MazdaRotary123

Over the past few days I've been reading about Rotary's and Mazda RX7's. My main concern is if the car can be used as a daily driver. There are alot of mixed answers that I run into. Some say they are complete garbage, others that its perfectly fine.

I'm looking to buy an N/A Or Turbo RX7 sometime in the very near future.

I'm probably going to receive some mixed answers here as well, but I Just want to know from those who drive an RX7 daily. Is the car reliable as long as i follow the guidelines on taking care of the car? I've also read that they tend to go bad outside in hot temperatures. It gets very hot in Florida.

Thanks for the replies in advance.

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

So you're talking 2nd gen ('86-'91)?

With proper maintenance, they can be just fine for daily driving. This is the case with any older car. Parts will eventually fail with time, so don't go into it expecting to never have to replace anything. And the temperature related advice you mentioned is made up. As long as the cooling system is in good working order, high ambient temps are no problem.

MazdaRotary123

Yes, I'm truly sorry for not mentioning what generation I was talking about. I understand that the RX7 is a very old car and its gonna have its share of problems. Regarding the cooling system. Is there any sort of mod(s) that people usually do on the cooling system when they get their hands on an RX7?

Thanks for your response!

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

3rd gen owners commonly modify their cooling system as part of the "reliability mods", but that's not the case with 2nd gens. The stock radiator and clutch fan work very well, so for stock and lightly modified cars, it is just fine.

MazdaRotary123

Okay, final question. Is the cooling system as adequate on the turbo models of the RX7's?

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

Yes, it's the same as on NAs, with the exception of a little electric fan that kicks on over 210F. The turbo introduces extra heat into the system, but it's still fine. That being said, the original radiator may not be cooling as well as when it was new (bent fins, clogged passageways, leaky end tanks), so a replacement may still be a good idea.

MazdaRotary123

Excellent then, I highly appreciate the major help you have been to me. Its nice to see a forum filled with amazing people who don't bash each other or pick on newbies like myself. I've seen way to many of that on other sites. Not particularly RX7 forums though.

Hopefully I will be an FC owner by August.

Thanks again!

MadScience_7

I've been DDing my NA 2nd gen for about 7 years now. We've had our differences of opinion now and then, but as long as you keep up with maintenance, they're great.

I had some cooling problems trying to run the AC in the city in 100°+ weather with the stock rad, but I replaced that with an all aluminum rad and haven't had any problems since.

MazdaRotary123

Sweet, I feel much better know this too.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

You'll probably want to look here: http://geometroforum.com/site/

Seriously, no car that gets less than 20 mpg is a good daily driver. Yes I daily drive all my FCs.

MazdaRotary123

Are you trying to be funny? I realize the gas mileage on rotary engines aren't the best in the world. I was just curious to see how the FC's do as daily drivers. If I wanted a car with good gas mileage I'd get a Civic.

MadScience_7

My FC gets better than 20mpg almost every tank. You just have to remember to up-shift now and then.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

Nope, just letting you know.

MazdaRotary123

Okay, I didn't mention anything about Gas mileage in my original post. So what you posted was completely useless and irrelevant to me. But thanks for taking the time to add something nonetheless.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

^^I would think that good gas mileage is an implied attribute on any daily driver. No need to be a dick to funkjaw. Its behavior like that that will get newbies like you rightfully flamed.

I don't know why anyone would prefer a car with poor gas mileage for a DD. Its no fun sitting in traffic puttering along but its your money. Good luck with your decision. Might want to spend some time reading the 2nd gen FAQ to get up to speed on possible problems and fixes.

mdmorris

Some of us don't sit in traffic puttering along during our daily commute. And since I find myself lost in a sea of SUVs and F150s everyday, I'm thinking gas mileage still ain't high on most people's list; DD or otherwise.

I drove an '88 NA 65 miles roundtrip every day for about 3 years. It was about as reliable as you would expect for any 15-20 year old car with over 100,000 miles. Stranded me once due to a failed pilot bearing. I sold it because the AC was very marginal here in FL during the summer. YMMV. !

MazdaRotary123

I'm not being a dick at all, stop assuming. I just found it weird he put a link to a Geo metro forum. Regardless I thanked him for his input even though it was useless. I apologize to both of you If I came off as a dick in my last post. I'm not here to cause trouble, I'm here to learn. Regarding the gas, like you said, its my money I'm wasting.

Thank you for directing me to the 2nd gen FAQ by the way.

RotaryRocket88

iTrader: (7)

I've daily driven my '88 for 9 years, and I couldn't care less about the mileage. TONS of people daily drive FCs, so it's really not that novel a concept. The drive to work is a hell of a lot more fun than in an econobox.

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

I have daily driven 6 different FCs in the past 3 years. For a couple months I daily drove a Geo Metro before selling it to my dad while I let my gf drive my FC while we looked for a new FC for her due to her going off a cliff in her old one.

I can honestly say if you want a good daily driver, a Geo Metro is the perfect car. I never thought about the gas mileage but in the 2 months I drove the Metro I saved sooo much money it was unbelievable. Now I can't stand the poor gas mileage.

But, like RotaryRocket88 said: "The drive to work is a hell of a lot more fun than in an econobox."

Fun vs logical is all it comes down to. No FCs aren't good daily drivers, they are old, get poor gas mileage, things fall apart, they pollute quite a bit which is not good for mother earth, not the most comfortable, etc. etc... BUT they are funner than all heck to drive which is why I daily drive mine.

Some more pennies: NA's are far less of a headache than TIIs especially as daily drivers.

Cordt

been daily driving mine for over a year now and it's never failed on me. of course parts are wearing out and as such it has had some "downtime" while waiting for parts to arrive/get time to install them or have them installed...but never any catastrophic failure and i have over 250,000 original kilometers on the car. only really major part that has been replaced is the transmission because the old one was developing quite a whine. was still totally usable though. other than that just the typical things that wear out/die on high mileage cars, u joints, struts, alternator, etc.

also an awesome winter car with good tires. anyone who says it's a deathtrap either doesn't know how to drive or has never driven on winter tires. does not like to be started in -30 but it will do it....just blows a cloud of pretty much pure gasoline out the tailpipe for about 10 mins till it warms up haha. thing is BRUTALLY rich when its that cold.

mxrider914

iTrader: (3)

I drive my s4 every day in SW Florida and barley ever get problems. Never left me stranded. Just little things here and their that have to be replaced. I even drive it 2hrs up to Tampa every couple weeks and no problems. Hell, I have WAY more issues with my Toyota pickup and they're known for thier reliability!

7Vertman

My 88 Vert is my second 7. I daily drove the first one and it was a nightmare. Frankly, I just got a bad one with that car. My vert however has been utterly reliable. The key is to learn what to look for when buying a rotary. When I bought my first one I knew nothing of rotary engines, other than basic concept. I did not perform a compression check, make sure the suspension was tight, quiz the previous owner on common knowledge stuff. I just bought it because I was young and it looked really good. With my vert, I took the time to find a good one, spoke with the owner at length about rotaries and how he took care of it,(he passed) performed a compression check to make sure the engine was tight, drove it for about an hour in 90 degree heat with the A/C blasting, etc, etc. After I bought the vert I daily drove it for 2 months with no issues. My new job requires me to be out of town so the car sits for long periods of time now. However, I had this past weekend off so I put the top down(I have a great sunburn now) and took off on a 400 mile trip through southern indiana, illinois, and northern kentucky. The car performed flawlessly, never ran hot, and I averaged 24.5 mpg cruising at about 75mph! Read the faq on 2nd gens, then take the time to find a good one. You will end up with a good dd that will also be a nice weekend toy. Good luck.

daviddeep

iTrader: (4)

I daily drove a '90 GTU for nearly 10 years back when it was not that old of a car. I was aware of the poorish gas mileage for rotaries when I bought it and was willing to make the compromise for the fun of having the car. I traded in an '85 GLC which got about 9-10 mpg better in both city and highway driving, so the extra gas did add up, even in the era of cheap gas. But I really loved that car and don't regret it. At the time, I didn't have the money to have a separate practical daily driver car and a separate weekend/fun car, so I thought it made plenty of sense. I put about 80,000 miles on my first engine before it needed a rebuild, then I drove 40,000 more miles on the rebuild before selling the car.

However, a 20+ year old car is a risky daily driver. Even if you take great care of your car, things will occasionally break and require repair. If you can do most of your own repairs, this may not be such a big deal. Just remember that given the age of the car, virtually no replacement parts are sitting on the shelves of your local Mazda dealership or your local auto parts store. This means you will often be waiting a minimum of a day and a maximum of a week or more for a critical part to come in when you need it.

I'd say an FC RX-7 is one of the better 20 year old cars you could buy as a daily driver, but still subject to the limitations of any really old car. If you absolutely need bulletproof daily transportation that will never leave you stranded, it might be smarter to get something newer. If you do go the RX-7 route, make sure you stay ahead of all periodic maintenance and replace older parts before they have a chance to break so you can do it on your own schedule and not miss work, for example.

kbjrx7@gmail.com

Driven 3 2nd gen on a daily basis. An 87 coupe (18-19mpg) an 89conv (21mpg) and a 91conv (23mpg) all driven hard and you'll loose 1 to 2 mpg in a conv if you leave the top down on the interstate. Only stranded ones due to a seal failure and it gave me warning for a few days and thats the one I'm driving now. (rebuilt the engine. Much more fun to do than on a piston engine)

But mainly life is to short not to drive an RX-7

funkjaw

iTrader: (3)

^ This