RX7 buying help please
Discussion
Hi all,
I have always lusted after an RX7 and I think the time has come...
I will need to do about 500 miles a month in the car and IT MUST BE RELIABLE. I have heard all the stories about the rotor tips etc and am looking for some owner feedback...
The reason I ask is that I owned an integrale for 6 years and it was the most reliable car I've ever had. Sure, little things went wrong, mostly electrical, but it never left me stranded and always started on the button. And yet according to the bar room pundits they are nightmares, so I am always suspicious of 'rumour has it'.
The car that has caught my eye is here: www.pistonheads.com/sales/144541.htm
I like the fact that it looks so clean and unmodified, but I realise it is a 15 year old car...
What do I need to look for? Is this a good model? And lastly, in your collective experience will it leave me stranded on the hard shoulder?
Thanks - your thoughts are much appreciated
I have always lusted after an RX7 and I think the time has come...
I will need to do about 500 miles a month in the car and IT MUST BE RELIABLE. I have heard all the stories about the rotor tips etc and am looking for some owner feedback...
The reason I ask is that I owned an integrale for 6 years and it was the most reliable car I've ever had. Sure, little things went wrong, mostly electrical, but it never left me stranded and always started on the button. And yet according to the bar room pundits they are nightmares, so I am always suspicious of 'rumour has it'.
The car that has caught my eye is here: www.pistonheads.com/sales/144541.htm
I like the fact that it looks so clean and unmodified, but I realise it is a 15 year old car...
What do I need to look for? Is this a good model? And lastly, in your collective experience will it leave me stranded on the hard shoulder?
Thanks - your thoughts are much appreciated
Edited by daytona600 on Thursday 22 March 16:40
Edited by daytona600 on Thursday 22 March 19:03
I can't help from personal experience, but I do have a friend who runs his to and from Norwich to Devon every month and has had zero problems with it. However, it's immaculate and he spends alot of time, effort and money to ensure it's serviced by specialists and that it runs properly.
Deep pockets is all I say. MPG is not the best, get shares in oil, drive her sensibly and she'll be fine.
I looked into buying one as they are so lovely. Servicing costs weren't a nightmare, and the engine rebuild at about 60K (depending on compression tests) didn't seem like so much of a big deal when you realise how much they retain their value and desirability.
But I then started seeing someone 300 miles away from me and suddenly the costs did seem alot!
Deep pockets is all I say. MPG is not the best, get shares in oil, drive her sensibly and she'll be fine.
I looked into buying one as they are so lovely. Servicing costs weren't a nightmare, and the engine rebuild at about 60K (depending on compression tests) didn't seem like so much of a big deal when you realise how much they retain their value and desirability.
But I then started seeing someone 300 miles away from me and suddenly the costs did seem alot!
Every no and then I have the same dilemma, (out of the blue I want one) if it wasn’t for the stories of re-build I would have bought one by now, the trouble is I want to own a car that when I do give it a blast, a hoon, tunnel run or track day, I don’t want to be worrying about the engine all the time, listening for little noises or looking to see if there is any smoke.
If only it had a normal bullet proof engine like so many other jap cars, but then it wouldn’t be a RX7 I suppose.
But I do love em and one day I will get one I know I will
If only it had a normal bullet proof engine like so many other jap cars, but then it wouldn’t be a RX7 I suppose.
But I do love em and one day I will get one I know I will
HI RX7 FD3S i bought from Japan through showa trade in japan on a personal visit, now in 2007 you can purchase over the internet through showa who in my experience are a reliable and trustworthy company. as for the reliability if youre looking at a car already hear take it to a Mazda garage and they will test the compresion of the chambers this i would advise. never buy blind.
If you're looking at that car in particular, i'd say it mayneed a rebuild, which is the fat end of £1500, though it depends how the car has been looked after.
My FD3 RX-7 (see profile) had 48k on her and was still iln fine fettle, it had oil and filter changes with '76 Oil every 3k, plugs every 6k from import (previous owner). So it all depends on the car.
What i will say is, be prepared for high running costs, i averaged 16mpg over the year of ownership as a daily driver.
But if you can stomach it all, go for it, they are awesome machines, and there's something amazing about walking out in the morning and seeing this:
My FD3 RX-7 (see profile) had 48k on her and was still iln fine fettle, it had oil and filter changes with '76 Oil every 3k, plugs every 6k from import (previous owner). So it all depends on the car.
What i will say is, be prepared for high running costs, i averaged 16mpg over the year of ownership as a daily driver.
But if you can stomach it all, go for it, they are awesome machines, and there's something amazing about walking out in the morning and seeing this:
I will be here in his absence!
For that sort of money....it initially seems a good buy. Have a look at the Rotary Club mentioned above to get an idea of other cars available....but it is rare to find a car that is still standard!
Find out who has been servicing the car. If it has been a Mazda dealership then thats OK, but I would take it to a specialist and get the engine compression checked. My recommendation would be to Go and chat to Carl at Hayward Rotary, he's built my race engine and with over 30 years experience in rotary's Plus he is happy to have a chat with you.
Don't worry about the rebuild issues....for what you are getting build in a 60,000 mile engine rebuild...this will cost you £1500 ish...which considering the type of car a standard service on a Ferrari 355 would cost you more!
The oil thing everyone worries about...I use Castrol GTX....cheap as chips, yeah it uses a bit of oil, but it doesn't use gallons of the stuff, liken it to a 2 stroke then you wont need to worry anymore.
Come join the clan....you will love it!
For that sort of money....it initially seems a good buy. Have a look at the Rotary Club mentioned above to get an idea of other cars available....but it is rare to find a car that is still standard!
Find out who has been servicing the car. If it has been a Mazda dealership then thats OK, but I would take it to a specialist and get the engine compression checked. My recommendation would be to Go and chat to Carl at Hayward Rotary, he's built my race engine and with over 30 years experience in rotary's Plus he is happy to have a chat with you.
Don't worry about the rebuild issues....for what you are getting build in a 60,000 mile engine rebuild...this will cost you £1500 ish...which considering the type of car a standard service on a Ferrari 355 would cost you more!
The oil thing everyone worries about...I use Castrol GTX....cheap as chips, yeah it uses a bit of oil, but it doesn't use gallons of the stuff, liken it to a 2 stroke then you wont need to worry anymore.
Come join the clan....you will love it!
Beefmeister said:
Now where's Iaint? 
Weekending in Sweden finalising wedding details!
AtomicRex said:
I will be here in his absence!
For that sort of money....it initially seems a good buy. Have a look at the Rotary Club mentioned above to get an idea of other cars available....but it is rare to find a car that is still standard!
Find out who has been servicing the car. If it has been a Mazda dealership then thats OK, but I would take it to a specialist and get the engine compression checked. My recommendation would be to Go and chat to Carl at Hayward Rotary, he's built my race engine and with over 30 years experience in rotary's Plus he is happy to have a chat with you.
Don't worry about the rebuild issues....for what you are getting build in a 60,000 mile engine rebuild...this will cost you £1500 ish...which considering the type of car a standard service on a Ferrari 355 would cost you more!
The oil thing everyone worries about...I use Castrol GTX....cheap as chips, yeah it uses a bit of oil, but it doesn't use gallons of the stuff, liken it to a 2 stroke then you wont need to worry anymore.
Come join the clan....you will love it!
For that sort of money....it initially seems a good buy. Have a look at the Rotary Club mentioned above to get an idea of other cars available....but it is rare to find a car that is still standard!
Find out who has been servicing the car. If it has been a Mazda dealership then thats OK, but I would take it to a specialist and get the engine compression checked. My recommendation would be to Go and chat to Carl at Hayward Rotary, he's built my race engine and with over 30 years experience in rotary's Plus he is happy to have a chat with you.
Don't worry about the rebuild issues....for what you are getting build in a 60,000 mile engine rebuild...this will cost you £1500 ish...which considering the type of car a standard service on a Ferrari 355 would cost you more!
The oil thing everyone worries about...I use Castrol GTX....cheap as chips, yeah it uses a bit of oil, but it doesn't use gallons of the stuff, liken it to a 2 stroke then you wont need to worry anymore.
Come join the clan....you will love it!
Spot on info. I'd slightly disagree on the rebuild front though - it'll be more like 2500 than 1500 unless you DIY.
Carl's rebuilding mine at the moment (should be collecting this week) and it's costing much closer to 5k but it's very close to being a race engine (not quite, the porting isn't that mahoosive).
Fuel economy is massively helped by remapping and a single turbo conversion (the twins get into boost very easily, a single will only do so when you need it).
I've had a few reliability issues, all age related (it's a '92 car)... a clutch hose split and the water seals failed (much more common than problems with rotor tips). This was at 45k miles and It took me 18k miles to blow the rebuild up. Treat one normally and it'll last a long while.
For a daily driver I'd probably have a small single turbo (quick to spool and less heat in the system) and uprated rad and intercooler. An unstressed 300rwhp (360bhp) would see good engine life and a lot of fun.
On an unmodded car uprated disks and pads would be a must as would a mimimum of a health check on the suspension (and an alignment). I'd consider replacing any oroginal dampers and springs with new OEM or after market.
Of course that little lot will set you back 3-4k...
for 15 minutesgreasenipple said:
iaint said:
Fuel economy is massively helped by remapping and a single turbo conversion (the twins get into boost very easily, a single will only do so when you need it).
What mpg can you expect after doing that lot?
Back when I was running twin turbos sequentially (standard setup) (and about 250rwhp) I got about 17-18mpg mixed driving 18-19 motorway.
With the twins running in parallel (like a small, laggy single turbo) it was ~22mpg mixed and 24 motorway.
Not done a huge amount of driving with the T70 (was up to 350rwhp on that) but it was a little better then 25 for motorways...
wee_skids said:
Don't forget that Jon uses at least 2 galons per mile on shooting flames out of the exhaust.
If there's something the rex does well it's spitting flames on circuit!
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=260543&f=71&h=0
Edited by iaint on Wednesday 28th March 09:43
I'm hoping that the reduction in weight might help the economy! But then again once Carl has finished remapping it....I can imagine it will be back around the 5 again.
As for flames, when pulling into the holding area after winning at Pembrey....this little boy said to his dad.....look daddy theres the flame car.....sort of stuck ever since!
And there are so many people that waste their money on sticking spark plugs in the exhausts!!!
As for flames, when pulling into the holding area after winning at Pembrey....this little boy said to his dad.....look daddy theres the flame car.....sort of stuck ever since!
And there are so many people that waste their money on sticking spark plugs in the exhausts!!!
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