RX7 Information post

[TedR719]

Well it's time for me to get a factory turbo'd beast. If I can get a few things strighten out with my ex g/f then I should be in ok condition to get a loan for a 3rd gen 7 :D

It wont be for another year or so but I wanna start my research early. I really dont wanna be paying over 20k for a brand new car which I will have to keep stock since I would be digging deep in the pockets to pay for the thing (STI, EVO, SRT4, ect) So I was thinking what is a factory turbo car that is under 20k that performs good and looks good? Well I always liked the RX-7 and it's a pretty good bang for the buck, yes they do have a few problems I know of (seals) but nothing that cant be fixed or maybe already replaced.

So I might sell the hatch if I can get a decent price for it, if not I will keep it for a winter car.

Any RX-7 owners wanna drop some information or people that have heard things, drove one, ect please give me feedback. Why or why not kinda thing.

-Ted

[2000SiVTEC]

get a supra instead....

[stu]

An SRT-4 is only $20k brand new, you will probably be able to find one much cheaper in about a year, plus that gives you time to save more. When you say ex-girlfriend, are you talking about Melissa by any chance?

[2000SiVTEC]

Originally posted by stu
An SRT-4 is only $20k brand new, you will probably be able to find one much cheaper in about a year, plus that gives you time to save more. When you say ex-girlfriend, are you talking about Melissa by any chance?

yeah it is melissa, but this is not a place to talk about those sort of things.:)

[TedR719]

Yeah the neons are nice and all but I just would not buy one. And yes Melissa is the ex.

[2000SiVTEC]

ted why not go new dude? I think you would be much happier with a new factory turbo car than a used car. Hell are you really gonna dump a shit load of money in mods into this car anyway? Plus a warranty is cool and having a new car is really nice. In fact I prefer it that way so I know who abused it. Plus there are a lot of cars that are good out there on the market for 20-22k.

[TedR719]

The only reason I wont go new is because everything is about 30k. I can find a RX-7 for about 10k, then used the rest for mods, maybe a 15k loan out and my payments will be nothing. What other cars would you suggest? I'm defintaly open to suggestions and nothing is written in stone, for all I know I might be stuck with the hatch for ever. I know the 7 isnt the most reliable thing out there which makes me hesitate to buy one but just trying to do a little research.

[CSMsi311]

i'd go for an rx7 if i had the money and was in the market. Maybe find one with a blown motor (cheaper) so you don't have to worry about getting screwed with a motor that is about to go.

my next choice would be a 240sx with a sr20 or a mr2

[yrretvr4]

SRT-4's are nice though. and fast. There was a stock one up at bandimere last wednesday, ran 14.5. Dont forget the vr-4 either...AWD takes most anything on the street :D

[Mr. NoSkills]

just remember that if your taking the loan out on the car itself, they'll just give you what it's worth.
so like if it's worth 10 grand, they'll give you 10 grand ya know?
unless you have good credit or a co-signer, then things change.
on a certain car that will go un-named, i got it for way cheap, like under a grand cheap, paid cash but got a loan on the car for $5000, which was way over what blue book was BUT my great mom was nice enough to co sign for me and she has awesome credit. the bank lady said that's the only reasy i was able to get a loan that much over the value of the car, with out her i would have been done for.

just something to keep in mind...

[V8SpankR]

RX7s also have several othe rcommon problems that was pretty well documented in Sport Compact a while back and I saw the list of issues with older used models and they make a DSM look like a good reliable daily driver plus I hear they need a rebuild after 100k.

[TedR719]

yeah after reading up a little more on the car it seems like you have to have a deep pocket to mantain it the way I would like. back to square one again. Might just get a bike if I can clear some credit.

[subarurs25]

Buy a 87-92 RX-7 turbo instead. You can buy one for dirt cheap, and with the price difference between a FC and FD, you'll have an insanely fast car that can handle well also. FC's are also a little bit more reliable than FDs are. There are rotarys out there with close to 300K miles on the engine that are still running, so I wouldnt discount the longevity of these engines. If they're properly maintained by the owner, they are fairly reliable. RX-7.com's drag car has only been through 5 engines in 10yrs, which is excellent considering that its a 9sec FI/Nitrous rotary.

[Jarod_The_Ronin]

the third gens have a problem with the sequential twin-turbo system because of overlap of the intake and exhaust ports. Take that motor, and go with a big single-turbo with a Haltech ECU.

Either that, or get a turbo second gen.

[Ashton]

The turbos on the RX-7 are fine Jarod be quiet......



goto RX7club.com if you want some info about RX-7's ill even give you the newbie thread....

http://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69871

also just a warning but if you run that car lean it WILL blow.... with only 2 mods it can do this ie intake and full exhaust.... eatch out for boost creep...

This is a great RX-7 site....

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/

it will tell you just about everything you needed to know about the 7....

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/index.html

lots of how tos there

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/how_to_engine.htm

more how to's and reliability mods...

[Ashton]

holy shit did that post actually contain useful information?

well this one doesnt so it makes up for it.... sorry to dissapoint.

[efini]

wow, I'm amazed at the amount of mis-information here...

If you want the real dope do some reading on the RX7club.com forums. There are a few people there that really know what's up and a lot that dont. Sort that out and you can get some great info.

I'd not give up on the FD concept!

I got mine for $16.5 with 39,000mi (R1 vesrion) and have put about $1.5k into "polishing" the car and performing some small fixes. With the $2k in performance mods I'm into the 12's. Now I'm not sure of many other cars that can hit that number so eaisly or cheaply and perform so well on a track.

I'd be more than happy to show my car and give you a ride to give you an idea of what kind of ride you can get yourself into. I'm very tight with many other FD owners in town (boulder-denver) and they can tell you about their experiences as well. They own everything from fully stock FD's with 12k miles to some T78 singles around.

The biggest reliabitlity factor on the FD is the twin sequential turbo system which is controlled by 76 some odd vacuum tubes. There is a fellow in boulder who is a grand master at the actuation system and is about the nicest guy on earth. I'd be happy to help you with any potential problems (which you WILL encounter) on just about any used FD, and if I cant figure it out I'll have him help us.

You're never going to get an accurate answer from a non FD owner, there is a lot of misconceptions out there.

It is truly an experience and not one of the easiest cars to keep in tip-top shape but I can't think of a car that is more fun or can perform anywhere near this level for the $$$.

Here are some links which are very useful as well:

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/

http://rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/bguide3g/bguide3g.html

http://robrobinette.com/

http://robrobinette.com/reliabiltiy.htm

That last link is important. Plan to do these mods if you get an FD!

[efini]

oh yea, and please dont buy a neon!

[CO S13]

I completely agree about their reliability. We have a T2 with 160k on it and we are running 20lbs on the stock turbo. It's still going strong. We have some small boost leaks and blow vacuum lines once in a while, but other than that it is great.