i was thinking about buying an RX-7. but everyone keeps telling me that RX-7's require alot of maintainence. Like the first week u'll mess it up. And you really have to know about Rotary's before you buy them. And one last question how long will the stock turbos last.

 

umm, it would help if i got some replys. to kno if i should buy a RX-7 or go with a TYPE-R tegra

 

well yes and no. it all how its been treated over the years. i had mine 1 gen for 4 years now and it has a rx5 13b so the motor is old its had 10 owners before me and the look like if most of them are older so she looks like she been treated good!. So i never had a major problem with it only need the usual stuff the oils, spark plugs etccc. the only time it has been mean to me is when i did a a big burn for about 5-10 mins, it needed a new clutch and gearbox after that! but thats it. and the new one are very good i been told! and i have seen many in my workshop that i work at!

 

they can be reliable. like dj! said it all depends on how people treated them in the past. i have a third gen. that hasnt really given me any problems at all. had to replace the wires that go to the battery, and the battery itself but that was it. i've heard that some can be unreliable but it is really how they have been treated before hand.

 

dammit dont get no TYPe-R "Tegra" not worth that much money at all....but yah 7's can b unreilable...i suggest u learn at least a lil bit about how to maintain one before u buy one....but its a much better investment then a type-r

 

A '7 will kick a "tegras" *** any day. most of the reliabilty problems stem from the turbos and the vacume hoses. Rotarys don't like to get very hot and those turbos don't help keep them cool thats for sure, and thats why they blow they get to hot and a coolent seal or apex seal lets go and then a long bout of conplaining by the owner "this peice of crap!" It just stopped running . Thats where they got the unreliable rep. The N/A cars run forever (no turbo heat or boost), most are good for 200,000 miles easy some have alot more than that. The 3rd gens were only available in turbo form.

 

how long for a 2nd Gen Turbo II? Guessing it's had a good owner or rebuilt engine...200k miles also? if i bought one with 40k miles...would it last me 4+ yrs without being "mean" to me? This is considering I'd probably be workin on it at least 4 times a week.
Peace/Late,
Galen

 

My 83 rx has 283 000 kms and runs perfect. Non turbos should last at least 300 000 kms but a turbo ll will likely be worn out around 170 000 or 105 000 miles. Any lemon book will tell you RX-7's are very reliable. Maintainence is basically just keeping good oil in them.

 

It seems most of the reliability issues come from the 3rd gens. Someone should write up a good maintenance guide so everyone can learn the basics of taking care of a rotary.

 

If you maintain the cooling and lube systems, you should have minimal problems. I have no experience with turbo II and FD variants, but own a GSL-SE, a '87 NA and a '72 RX3 wagon. Also, I race a supercharged (Camden) 13B originally pulled from a 1970's era car. Just be sure to change your oil (and filter) often (every 3000 miles) and keep your cooling system fresh. "Water wetter" (from Redline) and coolant system anti-rust and lube with distilled water works well. It doesn't hurt to train yourself to keep an eye on your gauges to keep on top of things. Unless you are road racing the car (not autocross), don't bother with the synthetic oils for the engine. Synthetics for the tranny and diff. are worth it. If you get a 2nd gen car the plugs should be checked every 12-15K miles. On the 1st gen RX-7's don't forget to check the cap and rotor. Along the line of ignition, the FB igniters are fairly reliable but if the trailing one fails, all you get is poor mileage and a failed smog test. Might want to get some spare ones from the junkyard.

 

If the 2 cars you are choosing between are rx7 and "Type-R Tegra" then please don't get the rx7. You will end up killing it and bitching about how how you should have bought the Acura bucause Hondas are more reliable. When an Acura is your other option it sounds to me like you are somebody that is more interested in going with what is trendy instead of what your heart tells you and if that is the case there is no way you will be willing to do the necessary maintenence to keep a rotary healthy.

 

I tell you what I have done. I have a Honda Accord for the daily driver and the RX-7 for my "toy." Not to mention I have a 14 month old son, and the RX-7 doesn't make a very good family car. I have an '86 N/A with 190,000 miles. It had about 150,000 VERY ragged out miles when I got it for $200, but with very hard work and some cash it can be a pretty reliable car. Like someone mentioned earlier about the debate between the Acura or the Mazda, it is about the type of attitude you have. If it embarises you to drive to work a couple of days with a strange noise until you figure out what the problem is, you may want to choose the Acura. If you are a perfectionist go with the Acura. If you have to get someone to change your own oil go with the Acura. But if you like the thrill of waxing the "almighty" 5.0 Mustang with a stock TII and tolirate the few little things that can go wrong, and are willing to learn some mechanics then definately go with the RX-7.

 

Get the RX7

Treat your Rotor how u want it to treat you

Enjoy

 

i hear RX-7 engines are really reliable i mean anything with a key is gonna break for sure try and find out if there is a place aorund ur area that speicalizes in roratry engines so if it dose break u can always go there for help goodluck with ur choice

 

My .02

I was about to put 10g's in a 93' honda civic hatchback. (to go turbo)I already have a motor swap and i would walk on any type-r i have meet. I have been dealing with honda/acura for about 5 yrs now on the perf. tip. I just drove a 93 RX-7 and reliability or not, it out handle and out ran my civic ALL DAY. Needless to say i cancled my turbo work, am selling my Civic and am buying a RX. The ONE good thing about honda which i noticed someone else mentioned, any idiot can make a honda faster and not blow it. ITS STILL A HONDA THOUGH. And on the aspect of looks well the RX shitted all over the looks of any Hon-duh regardless of rims, bodykits, etc. I'd go rotary....and have fun watching type-r's keep up

 

Old cars break. Period.

 

During some research project for school i discovered in 92 Ford took huge stake in the company and ever since then they have been building cars together...it makes sense why 93+ have more problems than 2nd gen. 2nd gen 4 life...w00t..=)
Peace/Late,
galen

 

LOL. Not exactly but interesting theory. Don't blame the FD on Ford, they had nothing to do with it. In fact, the FD went on sale in Japan in '92. Its just a complicated finicky car. I can sum it up like this:

Integra:
Treat it good: lasts forever
Treat it bad: lasts 150,000 miles

FD:
Treat is good: lasts 100,000 miles
Treat it bad: lasts 5 miles



Catch 22 is in order to get a Type-R around a racetrack as fast as a lightly modded FD, you'll need twice as much money, and thats AFTER you already replaced the engine in the FD because it exploded.

 

get a tII and put the difference in cash from the type r into rebuilding the tII making it faster and more reliable. i know this kid who has blown up 4 engines in his civic and is still terd slow like 15.5+. and i know a kid with an itr and is putting 6 grand into to run mid 12s, 6 grand in to a tII and you have one of the baddest *** cars around, read up and your mind will be made up easily.

 

Grrrrr, God I really hate this type of post!!!

I agree with Nathan Kwok's post the most.

You gotta pay to play and it seems like you don't got enuf to play this game if your worried about relibility.

Good luck on what ever car you choose.

 

Well, the only problem with Seven's are the drivers. So if you buy a used one, you never know what you buy. As for the general car: they are as good as any others. The older the car get's, the more problem it's going to give you. Most people are scared of the unknown though, so they call a Rotary engind car unreliable. But if you treat a seven correctly it will last just as long as any other car. I've seen several 250.000km engines, and they run perfect. The trick is: do NOT push it during warm-up. Because they are so free-revving, people tend to floor it from the moment they start it. That's bad for any engine, but even worse for a rotary. Keep that in mind and you will soon become a rotary fan. Forget about it and you will become one of those who say the Sevens aren't reliable. Of course, a used car means that you don't know the history, but you could get some test done.
Now as for the FD: same aplies, but times ten. They are good, but driven way to crazy most of the time.
One problem with those is the fact that they build up to much heat. So they only last for 100.000miles...
Get a 2nd gen, doesn't have that much problems, and it's way cheaper

 

I have 90,500 miles on original motor still pushin strong....turbos have been replaced though at 70,000 and clutch, radiator also though soo just be sure you have some money incase of mishaps

 

Are they unreliable, yes.
Are they reliable, yes also.

Depends on the past history of the car, depends on the type of maintience kept up, the mods, the driver, everything is a variable in itself.

Considering the car has been treated right and properly cared for, you can get hundreds of thousands of miles. But just like any other car, careless owners and careless drivers will make any car go bad.

Admittingly, RX7s are more PRONE to problems because they use a rotary engine. It was taken off the market because of reliability, but that doesnt mean it cant be modified and handled properly to work correctly.

Just know what you'd be getting yourself into before getting one, every '7 is a work in progress, always, and it takes quite a bit of funding to keep up with it, just beware...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 209_rx7
[B]


Admittingly, RX7s are more PRONE to problems because they use a rotary engine. It was taken off the market because of reliability, but that doesnt mean it cant be modified and handled properly to work correctly. [/i]

Hey, you must be kidding, right???
This is a 23 year old design, even the youngest 1st gen is 17. 2nd gens are already between 10 and 15!
Obviously such old cars will have problems if not maintained right. This will be the same with every car of that age. As for the engine, it is not prone to more problems because it's a rotary, but because a lot of drivers don't know what a rotary is. Neither do most mechanics... If you do not modify a seven, keep it plain stock, and give the needed attention, it won't die on you any sooner as another car. So you do not have to modify to have a reliable car.
And no, it was not taken off the market because of reliability, but because of fuelconsumption and emmissions. By the way it was not taken off THE MARKET, it was taken off the US and European market. It was still sold in Japan and Australia for some more years, and between 1999-2002 only in Japan.
I know quite a few people that drive sevens (first owners) for years, have 250.000km (about 156.000miles) on it, and never did anything other then normal maintainance to it! The most common problem with 1st gens is RUST, hardly something to blame the engine for...

 

Just to clarify, I did word that wrong. Its not PRONE to more problems because its rotary, I'd rather say its going to be more difficult to fix because of the rareness of rotary and rareness of mechanics for the rotary engine.

Also, to clarify again, it was taken off the US Market, J-spec still lived on after 95...