Hey all


I'm yet another regular guy whos addicted to cars. I currently live in California but I'm planning on moving to a different state at some point. I'm primarily interested in American muscle and JDM sports cars. I'm fairly new to actually owning enthusiast cars, as I just had an A to B prior. I currently own a 2003 C5 Corvette and a 1993 Dodge Ram D250 Cummins. Now that I've got those two, I'll never need to worry about having a reliably running car for my daily, so I'm looking to get myself into an FD. I wasn't initially planning on getting into one at this point in time, as I know they're a lot of work to own and maintain, but with the trends on pricing for nicer examples, I decided it'd be better for me to bite the bullet and try to pick one up now before they skyrocket out of my pay grade. I've occasionally looked through this forum throughout the last few years, but I never thought to make an account and actively post as I didn't own a rotary yet. I've always heard of how tight-knit and supportive the rotary community is, so I hope you guys treat me well despite not being an owner yet


Even though they aren't rotaries, here's some pics of my current cars:


C5 Corvette:





1st Gen Cummins:

 

Great lookin' Vette and good luck on your search!

The main thing to consider, in my opinion, is what a 28 year old FD means. Your C5 is already faster and probably handles pretty well. So the reason to get an FD is for the experience.

Having recently picked up an FD, it's a little bit of a "Don't meet your heros" kind of thing. It's a car. It's pretty similar to other Mazdas. The engine is pretty complicated. And new cars are honestly better. Like the chassis on the RX-8 is 2 generations newer and better than the FD. (Looking at the rear suspension, specifically.)

It's kinda small actually. It's the same height as my NC Miata with a lower hood line. So it feels like you're sitting on top of it, kinda like sitting on a Power Wheels toy car or something.

It does have that 90's car smell and popup headlights, which I effing love, and every male between the ages of 13-30 will wave. People smile when they see it. And you stand back and think "Holy crap the car from Hot Version and Initial D is in my driveway."

But gawd damn is it a good looking car. And they're rare these days. So if you get one, just my personal opinion, but take good care of it for what it is and don't butcher it trying to make it out run your C5.

 

Thanks for the advice! I'm mostly interested in the FD because of the rotary powering it (it just gets the engineer in me super excited) and because of just how amazing the car itself looks. I don't think any other car out of Japan, ever, gets me staring as much when I see it. My plans for whichever FD I end up getting will be a simple, reliable OEM+ build. Mild power bump with a street port or half bridge for that brap, overbuilt mechanicals for reliability, and OEM+ styling (ex. subtle front lip/skirts, wheels, lowered slightly on coils). I'm not going to be chasing crazy performance with this car; I'd be too scared of going full send with one of these anyway. I don't base how much I enjoy a car purely on its raw performance. For example, I have just as much fun driving my diesel truck as I do with the Corvette. It's not fast by any means, but the experience as a whole makes up for it. I'm planning on getting other cars for my motorsport fix (considering picking up a cheaper, beat up C5 to dedicate to the track; my current one is my daily and I'd like to keep it that way).

 

Welcome to the forum!! That's a beautiful C5, I just love the color! Is your C5 a 6spd car? Your Dodge truck is beautiful as well. Here in Ohio you will be hard pressed to find one as clean as that. Best of luck in your search for the perfect RX-7!!

 

Welcome to forum

 

Thank you! It's called Spiral Gray Metallic, they didn't make too many in this color. And yes, it's a 6-speed. It's been a blast rowing through the gears on my daily commute, even with Cali's horrible traffic. I picked my truck up from Oregon, and it was originally from Washington. Got a great deal on it because collectors look for manual and 4wd, and mine is auto/2wd. I really don't need a 4wd as I don't plan to offroad and the weather here is never a concern, and auto works better for me because the truck is going to be used primarily for hauling and road trips.