Seeking Advice on Prefered RX7 Handling
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From: California
Seeking Advice on Prefered RX7 Handling
Hello,
I am not new to the RX7. I have owned the 1988 non-turbo convertible model for a year now, my love having ossified from the first day. I've never loved a car before this one.
Now that I am having it rebuilt under the hood, its current engine swapped for a street-ported one with only 21K miles in its history, I having been desperately combing every online nootch of expertise on this car, trying to get a concrete answer to this simple, honest question:
DOES THE ROTARY ENGINE MERELY PUT UP WITH HIGH REVS FAR MORE THAN A PISTON ENGINE, OR IS ITS LIFE-SPAN ACTUALLY LENGTHENED AS A RESULT OF HIGHER REVS? AND IF THE LATTER IS TRUE, SHOULD A WISE DRIVER THAN REGULARLY REDLINE HIS ENGINE TO PROMOTE LONGEVITY?
I have encountered an overwhelming consensus on the this issue of "driving hard" Rotaries to hold the carbon in check and, keep the mechanic away, or whatever. It seems hard-revving recommendations are exaggerated when it comes to the RX8, one website recommending that it be driven for extended period of time between 3,000 and 4,000 RPMs. And then there is the occasional rhetorical contradiction, such as one finds in the sentence, "Rotaries like to Rev, unlike Piston Engines that strain far more under the abuse." Well, is it still "abuse" in the case of the Rotary Engine or not (whether they "like it" or not?)
I understand the inadvisability of "lugging" the engine, working it at high-gears. But before I get my resurrected RX7 back, I want to be damn sure of the proper driving fashion I ought to adopt before I put unwarranted stress on it.
Do not misinterpret my hesitations, I would love to rev the thing up. I just want by rebuilds to be spaced scarcely apart, as the extra money I'll save is handy when you're going to college.
I am also a skeptic of these hard-driving encouragements because my mechanic, who I'm certain knows these engines better than anyone within a 100 mile radius of my home, collects them and rebuilds them for fun, owns four 2nd generation RX7s, happens to contradict the advice. He tells me not to red-line the engine unnecessarily.
Still I wonder, why did he jettison his '89 convertible's Red-line Limiter?
Please advise, but only if you are certain on the matter. How should one drive an RX7 to maintain its top form?
I am not new to the RX7. I have owned the 1988 non-turbo convertible model for a year now, my love having ossified from the first day. I've never loved a car before this one.
Now that I am having it rebuilt under the hood, its current engine swapped for a street-ported one with only 21K miles in its history, I having been desperately combing every online nootch of expertise on this car, trying to get a concrete answer to this simple, honest question:
DOES THE ROTARY ENGINE MERELY PUT UP WITH HIGH REVS FAR MORE THAN A PISTON ENGINE, OR IS ITS LIFE-SPAN ACTUALLY LENGTHENED AS A RESULT OF HIGHER REVS? AND IF THE LATTER IS TRUE, SHOULD A WISE DRIVER THAN REGULARLY REDLINE HIS ENGINE TO PROMOTE LONGEVITY?
I have encountered an overwhelming consensus on the this issue of "driving hard" Rotaries to hold the carbon in check and, keep the mechanic away, or whatever. It seems hard-revving recommendations are exaggerated when it comes to the RX8, one website recommending that it be driven for extended period of time between 3,000 and 4,000 RPMs. And then there is the occasional rhetorical contradiction, such as one finds in the sentence, "Rotaries like to Rev, unlike Piston Engines that strain far more under the abuse." Well, is it still "abuse" in the case of the Rotary Engine or not (whether they "like it" or not?)
I understand the inadvisability of "lugging" the engine, working it at high-gears. But before I get my resurrected RX7 back, I want to be damn sure of the proper driving fashion I ought to adopt before I put unwarranted stress on it.
Do not misinterpret my hesitations, I would love to rev the thing up. I just want by rebuilds to be spaced scarcely apart, as the extra money I'll save is handy when you're going to college.
I am also a skeptic of these hard-driving encouragements because my mechanic, who I'm certain knows these engines better than anyone within a 100 mile radius of my home, collects them and rebuilds them for fun, owns four 2nd generation RX7s, happens to contradict the advice. He tells me not to red-line the engine unnecessarily.
Still I wonder, why did he jettison his '89 convertible's Red-line Limiter?
Please advise, but only if you are certain on the matter. How should one drive an RX7 to maintain its top form?
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 29,798
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From: London, Ontario, Canada
There is no issue with running the engine hard or running high RPMs. Piston or rotary, the entire rev range is there for you to use and is a safe range in which to operate the engine. I don't mean you should be running down the highway at 6,000 RPM in 3rd gear, but there is no reason to worry about wrapping the tach around as often as you wish. As long as the engine and car are in good shape, there is no issue.
It is true, driving hard will help prevent carbon from building up. Also using non-crappy fuel and keeping the engine in good tune. The daily redline saying is kind of stupid in my opinion, but to each their own.
It is true, driving hard will help prevent carbon from building up. Also using non-crappy fuel and keeping the engine in good tune. The daily redline saying is kind of stupid in my opinion, but to each their own.
