RX7 's

[Rstar]

I'm pretty interested in gettting an RX7, and I had a few questions and also hoping to get some comments on them. I wanna get a 2nd gen and I am wondering why every second one I look at has a rebuilt motor. Do people not know the rotarys use oil? I havn't test driven yet, so what do they feel like to drive? to handle? and just overall impressions of them. Thanks guys

[red RX-7]

go to this site rx7club.com and look in the 2nd gen section. there is more info there then you'll ever want to know.

as for the rebuilt motors, i guess it all depends on how much you take care of the car. my 86 GXL just hit 161 000 km on the original motor and its still runing strong. If your looking for power get a turbo 11 but if you looking for decent power and fun cornering a GX or GXL are good. Some people say turbo 11 RX-7's have less reliability and some say there ok, my neighbour has a turbo 11 with 107 000km on the body and about 15 000km on a rebuild and its kind of bad but i know others with good reliable ones. I love mine and am in the process of finding a turbo 11 for the summer but then again i probably wont find one. almost forgot they handle sweet, and very fun to drive.:thumbsup:

[ExitSpeed]

what's a turbo 11?

Shouldn't it be Turbo II or Turbo2?

[ecstasy_civic]

i used to have an 87 gxl. it was one of the funnest cars ive ever driven, and if i didnt have so many things going on with my civic, id buy one in a second!. now my gf wants one so if she gets one ill have an excuse to drive it lol:rofl:

[Weapon_R]

I don't see why RX-7 owners consider having 150 or 200k a reliable engine..:dunno:

I thought most Domestics and Hyundais could do about that, even more.

[ecstasy_civic]

but theres alot of different factors with rotaries. ill let someone who knows more than me explain this,
ecstasyracer
MAXT
rx7-turbo II


you guys feel like answering?

[hjr]

The reason they are almost all rebuilt is that its quite easy to fizuck the motor over. The worst thing that can happen to a rotary is it overheating. This can (and almost always does) warp shit and funk it up. Ive never hear of rotary's being super reliable, but they arn't shit either.

Handling wise, they are great cars. Almost 50-50 wieght distribution (thanks to the motor being mounted almost under the dash)

Overall i think they are really cool cars. IMO and remember this is my opinion, i wouldnt buy one unless it was a 89-92 turbo II (the 86-88 turbo II's has a different turbo so less hp). 200hp stock. Enough said i think. But thats just me.

I was looking at a 88 turbo II but i walked away cause the guy had exhaust and a cone filter and claimed it put out 250hp. It was a JDM motor, but as my research indicated, that doesnt matter in 13b's. Soooo, I though if he is lying about that, then what else??? I guess he didnt realise i like to research a bit before I buy. I found out that stock it rocks 187hp (rather than his claimed 215 stock numbers) What a boob.

[Chris Ng]

actually, the rx7's do have true 50/50 weight distrubution

The HP diffrence between the series 5 vs series 4 T2's was not due to a diffrent turbo, but was due to it utilizing a redesigned intake manifold, higher compression rotors, and running the turbo @ 8.5 psi rather than 5.5 psi ... the series 5 turbo had a redesigned exhaust housing/wastegate and exhaust manifold which allowed for quicker spools and better boost control..

That being said, the series 5 cars were no faster than a series 4, since they also grew a bit more weight (aprox 250-300lbs)..

On a strong motor, it is quite possible to get over 220HP to the flywheel with just an exhaust and filter... Installation on the cone filter usually results in replaceing the stock turbo intake duct with something a little less restrictive, combined with a free flowing exhaust, this will usually end up in the car now boosting closer to 10-11psi... an easy 200+ at the flywheel ...
Mind you, series 4 motors also experience fuelcut at anything over 8psi.. so unless he also had an FCD to remove the fuel cut, then it is unlikely he was near 200hp...

There was a stock series 4 that put out 215 hp .. it was the effini.. however they were very limited and only produced in japan.. mind you, I guess if he bought a J-spec, and luck was on his side, perhaps he got himself a jspec efini motor.. again, unlikely

Are rotary's unreliable?? I won't even go into that debate on a fourm where most people don't know how rotaries work, or pretend to know about them...

[ZorroAMG]

Wow, it seems like you know more about the RX7's than most here...maybe you should try a specific forum for RX7's , you may have better luck there....

[Glowrider]

I have a few friends with 3rd Gen Rx-7's. The thing is, they are definately not daily drivers. They are on the other hand, great tuning platforms. Their fast, nimble, and have a lot of power to give up. They do have a tendency to break a lot though. I wouldn't get one unless I had another car to use as a daily driver.

[Chris Ng]

Wow.. judging from your signature, you have a need to expose the ultra "pimpness" of your car... I'm glad you found your perfect forum

[ZorroAMG]

:rolleyes: I didn't mean that you shouldn't be posting here, if that's what you thought...just that for the info you seek you may need another source

[Glowrider]

Originally posted by Chris Ng
Wow.. judging from your signature, you have a need to expose the ultra "pimpness" of your car... I'm glad you found your perfect forum

Nothing wrong with that. :thumbsup:

[persid]

Originally posted by Rstar
I'm pretty interested in gettting an RX7, and I had a few questions and also hoping to get some comments on them. I wanna get a 2nd gen and I am wondering why every second one I look at has a rebuilt motor. Do people not know the rotarys use oil? I havn't test driven yet, so what do they feel like to drive? to handle? and just overall impressions of them. Thanks guys
First of all, www.rx7club.com is where you'll find any info you need on these cars.

The engines are very reliable in N/A form (not a T2 expert) as there's very little that can go wrong short of a blown seal which requires a rebuild. This usually happens every 250,000km on N/A cars, or earlier if the engine was constantly overheated. Most second gens have rebuilt motors because they are nearing 15-20 years old and thus have high kms on them.

The cars are a lot of fun to drive, as that's what they were made for :) 50/50 weight dist., disc brakes all around, short throw 5 speed tranny, not only do they have high redlines (7000rpm red for earlier cars, 8000 for later, where the cut occurs at 7600 and 8600 respectively) but the power just keeps on building up the higher you go, LSD in most models...it's hard to imagine a car that would me more fun to drive.

In N/A form they're not really fast though...my 86' pulls high 15's with a rebuilt engine and an exhaust. Most other N/As will be in the mid 16's range as mine weighs in at just about 2450lbs. I've neverd topped mine out, but it was pulling fairly well at about 200km/h so I'm guessing 220-230km/h would be the limit. The T2s on the other hand are much faster and respond to mods much better.

[hjr]

Originally posted by Chris Ng
actually, the rx7's do have true 50/50 weight distrubution

The HP diffrence between the series 5 vs series 4 T2's was not due to a diffrent turbo, but was due to it utilizing a redesigned intake manifold, higher compression rotors, and running the turbo @ 8.5 psi rather than 5.5 psi ... the series 5 turbo had a redesigned exhaust housing/wastegate and exhaust manifold which allowed for quicker spools and better boost control..

There was a stock series 4 that put out 215 hp .. it was the effini.. however they were very limited and only produced in japan.. mind you, I guess if he bought a J-spec, and luck was on his side, perhaps he got himself a jspec efini motor.. again, unlikely



fair enough. I knew most of that (not the enfini motor thing though) sorry i didnt go into detail on the turbo setup. I only vaugly remembered what the actuall change was, so for matters of effect, i just said different turbo. Good call. :thumbsup:

[rx7_turbo2]

I agree with everything Chris Ng has said. www.rx7club.com is a better place to find info but there are a few of us rotor heads here who can help with things.

If you start modding things even as simple as exhuast and intake and the subsequent increase in boost then I agree the car quickly leaves daily driver territory. However if you take really good care of the car and understand how it works and what features differ from other cars it can be very easily maintained and driven daily. I drove my T2 all summer and all winter for two years in a row without any problems, it was actually a great car in the winter. Once the mods started comming I decided to buy a beat up old truck and leave the T2 for the summer. Those comments are of course refering to the turbo model. The n/a model can be very reliable as well if the same precautions and care are taken in maintanence.

Cheers

[Chris Ng]

The trouble with forums is that it's easy to mistake good intentions for sarcasim... Zorro, my appologies, I was under the impression you were giving me a smart assed comment, but your priv message explained it all...

[ZorroAMG]

Haha, Chris, no worries...sorry for the confusion...

Have a nice day...

[twincharged86]

If you're seriously interested I have a 88 gx with a turbo II conversion (JDM series 5 motor, tII tranny, ecu) that's not runnning

the rear rotor is dead, most likely the apex seals

2000obo, w/ TII wheels, sideskirts

was a project car but now have too many cars to fix

ask for Orlando or Mike if you wanna take a look, 225-1281

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by twincharged86
If you're seriously interested I have a 88 gx with a turbo II conversion (JDM series 5 motor, tII tranny, ecu) that's not runnning

the rear rotor is dead, most likely the apex seals

2000obo, w/ TII wheels, sideskirts

was a project car but now have too many cars to fix

ask for Orlando or Mike if you wanna take a look, 225-1281

Hey Orlando

It's Graham, I picked up those other two motors from you. I didnt have any luck finding someone to buy that car, hopefully you'll have better luck.

For those interested I've seen the car, it's a decent car with a good driveline it would make a great project car for someone with the time to tinker with it.

Cheers

Cheers

[CrAzY_PLaYa]

hey my cousin is selling his selling his 2nd Gen but its not a turbo2..
it has around 170 000 kms, leather interior, mind condition in/out ..pm me if if interested

[Maxt]

Originally posted by Rstar
I'm pretty interested in gettting an RX7, and I had a few questions and also hoping to get some comments on them. I wanna get a 2nd gen and I am wondering why every second one I look at has a rebuilt motor. Do people not know the rotarys use oil? I havn't test driven yet, so what do they feel like to drive? to handle? and just overall impressions of them. Thanks guys

The 2nd gen cars are all getting to the age where they would need a rebuild due to age rather than failure, however alot of the problems seen with the rotary, are more owner induced than anything, save for the 3rd gen fd3s which despite its solid rotary underpinnings was an engine control nightmare..
Rx-7's are a fun car to drive fast and drive hard, so they tend to get abused, somewhat. An n/a seven will live forever with basic maintenance, the TII is pretty good as well, but once you start modifying you have to know what you are doing..
Once you have had a taste of a rotary on boost though, there is no going back, the power curve with a big turbo is beyond anything else, every thought you have will be about rotors and turbo's, your car will become what you live for...or maybe its just me thats like that....Maxt

[three.eighteen.]

Originally posted by twincharged86
If you're seriously interested I have a 88 gx with a turbo II conversion (JDM series 5 motor, tII tranny, ecu) that's not runnning

the rear rotor is dead, most likely the apex seals

2000obo, w/ TII wheels, sideskirts

was a project car but now have too many cars to fix

ask for Orlando or Mike if you wanna take a look, 225-1281

hmmm...mebbe its time to sell the bimmer this summer...

[twincharged86]

Originally posted by three.eighteen.


hmmm...mebbe its time to sell the bimmer this summer...

Hey Nick, i'll be glad to hook you up, i really wanna get rid of that rx-7

send me a pm if yer serious

oh and btw, when you comin back to calgary?

[twincharged86]

oh yeah, that car (88 gx w/ TII) comes with a blown n/a motor too

[REFLUX]

THE best 1 liner I have EVER heard about owning an RX-7 goes like so:

"Owning an RX-7 is like being married."