RE: Mazda RX-7: PH Heroes
Discussion
anything fast said:
have I read this article or does it say there were only 124 sold in the UK???
That has got to be a load of tosh surely??
No, it's true. I had one of them, I was the second owner and probably my favourite car of all I have owned. Was so different to anything else at the time.That has got to be a load of tosh surely??
I was the second owner, bought it with less than 20k miles from the original selling garage, who knew how well the original owner cared for it. Serviced mine dead on the dot every single time at a Mazda dealer who had a technician trained on them. Engine still failed after 70k.
When I win the lottery I will be hunting down the car and buying it again. A1 RXT sadly missed but not forgotten
FD3Si said:
Indeed. And how much is an AJP engine rebuild? An RB26 build? etc etc.
If you want to retain the beauty, and have a bombproof powerplant (and incur the wrath of rotary purists) then buy one with a blown motor for circa 2k, take the car to Dyno Torque, and come out with a car with an engine that looks factory and is completely bombproof, for a bargain price.
Much as the rotary in the RX-7 may have it's fault, I don't agree at all with replacing it with a stonking great american V8 but then I feel the same way about TVR engine transplants. I'd rather spend the money on getting the original engine to run right. Change the engine and you change the whole character of the car IMO.If you want to retain the beauty, and have a bombproof powerplant (and incur the wrath of rotary purists) then buy one with a blown motor for circa 2k, take the car to Dyno Torque, and come out with a car with an engine that looks factory and is completely bombproof, for a bargain price.
Edited by FD3Si on Friday 25th July 12:57
A quick question, how usable are the rear seats on the 2+2 Rex? I'm not thinking of carrying 2 adults in the back but are they capable of taking small kids and\or a child seat in any way? Just thinking outside the box about a track\weekend toy idea which may very occasionally be used to carry wife and baby. Man maths is telling me that £2.5k for an engine rebuild every 50k isn't THAT bad
124 sold in the UK does not surprise me. Top Gear in the early nineties did a piece on great cars that did not sell. They were the Subaru SVX, Alpine A610 and the RX7. Why did the RX7 not sell. Well, you could buy a 968CS for 6k less than the RX7.
I will go against the grain here and say that the RX7 was not a great car and that the RX8 prodrive version was a far better all round car with a suspension setup more in tune with UK roads. That is the rotary car to go for.
Also, watch out for the sequential twin turbo arrangement. They are complex and as recalcitrant as the rotary engine itself. There is a reason the single turbo conversion is popular.
I will go against the grain here and say that the RX7 was not a great car and that the RX8 prodrive version was a far better all round car with a suspension setup more in tune with UK roads. That is the rotary car to go for.
Also, watch out for the sequential twin turbo arrangement. They are complex and as recalcitrant as the rotary engine itself. There is a reason the single turbo conversion is popular.
Guvernator said:
FD3Si said:
Indeed. And how much is an AJP engine rebuild? An RB26 build? etc etc.
If you want to retain the beauty, and have a bombproof powerplant (and incur the wrath of rotary purists) then buy one with a blown motor for circa 2k, take the car to Dyno Torque, and come out with a car with an engine that looks factory and is completely bombproof, for a bargain price.
Much as the rotary in the RX-7 may have it's fault, I don't agree at all with replacing it with a stonking great american V8 but then I feel the same way about TVR engine transplants. I'd rather spend the money on getting the original engine to run right. Change the engine and you change the whole character of the car IMO.If you want to retain the beauty, and have a bombproof powerplant (and incur the wrath of rotary purists) then buy one with a blown motor for circa 2k, take the car to Dyno Torque, and come out with a car with an engine that looks factory and is completely bombproof, for a bargain price.
Edited by FD3Si on Friday 25th July 12:57
A quick question, how usable are the rear seats on the 2+2 Rex? I'm not thinking of carrying 2 adults in the back but are they capable of taking small kids and\or a child seat in any way? Just thinking outside the box about a track\weekend toy idea which may very occasionally be used to carry wife and baby. Man maths is telling me that £2.5k for an engine rebuild every 50k isn't THAT bad
Great car that is much maligned.
Rotechniks? didnt they have that RX8 with the RX7 engine in it that ran...ish at last years rotorstock and failed rather spectacularly?
Guvernator said:
A quick question, how usable are the rear seats on the 2+2 Rex? I'm not thinking of carrying 2 adults in the back but are they capable of taking small kids and\or a child seat in any way? Just thinking outside the box about a track\weekend toy idea which may very occasionally be used to carry wife and baby. Man maths is telling me that £2.5k for an engine rebuild every 50k isn't THAT bad
My 11 year old is now too big for the rear seats but my 7 year old is fine. Some owners have found child seats to fit in the rear.
JTN358AT said:
Also, watch out for the sequential twin turbo arrangement. They are complex and as recalcitrant as the rotary engine itself. There is a reason the single turbo conversion is popular.
Again not something I agree with, the sequential turbo is what gives the RX-7 that smooth delivery all the way through the rev range, switching to a single turbo means you loose that and the power delivery changes dramatically.Surely their must be a way of fixing the twin turbo setup to be more reliable rather than getting rid of it totally?
Guvernator said:
Again not something I agree with, the sequential turbo is what gives the RX-7 that smooth delivery all the way through the rev range, switching to a single turbo means you loose that and the power delivery changes dramatically.
Surely their must be a way of fixing the twin turbo setup to be more reliable rather than getting rid of it totally?
Turbo technology has come on exponentially, it's possible to fit a single turbo that has the has better spool and better top end. I would guess something along the lines of a Garrett GTX35R. The 13B can spool large turbos with ease though, and even T51R equipped cars seem pretty drivable. Surely their must be a way of fixing the twin turbo setup to be more reliable rather than getting rid of it totally?
If it didn't have that rotary engine...I would be all over these.
Appreciate thats what its all about but you can never really know what previous owners have done, maybe not oiled it for a couple of months and thats that - yes you can get it rebuilt, but rebuilding engines at 70k miles, thats just mental.
Appreciate thats what its all about but you can never really know what previous owners have done, maybe not oiled it for a couple of months and thats that - yes you can get it rebuilt, but rebuilding engines at 70k miles, thats just mental.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff