It is worth waiting for an R1?
 

I have been on the market for an FD for close to five months, and I am having a lot of trouble finding an R1 in my price range. Most are bases with a few tourings thrown in. I know about the extra oil cooler and all, but is it worth waiting until I can find a nice R1? It just seems as if most of the noticeable differences are appearance. The search has become rather frustrating...

I wouldnt wait
 

Well i think there is not enough difference to wait. Only the oil cooler and the strut bar is different. If you plan on puttin mods on it then a base is lighter anyhow. I bought a PEP cause i wanted the sunroof and thats one thing you cant get with the R's. I also got a 94, which i would do if i where you. They have less problems due to things being fixed that were found to be problems on the 93's.

Jeremy
WH 94 Efini
Apexi Power intake
Apexi BOV
Efini Polished y-pipe
HKS Polished intercooler pipes
HKS Downpipe
Bonez Midpipe
Magnacore 10mm wires
Cusco Strut bars
Rod millen springs
Tokico illumina shocks
Brembo X-drilled and slotted rotors
Apexi S-AFC
Apexi AVC-R
Knight Sports ECU
Greddy Gauges
HKS T. timer
SSR Integrals 18x8F 18x9R

Deciding on an FD
 

I'd suggest that you spend a little more time thinking/deciding what features and other factors are important to you or not.
Do you want a rear wing? R1's&2's have the wing or you could add one later. Personally, I think the FDs look better without the rear wing.
Do you want a sunroof/moonroof? The touring and PEP have them. I've had cars with sunroofs and would never do it again. Besides, the sunroofs take up headroom.
Do you want the Bose system? The touring have them and they take up a lot of valuable cargo space.
Do you want the rear window wiper? I think the rear wiper ruins the profile of the car.
What color do you want? Red is the most common but often has fading problems. The black and montego blue cars are so dark that it hides the distinctive tail light. If you must have CYM then you must have an R1. I prefer Silver over all other colors.
Drive the R as soon as possible and decide how you feel about the "harsher" ride i.e. stiffer shocks. For many people, me included, it was just a little too rough.
Bottom line, I wouldn't just focus on an R, I'd develop a priority list based on the features and colors and then wait to find one in good condition. That approach worked for me.
BTY I'm surprised that you report seeing a lot of base models on the market. My experience has been that there are always many more touring models on the market at any time than all other models combined.
Good luck inn your search, you'll find what you're after.

The real difference between the R-1 and the other models is the suspension. The R-1 may be the sharpest handling car you will ever drive. But it also stiff riding. I have driven both suspensions
(test drove new cars in '94) and I suggest you compare the rides of the various models before making your choice. The R-1 is certainly not so hard it's intolerable, but in the end I thought the base suspension would be easier to live with day to day, and I have never regretted that choice. You'll spend much more time cruising in the car than anything else, and the difference between the R-1 and base suspensions is not that great even in spirited road driving. If the car is going to see any serious track work, then I would definitely hold out for the R-1.

If you really want the R-1 then hold out. The R-1 caused all the comotion when it was introduced about its harsh ride but man if thats a bad point then you should see the positive attributes of this car! The touring or the base arent bad cars either its just i wanted to see what all the hype was about with the R-1. It took me a long time to find mine, but it was the model i wanted so much. On a lighter note any FD is an awsome car but in my opinion in another 10-20 years an R-package that hasnt been heavly modded is going to be next to impossible to find. This reply is totally in my opinion.

don't wait for an r-model if you find something in your price range that you like. the differences are minimal and you could always change the car to the r-model stuff for relatively cheap...suspension, strut bar, front lip, etc. having a 2nd oil cooler would be nice but not necessary unless you're racing, most people won't notice any difference.

DECAY, i dont know where your at in your state as far as central, western, eastern, but if you look at cars.com there is an R-1 for sale in NY. I think its out on long island but any who check it out. Just tryin to help. Good Luck

Jonesboro we may have been hatched from the same egg.

I got a black base with tan leather because I didn't want the sunroof or the rear wiper. It's also lighter than all of the others and the suspension was gonna be the first thing out the window anyways regardless of trim package. Mine actually came with tan leather and a factory spoiler option, but I took that spoiler off with the quickness to go ass nekkid. I like black on the car ... but I do like silver. I don't like the other colors ... yellow is too flashy, Montego blue looks like cheap paint to me (and it always seems dull), I don't like red sports cars, and white is just OK. I really like the red interior, that's what I wish I had. Too bad it didn't come with black ... maybe one day I will fix that. :)

Anyways, like Jonesboro said, figure out what you want from the car. If you're going to put a serious suspension on the car then don't worry about the R cars.

This is my opinion. I have driven, modded, tuned, worked on many FDs. My first FD was a VR R1, my current one is a CYM R1. The differences in R1 and base/touring is aesthetic, performance, and reliability. The front and rear spoilers can be added if you want to save time and money searching for the right FD for you. Performance is basically, slightly stiffer springs and shocks, and the front strut tower bar. If you're planning on upgrading suspension, this is easily attainable. Also for performance are the dedicated brake ducts that allow cooling. Also something you can achieve later with a brake upgrade (slotted/drilled rotors for example) For reliability however, the extra oil cooler does a lot more than people realize. One of the major coolants in your car can be oil, if you keep your oil temp lower, the engine temp stays lower. I have never seen an R1 overheat, unless a radiator hose exploded or something. I believe the extra oil cooler gives an advantage over base/touring in the overheating area. A lot of cars in the south especially are known to overheat, that's why you see a lot of people upgrading their radiators. CW makes a second oil cooler kit, but it's costly. I agree with a previous statement that it's your car, you need to come up with what you're looking for in the car. If you are an older person and looking for a nice car to drive on the weekends, you'll probably want the touring, if you are looking for a daily driver to do some light to heavy mods, go for the base, but if you're anything like me and work hard and play hard, you'll be happier with the R1. Just make sure you get a quality FD to suit your needs. Hope that helps and I apologize for the rambling. :) L8R

Richard

great replies
 

Thanks for all the great replies guys. I have driven both and R1 and a base, and yes I thought the suspension stiffness was noticeable tighter on the R, but I like that. And from what I read, I am starting to believe that the extra oil cooler deserves more credit than it gets. I am probably going to end up waiting for an R...if I can ever pick one up in the price range:(

Re: Deciding on an FD
 

I have a black R2, and I like it because it has a wing, two oil coolers, stiffer suspension, strut bar. Those are what was important to me at the time. I didn't want a sunroof, or the damn bose thing. So its up to you, its your decision.

Re: Deciding on an FD
 

The Sunroof on an FD takes LESS than 1/2 in of head room ! I have been in FDs w/ & w/o and cant tell the Diff.
I am 5-10 and fit eaisly into my sunroof car with a helmet

Get A Base and upgrade the suspension and add an Oil cooler unless it is important to you to have an R-1 vin #:rolleyes:
You can Get a complete coilover setup for little more than the price of the Mazda OE R-1 shocks, add dual Mocal oil coolers from Crooked Willow for $850 (much better coolers than stock & less $ than 1 + brackets & hoses from Mazda) then add front Spoiler & Wing of your choice.
This works for a Touring also of course but the Touring cars are slightly heavier (sunroof, rear wiper, more soundproofing, etc, add weight)

I waited for an R1. Took me over four months to find the "right one," during which time I saw countless tourings, one base and only one other R1. In the meantime, I continued to learn as much about the car as possible, both from looking at ones for sale and from the big list, the major websites, etc.

I don't regret holding out for this model - it does have other upgrades that some seem to have missed out on: additional chassis stiffness over a touring/PEG (due to the lag of a sunroof), very grippy seats and the lower weight (again, compared to a touring/peg).

I thought about getting a base-model instead, but just didn't like the stock seats.

Another tid-bit of information - the stock suspension on the R2s (94 and 95) is slightly softer than that on the R1s ('93 only). The rear sway bar is smaller and the struts are softer (same as '93 touring struts). Bottomline: The '93 R1s have the most performance-oriented suspension of all of the models sold in the US. Of course, if you intend to yank everything out and replace it, that's a moot point!

You should also keep the general condition of the car in mind when you make your purchase. If I were shopping today, however, I would probably place more emphasis on the overall condition of the car than on its model - its getting harder and harder to find an FD in good condition......

Good luck!