Are there any issues with the RX-7?

[DJ_Seija_Tenshi]

Is there any issues with the rotary engine in the rx-7? Or is this one of the better rotor engines out there, besides the wankel rotary engine.

thanks!

 

[hey_hej]

Is there any issues with the rotary engine in the rx-7? Or is this one of the better rotor engines out there, besides the wankel rotary engine.

thanks!

don't quite understand the question....(spin)

 

[ChopstickHero]

it is a Wankel engine ...

in terms of the overall reliability of the engine ... i wouldn't count on it. my friend had one and within 3 years, he had rebuilt it three times, had to change turbo setup, cooling problems, sealing problems, etc etc....

 

[hey_hej]

it is a Wankel engine ...

in terms of the overall reliability of the engine ... i wouldn't count on it. my friend had one and within 3 years, he had rebuilt it three times, had to change turbo setup, cooling problems, sealing problems, etc etc....

well N/A's are bullet proof....any turbo engine is a short life if you play with it a lot....hehhehe

rotaries produce a lot of heat (much, much more than cylinders), so you have to make sure it's cool enough, but not too much....hehe

 

[wicked]

well N/A's are bullet proof....any turbo engine is a short life if you play with it a lot....hehhehe

yup,but the NA should be all you need,once proporly ported,the can be amazing.

a 13b can even be realiable when turboed,just as long as it's done right.

the inner seals of the housings need to be replaced with the teflon ones,and it needs to be sealed properly,and assembled properly.

a rotory's worst enamy is heat,keep it cool,and it will live for ever.

 

[wicked]

BTW,your question is very off,and you have no idea what your asking.

ALL rotory motors are wankel engines,becuase the man who designed them was named wankel,and the only other rotory the didn't come in a RX-7 wasthe 3,and 4 rotor engines,but they are much of the same thing,only more rotors,much of the parts are interchangable.

 

[87t93t]

Stick with your pistons, have alot of fun for much less $. The whole reason I'm on this forum is to decide if I want an MP3 when I sell my '93 RX-7. Having two modified turbo 7's is too much. Warming up (kind to gaskets) and COOLING down (turbo timer) are crucial. Short shifting/daily driving kill a rotary. Not only do you have to maintain higher revs to allow the oil injection pump to properly lube the internal seals (yes, rotaries do purposely burn oil), but that lubrication can build up and coat the apex seals. So, a good "run the s*** out of it" is necessary every week. The Renesis is almost the same motor, the exhaust porting is different and the rotors are lighter weight. This allows for more bottom end (streetable power). It has better cooling passages, etc. It's just a more reliable, street friendly, and fuel efficient motor. Look up a comparison. The RX-7 was discontinued in '95 due to Mazda warrantying motors. People would drive the piss out of it and immediately shut it off. Couple months of this, no more side seals, and no compression.
Ultimately, upgrade the radiator, buy a turbo timer, warm it up in the morning, and drive it like a race car once a week, and the turbo rotary WILL last easily past 75k with modifications. The RX-8 handles GREAT, but will never be as fast as an RX-7. Even with a turbo. The porting change restricts the engine too much. Having two project cars is rediculous, no matter what make. I need a daily driver, and my '87 turbo has too much $ in it for me to make it back. If anybody is interested in a 352whp FD RX-7, send a pm.

 

[Signal 2]

it is a Wankel engine ...

my friend had one and within 3 years, he had rebuilt it three times, had to change turbo setup, cooling problems, sealing problems, etc etc....

The key word here is probably that he rebuilt it. If rebuilt properly, left at stock boost levels and not driven like you stole it, it should be good for at least 100k.
The FD got a bad reputation because of irresponsible modding by people who didn't know squat about them, except what they saw in the movies. Again, properly maintained, kept at stock boost levels and driven sensibly, the FD IMHO, should be good to about 100k. The bad news is, it won't last as long as a Honda.. The good news is.....it's not a Honda. (thumb)

 

[Signal 2]

Warming up (kind to gaskets) and COOLING down (turbo timer) are crucial.

Warming up before getting into boost is smart. But a turbo timer is useless. The turbos in an FD are water cooled, so idling for any extended period doesn't do anything and may be counter-productive since now only the air pulled by the fans is going through the radiator. Unless your driving at full boost and immediately shut off the key, there is no issues. The "fan mod" however is smart as it helps to reduce underhood temps after shut down and reduce the baking of hoses etc.

Short shifting/daily driving kill a rotary. Not only do you have to maintain higher revs to allow the oil injection pump to properly lube the internal seals (yes, rotaries do purposely burn oil), but that lubrication can build up and coat the apex seals.

The OMP injects oil into the combustion chamber to aid compression as much as lubricate the apex seals. And "maintain[ing] higher revs" does nothing since the OMP is metered. And the build up your speaking of is simply carbon, which typically builds up not on the apex seals but on the face of the rotors and housings. It's natural to have some build-up but can be aggravated by cheap gas, failure to change oil, poor maintance and improper tuning.

The RX-7 was discontinued in '95 due to Mazda warrantying motors.

The FD continued to be produced through (IIRC) 2001 essentially unchanged. They were no longer imported to North America because they simply didn't sell enough to justify it. It was also about this time that NISSAN stopped with the 300ZX and Toyota with the SUPRA. It was market forces, and had nothing to do with "warrantying [sic]" the engines. BTW, IIRC there were no major recalls on the FD after 1993 (fuel line and pulsation dampner issues).

http://www.epinions.com/content_92709097092
http://rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/bguide3g/bguide3g.html

DJ, here are a couple of links that might help you and answer questions if your considering an FD.

 

[87t93t]

I'll make my peace, and that is all. Fan mod been done, but flowing oil through oil cooler(s) after driving is good for oil temps inside motor, doesn't hurt. Having rear defrost switch wired to maintain fans on (my fan mod), allows coolant to remain cool while doing so. Carbon is left behind from what, burned oil, rotaries burn oil. Excess carbon in motor=bad. Yes, poor maint, wrong fuel/ign tuning, and SUNDAY DRIVING just expedites the process of carbon build up. You can explain to them how carbon lock can occur. OMP is metered. I've always understood it only engauges and begins to "meter" at higher revs, and it is electronically controlled, right? I think you may be right on that, though. I should've specified for you, '95 in America, '01 in other parts of the world. The '01 was a 280 bhp motor, major change. Other than that, body work and wheels were changed. Mazda was losing money with the 7 over here. A culmination of things: overpriced, earned a bad rep for reliability that caused low sales, and lots of, yes, warrantied motors. The Supra ended three years later, luxury took over the market, no more speed. I guess I needed to be more in depth to satisfy your tastes. No need to call someone out. I'm just trying to instill that they DO need lots of care, especially at the age all 7's are getting. Moderator's, please remove me from this forum.

 

[Signal 2]

I guess I needed to be more in depth to satisfy your tastes.

No. I just thought you were wrong or not completely accurate in some of your statements. I don't think you need to be concerned with my tastes. If you want to talk about carbon build-up, it's causes and ways to minimize it, or how oil temps will be meaningfully reduced in coolers that aren't getting any air flow while parked...we should make another thread.

No need to call someone out. I'm just trying to instill that they DO need lots of care, especially at the age all 7's are getting.

Who's calling anyone out? Again, I was just correcting what I felt was bad info. I disagreed with you. It sounds like you had a bad experience with your FD and I'm sorry. And I agree that you should be nearly anal about keeping one up. But if your going to caution someone about buying one, I think you should give out accurate info. IMHO, you weren't.

Moderator's, please remove me from this forum

(huh) Leave if you want, but it wasn't my intention to "diss" you or anyone else. Reading back on what I said, maybe it came off a bit cold, but wasn't meant to drive anyone away.
In any event, I don't post much here, so you can easily read my previous posts. I mostly just try to be helpful, as others have been to me. I think they'll reflect that

 

[DJ_Seija_Tenshi]

Thanks

yup, I dont know anything about the rotary engine. i do know the guy who invented it, though, but thats the hieght of my knowledge.

but thanks for the info. more knowledge to eat up lol

thanks again!
-vladmir

 

[UnNaturalinc]

It all depends on how it's taken care of.

A turbo 13B can last over 100k, it's dependant on the owner(s) however. I've posted it before, but my FC sitting in my garage has just under 200k on it with the original motor. It also came with a stack of service records 4" thick....

 

[UnNaturalinc]

The FD continued to be produced through (IIRC) 2001 essentially unchanged. They were no longer imported to North America because they simply didn't sell enough to justify it. It was also about this time that NISSAN stopped with the 300ZX and Toyota with the SUPRA. It was market forces, and had nothing to do with "warrantying [sic]" the engines. BTW, IIRC there were no major recalls on the FD after 1993 (fuel line and pulsation dampner issues).

It was a bad time period for those cars to come out. They would have done much better now (as we are seeing modern versions of those cars now once again). I think they only brought over around 15k FD's over here, most of them being in 93. Very few 95's made it to the U.S.

Signal 2 = good info.

 

[BlkZoomZoom]

The main problem with the rotaries then and now are the people behind the wheel. Back in the day we used to warn people about letting the car sit for long, long periods of time. Now we have a letter we give all rx-8 owners cautioning them against starting up and shutting off their cars without allowing proper warm up. It also states that they like being driven spiritedly and idling around town can eventually hurt them. Guess what, we still get 5-10 rx-8's towed in during the cold months and customers stating they did exactly what we told them not to do. I have an 87 rx7 with over 170k on it. It starts up and runs perfectly every time. I did a compression test last year and it was almost dead on for a new one.

 

[Signal 2]

It all depends on how it's taken care of.

A turbo 13B can last over 100k, it's dependant on the owner(s) however. I've posted it before, but my FC sitting in my garage has just under 200k on it with the original motor. It also came with a stack of service records 4" thick....

Exactly. The thing is, with just a few relatively easy bolt-ons, the 13REW can make huge horsepower numbers. But it comes at a cost to reliability and longevity. And as I indicated earlier in this thread, it's never going to match the HONDA or TOYOTA 4 cyl. or even 6 cyl. cars in terms of mileage. (although your FC is certainly noteworthy) (2thumbs)
But if your not turning the boost up to 15 psi, and regularly dropping the clutch at 4k rpm for those "mad launches", a well maintained FD should give you pretty good service. Besides, in it's stock form, this car can exceed the ability of 90% of the drivers out there. And in my book, give more "smiles to the mile" than just about any other car out there.

Sorry for the rant. And sorry I pissed off 87t93t. I guess I'm just a little sensitive about it.

 

[hey_hej]

I have my FC for 5 years, not a single problem.

They do have electrical isues, but so does other cars (Dodge, Saab, ...etc.)

Finding a reliable mechanic and electrician for the rotary is GOLD.