Mazdaspeedgirl
Resident Autocrosser
- :
- 99 10AE MX-5 | 2016.5 CX-5 GT
beautiful...i love you...Vosko said:stock turbos on a stock car should be 10-8-10 psi(first turbo-transition-second turbo)
gotta love the smart ones...
Reliable 3rd Gen? Can it be done?
- Thread starter Antoine
- Start date
gotta love the smart ones...
Mazdaspeedgirl
Resident Autocrosser
- :
- 99 10AE MX-5 | 2016.5 CX-5 GT
Dood! i go up to Dallas as many times a year as I can just to go into Rotary Performance! I love gazing at Ari when he walks by. He's so into what he does...sorry, enough mushy stuff.LinuxRacr said:
I really admire him. I need to get another RX7.com shirtSome girls idolize movie stars, some idolize pop singers. I idolize men in auto racing. hmmm...go fig...
makeminemazda
Member
OK now what's an RX-7? And it has some kind of special engine in it?
Seriously...I have heard of several problems with the 3rd generation RX7s but I would like to point out two things here. First, lets not trash all RX-7s because of some problems with the 3rd gens. Yes, they needed bigger radiators, (and turbos?) No you can not run them (or any other RX-7 when the coolant temp starts rising near the H mark without asking for trouble), and yes a small amount of oil consumption is normal. And you do want to let a turbo 7 idle for a couple of minutes after hard driving to let the engine cool down and prevent the oil from "coking". But learn about your car! And would you want to run any car with the engine temp gauge pegged?
From everything I have heard, read, and experienced the first and second generation RX-7s were very reliable when treated and maintained properly. I owned an '85 GSL-SE and never had any problems with it whatsoever. It had over 100,000 miles on it when I sold it, still ran great, and still was an absolute blast to drive. I wish I still had it.
My '88 Anniversary turbo I have owned for 8 years and it has been a very reliable, very fun car also. Have I had any problems with it? Sure I have - it is now a 14-year old car. But there have been no major problems. And it is just as much fun to drive now as it was the day I bought it.
I was just running it flat out on a 1-mile road course last weekend and it came through that with flying colors. Tonight I was at the house of the president of our local RX-7 club and we performed a compression test on my 7. It posted the highest marks he had ever seen on any 7 to date and the car has 118,000 miles on it. Reliability problems? Give me a break.
On to point two. As for the 3rd gens lets try to compare apples to apples. This is a gorgeous, flat-out, no holds-barred, super high tech, very low weight race car with perfect 50/50 weight distribution that just happens to also be street legal. They handle like they are on rails. They were 255 hp stock from a 1300cc engine in 1993. If they were still in the market in the U.S. they would have even more horsepower. There is simply a lot more going on under the hood than there is with a first or second gen RX-7. With that huge number of extra components there are simply more things there that can go wrong.
But let's compare it's reliability record to other cars that can come close to or match it's performance. How does it stack up against latest generation Corvettes, Toyota Supras, Vipers, Ferraris, high-end Porsches etc. More reliability problems? - I doubt it. More bang for the buck? I think so. Call me a die-hard rotary engine RX-7 fanatic if you like - but drive one first. You'll see why I have loved these little cars for the past 14 years. Just my two cent's worth everyone.
Seriously...I have heard of several problems with the 3rd generation RX7s but I would like to point out two things here. First, lets not trash all RX-7s because of some problems with the 3rd gens. Yes, they needed bigger radiators, (and turbos?) No you can not run them (or any other RX-7 when the coolant temp starts rising near the H mark without asking for trouble), and yes a small amount of oil consumption is normal. And you do want to let a turbo 7 idle for a couple of minutes after hard driving to let the engine cool down and prevent the oil from "coking". But learn about your car! And would you want to run any car with the engine temp gauge pegged?
From everything I have heard, read, and experienced the first and second generation RX-7s were very reliable when treated and maintained properly. I owned an '85 GSL-SE and never had any problems with it whatsoever. It had over 100,000 miles on it when I sold it, still ran great, and still was an absolute blast to drive. I wish I still had it.
My '88 Anniversary turbo I have owned for 8 years and it has been a very reliable, very fun car also. Have I had any problems with it? Sure I have - it is now a 14-year old car. But there have been no major problems. And it is just as much fun to drive now as it was the day I bought it.
I was just running it flat out on a 1-mile road course last weekend and it came through that with flying colors. Tonight I was at the house of the president of our local RX-7 club and we performed a compression test on my 7. It posted the highest marks he had ever seen on any 7 to date and the car has 118,000 miles on it. Reliability problems? Give me a break.
On to point two. As for the 3rd gens lets try to compare apples to apples. This is a gorgeous, flat-out, no holds-barred, super high tech, very low weight race car with perfect 50/50 weight distribution that just happens to also be street legal. They handle like they are on rails. They were 255 hp stock from a 1300cc engine in 1993. If they were still in the market in the U.S. they would have even more horsepower. There is simply a lot more going on under the hood than there is with a first or second gen RX-7. With that huge number of extra components there are simply more things there that can go wrong.
But let's compare it's reliability record to other cars that can come close to or match it's performance. How does it stack up against latest generation Corvettes, Toyota Supras, Vipers, Ferraris, high-end Porsches etc. More reliability problems? - I doubt it. More bang for the buck? I think so. Call me a die-hard rotary engine RX-7 fanatic if you like - but drive one first. You'll see why I have loved these little cars for the past 14 years. Just my two cent's worth everyone.
makeminemazda
Member
I found the link I was looking for. David Lane sums up the joy of driving an RX-7 better than I ever could. Please check out this link:
http://mrmazda.members.atlantic.net/rx7reliability.html
Thank You
http://mrmazda.members.atlantic.net/rx7reliability.html
Thank You
slowyellowp5
Member
Beautifully written article, and quite true. 
Now, since we are back on subject, my two cents..well rather, 20000000 cents...
A rotary very rarely fails. It's usually our best friend otherwise known as Mr. Apex seal. Or the coolant line. Or the oil line, pump, or pretty much anything else in the oil system. Hmm, well that sounds like a lot of money and lost time...and yes it is. Now why would someone buy a rx after all this? Well, several reasons.
Many think that a rotary engine will die after short mileage, while it is in fact a simple hose or seal, and if these are replaced with quality ones and kept well, your car will run for what seems like forever. Why wouldn't it? It's pretty much a couple simple propellors with a snail-shaped fan on top It's true, there is something magical about a rotary. Now, a blown Apexi seal won't be your only problem once you've been working on your rotary. Many suffer from TOO MUCH POWER....a beautiful thing in its own way...
(story section, skip if generally uniterested
but I promise its a true story)
Once acouple of good friends with 2nd gen rx-7s and I, Mr. cool guy with the bright yellow wagon (yay) went on a little Mazda expedition to crush a local group of Toyotas (mostly Celicas of course) at the local highway service road type deal, at like 2am on a friday night. So as time went on, people lined up and ran, nothing exciting really. Well, my friend with a silver 2gen (the other was a black Turbo II) was getting ragged behind the back by some Celica kids. Ahh, it's just a little 13b they said, he ain't got nothin on us. Little did they know he had just went turbo the previous week. Little did mr. rx know the power a properly tuned turbo puts into a 13b. So, he turned up the boost, in the dark, where no Celicas could see his impressive little snail under the hood. Me and the Turbo II were both smiling to ourselves knowing the outcome. The fastest, blue GT-S of the group finally lined up against the silver little rotary, and it began. Oops, Celica missed a gear. They lined up again...rx's engine dies. They brought it back to us, some problem with the ECU too complicated for us little Protege-heads to understand. It seemed to have an easy solution (I think the ECU couldn't really handle all that boost) and the Turbo II and him temporarily traded some kind of chip I wasn't really sure what was going on. So, they lined up again. And they ran. And they ran, but not for long. By the end of 3rd gear, with the Celica still in sight and the 13b LOONG gone, we heard a horrible noise, and I thought my friend had crashed. We all got in our cars and rushed over. There was my short little friend next to his trusty RX-7, with his driveshaft in his hand. And let me tell you, I have seen hot pretzels at a football game less twisted than this thing. To make matters more amazing then they already were, the kid exclaims "man this thing almost hit me in the head". How does a driveshaft hit ones head, you might ask. Well that was explained when you looked through the window, and saw a gigantic hole in the middle of the floor. Not a blown Apexi seal this time, that's for sure. But that's not too far off either...those damned O-rings popped. Also what had popped out, was the car's shifter, and it went under the car...naturally, with the rest of the transmission, and not in that order. However, the transmission was the only thing actually dragging on the ground. Yea, fun stuff. I love RX-7's.
The moral of the story? I'm not sure...but RX-7's may have too much power for a car made out of any conventional hard substance found in this universe.
(end story)
Anyway, did I mention I love RX-7's? My point is, if you aren't an enthusiast (most here don't have a problem) and don't mind learning EVERYTHING there is to know about your car before you feel comfortable and priviledged enough to pop your own hood, then maybe a Supra is more your alley. But if you want the ULTIMATE sports car in all respects, it is right in front of you, and not for the 200g's you weren't going to spend on that Ferrari. If you are religious, then you can reason that God has given you your salvation from the hell of this industry that is the Ford Taurus, Dodge Ram and Cadillac Escalade. (even though one of those on 24's does look cool) You are not a soccer mom, you are not the man of a middle aged crisis that wants to lease his next Volvo with a turbo this year. You are NOT the grease-monkeyed weird guy at all the local car shows that lives to hear the next growl of a Mustang or Camaro. You would rather revel in the unique sound of a rotary. Better yet, you would rather not have to run sequential boost, cuz you know that giant turbo is going on your next 3rd gen. When you drive an RX-7, when you OWN an Rx-7, you are one with your car. It is a part of you, it is a part of who you are. And yes, I am obsessing. And yes, it's true you learned absolutely nothing in the last 15 minutes of reading this (30 minutes for the new guys), and YES, it's true I like starting every sentence with the word and just like those guys in Super Street. AND YES it's true I probably don't know much about rotaries in the first place so there is really no point in my writing this and wasting everyone's time. But hey, don't you think with a little Grammar schooling I could be a decent writer? 
Now, since we are back on subject, my two cents..well rather, 20000000 cents...
A rotary very rarely fails. It's usually our best friend otherwise known as Mr. Apex seal. Or the coolant line. Or the oil line, pump, or pretty much anything else in the oil system. Hmm, well that sounds like a lot of money and lost time...and yes it is. Now why would someone buy a rx after all this? Well, several reasons.
Many think that a rotary engine will die after short mileage, while it is in fact a simple hose or seal, and if these are replaced with quality ones and kept well, your car will run for what seems like forever. Why wouldn't it? It's pretty much a couple simple propellors with a snail-shaped fan on top
It's true, there is something magical about a rotary. Now, a blown Apexi seal won't be your only problem once you've been working on your rotary. Many suffer from TOO MUCH POWER....a beautiful thing in its own way...(story section, skip if generally uniterested
but I promise its a true story)Once acouple of good friends with 2nd gen rx-7s and I, Mr. cool guy with the bright yellow wagon (yay) went on a little Mazda expedition to crush a local group of Toyotas (mostly Celicas of course) at the local highway service road type deal, at like 2am on a friday night. So as time went on, people lined up and ran, nothing exciting really. Well, my friend with a silver 2gen (the other was a black Turbo II) was getting ragged behind the back by some Celica kids. Ahh, it's just a little 13b they said, he ain't got nothin on us. Little did they know he had just went turbo the previous week. Little did mr. rx know the power a properly tuned turbo puts into a 13b
. So, he turned up the boost, in the dark, where no Celicas could see his impressive little snail under the hood. Me and the Turbo II were both smiling to ourselves knowing the outcome. The fastest, blue GT-S of the group finally lined up against the silver little rotary, and it began. Oops, Celica missed a gear. They lined up again...rx's engine dies. They brought it back to us, some problem with the ECU too complicated for us little Protege-heads to understand. It seemed to have an easy solution (I think the ECU couldn't really handle all that boost) and the Turbo II and him temporarily traded some kind of chip I wasn't really sure what was going on. So, they lined up again. And they ran. And they ran, but not for long. By the end of 3rd gear, with the Celica still in sight and the 13b LOONG gone, we heard a horrible noise, and I thought my friend had crashed. We all got in our cars and rushed over. There was my short little friend next to his trusty RX-7, with his driveshaft in his hand. And let me tell you, I have seen hot pretzels at a football game less twisted than this thing. To make matters more amazing then they already were, the kid exclaims "man this thing almost hit me in the head". How does a driveshaft hit ones head, you might ask. Well that was explained when you looked through the window, and saw a gigantic hole in the middle of the floor. Not a blown Apexi seal this time, that's for sure. But that's not too far off either...those damned O-rings popped. Also what had popped out, was the car's shifter, and it went under the car...naturally, with the rest of the transmission, and not in that order. However, the transmission was the only thing actually dragging on the ground. Yea, fun stuff. I love RX-7's.The moral of the story? I'm not sure...but RX-7's may have too much power for a car made out of any conventional hard substance found in this universe.
(end story)
Anyway, did I mention I love RX-7's? My point is, if you aren't an enthusiast (most here don't have a problem) and don't mind learning EVERYTHING there is to know about your car before you feel comfortable and priviledged enough to pop your own hood, then maybe a Supra is more your alley. But if you want the ULTIMATE sports car in all respects, it is right in front of you, and not for the 200g's you weren't going to spend on that Ferrari. If you are religious, then you can reason that God has given you your salvation from the hell of this industry that is the Ford Taurus, Dodge Ram and Cadillac Escalade. (even though one of those on 24's does look cool
) You are not a soccer mom, you are not the man of a middle aged crisis that wants to lease his next Volvo with a turbo this year. You are NOT the grease-monkeyed weird guy at all the local car shows that lives to hear the next growl of a Mustang or Camaro. You would rather revel in the unique sound of a rotary. Better yet, you would rather not have to run sequential boost, cuz you know that giant turbo is going on your next 3rd gen. When you drive an RX-7, when you OWN an Rx-7, you are one with your car. It is a part of you, it is a part of who you are. And yes, I am obsessing. And yes, it's true you learned absolutely nothing in the last 15 minutes of reading this (30 minutes for the new guys), and YES, it's true I like starting every sentence with the word and just like those guys in Super Street. AND YES it's true I probably don't know much about rotaries in the first place so there is really no point in my writing this and wasting everyone's time. But hey, don't you think with a little Grammar schooling I could be a decent writer? 
