Rx-7 Questions
07-25-02, 08:03 PM
#2
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Re: Rx-7 Questions
Originally posted by GreatAim
How long does the rotary engine last?
How long does the rotary engine last?
wut is the maintenance?
Replace spark plugs every 5000 miles
Replace spark plug wires every 50,000 miles
does it have more power?
anything i really need to know about them?
-Ted
07-26-02, 09:11 AM
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IMO piston engines have too many parts that can foul up. I had an 80 RX-7 that I used to deliver pizza, I did'nt take good care of it cause i had an 85 GSL-SE as a 2nd car...don't you know the car never gave up 175,000 miles delivering pizza(hard mileage) and not the best care...sold the car 6 years ago and I seen it still going 2 years ago...rotaries can handle alot.
07-27-02, 08:06 AM
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Originally posted by Blitz0309
The engine will last if you treat it right... The atf treament can help save an engine. But most of all its as above stated.
The engine will last if you treat it right... The atf treament can help save an engine. But most of all its as above stated.
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07-30-02, 06:48 PM
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Originally posted by T2 Tsunami
IMO piston engines have too many parts that can foul up. I had an 80 RX-7 that I used to deliver pizza, I did'nt take good care of it cause i had an 85 GSL-SE as a 2nd car...don't you know the car never gave up 175,000 miles delivering pizza(hard mileage) and not the best care...sold the car 6 years ago and I seen it still going 2 years ago...rotaries can handle alot.
IMO piston engines have too many parts that can foul up. I had an 80 RX-7 that I used to deliver pizza, I did'nt take good care of it cause i had an 85 GSL-SE as a 2nd car...don't you know the car never gave up 175,000 miles delivering pizza(hard mileage) and not the best care...sold the car 6 years ago and I seen it still going 2 years ago...rotaries can handle alot.
Furthermore, while the rotary is superior in design, its reliability is not, despite the fact that it uses 3 components to run the engine rather than 60+ like most other cars. Plus, when something goes wrong on the piston cars, its usually a certain section that can be repaired, where as with the RX-7, you usually need to replace something expensive.
I've been on the board for about 2 weeks, nd I commonly hear users tell newbies such as myself, "Save up for a rebuild". People buy this cars because they like them and want to mod them, so why would your advice be to save for a rebuild when they could be using that money for mods? I think its because the owners of these cars know, that no matter how good a job you care for them, they will be good for a certain amount of miles, and newbies like us need to be aware of it.
08-01-02, 01:29 PM
#9
pj rx7~
well, i'm not going to try to make a case for a rotary having the longevity of some piston engines. we should all be able to agree that a rotary probably will not last 620,000 miles like your mom's Topaz.
however, i just want to address two of the points you brought up. the first one being the thing about the "life expectancy" being about 100,000 miles. you said you've been on the board for about two weeks ... so i'll just chalk it up to maybe you haven't seen some of the threads that would have shown you different info.
i've owned Rx-7's since 1990, and i can attest to their durability when they are treated right, as well as their protest and "going on strike" when they are not treated right. most people that "know" Rx-7's say that 12A motors will run 160K-170K before needing a rebuild, the 13B's in the SE run for roughly the same interval, then the Gen II 13B's are said to run 120K-140K, and finally the 13B-T will run 80K-100K. keep in mind that these are just accepted generalizations ... i've seen people on this board say that their 12A's have run over 200K, and that their NA 13B have run over 200K as well ... i haven't heard of a 13B-T running up there, but i have heard of one topping 150K miles.
the other point i'd like to throw out there just for us all to consider is this: piston engines in some cars like a Corolla, or Rabbit, or even your mom's Topaz, despite the fact that they sometimes live through abuse, how many of them get abused and still have to turn at the RPMs that a rotary are capable of. i may stand corrected, but i doubt if any of them top 6000 RPM under load. meanwhile, an abused rotary would still have to cope with 6000, 7000, and maybe even 8000 RPM ...
the other thing that you mentioned was about the board members telling newbies to save for a rebuild. well, i can't speak for everyone that has ever offered that advice, so i will ONLY speak for myself ...
when i say it to someone, i say it for two reasons. first, unless the person knew the car and the previous owner, there is no way for you to know how the car/engine was treated. let's face it, when someone drives an Rx-7, they DRIVE an Rx-7! but not everyone MAINTAINS an Rx-7 ... so it just seems like common sense to assume that you have to get a rebuild, so you will be able to have a starting point for yourself.
that leads to the second reason i would recommend saving for a rebuild. by nature of their design, rotaries are not like piston engines where you have the luxury of being able to rebuild in steps or pieces. you have to do the whole motor in one shot! fewer moving parts means each part assumes more responsibility, so when it craps out, it generally means the whole engine will fail, there's no head gasket to change, or swapping out bad lifters or burned valves, or anything like that. you might be able to change the rings on a piston and just put the engine back together and not touch anything else (probably wouldn't make much sense, but it can be done), but if an apex seal goes, 8 times out of 10, it's going to take anywhere from 1 to 3 of the housings with it ...
look at it this way, marques like Porsche and Ferrari recommend major engine parts being changed at far less than 100,000 (whether the car is driven or not) and there's a reason for that, besides getting your money. those engines are asked to do a LOT more than the engines in your F150 or Tercel. i think the same thing applies here to a rotary.
i'm not flaming, it's just my 2 cents ...
peace
well, i'm not going to try to make a case for a rotary having the longevity of some piston engines. we should all be able to agree that a rotary probably will not last 620,000 miles like your mom's Topaz.
however, i just want to address two of the points you brought up. the first one being the thing about the "life expectancy" being about 100,000 miles. you said you've been on the board for about two weeks ... so i'll just chalk it up to maybe you haven't seen some of the threads that would have shown you different info.
i've owned Rx-7's since 1990, and i can attest to their durability when they are treated right, as well as their protest and "going on strike" when they are not treated right. most people that "know" Rx-7's say that 12A motors will run 160K-170K before needing a rebuild, the 13B's in the SE run for roughly the same interval, then the Gen II 13B's are said to run 120K-140K, and finally the 13B-T will run 80K-100K. keep in mind that these are just accepted generalizations ... i've seen people on this board say that their 12A's have run over 200K, and that their NA 13B have run over 200K as well ... i haven't heard of a 13B-T running up there, but i have heard of one topping 150K miles.
the other point i'd like to throw out there just for us all to consider is this: piston engines in some cars like a Corolla, or Rabbit, or even your mom's Topaz, despite the fact that they sometimes live through abuse, how many of them get abused and still have to turn at the RPMs that a rotary are capable of. i may stand corrected, but i doubt if any of them top 6000 RPM under load. meanwhile, an abused rotary would still have to cope with 6000, 7000, and maybe even 8000 RPM ...
the other thing that you mentioned was about the board members telling newbies to save for a rebuild. well, i can't speak for everyone that has ever offered that advice, so i will ONLY speak for myself ...
when i say it to someone, i say it for two reasons. first, unless the person knew the car and the previous owner, there is no way for you to know how the car/engine was treated. let's face it, when someone drives an Rx-7, they DRIVE an Rx-7! but not everyone MAINTAINS an Rx-7 ... so it just seems like common sense to assume that you have to get a rebuild, so you will be able to have a starting point for yourself.
that leads to the second reason i would recommend saving for a rebuild. by nature of their design, rotaries are not like piston engines where you have the luxury of being able to rebuild in steps or pieces. you have to do the whole motor in one shot! fewer moving parts means each part assumes more responsibility, so when it craps out, it generally means the whole engine will fail, there's no head gasket to change, or swapping out bad lifters or burned valves, or anything like that. you might be able to change the rings on a piston and just put the engine back together and not touch anything else (probably wouldn't make much sense, but it can be done), but if an apex seal goes, 8 times out of 10, it's going to take anywhere from 1 to 3 of the housings with it ...
look at it this way, marques like Porsche and Ferrari recommend major engine parts being changed at far less than 100,000 (whether the car is driven or not) and there's a reason for that, besides getting your money. those engines are asked to do a LOT more than the engines in your F150 or Tercel. i think the same thing applies here to a rotary.
i'm not flaming, it's just my 2 cents ...
peace
