88irocz28

I might be buying a late model RX7 and I wanted to know what I should look for. I don't know the exact model but it looks like a mid-90s car to me. I've only looked at it so far. A visual of the engine bay revealed a turbo hidden on the passenger side and an intercooler, both of which I'm sure were supposed to be there (there weren't any of these N/A RX7s were there?).

I want to know what problems or telltale signs of trouble to look for, whats normal and whats not, any options or equipment that could make the car more desirable, etc. You catch my drift, right? I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out with this. I'm looking forward to getting this car if it's good

Mark A Shields

I think he's browsing the boards right now, but in the future for better responses to one person and to keep the boards uncluttered, you might want to PM the person. Just a suggestion.

BAK12484

...true, but that doesn't mean that there arent any others that wish to know the same information. IMO, I think everyone is getting hung up on all these little rules that everyone seems to create (..and i'm in no way aiming this at you mark) and are forgetting what this board should be about...sharing information.

Mark A Shields

Very true, I like to hear all the info about any car. I just know the moderators don't like anything not containing 3rd gen info.

Beast5spdGTA

I don't know too much about them, but when I was looking for one last summer everysingle one(10+) had a replaced engine or less than 40,000 miles. I've heard they have serious relability issues if you like to beat on your car. Too much heat is the problem I understand due to 2 turbos in the small engine bay and the cats are really close to the turbos as well. Look for oil changes every 2,000 miles or less.

I like replacing alternators and starter motors every two years instead the whole engine.

What a beautiful car though.

silentneko

2nd and 3rd gen rx-7s are a money pit. a engine rebuild will run you about 6-7k, or about 9k at the dealer. I've had rx-7's and came screaming back to my trans am. they are a cool idea but just not as good as an old piston engine. and you will never get it tuned right. the most you can get out of a twin turbo rotary engine is about 80k and thats if you granny it.

brharris27370

I must agree with Silentneko. I had a 88 Convertible Rx7. Fun car that handled GREAT. But with a 104k miles the engine died with NO warning signs. Just went out and the engine had no compression at all. Cost to rebuild or replace was TOO expensive and I couldn't find anybody locally that new anything about rotary engines. So that is my info for you to consider. Would make a nice body for an LS1 swap but that is about it.

silentneko

the rx-7 engine, tranny, and rear are weak pieces of junk, the car handles great but only because its got the irs and perfect 50/50 wieght distribution. but drop a v8 and a real rear end in there and its only good point is its wieght. I think its 2400lbs:lala:

88irocz28

It really is an awesome looking car. One of my friends back home did finally blow up his RX7 but that was after years of reckless racing. Maybe RX7speed has someting to add

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Some1 should PM him and tell him this is here because I think he always goes to the Street Racing board.

88irocz28

Hey moderator could you please move this post to the theoretical racing board? It'll get more attention there, besides the intended recipient might also see it. Thanks :rockon:

88irocz28

:hail: :lala:

rx7speed

I have come to spead the wisdom of the rotary gods
listen up my children while I speak to you the knowledge that has been given to me


wrong
dealer item 2500 or so
most aftermarket can run you from 2000+ depending on what all you want to have done to it



mine was in perfect tune when N/A
ran a strong 171k miles

the 3rd gen (92-95) last only about 80k or so I grant that.
but most the problems come with ppl also upgrading the air intake and not giving more fuel to take care of it
but go with a aftermarket ECU and good fuel mods and the motor should last a lot longer


ok you will hear a lot of bad about these cars
most of the problems come with ppl who dont take care of the car

yes with a piston motor you might be able to get away with not changing the oil.
on a rotary you need to change the oil so that you have less buildup near the apex seals. if you get that buildup of crud on the apex seals you will have a loss of compression. though put some ATF in the motor and let it sit overnight and you should get most of it ba ck



I would like to see one of your piston motors deal with what mine has been through
I auto-x every week
I go to the drag about 1 to 2 times a month
I go through many many street races
also I take the car out to the back roads about 1-2 times a week also and run through the twisties
I have prolly hit 9k rpms ( not sure the tach pegs at 8k) a few times. oh yeah the stock redline is only 7k
there have been many many many times I have dump the clutch at 6000 rpms. I launch at the track at 5000-5500 rpms and about 3500-4000 on the street. for real racing
the 6000 rpms is just for fun

again this is just while I have owned it and i have 171k
I know the last owner was just as hard on it as I was and he bought it with about 91k miles on it
I am the third owner of the car

again read above

I'm just curious how often did you change the oil?
also was it just at a loss of compression or did it puke an apex seal?
if you are losing compression you should try to let the motor sit in ATF overnight
I think I have heard of ppl gaining something like 20-50 psi out of doing this just b/c someone doesn't take care of the car and changes the oil every 10k miles or something and so you get a lot of crud in the seal and they start to stick

ok again 171k miles
compression is fine on my car
tranny for the N/A cars is strong enough to handle most of what you can give it unless you go turbo ( I found that out)
out of the 171k miles (n/A that is) only problems I have had is the u-join broke taking the tranny out with it.

now when I put a turbo motor on the car with the stock N/A driveline yeah that was stupid on my part. I should go for the whole swap since the turbo tranny is a lot stronger. though the N/A tranny was able to hold up to a few good 12.x runs.
the turbo tranny from what I am understand should be good for 10.x runs without any major problems same with the rear

the motor... well read above

the only rx7 close to that weight was the first gen at 2200-2400lbs
the FC (86-91) will weigh about 2625
while the FD (93-95) will weigh about 2750 lbs


hwo many years did he race that thing? I know of many RX-7's that have gone over 200k miles racing all the time


hehe damn right I have stuff to add
your right you do have to change the oil about every 3000 miles
but no big deal you should do that to your car as it is
and heat is a problem on these cars
but if your cooling system is up to par then you should have no worry
again it's called maintenance, something that leads to the bad rep these cars have
these cars should last you quite some time if you take care of it
for the most part you should last just as long as a normal piston motor.

.yes the 50/50 helps a lot, as does the IRS,
also less weight. the small motor helps quite a bit also being that since it is so small they are able to put it lower in the chassis and get a better center of gravity.
tye type of suspension helps.
there is 4 wheel steering on the FC(86-91)
the FD (93-95) has a car called the R1
it pulls .99(though I have heard up to1.02g) on the skidpad and a 67.8 or so on the slolam
that is forthe most part equal with your NEW z06 and this is comming from a car made in 93.
it is not just what you claim but there are quite a few things that go into why the RX-7 handles so well

ok now that I have taken care of all the post....

these cars have a bad rep mostly b/c of the early rotarys that had there teething issues, and the last years of RX-7 that ppl just threw mods on but never took care of adding more fuel
one problem with the stock FD (92-95) is that the injectors are close to being maxed out from the factory with the turbo setup
so when you add an exhaust, intake, or whatever that will cause a higher flow you are going to run lean and that is a big no no on a turbo car

take care of fuel before you do ANYTHING for mods

also on the FC they have a fuel cut if you hit too much boost (stupid mazda). when you hit something like 8psi (stock is 6psi and you can hit 8 off an exhaust or other basic bolton) it will cut fuel to the rear rotor and again boom.
for about 100bucks or so you can get a FCD. it will fool the computer into thinking there is less boost then there really is.
so if you are getting a FC that is a must

though if you take care of the above two things then you should have no problem when it comes to mods

there is a guy from our club here pulling high 13's on his car and it has 151k miles on it and it is turbo
first thing he did was get the FCD and fuel mods
he has had no problems with the way the car runs

the motor is very simple and I have a write up on here it
my nifty write up on thirdgen.org

I just want to stress though the motors are very reliable.
most of the stuff you hear either comes from those who fear it,dont know anything about it, dont take care of it, or just plain stupid.

granted they cna have there problems. but dont you guys?
how often do you hear about a thrown rod, broken lifter or pushrod, rocker going out or g.od knows what else?

most of the problems with these cars can be taken care of by[list=1][*]changing the oil[*]changing the coolant[*]making sure you have enough fuel for your mods[*]do anything else you would do for a piston car[/list=1]

now as far as those who want to bring up my experience with going turbo
yes I broke the driveshaft twice and the tranny
as I listed above that was my stupid action
the N/A tranny wasn't made for a car able to run in the 12's
and as for the motor
I NEVER WORKED EVERYTHING OUT.
MY FAULT
MY LACK OF TUNING

I was getting boost spikes, as well as boost creep.
that will make the car run lean and detonate and it did it one too many times.
againt MY FAULT

the car was fast though
and the best run I had was a 12.5 on the G-tech
though I can't launch the car with a turbo worth crap and I could spin the tires in first,second,third, and get a small chirp going into fourth.
I could run better but I need to learn the car first and the powerband

also did the car look like this?
if so you have a FD you are looking
this is the R1 I was talking also
front spoiler and the rear wing. the touring doesn't have that stuff
sweet car
just remember FUEL before anything else

rx7speed

nother picture of a R1 RX-7

rx7speed

best way I know of to get rid of ppl who ride my ****

and yes this IS normal with just a free flow exhaust

rx7speed

this is the FC

rx7speed

here is a FC

or you can just look in my sig and see one there

rx7speed

hehe now to ***** the thread a little more

dont be scared of the car
I know it might sound like a whole different deal and all
but honest they are not that big of a problem

no matter what you get you should end up with a good car

also go to www.rx7forum.com
you can gain a lot of info from that palce about the cars

rx7speed

oh yeah another little writeup on these things

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...&highlight=rx7
this is over at the V6 forum

and if you have anything else feeel free to email me or talk to me on aim

my name there is rxspeed87