Prepping an RX7 FD for a long trip
 

Hi there everyone,

I have been looking far and wide for a clean stockish FD RX7 and have come to the conclusion that I am going to have to either ship one from far away (no fun) or fly out and drive one home. I have flown out and bought a car before, but never an RX7.

For those of you who have taken your cars on long journeys what is in your emergency kit? Did anything go wrong that you would recommend I look out for?

If any of you have bought a RX7 a long distance away how did your experience go?

This may not be the technically correct section, but this conversation could be technical depending on what mechanical failures people have experienced during long journeys. Thanks in advance!

I bought mine and drove it ~ 11 hours home (from DFW area :cool: ). But it was low mileage and stock power train with the exception of a down pipe and hi-flow cat. Fortunately the trip was flawless. Common sense rules since you can't practically travel with everything you might conceivably need. Check fluids, belts and hoses closely. Fresh oil and filter would be nice. Good tires a must. Maybe a couple screw drivers and few wrenchs...you can almost disassemble the car with a 10, 12 and 14mm. Insurance with tow coverage is always nice. Put 93 octane or better whenever possible. Tennis shoe on the passenger seat works well as a cup holder.

Just thinking about your question... You know these cars aren't THAT fragile. They can be finicky at times but maintained and driven responsibly they're no more likely to leave you on the side of the road than most others the same age. Mine hasn't in over 13 years and ~80 miles now.

Thanks for the reply Sgtblue! I did not mean to imply unreliability, only that as I am far less experienced with troubleshooting rotary engines. Maybe my unfamiliarity bled over as trepidation haha. Either way thank you for the information, obviously buying a car this old and driving it a long distance is somewhat of a gamble even if it is in good shape. It's good to know someone else has bought a car and driven it that far home.

If you are not totally sure about the reliability of the purchase but insist on driving it then get AAA and take the gamble.

Careful... I was going to get HOSED on my tow from Pennsylvvania to CT. (5hr drive).


uHAUL was significantly less expensive, (which begs the question why the f do I even pay for AAA anymore).

Because if you breakdown you want to get it off the road in order to fix it or get it on a trailer...safely.

Uhaul $50 for 24 hours. That's peace of mind, and cheap!

I had a 9 hour drive home with mine the day I bought it. not a single problem, and it's not stock either. single turbo + lots of supporting mods, really fun when you want it to be.. but I drove it home without hitting boost (for the most part)... engine has over 23k on it and is street ported.. you shouldn't have a problem... unless you drive as if you're on a race track the entire way home.
oh, and mine was hard on gas... worse than my ford explorer.. if they're all like that, take lots of gas money.

These cars work no different than any other car. Unless you are troubleshooting an internal engine problem, the same approach to troubleshooting a piston counterpart applies.

So as far as taking a long road trip the same precautions must be taken as any other car: Check oil, coolant level, see condition of radiator/hoses, oil leaks? Assure the car isn't overheating. How are the brakes? any funny smells such as fuel or coolant? Have a spare tire (with correct air pressure). It's just the basics.

And for peace of mind don't beat on the car during your trip.