rebuild, it won't last.

Carpenter

You are so correct !! You have to "Pay to Play", with any car (or motorcycle), if you
plan on making alot more hp than stock.

RotorDream

Could not agree more, if you want reliability with little/no effort and big power, buy a corvette and shift at 6k. The R in RX-7 isnt a coincidence.

turbo10th

iTrader: (6)

I did it right. Bought a brand new engine had PFS do all the work, fab up the turbo kit, fuel system, install, Fmic, and everything else including tune. It was right around 14k worth of work(me selling my FC and taking out a loan). And i dont have time and room at my shop to do it. I would love to but i work over 45 hours(6 days a week) and when i get home the last thing i want to do is work on more cars lol. I have swapped numerous FC engines ect but as far as tearing them down and porting i leave it to the pros so i dont have problems but look where thats gotten me.

RLaoFD

iTrader: (6)

I swear sometimes I can't even fall asleep at night because the car isn't running. To some it's just unreasonable for something like that to have such an effect on you. If only you could spend some time with it before all the problems happened. You'd go back no matter how much crap it gave you. Unfortunately for some of us, the extra mileage from DDing the car won't make your engine blow up, it'll just wear the seals till they leak that little bit of combustion pressure to make your cooling system fail.

mdpalmer

iTrader: (24)

I'm staying rotary because that's what the car came with. Doesn't mean I didn't consider an LS1/V8 swap, because that was my intention when I initially bought the car. I've spent so much time in the last couple years learning about the engine and it's quirks, I actually like it a great deal. The sound it makes, the fact that they are hard to come by... But the more I think about it the more I think if I want a V8 car I'll just get a Vette. C6 ZO6's are pretty cheap right now in fact

On the topic of blown engines and the like: engines don't just blow. I would like to think that the Mazda rotary engineers built some margin into their original engine design, and that gives some elbow room for things like mild overheating, hot intake air, overrevving, etc... but when people are trying to double the engine output (everyone wants 400+ hp) on a pretty much stock block... you're asking for trouble unless you pay very close attention to the rest of your setup. Engine life is inversely proportional to output, generally speaking, assuming everything else equal. I think the vast majority of blown engines are due to neglect and/or mis-understanding of the limits of your setup. I also think that people who do not pay close attention to the engine running condition (TEMPERATURES!) are the most likely to have issues with the motor. I know the engine blowing experience I have is due to one thing: operator error. Overboosting/detonation on #1 and lean fuel/detonation on #2, both of which were 100% preventable, only if I were paying more attention. Needless to say I'm fanatical regarding the AFR/temperature/boost conditions my engine sees. I'm working on almost 20k miles on an engine I've overrevved several times (3rd --> 2nd shift, oops) and generally give a lot of abuse

I believe if you keep this motor cool, use good gas, keep up on maintenance (remember all the supporting systems), you will have a reasonably long lasting powerplant.

Speeder165

iTrader: (7)

My 85 GSL-SE went 269K miles before losing an apex seal on the way home one night. Never really burned much oil either at that mileage which surprised me. Was driving around 40 miles an hour & poof! Gone. Barely made it back to the house. When I finally figured out what was wrong, didn`t sweat it. When I had bought the car at 170K miles, I bought a used engine with 112K miles on it. Dropped it in the car & now have 305K on the chassis. Will keep it `till this engine goes then get something else I think. Been a fun car & DD for me.

My FD is......no words really. Can`t even describe what I feel when I get behind the wheel of it. It handles like NO OTHER car I have ever driven. I can take curves while accelerating that would make most people ride their brakes on. Super smooth, quick & gets looks all the time. I just finished putting a reman motor in it a couple of weeks ago. Still in the break in period. No other mods than a downpipe, highflow cat, RB tailpipe & Pettit AST. I am staying stock on this one. No big turbos, aftermarket EFI or anything else. Don`t want the reliability problems, headaches or anything else that can go with those mods. I can make enough speed in this car to either get killed in or go to jail. I am toooooo old for that kind of trouble.

I like rotaries also because all of the components are lightweight. I am a small guy but can move an engine if I need to, handle a transmission or anything else that the RX7 has. I work on all of my cars myself. I am no mechanic but I ask a lot of questions & read a bunch. I have shop manuals for all of my cars. I own 3 RX7s. The only thing I haven`t done yet is rebuild an engine myself. I leave that one up to someone else. I might learn how to do it one day. Am 44 here & single. Maybe the only reason I have 3 cars. Not sure a Misses would like parking her car in the driveway! The garage is mine!!

Six Rotors

iTrader: (17)

Look apex seals fit in the ROTOR and it is the rotor which is machined to fit the 3mm seals--so all you need to do is buy good used rotors which still have the original apex seal grooves.There should be lots of used rotors around for a reasonable price

twinsinside

iTrader: (34)

I'm with Speeder165 on this one. Other than reliability mods, power fc, dp and catback there isn't much reason to do more to these than stay stock. I also replaced my large rubber hoses with aluminum ones (to prevent boost leaks) and K&N filters, SMIC. I plan on doing an AI installation but that will be more a reliability item than anything else. Thats for a street car.

If you're going to race, thats a different deal. If you're going that route, it doesn't really matter what car you buy, you're going to spend quite a bit.

If you want to make modifications, do them slowly, one at a time and in a progressive well thought out order. Doing 5 or 6 mods at one time is asking for trouble imo, unless you have access to a very good tuner shop.

I'm not exactly sure why I love my FD so much, but no other car I have ever owned has given me the same feeling. I respect it, appreciate it, and do most of the work myself. If you take the time to learn the car you will save yourself a lot of money in the long run.

Oh, and we have the best community out there I've ever seen.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

There's no reason why you can't make 400+ rwhp reliably. It's been done countless times by many people, the formula isn't a secret.

I think part of the problem is that these cars have changed hands so many times, owners don't know much of the history. You can have problems due to mangled wiring (body wiring, engine, starter/alt), ancient/dysfunctional stock components (think OMP), used and misfunctioning aftermarket parts (maybe that PFC was for sale for a smoking deal for a reason), etc etc.

Bottom line, take a shortcut with these cars, fail to dot your i's and cross your t's, you'll get burned.

But they sure can be damn rewarding when a knowledgeable and competent owner builds them right

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Rich, the main issue is the definition of "reliable". Most of the people who start making 400rwhp+ don't drive their cars a lot. So while the engines may last many years, they don't get a lot of miles on them. i.e. someone might say their engine lasted 6 years, however they might have only put 30k miles on it over that time. How many people have run 400rwhp+ for more than 60k miles on the same engine? Depending on who you are, that may or may not be "reliable". ")

G's 3rd Gen

iTrader: (11)

That is some wierd **** right here. Build a strong short block using stock 2mm seals. Stock port/strret port. Any legit builder will tell you the same(IRP, etc.) Get it rebuilt by someone so you know the issues are only in the tuning not build. Not fuel presuure drop etc. etc. Once you have trust in the builder, a good tuner is the next level. Ihor/rich build solid blocks..Tuning is a personal preference. G

G's 3rd Gen

iTrader: (11)

Here we are beating a dead horse again.... If a smart "car guy" took time to put effort into a 15+ year old car project he would make it simple ( you would think). Buy a clean non wrecked speciman. Change all the wiring /harnesses to new. Then go about your preference. Stock turbos, hybrid, single whatever. A good reliable car car strarts from the broad basics. Solid grounds/wiring. Most modified cars tha blow engines run lean. Obviously you better have your fuel figured out. Solid mechanics followed by an understanding tune. BINGO!400 + wheel hp for thousands of miles.!!

WaachBack

iTrader: (21)

I stuck with the rotary because I had a goal to have a 10 second streetcar that I would do all work on. It would have cost me more to go 10 seconds with the V8 if you add everything up.

It was purely cost for me.

Anyway, why was this thread created? Anyone who has been here long enough knows it will turn into thread #234234897234 "LS1 vs 13B".

Here we go.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

If this thread turns into a v8 vs rotary thread, I will promptly close it

G, turbo10th/matt did bring his car to us and spared no expense on the build. It's a shame b/c we built him a very strong motor, I drove it on breakin and loved the response and lope at idle. He had a faulty PFC which caused a chipped seal

turbo10th

iTrader: (6)

Yea i stay with 2mm but just something odd happens everytime and was hoping the third time was the charm and that did not work either. I take my car to alot of meets and shows and with all this down time everyone is like why are you in the FC and i reply its the only one that keeps chugging and i always get you blew your FD again?. Guess the FD just aint for me I have blown alot of rotarys and two while racing(FC's) and the rest just driving(FD's). I really like the sound and the powerband is the main reasons i like the rotary and not to mention being different(2 stoke in the gas). Looking at ls1's just to swap in so i can enjoy the car since i am not now.

1QWIK7

iTrader: (33)

Yeah im the same way.

Everytime i discover a small hiccup, i spend HOURS trying to trace back what i did, what it could be, what i have to do.

Ill just be sitting at work or in bed thinking about it over and over again. From the time it was running properly, to the time the hiccup happened and i play it over and over what it could be.

FixableUnknown

iTrader: (8)

I have driven rotary cars and bikes since the 80's. I stay with them because they are unique in every way. Just remember, when you are out driving your car, every car and many of the motorcycles that you see have a larger engine than you have. We ask so much from these 1.3 liter engines. We are producing Hp numbers doubling that what the manufacturer originally designed the engine for, and we are doing this with mostly stock internals. I am amazed they last as long as they do. I don't know of many engines that can survive when pushed so far from their original intended use.