I have a 85 rx7 GSL model basically all stock. I just want to know what's the basics for keeping the car running great? I know a few things about them already but I'd like to know some tips and tricks too to avoid any issues. Thanks!

Here's a pic of my rx7

 

#1 tip: do not let anyone ELSE drive your car!

Other tips would be regular oil changes,good clean gas,checking belts,hoses etc,..all like a regular car.
Once you go through the car and check the bushings,shocks,brakes,springs,etc on it,then you are pretty well set.
After that it is a Driving Car,so just enjoy it.

You may hear: "But,it's a Rotary"...SO WHAT!.it's a car!..so it was meant to drive..You bought it,enjoy it!!!!
Notice I do not stress abut the engine..NOW if you had a GEO,I would do some serious talking..lol!

Have fun.STYX...and put up an INTRO with your name and location in it!

 

Try NOT to turn it off with a cold engine. This is not a car you want to start up just to move to the other side of the street.

 

I agree with misterstyx69. Your car isn't much different than any other sports car of its era until it is time to rebuild the engine. Here are the two main differences...
- The engine will normally burn about 1 qt of oil per 3,000 miles, more if it is worn down. Most people use Castrol GTX.
- The engine runs hot, so don't park over dry leaves, and stop the car immediately if the engine is overheating.

Here is a listing of clean gas as mentioned earlier. http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

That is for the EFI engines with the computer glitch.

 

A little trick to the Cold start shut off is to Rev the engine and turn key off to let die method...almost like a BOG,sort of thing.

 

Thank you all guys. I heard about the shutting it off while it's cold is not a good thing to do I usually let it run for about 20 mins before I move it anywhere. I also put 93 at Mobil or shell gas stations only.

 

Oh and suspension and brakes are great on the car right now they've been replaced before I got the car and works perfectly.

 

I often shut off my 84 RX-7 (12A engine) while cold and never had a problem. Maybe somebody can enlighten me as to why this is a problem with the 12A engine?

No warm-up time is required for regular street driving. You can look this up on the internet and see that warm-up time is an urban legend.

Your car is rated for regular unleaded, and it will actually tend to run better on 87 unless the engine is worn, damaged, or out of tune.

 

anything higher in Octane that Regular gas is a waste of money on a N/A engine.
If you feel you have to throw money away,I have a big hole in my budget that needs some "filler"..So My Paypal Address is "brokeassRX7Owner@justfreakinkidding.com"..(chuckl e!).
Please help the environment and donate generously,I will buy bullets to shoot beavers so trees can live!

 

I am also curious to the "dont shut off when cold" problem.

 

One of the quirks of the car is that if you start it up and don't let it warm up,then there is a tendency for the car to not want to fire up,as it leaves unburnt gas in the engine and that wants to foul the engine.
Thus a No Start situation.
This does not happen on all Rx7's but a lot of them,especially FC's.
If you say start the car to move it and then just shut it down,you will discover this "quirk" very quickly.
This leads to posting a thread and getting the same answer..as the other 1000 threads in the never ending series of "my Car won't start".(chuckle..sorry..had to!..no coffee!)

The "rev up and turn key off" method is a way to get the engine to burn the gas as it dies.That way the engine needs to replenish it's supply and not have excess in it.SO by Rights,it should take new fuel to start up right away.
It's not a 100% sure fire way but it has worked very well with my cars.
ALSO,I have encountered the car doesn't like getting parked on an incline.I had a encounter with it parked on a hill and it refused to start.I rolled the car to a level spot and Booom!..started up..(lesson learned.)

 

This guy told my buddy to start the car and let it warm/idle for 15 min. This is supposedly very crucial to engine longevity. Also check the oil every fill-up.

 

The cold restart problem is only an issue on 2nd gens mainly because the ECU is too stupid not to hammer fuel into it on a restart situation.

Not typically an issue with carbureted cars or most EFI rotarys past the FC.