rx7 newbie...need help
 

Hi all...my name is Peter
I've become interested in buy an fd 93 model or something abit higher, but I don't know much about rx7 or rotaries for that matter. So basicall I'm going to fire a number of question, and any assistance would be much asppreciated

1. Do rotary engines flood easily, if so how do I prevent this from happening
2. How is the milage, if possible how many KM to a full tank (I'm in australia you see=))...and how big is the tank
3.How much more maintence do they require over a piston engine. Do I need special spark plugs or something?
4. I heard I should only user mineral oils, is this true
5. Do rx7 have over heating problems

Again anyone's help is much appreciated

1) Depends on how you treat them. In general, no. If your engine is old it will have troubles flooding.

2) Dunno.

3) Alot more. The spark plugs are made different, but they're easy to find.

4) Mineral oils?

5) No, unless you start modding them a lot. Then you just pop in a new radiator and intercooler.

Peter,
Where in Australia are U? I was there a couple of times. Great place to party!
Here are some answers to your questions:
1) Flooding - normally isn't a problem - don't start it and move car 50m then shutoff. Let car warm up for a few mins then shut down (especially in winter seasons) My FC floods sometimes but have yet to see my FD flood.

2) Mileage - I get about 402km on a tank (93+ has 75.7L tank) with low&hi speed driving

3) The plugs are different from normal piston engines (have 4 cathode plates). They are not gappable. There are 2 types to use: a pair for leading ports and another pair for trailing ports. As long as your maintenance habits are regimented, the car will last a LONG time.

4) Only use CONVENTIONAL oil. NO synthetic oils. The oil is injected in to the combustion chamber to coat the rotors and is naturally burned off (so the car eating oil is fine).

5) The FD's have a tendance to overheat if you are stuck in stop and go traffic or ilde speeds. As long as you push air thru the car she should be fine.

All this considering the car is stock.

Here is a link with some good info: http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/

Hope this helps!
George

I can answer one of your question. since the Rotary engine injects oil in the the combustion chaber you should not run sythetic oil, unless you have taken off the oil metering pump. This however would mean that you would have to put a special oil in your gas tank every time you filled up on gas. Too much in the mix and you will blow thick smoke out the exhaust, too little and you will fry your engine. Your best bet is to stick with an organic based oil unless you are in to all the aditional maintanace that comes with running a synthetic.

1. I have never flooded any of the 3 rx7s I've owned (~8years of ownership).
4. I heard I should only user mineral oils, is this true -I have been running synthetic for awhile and haven't had any problems. There are countless people using synthetic in rotaries. This is one of those questions where there are two schools of thought and plenty of support for both viewpoints.

5. Do rx7 have over heating problems. The 'problem' is that overheating a rotary motor can damage the coolant seals, necessitating a motor rebuild. The stock cooling system is fine under most circumstances. However, if you add a front mount intercooler, or run high boost for sustained time periods (track driving) you will need to upgrade the cooling system.

Guys, all the answers are very very very much appreciated. I'm acutally a piston who has taken a turn to the rotar. =) I'm planning down the track to have an aftermarket ECU, exhaust, front mount and larger injecters down the track sometime. I'm not really after big big power numbers. Other then the intercooler, what other cooling things do I need to upgrade?

George, I'm in sydney New South Wales, which part of australia did you visit? Where are you from?

wow...seriously 400km to a full tank on an FD that is awesome for a rotary on normal driving, I was expecting only 250KM...now if only the petrol prices in Australia stop rising!!!!!