RX-7 Pros & Cons?

[xRAGEx]

ok, now whats better an FD or FC???

[ArchangelX]

If you mean capability wise, then by all means the FD. As far as cost-effectiveness, ease of maintenance, availability, then by far the FC is the better choice. You might want to throw in reliability as well, unless the FD has gone single turbo. My FD is currently waiting to be rebuilt after the engine went on the track with low compression. Mind you, this was after a brand new, rebuilt, street ported engine built by a race shop was installed, and properly dyno-tuned. Apparently, the engine was built junk, and I'm highly suspiscious they even touched it, because the compression ratio was eerily similar to what it had before the rebuild. I knew I should have tested the compression before putting it back in the car.

As far as running an FD... I'm really torn on whether I want to rip my beeeyoootiful car apart to turn it into a proper drift/race car for Drift Session and Super Laps. It's a VERY nice ride...and I'm not sure I've got the guts to use it as a learning car. I mean, one wrong move into a barrier, and that's one less FD in the world, you know what I mean? But then again, I'm more of a performance over show type of guy, so you can damn well bet that it's going to see more track time than not.

But, I'm actively searching for a 240 currently...as I just don't want to trash my car. I was considering picking up an SR-5, but after looking into the conversions needed to put it up to the GT-S level, I changed my mind.

[SidewaysGts]

Exactly, in all respects the fd is superior to the fc.

ENgine is moutned furtherb ack and lower for better weight distribution for example, the chassis has been much better designed and thus is much more rigid. the advantages are numerous- but as mentioned these advantages come with an obvious price.

The problems the fd is known for though sadly can not be "cured" from what ive seen can be brought down to a very tolerable level. Heat will be your biggest battle should you get one, so id fix that problem before any others. A better hood to allow air to move, bigger radiator, better intercooler- these will ALL lead to a much happier fd.

Added: Btw man thats a clean *Censored**Censored**Censored* fd i love it- i plan on owning one 1 day myself, when im like 25 and insurance drops more haha- learning all i can now man

[ma71supraturbo]

If you were seriously considering the AE86, then I would suggest an 82-86 MK2 supra. Similiar body style, but with better stock power (DOHC inline 6), independent suspension, and a stock limited slip. I really am amazed that this car doesnt have a larger following, especially since decent examples can be picked up for $500-$1500.

[ArchangelX]

Originally posted by SidewaysGts
Added: Btw man thats a clean *Censored**Censored**Censored* fd i love it- i plan on owning one 1 day myself, when im like 25 and insurance drops more haha- learning all i can now man

Dude..I'm 29, so it's actually cheaper than my WRX...I believe it's also cheaper because it's a 1993...a little bit older sports car, so the insurance isn't as high as say a brand new 350Z. Actually, it's pretty damn low for a two seater sports car.

Thanks by the way...I'm a fiend when it comes to washing and waxing her.

Originally posted by ma71supraturbo
If you were seriously considering the AE86, then I would suggest an 82-86 MK2 supra. Similiar body style, but with better stock power (DOHC inline 6), independent suspension, and a stock limited slip. I really am amazed that this car doesnt have a larger following, especially since decent examples can be picked up for $500-$1500.

How capable of a drift car is the MK2? Isn't it rather heavy? I remember watching tons of the first Video Options where there were lots of MK2s drifting...along with the 86s...but I've always thought they were a little unwieldy to be a drift car. I've never done any research on them, though, so feel free to enlighten my dim views on them.

How about the MK3?

[frictionfighter]

that was my dream car for the longest time the mk2 supra celica, those looks so so so so sweet

[Ghost of Duluth]

Hachirokus are rare these days. Especially on the east coast.

Actually the Hachis are pretty frequent on the East Coast. Simply because Drifting hasn't seen as much fanboy action as the West has.

Most of the time they're in great condition, but before you buy one, ask the seller questions about how often he changes the oil, does it overheat or smoke, and does it idle rough, and test drive it if possible.

You had better do ALOT more than just that. You had better have a compression test done or vacuum test as they call it. I would get full service records, list of mods, Carfax, everything. With the price that FD's are going for thats not an unreasonable request. And you had better have a large bank account.

but i was trying to point him in the right direction, since it prolly the best starter car for the price.

Best sentence I have heard here. 240's are probably the best starter car out there for many reasons. Ease, price, reliability. All that makes a world of difference. The FD is NOT a good starter car. Everything about the FD screams "don't be stupid". Who wants to wreck one? Who wants to drop 3-8k into an engine at the drop of a hat?

Mind you, this was after a brand new, rebuilt, street ported engine built by a race shop was installed, and properly dyno-tuned. Apparently, the engine was built junk, and I'm highly suspiscious they even touched it, because the compression ratio was eerily similar to what it had before the rebuild.

Actually, this is EXACTLY the thing I am saying about 13BREW's. It's not the rebuild that was crap, it was crap to begin with. The 13BREW's are just not able to do what they are intended to do. Like I said, yea there are people with friends that have fast reliable ones, but here you are with a rebuild from what I am guessing is Pineapple Racing by your sig and your's took a deep south trip. I have heard good things about Pineapple so I doubt that they or any other shop would send your car out the door with a non-rebuilt engine. That is a "getting shhut down" offense and shop owners like to stay away from those. Maybe your tuner wasn't what they thought they were, maybe you just over extended the car at the track or maybe it's just another hammer strike from the Rotary God fore he is a vengeful one.

Just remember when you are looking for an FD. 99% of the people you talk to that own them are fixing them. There's are always down but yet they ALL have friends who have 600 hp ones that they drove to China and back to get some Ice Cream. Choose wisely Grasshopper since there are 2 roads here. The easy road and the hellishly painful FD road. I've been down that road before and no fun is it.

[nasty nate 7]

of course the fd is a lot better than the fc, technology plays its part. same goes to most cars out there. one thing i like about mazda is their suspension and weight distribution to the rx7s. also, if your a newcomer to drifting, i would practice with a beater first, example: 2nd gen NA rx7, very cheap and reliable. not too much power on the downside but a very good learning car to throw around and get a feel of what an rx7 feels like.

[ArchangelX]

Lemme put it this way, regarding my FD (very complicated story)...it was stock configuration with only a downpipe and an exhaust added to the mix. Stock turbos, but with upgraded everything...all the reliability mods, all the hoses replaced, even the oil metering lines...anything that was rubber was replaced. Anything that was seriously vital was replaced. It was given a shakedown run, checked, re-checked and then brought to one of the best FD tuners in the Northwest as recommended by the RX7Club.

If you were to take a look into my engine bay...you'd think the car was brand new. The car was tuned for stock boost levels, and it was only tuned for daily driving...not for power or speed. It's set at the stock factory boost levels...nothing more. It also was never driven HARD until the day it went on the track.

Pineapple Racing had a huge amount of failed engines within a specific time period during a time they were overworked, and had a REALLY bad employee that was basically just screwing off and slapping togehter horrible motors. One customer in particular received three BAD engines in a row. I went to them before their reputation had been tarnished, yet all of this happened basically in the time period in which the car was being put back together, and only a week after driving it, it was shipped to the UK.

Long story short, it left Tacoma in May, and didn't arrive in the UK till Aug 22, the same day I ended up almost dying in the hospital due to a doctor accidentally cutting my external iliac artery, and I almost bled to death. I ended up having compartment syndrome, and lost most of the muscle beneath my right knee. Because of that, I had to recover for a year, basically, and the car sat untouched except for some warm up periods and some daily driving to keep it going. Then the car was shipped to Hawaii in May 04.

Several weeks after arriving, it was checked out for any leaks, bla bla...and it was run at the track by a professional racing driver (holds the record for the track it was run on). Sucker went after only having less than 5000 miles on it. For stock internals, brand new everything, a proper dyno-tune by a competent professional...there's only one excuse left. Something failed in the engine.

13B-REWs are just as reliable as 13Bs, to a point...it just so happens that the sequential turbo system is a freakin' nightmare to mess with, and because of that, the FD has gotten some bad reputation with the masses because of it. There's not too many differences between the two engines...not enough to cause that much of a difference in reliability. But they can be fickle when it comes to tuning...you must have it tuned correctly...rotaries can't take detonation like a piston engine.

Is it the right car to start out in? Nopes...I don't think so, unless you're rich.

Sorry for the long post guys....

[ma71supraturbo]

Originally posted by ArchangelX
How capable of a drift car is the MK2? Isn't it rather heavy? I remember watching tons of the first Video Options where there were lots of MK2s drifting...along with the 86s...but I've always thought they were a little unwieldy to be a drift car. I've never done any research on them, though, so feel free to enlighten my dim views on them.

How about the MK3?

Very capable. Decent power/weight ratio (140-190hp depending on engine, ~2900-3100lbs depending on trim), very well balanced, and very well built. Here are the only drawbacks to the car (that I've come across in 1 year of hard driving):

4 lug RWD offset wheels are difficult to find in wider sizes.

Big brake kits do not exist (brakes are good from 60mph and slower, but could definitely use more power/fade resistance from greater speeds)

Rear camber is not adjustable from the factory (modifying a cam-bolt on a rear arm has worked for some on celica-supra.com, but i have yet to do it)



I got my '84 for free with a bad engine, and spent $600 on a jdm 6m-ge (3 liter vs stock 2.8). With a $200 custom exhaust, and a $50 custom intake, power is around 190hp and is very smooth/linear in a way only a non-turbo can be. If you want more power, mk3 and mk4 turbo engines have been swapped into the chassis but its overkill for me.




As for the mk3, that's my main car and I would recomend you stay away from it unless it just appeals to you. It certainly has required much more work than the mk2, and it is much heavier (3600lbs stock).

[Oki Drifter]

If i remember correctly, 3rd gens also came with NA engines too
so i was thinking you could get a NA FC, and drop in a nice NA FD engine, since rotaries work well on their own w/out turbo, why not get the rx7 without many body problems, and take the engine off the more technically advanced rx7
since i have no knowledge on Rotary Engines or RX-7s, this is only my theory, but it seems like a good way to save money and get a longer lasting, less problematic rotary car
please correct me if my theory is wrong/flawed

[turbo23]

FD's did not come NA, they are all TT. Only FC's and FB's came NA.

[Appleseed]

This is a bit of a "Hot Rod" answer to 13b problems. Stuff in a LS-1 V8! An outfit I think called Granny's Speed Shop (just us a search engine and look for v8 rx7). With the turbos, intercooler and things removed, the LS-1 weighs about the same. It can puke out 400 HP without a problem. With all the rotory problems. I'm sure you could find one with a blown engine.

Now that I think about it, anyone know of an engineless FD?

[SidewaysGts]

you could pick up a blown engine/engineless fd for like 7k, maybe more maybe less depends on who you know (like all thigns in auto sports).

Ls-1 though i dislike v8s as a gneral rule- is an AWESOME engine.. light weight high power reliable blah blah. The thing is the swap would be pretty damn expensive, you could probably make a reliable fd for the price.

[ArchangelX]

Yah...I've seen the V8 FD videos before, and read all the threads about it on the RX7Club...for about 12,000 dollars plus parts, you can have your RX7 modified with a V8. But that's about half of what a 20B swap would cost you if you were to do it right. But of course...12 grand + engine and parts is pretty damn expensive, espescially since you have to consider that an engine-less FD will run you anywhere from 7 to 10k. FD's hold their values pretty well...not as well as a Supra (damn F&F jacked up the prices, but good enough).

By the way...LS1 equipped RX-7s are monsters...and it all equals out as far as weight ratios are concerned.

There's also an SR20DET powered RX-7 that runs pretty damn strong as well.

Do a search on RX-7Club for engine swaps and you'll find quite a few hyrbrid 7's on the board.