RX7 hunt
 

Hi all,

I'm currently looking for a RX7, but I'm not sure if a gen 2 or a gen 3 will be a better buy. I prefer the looks on a gen 2 but prefer the performance on a gen3. Test drived 1 series5, an import convertible and one gen 3 series 6.

One of the series 5s did not handle very well, abit sqeaky while driving out of the drive way onto the road, (uneven driveway) but on the road, it wasn't too bad.

The series 6 was awsome! Could not really feel the secondary boost.

The clutch for the series 5 was very heavy and the accelerator was far to light, is that normal for a series 5? Will be having another look at series 4 this weekend to compare.

Is it more expensive to maintain a gen 2 or gen 3?

Which gen has more probelms?

My partner and I hope to make a purchase by the end of the year.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Cheers,

Jon

You have a problem deciding on a gen 2 or gen 3? you gota be kidding me! A Gen 3 for sure... looks, the twins,...what else! Hmm..

All rotars have problems at some stage...rebuilds will cost you 3500-5000 dollars.
so check engine at time of purchase.

Seven Heaven, I prefer the looks on the gen 2, absurd as it may sound, it has a more classic look. I definately prefer the twins on the gen3 though. Will it cost more to rebuild a gen 3 than a gen 2? (significantly more) Series 6 go on sale for as low as $26k. not too expensive considering that gen 2s go as high as $21K, but as low as $10k.

Thanks for the response. :)

No question, the 3rd gen is more expensive to own, maintain and fix.

Yes you can get a 3rd gen for 26K however it might have more problems. ATM, around 32K and onwards wil get you a minta thats already had a re-build.

So the same goes for a S5. Buying a 21K one will probably get you a excellent example, with beautiful paint, unmarked interior etc.

My advice, get a excellent version of the breed and save the headaches down the track. Or said another way, get the best one you can afford. So depending on your bank balance 17-21K or 32-40K

That said, i love my 3rd gen and wouldn't have it any other way.

My brother is also in the same boat, and is deciding to go S5 for his first rota as it will be a lot better on his bank balance and a simpler car to work on. No question though, an FC can be made to go as hard as any S6!

My 2c.

if you prefer the looks of the FC go that way. i imagine as well as being cheaper that they are a more practical car as a daily driver, (slightly larger inside?, higher, better vision, less complicated, cheaper 15inch? tyres etc.)

you are going about it the right way by signing up to lists like this and doing your homework well before you start checking out individual cars. there is alot to learn about rotisseries before you go shopping

i've never been able to sign up to the ausrotary site due to my freemail accounts being unacceptable? but it is probably a better site than this one for locating a good car in oz

eric e

how you can prefer the looks of the odd-ball FC with it's hamfisted square copy styling of the porsche 944 and 928 over the batmobile i don't know but you should be able to get a top japanese import for much, much less than an FD so all power to ya

Thanks for the advice everyone. Additional questions I have is regarding engine rebuilding.

I would like to know approximately how much it would cost? gen 2 Vs gen3

What does the engine reubild consist of? I thought it was just taking apart the engine and cleaning it rhan rebuilding it again. Is that right?

Is there a manual or book some where I can read about rotary engines?

Thanks again guys.

cheers,

Jon

there is a lot to be found using the search function of this forum

here is 1 page i bookmarked a few years ago when in the same position as you are now

http://www.silverbulletrx7.com/buy.html

and another

http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/links/index.html

for FC specific stuff ask on the FC, 2nd gen, forum

Thanks eric e.... you live in japan?

Just wondering.... many of the rx7s in Australia are imports from Japan. How much does a 1989 RX7 S5 T II cost and a series 6?

Might be cheaper to import it into Australia myself....... my partner and I were going up to Japan at the end of the year to visit her parents..... that is another option I was thinking of. Would you recommend that as an alternative? Thanks.

I own an FD, which I've been using as a daily driver since last October. While the car itself hasn't been TOO expensive to maintain (just about $1k to replace the lower intake gasket, lots of labour costs to remove the turbos) it's about to get a whole lot more expensive as I fork out for a second car.

I'm sick of being forced to take my toy everywhere, need a cheap beater to run about town in.

If you prefer the looks of the FC I'd go for that, if it's only the performance difference you're concerned with don't worry, drop a small amount of money into an FC and you'll bring it up to speed quick sharp. Better still, pick one up with a few mods and a fresh rebuild.

Good luck car hunting, have fun, and let us know what you end up getting! :bigthumb:

if your partner is japanese ask her to look over yahoo auctions japan and all your questions will be answered

she may find that wading through all the garbage, paperwork, lies, unreasonable costs etc. that is part and parcel of buying a 2nd hand car in japan from a distance, is a giant headf%$k to deal with, my wife certainly does

but if she can cope with it then she may also want to take on the bigger task of helping you ship it oz where you can have the dubious pleasure of getting it through customs and compliance

eric e

don't want to sound harsh man but you sweat blood to find a good car here and then get it into oz, which is why 99% of ozzies here won't have a bar of it and the other 1% want thousands

have you called an rotary shop yet to ask about rebuilt costs?, sure we would all be interested to hear the answers

I got a quote for a series 4 and 5 turbo at $4,400 and $4,700 respectively. Did not get a quote on any of the gen 3 ones. Wonder why, cause I sent a follow up email with no reply.

I will be having a look at a series 4 1988 turbo this coming weekend. It looks in good confition, but you will never know until you start the engine and take it for a drive, than maybe I will have a 20% idea whether the car is alright. Thanks for link, the info on buying a RX7 was really helpful. Did not realise that there were factory recalls for the 93-93 models of RX7. It will be difficultto determine if the car had been sent for the factory recalls.

Thanks jeffrored92, I think the performance of the FC, power wise is probably sufficient. I would probably just want improve the handling of the car, shocks, sway bars and stuff. Definately want to do the exterior.

Well, I got the run a round car earlier, now I want a fun car for the weekends. :)

If it's a visit only (ie: you're not staying for a year or so) - then you can't import via personal import. As such, there's not much point buying an FC and bringing it back via SEVS/15yr rules - you might as well get a local version, or get one through an importer. Going through the hassle of importing by yourself is a huge headache - exponentially worse if you aren't living in Japan. A series 6/7 is ONLY eligible via personal import (unless you want a car that can only be registered for race/rally use).

A decent 13brew rebuild, in australia, is going to cost you between $5k-$10k (there's been plenty of discussion about this lately in the FD thread on ausrotary. BTW, I'm pretty sure I joined via a hotmail account eric). FC will be slightly less, and will, generally speaking, need to be done less often (FD rebuild recommendation is 100k km).

I heard that the frequency of rebuilds for a FC is about 80,000 miles, think that converts to slightly less than 140,000km. Think that is another important criteria for myself to choose a FC, including the price for a rebuild. $5k tp $10k is too rich for me... at the moment. Have to pay up my mortgages. $4k to $5k is comfortable.

No..... the stay in Japan will be a short stay only. 1 montha at the most. Just to visit her parents and to pay our respects cuz we plan to get married next year. ;) Would be fun to have a look at some of the cars they have there though, but I am very convinced that I should get a local or dealer imported RX7.

thanks for the extra info on rebuild costs Dai

i just tried to register again with ausrotary using my hotmail address and again got,

"Sorry, but this e-mail address has been banned."

eric e

so i sent an email to the email address give for those having problems registering, admin@ausrotary.com, and got this back

"A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of
its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es)
failed:

admin@ausrotary.com"

time to give up again

eric e

Good point, most FD owners have a daily driver. I also have driven my FD for about 6 months (since i sold my Mx6 turbo) and got sick of taking it down dirt roads, LAN's, shopping, you name it.

I just bought a 88 323 4WD Turbo for 2K. Makes for a fun little daily driver!

My FD now sits in the garage and only gets taken out for cruising occations or when i want a bit of fun. Makes it more special that way.

FC's are a lot more pratical. Heck, my mates takes his FC camping...mountain bike and all!!!

got a gmail account?

ive owned my S4 FC for a while now and love it, my mechanic (rotarymotorsport) says rebuild using my housing $3500 including porting and dowelling. The only reason i would go S5 over S4 is the weight issue, i think there is a couple of 100kg's difference.

Jin6, why do you say the FC is more practical? Is it to do with the durability of the car or engine?

I thought the stock S5 had a bit more grunt than the stock S4, that together with the weght issue would make the difference. Anyway, there are many ways to cut down the weight of the car, carbon fibre here, carbon fibre there (not that its cheap though....)

the FD has better fuel consumption, but i do agree that the earlier models look pretty hot, especially after watching some initial D action. My experience with buying car would be to get the best example of an earlier model rather than getting a cheap newer one...if that makes any sense. Look for one that has had the engine rebuilt already as that would be a bitch to undertake.

check out www.presigemotorsport.com.au for imports, they quote prices to your door, and are pretty cheap, only thing with importing is that it is estimated the it is between 75 to 95 percent of cars have there speedometres wound back. Its a myth that japanese people do less kilometres in their cars.

If you are on a tight budget maybe consider something else.....VL turbo :) Rx7's eat more fuel than a V8 beast.

Thanks for that bit of info, will follow up on the website.

Read an article yesterday that the RX8 is also a thirsty for fuel, Specs said 12.8L/100km, but tested at 14L/100km. How thirsty is a FD or FC? My current ride (Subaru) is about 11.4-12.4L/100km. Can't be much worst than that.

FC has slightly more space inside, or more importantly, usable space. Fold the rear seats down whilst the boot is open and compare the FC and FD. Big difference. Though i didn't buy an FD with space in mind.

Yes, i would think the durability of the FC engine would be better, for reasons such as less heat fatigue, complexity etc. It is an older car though

Hey Jim6, I was directed to this website "prestige motor sport" They import cars from Japan from auctions. I seems to be alot cheaper than the market prices here. But of course there is a worry about a rebuild. Would you buy any of these import cars..... we can't even test drive.... but they are as much as 50% cheaper than the market prices. I could buy them than send them straight for a rebuild. What do you think?

Well, if you know what your are getting into and have back up cash if something goes wrong then it can be a good alternative. I have a mate who bought a Legacy RS cheap (15yr rule) and is a happy chappy with no problems. But you also hear of horror stories or people having to spend a lot more than they initially thought. Me? If i wanted a cheap FC i would look through the trading post, carsguide.net, carsales.com etc and find a really straight well looked after one with decent KM's. You could pick up a S4 for around 8K and budget + rebuild. At least you can go and have a look, take it for a drive, get it inspected etc.

My FD was getting about 12L/100km driving on the highway @ 110km for an hour to my ex-gfs house in the country. Around town it's more like 16L/100km.

Jims6, I have never seen aS4 going for 8K here in Melbourne. At least 10K over here. But I was thinking more of a S5 anyway. Test drove a S4 today, the engine did not appear to run very well. Said I would think about it. I made another appointment to have a look at another FC, series 5 1989, goin for about 12,500. Too expensiive, but see if I can get a good deal. Problem is that it is an import and I hvae noo idea if the engine was rebuilt yet.

Thats not too bad. Heard from some owners that on a S4, 60L/300km combined driving. Driving in bilt up areas, II average about 14-17L/100km depending on how I drive. (engine is a 3L, flat 6)

'Its a myth that japanese people do less kilometres in their cars.' - no, that istatement is actually the myth. I worked part-time in a caryard here, and I can tell you that 90% of the cars on the lot at any time had kms that were far lower than what we would expect in australia. The reason? Australia is 21 times bigger than japan. It snows for four months (sports cars, in particular, aren't driven). Highly effective public transport.

my FD gets about 400-450km from a 70L tank

Silk: Sometimes you do see them cheap. As i said, my advice is work out the maximum you can afford and go out and get the best one you can find. If its a S5 then even better. I personally dont think buying an import is a bad thing, if its a complete and original car. If the motor lets go then you will have to get a rebild....it might only need new seals/springs/apex seals and tidy up. Part and parcel of rotary ownership :)

I get up to 500KM out of my.....76L tank ;)

Jim!

Are you serious? 500km from your tank? I only get 400km out of my FD!!! and thats not trashing it all the time!Hmm why the huge difference? Mine is running rich though...I can smell the fumes when i start..and at the lights...PHEW! You know how i can not make it run rich without detonation..

Cheers

7Heaven

Yeah, up to 500KM driving up to esk and back to see the folks. So thats highway driving. I know my fuel light well. Normally i fill up with 73L. Cutting it fine.

But yeah, you saw my car the other day.....it runs very rich.....and im getting sick of it. Give the car some stick...and black smoke :( S8 doesn't do that at all.

In fact, after the car is fully warmed up and I floor it, i can hardly see cars behind me!!! Do it a couple more times, and it gets better. As if the computer is adjusting. No mechanics can help me though.....they say it normal. It never did it that bad before the rebuild though....

hmm possibly the turbos had it? oil leaking into turbo? Yeah Mine only manages 400km city and highway..and price of petrol ridiculously expensive...

So really thinking of selling it..and getting a lux car....Hmmm don't wanna part with it..Arghh!

Thanks for all the info guys.

Seven Heaven, I think that you might regret selling your FD. Ihave heard really good stuff about its handling and performance. A bit to expensive for me at the moment.

if you were thinking of selling it and getting a new car, what car would you get? My recommendation is the Subaru Liberties..... great car, can get great performance and haandling as well, but will never be the same as your FD unfortunately.

Yeah well had the car for 2 yrs now..so enjoyed it. It was either buying another cheap car..to get around in or use the money for that plus the FD to get a lux car.

Was not think about speed etc cause i don't get to fang the FD around often now as i only use it to go to work...and in peek hour its not really an entertaining drive. haha...

I think i might go european maybe...perhaps a 325Ci or something like that in black. easy to drive and also on fuel..

325 is a nice looking car, real classy. Expensive price to pay for the performance you will be getting I reckon. I guess when it is time to move on, we have to move on. I on the other hand have a commuter, want a change for the weekends. I will be test driving a 93 FD this weekend..... very excited, first time in one. :D

btw, driving to wok in a FD everyday can be quite expensive...... nor wonder you want to swap cars. How much are ou looking to sell the car for?

i know many of you will have visited this site before but it was new to me

as it mainly seems to deal with FC engines i thought silk should know of it if hasn't found it yet already

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/

eric e

may steam clean my FD engine with his water injection method

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/ro...injection.html

Looking at low 30's for it..Silver 93 model. done 120,000 kms.pretty much stock except for exhaust, ARC pod filters.

Its an Type R -Efini from Japan so 4 seats.

30+k is a bit too rich for me, unless I sell my current car. But I reckon you will have little problem selling this car in the open market. I would like to have the additional 2 seats in teh rear for additional space.

Thanks eric e, that website is very useful. Still reading it at the moment. It seems that his prices are not too expensive. Its probably cheaper to maintain a FD or FC in the states.

I will be going to check out an 93 FD and a 89 FC today. First time in an FD, can't wait. :p:

Can anyone tell me what the advantage is for using a 3mm apex seal rather than a 2 mm apex seal? I thought all three chambers would be sufficiently air tight using 2 mm seals. 3 mm seals last longer? Thanks.

a 1988 is a good car,a 3gen looks good but you can get more power out of a turbo II.

just been looking at a japanese video where an fd dyno's 710hp with 2kg/cm boost

4 guys sitting in the back of it to keep it on the dyno

the noise it makes as the turbos reach top speed for the big power runs are amazing

what's the best that people get from the T11 engine?

eric e

The best I have seen is 650hp. It was a red FC S5 TII for sale about 9 months ago. Had dyno data but not sure how reliable that was. was going for about 20+k if I remember correctly.

The FC S5 I tested in the weekend was awsome. It was the best one I tested so far. :p: The FD was in poor condition. practically falling apart. Disappointed :(

man go for the FC if you like it, you can get great power and a shitload of torque with just a simple hi-flow, its too expensive to modify the stock twins on a FD.

but you can get 400hp on stock twins - not even in the same ballpark with a stock FC

I thought that the stock FD will give 173 kW (231 hp), while the stock FC S5 gives about 147 kW or 198 hp. Think the FD SP gives 206 kW (276 hp). How did you get 400 hp stock for an FD?

MaTT_RX7, think I have decided to got with a FC, mainly cost concerns. Maintance is too high, car is too expensive. Prefer the look of the FC...... but I understand that the handling of a well looked after FD far exceeds the handling of a FC.

modifying potential

DaiOni, The modifying potential without spending heaps on an FD is about 400hp? Is that what you meant?

What is the modifying potential for the FC? Will it be different for the series 5 and the series 4 becasue I think the series 4 has a slighly less powerful engine, or maybe detuned engine.

What is the cheapest, safetest way to increase the power and torque of the FC and how much whould I be looking to pay for it?

Just found out that we are no longer allowed to import cars from overseas anymore with the 15 year rule. Heard that from Geoff, Prestige motors.

That really reducess the options I have. have to buy one locally. Problem is that most of them are quite expensive. :(

FC are not too expensive in australia and they have usually been rebuilt, i paid $10k for my S4, had fresh paint, rebuilt S5 engine and g/box.

As for power and torque go microtech, f/mount, fuel pump, and mega hiflow!!!! my car got 623NM @ Wheels from this setup. drives excellent.