Eight

Planning on making it a daily driver, but I need to own one first. lol

ssonsk

lol dude i'm right there with you

teganp

my 88 gxl has been my dily driver for months since the ugly huge jeep was discarded! im sitting on 280xxx kms rebuild 80xxx ago. can be annoying to start sometimes, but if you keep it stock itll last forever!!! i pussyfoot it in the morning to the office and then when it time to go to the job site..hello 8 grand!

mistermorgan

Although I am presently rx7less and am looking for a 1984 or 85 first generation GSL-SE I have driven up to recently an RX-7 on a daily basis for17 years. I live in Northern Ontario Canada and had to be VERY careful in the winter both in driving style and always in winter driving had to have a top of the line set of winter tires.Other than theose obvious winter time cautions the only trouble was occasional flooding but installation of a good engine pre heater will solve that usually.
Thanks
Glyn Morgan

sinned2545

iTrader: (7)

here's something thats not fun for daily Rx7s

Kimchi

iTrader: (1)

the bank just approve my loan for the FD that I am getting yay! I probally wont use it as a daily though, been with my buddy through CT winters in an FD it didnt seem too much fun

79RX7GUY

cant wait to have my 79 rx resto project done. hopefully its gonna be my dd!

Pickles

I use mine as a DD and its great if you drive highways alot. But if you're in city traffic alot i wouldn't recommend it. If you love these cars though they'll love you back no matter what you put them through

99EclipseGSX

I've daily-driven my 87 GXL since I got it a year ago. Gas mileage sucks (gets worse mileage than my 550 hp Eclipse GSX) but I've turned gas mileage into a bit of a game. I've ben able to improve mileage by 2-3 mpg by shifting before 2500 on side streets, and of course always coasting down to a stop in gear (decel fuel cut). As far as reliability, it's an n/a. They'll last a LONG time if you take care of them.

StevenL5975

I am driving my 1986 na FC all the time. The fuel costs are a bit high but I dont really
care about that.

This winter was a bit harsh, we had about 30 cm max of snow (this is a lot fur lux.)
I never had a problem to drive my car. Even through the snow.
Although I dont like the salt they throw on the street, thats why I wash the car
every week.

Here are some places who are not simple to drive in snow, uphills, downhills for example.
Honestly, on my way to work I stopped counting the cars who sat in the ditch.
It must have been way over 20, including vans and busses.

(I only drive 25 km to work) With my 7, I passed them all. I dont get it why they cant
drive their precious cars without rushing in the ditch ...

I never had any technical failures on the car which got me stranded. Just do the regular
maintenance and all will be fine.
I dont cheap out on oil and other important stuff.
As for premix, I use half liter of 2T oil on a full gas tank.

Next week my 7 will get new trans and diff fluid and new battery.

The 7 is my only driveable car now, my other car is a 81 Delorean which is currently
undergoing a full frame off restoration.
When it will be finished I will alternate between the 7 and the D
On the D there will nothing be left which can rust, galvanised and powdercoated frame
fiberglass body, stainless steel body panels and an aluminium engine. That car will last forever.


Needless to say I am happy with my 7.

Steven

Marx-7

Damn those difficult choices

I like the Delorean and recently read somewhere you can buy them new again?

StevenL5975

Yeah thats true.

<ot>
They bought the remaining parts inventory years ago and are putting a few cars back together.
A few improved parts here and there, but in total imho not worth the extra money.
I suggest to buy one in good cond. and start from there. The D really is a good car.
</ot>


One thing that bugs me when daily driving a 7 is the poor light beam. I upgraded
the bulbs with more efficient ones, but it does not change that much. It may be my
poor battery. When rpms drop you can see the voltage gauge dropping to about 12 to 13 V.

Fuel economy, well with a full tank I can get up to 300 km. I dont know how much that
is in mpg but I guess its average for a 7.

Regards
Steven

Piroxide

Daily Driver 92 FD was fine in the winter, but the PowerFC/Non-Seq turbos + FMIC made the summer traffic unbearable. Currently DD a 97 with stock IC and Rad setup with no issues, Just make sure to start the car clutched-in and in 1st gear on startup to kill the high idle warmup, make sure you let the engine warm up before taking off, and they are reliable as can be.

ssonsk

Man i can't really afford a FD at the moment, but how are FC?

Idk why but i have an impression that they're slow as hell; is this an easy fix? :o

StevenL5975

Read the thread, there are a lot of people who gave their opinion on this or
take a look at post #60 for mine.

No offense, but what are you driving actually ?
I am driving my FC NA for abouth half a year now, and I dont think
they are slow. For a +20 years car, the acceleration is quite impressive.

If you have good driving skills, the FCs excellent handling will make your passengers wet their pants on twisty roads =)

Steven

ssonsk

I don't drive anything any more, but i like the FC it's just the way a lot of people talk about them they seem slow.


oh but when i do drive, i drive a little Toyota Tacoma

BomberMan

iTrader: (4)

^^ how'd you get that impression? There is a whole "400 horsepower fc" club on the boards here somewhere.

The way I see it the fc is a slightly better dd, but honestly anytime you drive an old car as a dd you have to contend with a bunch of problems, whether or not it's worth it is up to you.

I run my fc as my dd (or at least I would if the engine wasn't being rebuilt). The bodywork is prone to dings and rust especially if you live in a place that uses salt in the winter, so wash and wax frequently.

My best milage was 23 mpg. My worst was 7 mpg (bad tune). It depends on how you drive. Premix at a 1/2 oz per gallon ratio if you have an omp, if not use 1 oz of premix oil per gallon (that's what I do).

Starbux

I just bought mine for a dd. It came with ac and heat and a cd player.

fc3s-ty

iTrader: (11)

'89 s5 was a daily driver. took it everywhere and still will considering it's my absolute favorite car. I think that a few extra bucks to maintain it and pay for more gas is worth skipping out on a rockstarr at the station.. so yep after the full rebuild, DD is my status.

Mitchocalypse

iTrader: (2)

I more or less daily drive my car in the summer when I'm working. I say more or less cause there's always carpool etc etc and Usually when I take it out, it's for some.. spirited driving.

Pros:
-It's an rx7
-Fun to drive
-Look good driving it
-If lightweight and powerful is what you want, there is no better car for you. ANYWHERE.
-Contrary to common belief, quite reliable. Don't overlook any maintenence, change your oil every 3000 kms, (1900 miles maybe?), And if something does go wrong, DON'T overlook it. As with any car it will need some maintenance here and there but if you take care of it (as I hope you would), these rotary horror stories are mainly do to Idiots. Keep in mind, the car is around 20 years old. Things will break. Fix them.
-It's a rotary.

Cons:
-Gas mileage is ****. When I bought mine I ovelooked what people are saying but now being the owner of an FD, it's almost ridiculous, but worth it!
-Limited room. This should speak for itself, may or may not me an issue.
-Often very difficult to take a trip to the grocery store without some civic ricer trying to race you.
-Police attention. Don't be an idiot and this shouldn't affect you.
Anything else?

I absolutely love my FD. It's everything in a car I could want, AND I could afford it.
Good luck! (Definitely get one. Get a full inspection done by a rotary shop and if it's good, keep on taking care of it and it will hands down be the best decision of your life.)

FirstRotaryExp

iTrader: (3)

I daily drove a 88 non turbo every day for 5 years, only reason I curently 'dont' daily it now is because I sold it over the summer. However, it was fine (for me) to drive every day. It went wherever I wanted it to go (except up my driveway when it was snowed over or iced, driveway is about a 25~45% grade for about 100 yards). I got about 20~23 mpg flogging it ruthlessly (full exhaust, safc, no emissions, no ac, no PS), really was a nice fun car to drive to and from work, as well as then go beat on up on US129 and at occasional autocrosses.

IF you were going to DD an RX7 in general, a nonturbo model will serve very well. Turbo models are not known for fuel efficiency (especially while drinking down premium at over $3 a gallon) and are more finicky should it be icey/slippery/snowy outside.

ssonsk

if i get one i want to do the 13b-re swap

any advice guys?

helghast7

iTrader: (6)

talk to TitaniumTT he knows everything there is to know about that swap done right

as for DD'ing an rx7, sure you can do it no prob, just check the oil at least weekly and be prepared to stop at the pump often

hondawill

I would but mine doesn't start when it is hot.

mreed772

I drove my FC as a daily driver for about 5 years and just recently purchased a new car so i start rebuilding my baby. During that 5 years i've driven it 100,000 miles and have only replaced the clutch, master and slave cylinders. Not to mention i used to take it on 2,000+ mile road trips once a year. I could never be happier with my FC and i can't wait to show it some of the TLC it deserves!