Guys, reassure me.
I\'m close to buying an FD (black with Mazdaspeed Le Mans style kit), but I\'m getting scared.
I read about flooded engines alot. Do you guys get flooded engines regularly? Has anyone never experienced it?
I know that these are high performance cars, almost super cars - but I don\'t want super car reliability issues as this will be my daily driver.
Are these the type of cars that need tinkering with on a regular basis. (ie oil top ups every week, spark plug changes every 3k miles, 2-stroke oil in the fuel tank every fill up etc etc)
I dread the thought of a flooded engine leaving me stranded - has anyone ever had the AA sort this on the roadside?
A Supra TT is tempting me now for its virtually bullet proof reliability.....
What to do?
1. I\'ve flooded mine. Twice. In 3 and a half years of ownership. The first time i did it i didn\'t know they were prown to it, and I now know how NOT to do it (See point 4). Also, if you make sure you have the right spark plugs, you\'ll hardly ever have this issue.
2. I have never had to call a patrol car out for mine. It\'s probably been the most reliable car I have owned! I\'m extremely impressed with it!
3. erm....all cars require servicing. If you leave out the servicing, then it will be unreliable. Look after it, and it\'ll look after you. If you want a fast car that has a turbo charger, more often than not the oil changes are going to have to be done on a more frequent time scale - turbos like nice clean oil. whether it be an RX-7, Supra TT, or Bughatti Veyrhon!
4. A flooded engine is unlikely to leave you stranded if you know how to get the engine started again. but as long as you don\'t start the engine and turn it off before it\'s warmed up properly, then it won\'t flood!
Flooded engines aren\'t as common as you hear, if you start the car then turn it off without leeting it warm up, you risk flooding, but it isn\'t always the case. It is easy to sort (if you can get your hands to the plugs and remove them , remove the fuse from the fuelpump and turn the engine over!). There are many rex owners who have never experienced the flooding problem, I have, but that was because I had an overfueling problem after I had the engine bridgeported running a stock ECU!
Maintenance is easy enough, check the oil level regularly as RX7s are designed to burn a little oil in the combustion process. Oil changes should be done every 3000-4000 miles, plugs (depends on who you listen to) about every 5000. the 2-stroke thing is only if you modify the fuel system and remove the OMP (Oil Metering Pump) which isn\'t necessary (in fact very unlikely) with either the stock ECU or the Apexi PFC.
In short, it is an easy car to live with, if you can cope with the fuel consumption and you do the regular maintenance. The Supra will also require regular maintenance to keep it reliable, the 3l straight 6 is only bulletproof if looked after and if it isn\'t, it\'ll be a hell of a lot more costly to rebuild than the 13bREW in the RX7!
6 months ownership and not one flood yet (touch wood!)
I check the oil weekly and haven\'t had to top it up yet either.
Make sure you get your pilots licence when you do buy one, because they fly. :)
I have owned mine for 5 + years I used it on a daily basis for the 1st 21/2 years, the car has only let me down twice 1st time was a shreaded fan belt 2nd was a split hose to the clutch, not bad in 50+k miles :)
If you are buying cheap expect problems, if you are buying from a \'club\' member or a known dealer you should be able to buy with confidense, most of the cars out there are 10+years old and they are sports cars and you must expect them to have been driven as such. Dont expect a Supra to be any more reliable and when they DO go wrong you need far more deeper pockets to repair them compared to the RX.
Flooding is only an issue with miss-treated / hi milers, if you are buying one of those I would strongly recommend you invest in a re-build.
My 10p\'s worth :WaveBye
I\'ve had 2 FDs over the last one n half/two years. Never flood it once. :)
Your best bet is to buy one and THEN research it, just like I did. I am a complete idiot though :rollin
Never flooded or had it not start in about 3 years. Lots of daily use too, and short trips. Just starting it to move a parking space etc, no problems.
I have had mine for 3 years and flooded it twice. Both times I knew it would happen!
The car is actually very good in terms of being fairly low maintenace. Yes you have to keep an eye on the oil and water but other that than not much.
I was scared of buying an FD at first but after 3 years I have been proved its a good car by the car.
If you look after the car then it should look after you, buy a good one and not an ebay P.O.S!
A car with a recent engine rebuild is also a good idea if you have worries.
P.S. Mine is for sale, inc rebuild 10K miles ago (Little bit of sales work there).
P.S. Mine is for sale, inc rebuild 10K miles ago (Little bit of sales work there).[/QUOTE]
Would not have noticed .............. walks away whistling :D
Had mine for over 2yrs never flooded once, only problem was loss of coolant dude to rad leak as was too close to the Intercooler hence banging hence leakage.
Oil change recommended every 3K miles, can do yourself really, filter change 6 - 10K miles again can do yourself. Everyday driving will be fine but they do drink petrol and a standardish one will be better for everyday use rather than a highly modded rx7 :King
One thing for sure though you drive one you will buy one :Thumbs-up
Quote from: J4P RXNever flooded or had it not start in about 3 years. Lots of daily use too, and short trips. Just starting it to move a parking space etc, no problems.
Ditto for normal use including start-move-stop from cold. That\'s with a lightly modded car putting out 293rwhp.
Managed to stall it after a spin at silverstone (2 x 360!!) and it took a few seconds to fire up but that\'s the worst I\'ve had. Done 20k miles in it too.
I might have a higher risk of problems after the next set of mods as I\'ll be running cooler plugs to cope with higher boost.
Muckyman - do it!!!
I want to do it, really I do.
My little 220bhp Eunos Roadster Turbo just ain\'t doing it for me anymore.
Any London meets coming up soon that I would:-
A - be able to talk to some of you guys and see your cars
B - be able to turn up in my little roadster and not get the pi$$ ripped out of me :Giggle
cheers
Quote from: muckymanI want to do it, really I do.
My little 220bhp Eunos Roadster Turbo just ain\'t doing it for me anymore.
Any London meets coming up soon that I would:-
A - be able to talk to some of you guys and see your cars
B - be able to turn up in my little roadster and not get the pi$$ ripped out of me :Giggle
cheers
Tonight at the Wharf pub in Dartford, 8pm onwards! There\'s a thread and directions in the mini-meets section and on the calendar.
A - there should be some 7\'s there; mine might even make a guest appearance if I\'mlucky!
b - most of us are fans of good cars and the eunos/mx-5 is a great car so you should be safe.
Quote from: iaintTonight at the Wharf pub in Dartford, 8pm onwards! There\'s a thread and directions in the mini-meets section and on the calendar.
A - there should be some 7\'s there; mine might even make a guest appearance if I\'mlucky!
b - most of us are fans of good cars and the eunos/mx-5 is a great car so you should be safe.
Also some of us will be down at Ace Cafe on the 4th April.
Been doing lots of start stop short journeys in the last few months where the engine never gets properley warm and never had it flood once.
Rich :Thumbs-up
cheers guys
I\'m feeling a little more reassured - and welcome too :King
Anyone who is a fan of the rotary is welcome here! Go on, buy on, you know you want to!!!!!
wah hay, I\'m a member again! cheers Lisa!
I use my FD as a daily driver. Do about 20 miles per day. It\'s never flooded. I hardly ever have to top up the oil, and have never topped up the coolant. Most reliable car i\'ve had...and the fastest. :Giggle
QuoteMost reliable car i\'ve had...and the fastest.
but when you listen to all the \'experts\' they\'ll tell you it\'s utterly unreliable, and the engine will throw an apex seal at
exactly 60k miles, costing upwards of £6k! :yes
out of interest, what cars have you gone up against and been beaten by?
A friend of mine has a VX220 Turbo (stage 3 tuned) and it is frighteningly fast. Now, I know I won\'t be in that league with a standardish FD but what will surprise me when I\'m quicker than it?
I\'m just about ready to commit to FD ownership!
Happy days, here I come........ :InLove
Quotebut what will surprise me when I\'m quicker than it?
Depends to what speed you\'re talking! due to the rev and power band, the FD\'s time to 60, even in standard form, is impressively quick! Verging on many
new ferrari\'s! With a bit of tuning, you\'ll be biting at the heels of supercars! :D
Quote from: muckymanout of interest, what cars have you gone up against and been beaten by?
A friend of mine has a VX220 Turbo (stage 3 tuned) and it is frighteningly fast. Now, I know I won\'t be in that league with a standardish FD but what will surprise me when I\'m quicker than it?
I must say I tend not to get in many races but I don\'t remember anything beating me but I\'ve mullered a few scoobs and boxsters. Got beaten by an M3 once but that was because I bottled at ~110 leptons.
Oh, actually did get a kicking from a Chim 500 (TVR) off the line but we both maxxed out at 153mph and he beat me accross the timing beams but 20-30 metres at Bruntingthorp.
The 220 turbo might get going quicker (or not depending on lag) but it\'ll top out sooner - with bottle it won;t stay with the rex unless he\'s changed the gearing.
Quote from: iaintThe 220 turbo might get going quicker (or not depending on lag) but it\'ll top out sooner - with bottle it won;t stay with the rex unless he\'s changed the gearing.
I\'ve come from the vx220 camp (NA, not a turbo)...
Stock VXT is 200bhp, 930kg = 215bhp/tonne.
Stock RX7 type R = 280bhp, 1260kg(?) = 222bhp/tonne
So, stock vs stock the RX7 should win in a straight line. If you want to out-run a stage 3 VXT you\'ll have to beat around 290 bhp/tonne which mean you\'ll need around 365.4bhp...
Assuming bhp/tonne is a good indicator of straight line speed!
:Thumbs-up
Cheers, Paul.
Back to reliability; I give my FD a dogs life, commuting daily to and from work 2 miles each way but it fires up every time no problem - it\'s got the heart of a lion! I would say though that proper warm up and cool down is part of my daily routine. I will usually switch the engine on for 3-5 mins before getting into the car and driving off. Certainly never flooded or missed a beat in nearly a year of ownership. Suggest you go for one with a recent rebuild and then treat it right. It should look after you :)
For what it\'s worth, I drove a Supra (Non turbo though) before I brought the FD. It left me completely cold, It just didn\'t feel special - maybe it was just a poor specimen, but it made me even more set on an FD. :cool
Quote from: nikpbut when you listen to all the \'experts\' they\'ll tell you it\'s utterly unreliable, and the engine will throw an apex seal at exactly 60k miles, costing upwards of £6k! :yes
lol ! :-)))
Post a pic and the spec of the Turbo Roadster matey! My bro has a NASP one of these and i\'ve only recently become a fan!
Back on topic...
The FD is a refreshing change to most high power Jap cars. You still get the WTF! factor when pulling up at a garage! The likes of the Skylines, Supra and Evo are all too common place now.
If your located next to one of the specilaist vendors then you have little worries if you encounter a problem. Failing that do a bit of research, like anything its a learning curve (take it from someone with a lot to learn!).
Good luck!
Chris
I drive mine every other day, 3 and a half miles to work through town or 10miles along the duel carraigeway and a mile along a country road if the weather is nice and I fancy giving it some stick :cool
Never flooded once and Ive had it for about a year now, infact, apart from topping up the oil and giving it a service Ive only had to replace 2 tyres. Other than nothing has ever gone wrong with it (until last week the exhaust went ;) ) but theyre expenses you will expect on ANY car, performance or not, and the bonus with these cars is I dont mind doing the oil change since its not £30odd for 4 litres :D
Get one, theyre a damn sexy car that can go as fast as the majority of other cars on the road :)
Right, repeat this 10 times before you go to bed each night: "I will definitely buy an RX7 because they are rare and wonderful machines; I reject Supras, Skylines and in fact, all other cars as being unworthy of me. I am a special individual and I demand a truly unique and charismatic car; It is not only my aspiration but it is my unalienable right to own such a car as the (bow head slightly) Mazda RX7. "
Repeat this as stated, before you go to bed each night and at any time you feel the slightest doubt entering your head. :driving
thanks for the continued help guys. If anyone is interested in seeing my roadster turbo then there are a few pics and some links to more photos in my advert in the "roadsters for sale" section of //www.mx5ocforum.co.uk
Mine is the one under the title of roadster turbo (245bhp)
For some reason I can\'t acces the site right now so can\'t drop an image in here.
Mods - please don\'t think I\'m trying to sell on here. I\'m just letting some people know where the pics are.
This is the one I\'m thinking of buying. Anything stand out to you about the engine? (other than the fuse box is open and its wet)
https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/mx5oc/public/photo/uploads/7d959522d066455fabcbe4fdb4a521ff-RS.jpg
https://www.mx5oc.co.uk/mx5oc/public/photo/uploads/0ab0f5d9aad34d95b831288ba0ca2a35-RS.jpg
Looks clean and I guess must be quite rapid; Just lacks the road presence of the Rex. Seems a shame though to sell it when you\'ve only just got it how you wanted it! The RX7 in the photo looks nice and black is definitely a good colour. :)
Nice looking Roadster matey! :cool
Defo reminds me of my bro\'s, as his too is a black s-special.
As far as the \'7 goes be sure to check out the buyers guides on this here forum and across the net (sure you have anyway). Be sure to try to get as much paperwork as poss from the dealer (like the original auction sheets & proof of re-build if she has one).
BTW how much is she going for? You may just be in time to knock a few extra £££s off the asking price while the weather is wet and people aren\'t buying?
Good luck with the sale!
Chris