Looking to buy an RX7 Type R...
Discussion
Hi First time on the forum
I just wanted some information on anyone who has owned an RX7 because I have heard people say they are unreliable but also heard its just down to maintaining them properly. What sort of maintenance needs to be done regularly other than oil and anything else you can tell me is greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ben
I just wanted some information on anyone who has owned an RX7 because I have heard people say they are unreliable but also heard its just down to maintaining them properly. What sort of maintenance needs to be done regularly other than oil and anything else you can tell me is greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ben
Best bet is heading to mazdarotaryclub or fduk, mate. Nothing polarises opinion on here like the rotary engine.
I'm only a year into ownership, but this is what I've learned so far.
FWIW, I absolutely adore mine and use it almost as a daily driver. MPG is as bad as you've heard, but it's comparable with similar hp cars costing £20k more. Assuming you're looking at a tuned one, that is. I'm somewhere between 350-400bhp and get about 17mpg on average. £80ish to fill a tank and I'll get 300 miles if I'm very, very lucky.
Regular oil & filter changes (about 3000-4000 miles for me) are crucial, 10w-40 bog-standard mineral oil, about £3/litre on eBay. It also needs topping up every 500-1000 miles, although this depends entirely on each individual engine. Some last longer between topups, some need every week.
Run it on super-unleaded, Tesco 99, V-Power, etc. only. Maybe think about sticking a glug or two of 2-stroke oil in with every full tank too, although going by the forums this seems to be personal choice. I do anyway, and it doesn't do any harm.
For goodness sake, red-line it every time you take it out. Until it beeps. Helps with removal of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber/on the rotor tips. Plus, it makes a glorious racket.
Make sure you change to a metal Air Separation Tank if it hasn't already been done. The plastic ones crack, you lose all your coolant, your engine fries.
Spark plugs and ignition leads should be considered a service item. They're cheap enough, and if they are performing poorly it can very quickly lead to death of your engine.
Can't comment on rebuilds because I've no first-hand experience. I'll be attempting it myself when it does happen though. I think it costs roughly £1k for all the parts assuming the rotors and housings are ok for re-use. Maybe less depending on which parts are needed, obviously more if you've lunched a housing/rotor/etc. If you're not mechanically-minded, I'd say you're looking at a bare minimum of £2k for a basic rebuild by a decent mechanic. Opinions vary on who's best to go to, so your best bet is scour the forums for info.
If you're looking at potential cars, try your damnedest to get a compression test or at least look at ones with a recent test. 8+ bar all round is pretty much freshly built, 7-8 bar is good nick, 6s and below is getting tired. You don't want to see anywhere near 1 bar difference between the 3 chambers on each rotor, ideally there'll be maybe 0.1-0.2bar difference tops. A big difference suggests a knackered tip.
If no compression test is possible, try the champagne test. Google/YouTube it, but the general idea is if you can see "fizzing bubbles" in the coolant, you've got duff water seals (at the very least) and a rebuild on your hands.
The car should start with little effort from both hot and cold; be wary of a car that is already warmed up when you get there. A bit of oil filler cap/dipstick mayo is OK, as is a bit of steam from the exhaust from startup, especially in the colder months. However, these should disappear as the engine warms/gets thrashed. If the steam gets worse, see "duff water seals". Plenty of YouTube vids show what this looks like.
Buy with your head and not your heart, bear in mind it's A LOT cheaper to get a sorted one than a standard one and tune it yourself, and go for an Owners Club owned car over a dealer. Every. Single. Time. It's a very small and tight-knit community, very helpful, and as such you'll end up with a much better car than if you go for a px-to-clear Nissan RX7 about which the seller knows little and cares even less.
TL;DR - Buy one. Oil, filters, plugs and leads are service items. Enjoy your slice of motoring history.
I'm only a year into ownership, but this is what I've learned so far.
FWIW, I absolutely adore mine and use it almost as a daily driver. MPG is as bad as you've heard, but it's comparable with similar hp cars costing £20k more. Assuming you're looking at a tuned one, that is. I'm somewhere between 350-400bhp and get about 17mpg on average. £80ish to fill a tank and I'll get 300 miles if I'm very, very lucky.
Regular oil & filter changes (about 3000-4000 miles for me) are crucial, 10w-40 bog-standard mineral oil, about £3/litre on eBay. It also needs topping up every 500-1000 miles, although this depends entirely on each individual engine. Some last longer between topups, some need every week.
Run it on super-unleaded, Tesco 99, V-Power, etc. only. Maybe think about sticking a glug or two of 2-stroke oil in with every full tank too, although going by the forums this seems to be personal choice. I do anyway, and it doesn't do any harm.
For goodness sake, red-line it every time you take it out. Until it beeps. Helps with removal of carbon deposits in the combustion chamber/on the rotor tips. Plus, it makes a glorious racket.
Make sure you change to a metal Air Separation Tank if it hasn't already been done. The plastic ones crack, you lose all your coolant, your engine fries.
Spark plugs and ignition leads should be considered a service item. They're cheap enough, and if they are performing poorly it can very quickly lead to death of your engine.
Can't comment on rebuilds because I've no first-hand experience. I'll be attempting it myself when it does happen though. I think it costs roughly £1k for all the parts assuming the rotors and housings are ok for re-use. Maybe less depending on which parts are needed, obviously more if you've lunched a housing/rotor/etc. If you're not mechanically-minded, I'd say you're looking at a bare minimum of £2k for a basic rebuild by a decent mechanic. Opinions vary on who's best to go to, so your best bet is scour the forums for info.
If you're looking at potential cars, try your damnedest to get a compression test or at least look at ones with a recent test. 8+ bar all round is pretty much freshly built, 7-8 bar is good nick, 6s and below is getting tired. You don't want to see anywhere near 1 bar difference between the 3 chambers on each rotor, ideally there'll be maybe 0.1-0.2bar difference tops. A big difference suggests a knackered tip.
If no compression test is possible, try the champagne test. Google/YouTube it, but the general idea is if you can see "fizzing bubbles" in the coolant, you've got duff water seals (at the very least) and a rebuild on your hands.
The car should start with little effort from both hot and cold; be wary of a car that is already warmed up when you get there. A bit of oil filler cap/dipstick mayo is OK, as is a bit of steam from the exhaust from startup, especially in the colder months. However, these should disappear as the engine warms/gets thrashed. If the steam gets worse, see "duff water seals". Plenty of YouTube vids show what this looks like.
Buy with your head and not your heart, bear in mind it's A LOT cheaper to get a sorted one than a standard one and tune it yourself, and go for an Owners Club owned car over a dealer. Every. Single. Time. It's a very small and tight-knit community, very helpful, and as such you'll end up with a much better car than if you go for a px-to-clear Nissan RX7 about which the seller knows little and cares even less.
TL;DR - Buy one. Oil, filters, plugs and leads are service items. Enjoy your slice of motoring history.
Edited by The Flying Ox on Monday 7th January 08:49
As previously said get on MRC or fd:uk, I guess there's a reason it's called PistonHeads 
I've had my FD for 6 years now. It's my only car. I don't need to drive to work so it gets maybe 5K miles a year. It's never been off the road because of anything other than people driving into me, so don't get ideas they're inherently unreliable. My car is mildly modded perf wise; SMB exhaust/downpipe, Dragon silenced decat, Feed FMIC, ignition amp, rewired APexi fuel pump and a PowerFC.
And again as previously said, maintenance is key oh and make sure you get an aftermarket water temp gauge, the stock one is appallingly bad. For me:
Pros
- So much fun, both in terms of very quick and quick round corners
- Cheap tax
- Use cheap oil/filters
- I see more GTRs and Ferraris than I do RX7s
Cons
- Thirsty, but if you don't use them as a daily driver does it matter, no more thirsty than some cars that are slower and a lot more expensive.
- I would say oil consumption but mine hardly uses any
- Regular coolant checks/topups required
- Can't carry much, but my shopping goes on the passenger seat/footwell
I think that's about it. I have no plans to sell mine.
Also remember some of these are very old cars, mine is 19 years old this year so don't expect everything to be as you'd get from a modern perf car. I'll be replacing my gauges as I've been through 5 standard sets where all of them have something not working.
I've had my FD for 6 years now. It's my only car. I don't need to drive to work so it gets maybe 5K miles a year. It's never been off the road because of anything other than people driving into me, so don't get ideas they're inherently unreliable. My car is mildly modded perf wise; SMB exhaust/downpipe, Dragon silenced decat, Feed FMIC, ignition amp, rewired APexi fuel pump and a PowerFC.
And again as previously said, maintenance is key oh and make sure you get an aftermarket water temp gauge, the stock one is appallingly bad. For me:
Pros
- So much fun, both in terms of very quick and quick round corners
- Cheap tax
- Use cheap oil/filters
- I see more GTRs and Ferraris than I do RX7s
Cons
- Thirsty, but if you don't use them as a daily driver does it matter, no more thirsty than some cars that are slower and a lot more expensive.
- I would say oil consumption but mine hardly uses any
- Regular coolant checks/topups required
- Can't carry much, but my shopping goes on the passenger seat/footwell
I think that's about it. I have no plans to sell mine.
Also remember some of these are very old cars, mine is 19 years old this year so don't expect everything to be as you'd get from a modern perf car. I'll be replacing my gauges as I've been through 5 standard sets where all of them have something not working.
Good advice above. I've had mine as a daily for 6 years, only fault has been a window switch needing replacement. Servicing is £250/yr at Jimmys.
Most cars have been altered so probably no point looking out for an R. The 1999 onward cars are better but rare. The Brian Long RX7 book is a good read for differences between models.
Haywood Rotary seem to have the longest warranties on their engines/cars.
Most cars have been altered so probably no point looking out for an R. The 1999 onward cars are better but rare. The Brian Long RX7 book is a good read for differences between models.
Haywood Rotary seem to have the longest warranties on their engines/cars.
Only had mine 2 months but I love it. I got as high(!) as 22mpg on a long run recently.
Good advice above. Would only add, don't shut the engine down until it's warmed up, or it may flood (only takes a mile or two to warm up).
I think happy ownership boils down to two things; (a) buy a good car and (b) take it to a GOOD specialist for servicing [unless you have knowledge and facilities to DIY]. Be aware on (a), there seem to be many bodged cars around that will bleed you dry with a cascade of catastrophic knock-on failures - I would prefer a more standard car over a more modified one for this reason.
They have a reputation, but tread carefully and due to this you can get a fabulous car that stands comparison with rivals many times the price.
Good advice above. Would only add, don't shut the engine down until it's warmed up, or it may flood (only takes a mile or two to warm up).
I think happy ownership boils down to two things; (a) buy a good car and (b) take it to a GOOD specialist for servicing [unless you have knowledge and facilities to DIY]. Be aware on (a), there seem to be many bodged cars around that will bleed you dry with a cascade of catastrophic knock-on failures - I would prefer a more standard car over a more modified one for this reason.
They have a reputation, but tread carefully and due to this you can get a fabulous car that stands comparison with rivals many times the price.
Can only echo the above really. The only downside to this car has been the umpteen armchair mechanics who keep telling me my engine is an unreliable time-bomb. Other than that, it's been an absolute gem of a car. In a year of daily use my only issue has been a 5p piece of wire and a clutch master cylinder (wear and tear). I absolutely adore this car.
samoht said:
Good advice above. Would only add, don't shut the engine down until it's warmed up, or it may flood (only takes a mile or two to warm up).
You can do this, however you must do it a certain way. Rev to about 3K and hold it, turn the ignition off and floor the pedal, release when it stops turning over. I found out the hard way Good advice above. I've had 3 and never had any problems running stage 1 mods decat/raised boost. Very quick and amazing handling with after market suspension, never driven one with stock suspension so can't comment.
Another useful tip is that if it has a compression problem it will struggle a little at tickover (rather than smooth raised revs) when aircon is turned on.
Another useful tip is that if it has a compression problem it will struggle a little at tickover (rather than smooth raised revs) when aircon is turned on.
BenKirby said:
Hi First time on the forum
I just wanted some information on anyone who has owned an RX7 because I have heard people say they are unreliable but also heard its just down to maintaining them properly. What sort of maintenance needs to be done regularly other than oil and anything else you can tell me is greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ben
PM Sent. I just wanted some information on anyone who has owned an RX7 because I have heard people say they are unreliable but also heard its just down to maintaining them properly. What sort of maintenance needs to be done regularly other than oil and anything else you can tell me is greatly appreciated
Thanks
Ben
everything above is all good, when I went to buy mine I made sure I got one with as few mods as possible, the more it's been played with the more that could go wrong, and since you don't know who did it you don't know if it was done well. Be prepared to travel, I went 400 miles to get mine. Buy with your head not your heart. The engine is the main thing, even if it has loads of mods and bodykit it means nothing if the engine is on it's way out.
Is quite expensive to run, luckily I live near my work and above a supermarket hence it rarely get's used. The different models such as type r's, bathurst etc don't mean as much as when they were new. Most were interior trims and any significant differences were suspension and brakes which are likely to have been replaced by now.
When looking for mine it was quite a lot of things I wanted, needed back seats, good comp, gearbox in good nick and as standard as possible, took about a month or two to find one that ticked all the boxes. The back seats are s
t but at least are good for putting stuff on.
There are quite a few on fduk and mazdarotaryclub for sale, there are some on this website, ebay and autotrader that have been there for a long time, with good reason. Ask about a potential car and people will likely have seen it or heard of it.
Is quite expensive to run, luckily I live near my work and above a supermarket hence it rarely get's used. The different models such as type r's, bathurst etc don't mean as much as when they were new. Most were interior trims and any significant differences were suspension and brakes which are likely to have been replaced by now.
When looking for mine it was quite a lot of things I wanted, needed back seats, good comp, gearbox in good nick and as standard as possible, took about a month or two to find one that ticked all the boxes. The back seats are s
t but at least are good for putting stuff on.There are quite a few on fduk and mazdarotaryclub for sale, there are some on this website, ebay and autotrader that have been there for a long time, with good reason. Ask about a potential car and people will likely have seen it or heard of it.
Im very greatful for all the replies thank you all and have got some stuff to think about now when I finally get around to view one. It seems to be people who dont maintain them rather than unreliable cars. I wont be running to many mods just a couple on the engine. I need something practical for the time being so its a 1 Series until hopefully November then onto Japfest 2014! Will many of you be going to Japfest this year maybe get a look around a few of your cars.
Ben
Ben
BenKirby said:
Im very greatful for all the replies thank you all and have got some stuff to think about now when I finally get around to view one. It seems to be people who dont maintain them rather than unreliable cars. I wont be running to many mods just a couple on the engine. I need something practical for the time being so its a 1 Series until hopefully November then onto Japfest 2014! Will many of you be going to Japfest this year maybe get a look around a few of your cars.
Ben
I think MRC usually have a stand. It's just too far for me these days.Ben
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