mozzaITA

Not in a million years would i wiv my sensible head on buy the car but have always loved them, the look, the twin turbo power and apart from the reliability and fuel consumption thought they were great.

Just flicking through fleabay theres some nice ones on there but are they really that bad? how do they compare to an sti?

cheers

bighead

iTrader: (1)

LOL THEY USE EVEN MORE FUEL

Shark Man

I'd love one. But most I've seen have be "riced" up and messed about with too much.

An original unmolested example thats not been thrashed half to death is a very rare car indeed.

Mifo

iTrader: (10)

very nice cars, would love one but the engine going bang part puts me off.

went to santapod about 2 months back out of about 5 that went on the strip 3 went bang!!!

mozzaITA

reliability has always been a majour issue how can they realse such a car and sleep at night lol.

Theres something about them though, seriously if i was younger ill try tell myself that it wouldnt go bang if i got one!

They are going for decent money now

mclark

iTrader: (2)

I'm on my third. I think they are awesome cars. Yes, very heavy on fuel, but the engines are not as unreliable as the rumour mill would have you believe. You just need to know what you are doing when buying one.

Like, make sure you get it compression tested before buying. Anything in the 7s is good, 8s is great. If it's in the 6s then it'll be rebuild time soon. The big problem with these engines is that they do not take any det. So badly tuned cars are to be avoided.

There are so many cheap imports that have come over that then blow up that have really made the reputation worse than it is.

I know 2 people that run RX7s, one has done nearly 20000 miles nearly all on track and another has done 30000 niles driving to and from the Ring and Ring laps.

Also, when the engines do let go, there are far fewer moving parts compared to a piston engine and so are cheaper to rebuild.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

^^ They look gorgeous! How much for a rebuild (I'll start saving now)?

I'll have mine in black pls:

http://www.weds.co.jp/download/image...S_RX-7_100.jpg

TX.

wiley

iTrader: (63)

my friend has a rx7, they look really nice even just standard plus has twin turbo too... the car has just broke down though lol, need to do a engine rebuild she tells me
wiley

mozzaITA

Cumon, no engine rebuild is cheap!!!!!!! garage labour etc...

Your still looking at £2500k all day long for rebuild - huge risk if you ask me

GC8WRX

A mate at my new work has a 512 bhp single turbo rx7!

Before the single turbo, its had two rebuilds, both around 4k.

Single turbo build was 9k!

And it cant put the power down, ive owned it away from the lights, but once rolling, **** me does she move, revs high too!

My mate reckons rebuild every 30 -40k! ( if its treated nicley)

RedScoob

^^^^^
That seems about right. Both of my brothers have one each as "weekend" cars. They handle great and are pretty quick (standard, they are the same sort of performance as a classic STI), but with a remap and other bolt-ons they will embarass porkers. Both of their cars have had full rebuilds (including the rotor casings which get hairline cracks aroung the plug holes). The rotory is a lovely motor, and lets face it, the Scooby EJ20 isn't without flaws (I'm on my second...)....
I say go for it. They are a GREAT car. Just budget for a rebuild every 40k or so.

p1junkie

iTrader: (5)

dont touch one with a 60ft barge pole
i had one only ever touched by "experts" 3 rebuilds in 4 years
they are crap on fuel crap on emmissions(7% co on tickover)paper mache engine and you wont get a rebuild for 2500 more like 3500 plus now
they are a great looking car and handle well as well but need regular rebuilds max 60000 miles probably fail long before then
best thing to do with a 7 is stick the ls1 or ls2 v8 in it then u will have as proper car
dont worry about racing one the engine will pop long before the race is over

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

I'm on my third I have stuck an LS1 in this one as I got sick of the constant rebuilds. If you are going to use the car as purely a road car then the engine is fine, but I found they tended to go bang when used in a serious track/drag environment.
First one went through a stack of engines, a couple of which were my own fault, then sold it after TOTB a few years back as I had done another engine and had enough. Had a standard one for a little while, sold it on and the next owner got about a year out of it before the engine let go. This one I bought as a shell and have converted it outside my house over the last year - it is purely a track car as I have a Clio Williams for road driving.

Compared to a standard STi of similar vintage the scoob will walk it off the line, but an RX will destroy it top end. From 40-140 an RX will pull 10 car lengths.

It is relatively cheap (about a grand) to take one up to 260@wheels. I'd advise taking one up to 260-300@wheels and leaving it there. Is fairly cheap to do and is where the car is happiest. Above this level you start breaking things all too frequently and it starts to get expensive. Running this sort of power it is pretty much as quick as anything you are likely to encounter on the road.
Once you get on the high side of 400@wheels things break all the time and it becomes no fun on the road as your speed picks up too quickly to get any enjoyment at speeds where your license is not in danger. You also end up having to run R888s, or similar, to get traction. When I took my car to my parents one Christmas I borrowed a mates set of standard wheels and tyres so I wouldn't get stuck in snow. Pulled out to overtake something and ended up very sideways at 65mph as it came on boost and I hadn't realised how little traction standard road tyres provided.

They do drink - don't expect more than 10mpg around town, but if driven carefully can return decent figures on a run. AFAIK my 29mpg is still a UK record for a tank, should have been able to top 30, but never found the willpower for a whole tank. Going snowboarding I was constantly getting 24-27mpg (150miles each way off-boost) though I had mapped the car for the best cruise consumption I could. A standard car will return around 25mpg sitting at the motorway limit, average for mixed driving is usually quoted as 17mpg. I averaged 17mpg (same best of 29) when I had my Impreza and actually found an RX slightly better on fuel.

They handle very well, I prefer my current car to my old Westfield, but are very fussy with geometry (so if you buy one get it setup by someone who knows what they are doing).

Servicing costs are very low, but they do need frequent oil and plug changes. Don't get a 96+ car unless you have a friendly MOT place as they will not pass a high idle test without being tweaked. Tyres last forever, compared to an Impreza, so generally running costs are not too bad. Much like an Impreza the brakes are the weak link; they are fine on road, but simply do not last on track.

One common problem is boost issues. There are loads of tiny boost hoses and a stack of solenoids for the sequential turbo setup. As these get old bits fail and it is difficult to source the problem. When this happens you either spend a good number of hours to find the problem and fix it yourself, pay money to a specialist to source it for you or spend extra and replace with new parts (or you go non-sequential or fit a single turbo).

Would I recommend one? No. I really like them, but I can't honestly say they are a good buy. If you go in with your eyes open, can use a spanner and you get lucky you can have a great car for very little outlay. If you have no mechanical knowledge and get a bad one it is paramount to financial suicide.

finchyboy

There was a cracking red one in Practical Performance car with a small block chevy LS1 it was a lovely looking car and apparently it's quite a common conversion in the states !!!

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Only for the committed, or those that need to be committed then.

Stunning looking car if not ruined by aftermarket tat, I don't know what it is with cars like the RX7 and the Supra that makes people do heinous crimes against taste, the rule is nice wheels, nice paint, slight lowering, subtle mods and then STOP FFS !!

Say no to Veilside, less is more.

jjones

that line you use on mrs jacko won't work here.

djmisio85

I think you meant to say "OIL"

don't the rx8's come with a special compartment to store your engine oil in the boot, also when new, they come with a free can of oil....

They are beautiful cars though, you could almost say the most beautiful car, without the need for any aftermarket additions... (FD that is)

Also, have never driven one, but my g/f's brother has one, and he takes it to the Tsukuba circuit quite often (lucky ******* lives and works right next door to the circuit), on a circuit, these cars destroy most cars, especially the twin-turbo one which he has....

But saying that, even Japanese engines let go after about 50k kms. So unlike japanese scoobs, where the fuel used in them is top grade, in turn, no detonation etc, which I think is one of the main reasons of scooby engine failure in the UK.... Either way, uk or jp, the rotary engines have their flaws....Its the tips of the rotors wearing out ..... a lot of good engine builders here, but still, a lot of pops. Ive read that the FC models are more reliable than the FD ones....

EvoBarry

We ran one for a year with no issues, superb machines and cheap enough now to make a viable weekend toy imho. Previous chaps have mentioned all the important stuff but I'll say it again. Most of them pop because idiots think they can tune engines. Rotarys need careful tuning because of the det issue already brought up. We were getting mid to late teens on SUL, with our TypeR, and slightly higher than standard boost, so a conservative 280hp. That might not sound a lot compared to modern stuff but that chassis makes good use of every one of them, and the TT setup means grunt everywhere. I think you'd struggle to beat an RX7 with anything tbh....

We still have the Rex but the missus put it in a ditch a while back and we're thinking of selling it on

If it weren't for the scary fuel prices these days I'd buy another.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

If you swap the Rotary for a V8 do you end up with a bonnet bulge and does it **** the handling.

SideShowBob

I had one, amazing car that I absolutely loved, when it was running that is.

Rebuilds are expensive, despite companies saying they "start at £1200" you have to budget at least £3000, plus the cost of a hire car if needed for three weeks while it gets done.

Mine lasted about 8000 miles after importing it from Japan. Was super quick, handled brilliantly, sounded like nothing on earth (various modifications), and looked nice, but I wouldnt buy another unless it was a fun car I didnt have to rely on.

330uk

Buy one..you have to chance it with cars sometimes. Its the best car Ive ever owned. Here is my ownership story

Im normally a BMW and Subaru driver but got bored with the mundane and purchased one from Ebay last December for £3000. It had loads of extras (bit tacky for me) which I removed and sold back on Ebay. I manged to get about £300 for these bits so that car stood me at £2700. I drove it for 6 months, it never missed a beat and I sold back on Ebay for £3100. It was a 93 Rx7 FD3s. To this day I still do not know much about it, other than it was an amazing car. I only ever looked under the bonnet to check oil. I never did a comp test or anything. I thought if it did blow up I would just sell back as spares repair on Ebay. I think they look best when standard, need to remove all the big wings and dodgy spoilers. Amazing looking car. Design is as fresh today as in 1993. Too many I have seen have these nasty wings, lights and spoilers. I dont see the need with such a good looking car

It was the most awesome car Ive ever owned and Ive had loads. It turned heads everywhere. Even more than my E46 M3 Cab. It got the right kind of attention as well unlike Scoobys. But the fun factor this car gave was shocking. It handled and drove far superior to any modern crap. It struggled to put power down and would snake all over the road. Traffic light grand prix was fun. Once it did get traction it would smoke any car. Donuts, drifts, oversteer. Its just fun fun fun.

But fuel consumption is awful. When driven hard (which it always makes you do) it was doing 8 mpg. Thats beyond reasonable at todays prices but if its a toy you want then buy one. One of the best cars of 90's and everybody has to own one at least once. Thats my opinion...

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

No bonnet bulge required for most of the conversions, AFAIK only one kit requires an aftermarket bonnet.

Weight & distribution is on a par with the factory rotary (based on an LS engine, LT is a bit heavier). If you ditch aircon during the conversion (most do) the weight balance is slightly more rear biased. While the engine and box are heavier than Mazda's items you don't have the turbo pack, intercooler, etc.

As weight distribution is much the same handling is much the same. You do have to run bump steer correction, but that comes as part of the conversion kits. I converted my rack to be non-power assisted when I did the conversion, so can't give a 100% back-to-back comparison, but running the same alignment settings it feels neigh on identical once loaded up at speed.

Main problem is the conversion will set you back £10k. A second issue is the gearing is rubbish - running a manual RX-7 (4.1) diff 1st gear is useless and 6th is hugely long so you have a 4 speed box plus overdrive.

Picture Of My Converted Car

Shark Man

An LS in a RX makes alot of sense to me. cracking engine in a cracking car.

When I had chance to get an LS2 engine, the RX7 was on the list of potential donor cars.

RobEvo5

iTrader: (9)

Had a Rex for about 6 months with trouble free motoring. Running a non sequential turbo, Apexi, and aircon removed, and a safe map. Running an esimtated 350bhp at the fly. And **** me it was fast and huge fun.

The non sequential turbo removed all the nastly little pipes mentioned earlier, and added for a nice kick when the turbos come in yet still not laggy on the stock turbos. This was a very sensible place to stop in terms of mods IMO and made for a very nice quick road car that would destroy most cars including keeping up with most excotica.

I would have always loved to have had a go in one of the big BHP single turbo Rex's though, and can imagine them lighting up the rears in pretty much any gear.

I had my fun and got out - broke even at the end of it. But perhaps a lucky escape - Would I have another one ?. NO. But would I try one if I hadn't before YES.

If your into Jap cars then the RX7 is one of those scratches you have got it itch IMO, and just hope like me you can come away from it financially intact.

Oh and if you get onto the members clubs, you will likely find a owner that has rebuilt a few engines, that would do it again on a private basis for much less than the specialist charge for allot less. If you only looking at replacing the tips a rebuild can be done for £1500.

djmisio85

everyones talking about LS1's into rx7's etc, but tbh, the rotary engine is one of the best parts of the car, its not like they dont produce any power or anything....

...oh, and the sound = to die for

davegtt

You have to own one before you die. It cost me an arm and a leg but I was so sad to see it go, when it was running it was just absolutely brilliant fun. Given the chance, Id own one tomorrow without a shadow of a doubt. One of the best decisions I ever made buying mine

17mpg average too.