Quote from: AdrianGOK, 1st things 1st I guess..... and this is a long shot.... but one of the reasons I am selling the S2000 is that it is a 2 seater and we have a new baby girl. Myself and my wife never get to use it and I can not even bring the little one in at as you can not disable the airbag in the passenger seat. So... could the Rx7 FD fit a Baby seat in the back... or even in the front (or is there an airbag). It\'s not too important to me as we have a second car we use for family stuff... this will be my toy, but I would like at least the option of using it to transport the baby the odd time.
The back seat in an FD is as useless as a very useless thing. You may be able to get a baby seat in (just about) but that\'s pretty much it...
Quote from: AdrianGNext, I have been reading some of the For Sale posts and also the tech sections of some web sites.... and alot of people seem to recommend a service every 4000km?? Is that right?? Seems like you\'d need to do that once every few weeks so.
The usually recommended interval here is every 3k miles, so that\'ll be 5000km. Clean oil is very important on these engines so skimping on maintenance won\'t pay. Well, it may end in a premature bill if you know what I mean.
Quote from: AdrianGI am seeing Single Turbo and Twin turbo… I thought they were all twin… what’s the story there?
The FD came out of the factory as a twin turbo but a lot of people stick big single turbos on in a quest for more power. The TT system is quite complicated so it also simplifies the whole turbo system and the rat\'s nest that makes hunting vaccuum leak such fun on these cars.
Quote from: AdrianGNext....Is a Rebuild needed on EVERY RX7 or only some? How often is a rebuild needed and should someone like me who is new to the market be buying one with a rebuild already done?
I\'m just about to collect my third RX-7, which happens to be an FD. I bought this one and the FX-7 convertible off a well-known UK rotary specialist with a fresh rebuild. The engine\'s life expectancy seems to vary wildly, there are some FDs in the US that have done mega-mileage without a rebuild, other people have their engine go pop every couple of thousand miles. It\'s the usual rule of thumb - the more power, the worse the engine life. Plus, these cars do need proper maintenance which isn\'t cheap, so when they get neglected they\'re even more prone to grenading. I don\'t have much spare time and want to be able to use the cars so I do feel "safer" with a fresh rebuild and a warranty.
Don\'t get suckered into paying a premium for a supposedly rebuilt engine if the owner can\'t show the paperwork for the rebuild, btw. There seem to be a few cars on the market with supposed rebuilds in Japan and no proof...
Last but not least, I personally would not buy an RX without a compression test unless I was planning to rebuild the engine anyway.
Quote from: AdrianGI have been reading some Auto Trader adverts and they say "recent rebuild done at a cost of 5,000 Sterling"... is that really what a rebuild costs?
You can spend however much you\'d want on a rebuild :) but if you look around and check reputable specialists you\'ll find that a basic rebuild is a lot cheaper. But you can always pile on uprated bits \'til your wallet is empty.
Quote from: AdrianGI have seen some 1999 and 1998 models?? I thought the Rx7 stopped production in 1995. Can anyone clear that up for me?!!
No, they stopped exporting it to certain countries like the US and the UK in 95. Production in Japan continued to 2000-something.
Quote from: AdrianGThere seems to be a huge price difference in what I am seeing on AutoTrader.co.uk and AutoTrader.ie. Some 1995\'s are costing more then some 1998 models? What should I consider important.
First and foremost, the owner. You really, really don\'t want to buy it from someone who\'s recently changed the cambelts on it :D.
The condition of the car should really be the deciding factor; as usual, buy the best example you can afford instead of someone else\'s way overdue maintenance headache. Also, to maximise reliability it\'s probably best to stay closer to stock...
Of course the other way is to buy a really nice RX-7 with a dead engine and pay for a rebuild - this can be a cost-effective way to get a good car an peace of mind.
Quote from: AdrianGWe can only get 95RON petrol in Ireland. I believe that you need to get an Apexi Controller to allow the Rx7 to run 95RON… do most UK cars have this fitted or would I need to factor that into the price when buying?
You\'ll find that more and more cars have a PowerFC fitted but you\'d still need to get it remapped for 95RON, if such a thing is possible. I\'d budget on buying decent octane booster as well.
Quote from: AdrianGHow reliable are they? I have never had one spot of bother with my S2000 and my FTO before that.... are Rex Owners in the same boat?
They are probably more in the Supercar category of being a bit more maintenance intensive and fragile compared to the above. So far, I haven\'t had any real reliability issues with my convertible but that\'s not a daily driver. Whereas the FD is, so ask me again in a few months...
Quote from: AdrianGAnd finally... the big questions... should I let the servicing, maintenance and all that talk put me off buying one?? I really want one but I do not have a whole pile of time on my hands to be maintaining a car alot... however, I do put time into my motors and so the odd weekend to do a bit of preventative maintenance would be no problem.
Well, you need a good specialist near you IMHO unless you can invest the necessary time and do have the knowledge (a lot of which you can pick up on this site and rx7club.com). Buy a good one and I doubt that you\'ll have to fiddle with it every weekend but they do need looking after.
After visiting my new nephew last weekend and faffing with the baby seat I think I can confidently say that you won\'t get one in the bucket seats. I reckon the seat is far too wide to sit into the bucket shape properly.
OK, fair enough - my experience with baby seats is rather limited. However I think we can safely say that anything bigger won\'t fit, either :)
Quote from: teabaggerAfter visiting my new nephew last weekend and faffing with the baby seat I think I can confidently say that you won\'t get one in the bucket seats. I reckon the seat is far too wide to sit into the bucket shape properly.
Definitely worth doing a search on this. I remember one of the members posted up a pic before with a baby seat in the back.