1990 RX7 Engine in cold weather
 

Hi, I am new here and to RX7's in general. We bought a naturally aspirated 1990 RX7 Convertible in December 2016 for my 17 year old son. Finally got it running so we can drive it last weekend. I know nothing about rotary engines (or any other kind of engine), but we have received a lot of different advice about cold starts and driving the car in cold winter weather. Basically we were told that it's not good for the engine (something about apex seals?) to be driven in weather under 60 degrees. Can someone tell me if this is true? Since we live in northeast Ohio, seems really impractical to only be able to drive it when it's warm.

Any comments would be welcome. Thank you so much!

Donna

It is perfectly safe to drive your Rx7 in the winter. I drove mine (1986) all winter here in Canada in temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius without any issue.

Make sure to run the car gently until up to temperature (for you this is 1/2 way on the temperature gauge), shifting at or below 3500 rpm. Once warm, you can drive the car as hard as you want. This practice should be observed even in warm weather to ensure longevity of your engine.

I had zero issues starting or running. I advise from experience to run 10W30 in the winter as it is thinner than the 20W50 I run in the summer. It seems to make the car run smoother when it is cold out (to my eyes, at least).

If you are driving in snow, keep in mind that it is a rear wheel drive vehicle and your torque appears at about 3800 rpm. A good set of snow tires is a good idea.

Thank you SO much for the information! I truly appreciate it!

No problem :)

There is also a Frequently Asked Questions link on the forum under the 2nd Generation section (both our Rx-7s are second generation) that has lots of really useful information about our cars, tips on maintenance, and advice on fixing or preventing any problems that come up. It would be good to give it a read, the link is below

2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) - RX7Club.com

I drove my First FC in snow and crap...temps about -20 Celcius..
That sucker started every time no problem..
ah..the good old days..lol!

rotaries love cold weather, just can't abuse them right after turning it on though.

Excellent, another bogus myth about the rotary engine! Aren't these great?

probably stems from the dumbasses who have turbo cars and blow them in winter weather due to boost creep and poorly planned mods. just people tend to leave out the critical pieces of information.

I was thinking maybe it was carb icing from the old 1970s draw-through turbo/carbs, but your explanation sounds more plausible.

My favorite is the myth that the rotary engine is unreliable, totally ignoring the rotary engine's dominance in endurance racing until it was finally banned because it had such an unfair advantage, lol.

well, to be fair, most racing bodies didn't know how to classify the engine even though it is rather simple. a 1.3L twin rotor is a 2.6L engine. just like a 500cc 2 stroke is the equivalent of a 1000cc 4 stroke due to the stroke differences. however that then gives the 4 strokes an unfair advantage because of the innefficiencies of 2 stroke and rotary engines, a simple % based system could then be derived. 80% sounds fair, considering the pumping losses of each engine, so a 500cc 2 stroke could be classed with a 800cc 4 stroke and a 2.6L(read as 1.3L to us) twin rotary could be classed with a 2.1L. once you turbo the car we take an even bigger hit.

Agree with everyone else. Cold weather is not a problem, just take it easy until the engine warms up. My first gen. RX7 sat outside in the IL winters and I never had a problem. It had the sub zero start assist that I disconnected, and I still never had an issue.

My 88 turbo loves the colder weather. Morning runs were the best and the turbo was really responsive to the colder air. As long as you let it warm up and go easy in the beginning you're fine.

Congrats on your Rx-7, I got my first one when in high school at 16. It was a 1988 SE, I have been hooked ever since. Im sure he will enjoy it as they are alot of fun.