Hi all,
Since I was at college I\'ve promised myself a really good sports car but I\'ve always had a company car until last autumn. So when I was choosing a car I just had to go for something cool, hence the RX7!
This is a very impressive car, and I took it out showing off to all my friends and took a friend for a drive in it, decided to show him what it can do. Any RX7 owners now will be thinking OH NO! and Yes your right, and it was a mere 8 hours after purchasing this lovely car.
Rearwheel drive + newbie driver = 180deg spin taking the passenger side through a small crash barrier. I was very fortunate to end up on the other side of a dual carriageway and the other people stopped an helped a very dazed driver push the barrier out the way and drive off.
I know that if the insurance were to look a this they would write the car off and I didn\'t want that (it felt wrong!) so I\'ve decided at considerable cost to repair the car with my own spondoolies. The damage as you can see below is mainly body work, only had to replace the anti roll bar to get it driving correct but due to Mazda\'s great ordering service the panels on 3 day order took 6 weeks to get here.
Its still in the body shop but on the bright side its getting a full re-spray and the guy promises me that it will look like a brand new car which I should get back at the end of this week.
Only one small task remains, to keep avoiding my mother who doesn\'t know I\'ve had an accident in this new car that she eagerly wants to see, 10 weeks now!
I\'ll post new pictures of the completed car hopefully at the weekend when I look forward to driving it again - very slowly!
Unlucky mate, be very carefull if you\'ve been reading the posts then there have been quite a few rx\'s bent or writen off in the last couple of months and thats by people wo have been driving them for a long time, they are loverly cars and but unless your careful they will bite you.
Get a 4 wheel alignment done once its out of the body shop just to make sure to.
From what I can see it looks like a nice car,
Eazy
Al
sorry to hear that mate`y.. i did exactly the same thing as you. picked up the car. bet this bird i was see`ing from her college. gave it a bit too much. did a 360 then another 180 just to make sure. i missed all the cars on the ring road and caught passenger rear quarter on central reservation. squash. not as bad as yours. i dropped off a very ghostly white girl off ( never to be seen again) then headed home. told my parents it was damaged on the boat and got a discount!! i learned how easy these cars kick. tought me a huge lesson
good luck mate`y post up once resprayed, you having standard colour??
i feel for u mate,8 hours,is that a club record?
allstaruk,
I\'ve had a 4 wheel g check on it when I had the anit roll bar etc replaced (which I had sprayed bright red to impress anyone else who goes under my car!) and it was way off on the rear which I didn\'t hit. I think this may have contributed to the unfortunate event. Well thats my official line anyway!
harris,
I\'m sticking the red, they guy who is doing the work for me is really in love with rexs and he\'s had a week extra already cos he wants to do a real good job on it. I\'m really eager to get it back!
asp,
can I have a rosette?
Very bad luck mate.
You know for future driving to take it steady!
If you haven\'t done so already, PUT SOME DECENT TYRES ON IT!!! :)
Rob.
Quote from: robedwards99Very bad luck mate.
You know for future driving to take it steady!
If you haven\'t done so already, PUT SOME DECENT TYRES ON IT!!! :)
Rob.
Yeah its really annoying me, spent 3 hours yesterday searching on here and a cool american web site trying to pick out a new set of alloys for her.
When I brough the car I financed an extra 2k for insurance and modifications, good job I didn\'t spend it in less than 8 hours!
Bad luck mate but the main thing is your still here to tell the story. Could off been a lot worse than just embarrassed.
Kevin
Took me all of 3 months to smash mine up so I think you are a record holder!
:)
Pity you didn\'t mention your accident on here earlier, i have an anti roll bar you could have had, and passenger door, and prob most other bits you needed! oh well.
tell me about it, I was busy with work so just told my dad to get the parts in for it, found out a few weeks later that that jimmys had some available there and then and cheeper.
so far I\'ve spent a fortune on this car and only driven it 7 times!
Quote from: kev-yorksBad luck mate but the main thing is your still here to tell the story. Could off been a lot worse than just embarrassed.
Kevin
yeah, it was my mate in the passenger side who went through the barrier, I had to make a bit of an apology for nearly killing him!
Bad luck matey but at least you\'re ok!
Where in Derbyshire are you?
QuoteTook me all of 3 months to smash mine up so I think you are a record holder!
2 months for me! :)
A couple of years back I imported a really mint 93\' Type-X in black,drove it around for a few months and enjoyed every minite of it.Had to sell the car due to owning another RX-7 :)
Sold it too a 19 year old,nice lad and he drove it very sensibly on the test drive and I thought he\'ll be ok,a week later he\'d wrote it off,the Fire brigade had to cut the roof off,plus the hatch and the doors to free him,he was lucky as he got away with a broken ankle.I saw the car in the breakers yard a few weeks later,broke my heart :(
Glad to see your getting yours back,should look stunning with the fresh red paint :cool
Ive read far too many stories in here about rexs being wrote off, as good as this car is its also damn scarey.
when I took mine for test drive after the anti-roll bar was replaced I took it very steady, got my confidence back a bit and decided to pull off onto a dual carrage way and drifted for about 8meters, if the car dont kill me then a bloody heart attack will driving it!
probedb,
I live near J28 of the M1, any1 meet up around here u know about? BTW I used to live in sheff.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune buddy, but you got away so count your blessings.
Damp weather and rear wheel drive dont quite mix well, so be careful in the dodgy weather matey :Thumbs-up
Yeah when I bought mine I was lucky as it had an engine rebuild so I had to run the car in under the 4.5k mark and then under the 5.5k mark for a 1000 miles, was shocked at how quick it was even then.
When I could unleash it I was amazed at how quick it is. Its scarily quick !! Had a couple of experiences with mine, one was in the dry !!! Other was in damp conditions, came off a roundabout and accelerated hard (mate was in an MR2....yeah yeah I know) started to drift to the right, luckily let off and it was fine. Now I hardly ever drive it quickly, especially in the winter wet months !!!
Sorry to hear about yours mate,
Gareth
Sorry to hear about your accident mate. At least you and your friend are in one piece.
But it does raise a question. Are there any mods you can make to the rex to reduce the chance of arse out action???
Apart from not driving like a loon :D and taking an advanced driving course to learn how to control the car under these circumstances.
I would have thought so - it\'d be a case a getting the suspension all set up well, and bringing the balance of the car from oversteer towards understeer. There are ways this can be done. But it also helps that the suspension and car is in tip top condition. Makes sure all bushes are in good condition firstly.
Hey Rocho - Glad your getting your car sorted chap.
I\'m not too far from you over in Matlock.
Theres a monthly meet down at the Bubble Inn near Derby. Next one is on Sun 29th Jan. Check out here for details.
http://www.davewilkinsgtr.co.uk/master.htm?http://www.davewilkinsgtr.co.uk/sbnext.htm
Let me know if you want to convoy down.
Rich
i did my carlton gsi within 7 hours of picking it up know exactly how you feel,
Quote from: deanflowersi did my carlton gsi within 7 hours of picking it up know exactly how you feel,
7 hours! u beat me, an I was looking forward to getting a cirtificate aswell
Quote from: Rich CheungHey Rocho - Glad your getting your car sorted chap.
I\'m not too far from you over in Matlock.
Theres a monthly meet down at the Bubble Inn near Derby. Next one is on Sun 29th Jan. Check out here for details.
http://www.davewilkinsgtr.co.uk/master.htm?http://www.davewilkinsgtr.co.uk/sbnext.htm
Let me know if you want to convoy down.
Rich
Sounds good, I\'ve got a couple of friends with suitable rides so I\'ll see if they are interested aswell.
One that says THESE CARS BITE BACK! HARD.
Quote from: GMJSorry to hear about your accident mate. At least you and your friend are in one piece.
But it does raise a question. Are there any mods you can make to the rex to reduce the chance of arse out action???
Apart from not driving like a loon :D and taking an advanced driving course to learn how to control the car under these circumstances.
It doesn\'t neccessarily need to be mods to sort out the car, as I said earlier that rear tracking was way out on mine which would have contributed. I had one toe out, other toe in and both about 3deg off line, but unless you\'ve driven lots of similar cars then you may not realise that there was anything wrong.
Unfortunatly I have learned this lesson the hard way!
Quote from: deanflowersi did my carlton gsi within 7 hours of picking it up know exactly how you feel,
Hi Rocho
Ouch!! Glad your both ok,its been said before but it could of been alot worse.
Atleast the car is repairable.
I\'ve got a set of alloys and tyres you might be interested in.
Dean from ABBER
Have you got a rex or still got the GSI??
Myself and harris aren\'t far from you we,re in hereford.
Cheers
Pete
Hi Rocho,
First welcome to the club, always nice to see someone become a Full member Straight away! Bad luck with the car, glad you are both ok, good luck with getting the car back on the road, i would like to know what tyres you had on the car, if they were the Jap tyres they don\'t seem very good on our roads,
Cheers Bob
pete,
I am look for a new set but to be honest I\'m a bit short at the mo, new car + insurance + ICE + crash barrier modifications! but I\'ll take a look if you got some pics.
ro284,
Yeah they are jap tyres, wheels + tyres are next on the list. this jap car thing is worse than a gambling habbit!
Quote from: Rochopete,
I am look for a new set but to be honest I\'m a bit short at the mo, new car + insurance + ICE + crash barrier modifications! but I\'ll take a look if you got some pics.
ro284,
Yeah they are jap tyres, wheels + tyres are next on the list. this jap car thing is worse than a gambling habbit!
Hi Rocho
You can find pics of my car in Members Rides,page 3,number 10 down the list.
Bad photo\'s i know,had trouble getting the over sized pics on.You\'ll notice the wheels are different on each side,mad i know but its a huge talking point
for people.
They\'re High Octaine wheels. 18 inch. 8\'s on the front. 9\'s on the rear.
Quote from: pete sparrowHi Rocho
You can find pics of my car in Members Rides,page 3,number 10 down the list.
Bad photo\'s i know,had trouble getting the over sized pics on.You\'ll notice the wheels are different on each side,mad i know but its a huge talking point
for people.
They\'re High Octaine wheels. 18 inch. 8\'s on the front. 9\'s on the rear.
without wanting to sound a bit stupid but is that actually a set of wheels even though they are different? that is mad!
Hi Rocho
Welcome to the club, Sorry to hear about your rx7. Just remember as much as we love those cars it is only metal even if it is precious metal. It will get repaired.
Glad that you are OK
There really should be a “newbie manual†with the do’s and don’t with a rex….
Moderators ????
So many people crash theirs within the first week of ownership…
Regards,
Michaelb
Bejesus! ive just read through the whole thing and may cancel getting my rx7 next Monday as i think i may well be dead by Wednesday!
Really i should be ok as ive now read all the advice and warnings BEFORE getting into the driving seat!
Avi
I think the first thing to look out for is the Jap tyres, perhaps that could be included in a \'sticky\' somewhere, i think there is enough evidence to show these tyres have led to lack of grip and caused crashes,
Bob
Quote from: Rochowithout wanting to sound a bit stupid but is that actually a set of wheels even though they are different? that is mad!
Two sets of two might be a better way of putting it.
All are made by High Octaine,same off sets,same weight,same deep dish outer,but different inners.
Told you it was mad.
Quote from: avityesboyBejesus! ive just read through the whole thing and may cancel getting my rx7 next Monday as i think i may well be dead by Wednesday!
Really i should be ok as ive now read all the advice and warnings BEFORE getting into the driving seat!
Avi
I do around 40k-50k miles year and I crashed it after 8 hours. They should do an induction to this car!
I\'ve been in contact with the paint shop working on my car, I was hoping for last thursday, expected this monday, told it wouidd be tomorrow and now told it will be mid next week. I\'ve taken this whole week off work ready to do my ICE install and ended up diogn nowt.
whats the difference with the jap tyres?
Avity, as i understand it the Jap tyres don\'t suit our roads, even the same makes i\'m told are a different rubber compound, there have been a lot of cars that have lost it, using them, Luckily mine had already been changed for aftermarket wheels before i got it, and in the 255 17s which was good, i think most people on here recommend replacing tyres as soon as you get the car, and it\'s a false economy not to. Nexen are a good cheaper tyre,
and Goodyear Eagles F1 one of the best.
Bob
Tyres seem to be the biggest issue with new imports, don\'t forget that little strip of rubber is the only thing in contact with the ground, Jap imports tend to do very low mileage across there so a mint set off tyres can be 5/6 years old. This causes the problem because as the compound ages and is exposed to sunlight it loses its elasticity and becomes harder. A side effect of this is less grip. When talking to our area Michelin rep about this he said ideally tyres should be replaced every couple of years due to this regardless off wear. Probably overkill in this country as we don\'t get that much sun but something to bear in mind.
Kevin
Hi Bob, mine has been fitted with new volks alloys with yoko tyres, but not sure whether they were fitted here on in japan. Take it easy i think and find out by using common sense. lol
Hi mate, its your mate Xan (Yes the lesser FTO owner whome you play snooker with most weeks). Rich Cheung is the one I was on about with the RX7, hes in the FTO club to as he used to have one.
Glad you got her repaired, shes a lovely car, take it steady tho huh :yes
Mark