Mazda Rotary Club

...about buying an RX7? :D


I\'m in the market for one at the moment and just wanted to ask a few things.

Firstly, can anyone point me in the direction of some sweet stickies and info etc? I\'ve been on a few websites which were quite helpful.

Moreover, how long does a factory built 13B engine last if it\'s stock? How long does a rebuild last?

If a car has been rebuilt how do I know how good the workmanship is on the car and how healthy the engine is? Presumably do some background research on the company that carried it out and speak to the owner but feeling slightly wary about buying a rebuild. Should I be?

How expensive are new rotors and/or housings in case I have to rebuild myself?

I\'m very mechanically minded and fancy a change from a silly piston engine now. Really looking forward to getting into one and owning one. Not looking forward to the fuel bill! Haha :D


Lastly, if I paste a few adverts up that I\'m thinking of buying would people be able to help spot potential specific RX7 problems. I\'m fairly clued up on cars so will be able to (hopefully) spot a rotter when I see one but any rotary or RX7 specific knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

CAN\'T WAIT! :cheers :WaveBye :Thumbsup!

Quote from: Edd1Ninety9;781562...about buying an RX7? :D


I\'m in the market for one at the moment and just wanted to ask a few things.

Firstly, can anyone point me in the direction of some sweet stickies and info etc? I\'ve been on a few websites which were quite helpful.

The button marked \'Search\' at the top of this page ;)

Moreover, how long does a factory built 13B engine last if it\'s stock? How long does a rebuild last?

How long is a piece of string? Depends on how long it\'s been looked after, modifications, etc. Some last 60-70k miles, some have popped at 20.

If a car has been rebuilt how do I know how good the workmanship is on the car and how healthy the engine is? Presumably do some background research on the company that carried it out and speak to the owner but feeling slightly wary about buying a rebuild. Should I be?

Simple answer is, you don\'t. There\'s various things you can to do to get a feel for it. e.g. compression test, champagne test, oil check, boost pattern check is stock twins, (search for all on here) but the best way is to go out for a drive with someone who knows their stuff. Try getting one from an owner on here or FDUK.org and you\'ll know it\'s been looked after.

How expensive are new rotors and/or housings in case I have to rebuild myself?

Rotors and housings are about £500-700 a pop IIRC. Rebuilds vary so you may or may not need them at all depending on how it\'s gone pop and what the little pieces of tip have done on the way out the engine (scored the housings, busted the turbos, etc)

I\'m very mechanically minded and fancy a change from a silly piston engine now. Really looking forward to getting into one and owning one. Not looking forward to the fuel bill! Haha :D

My FD (mildly modded, stock twins, ~320bhp will do 14mpg all day long) it is THAT bad. :)

Lastly, if I paste a few adverts up that I\'m thinking of buying would people be able to help spot potential specific RX7 problems. I\'m fairly clued up on cars so will be able to (hopefully) spot a rotter when I see one but any rotary or RX7 specific knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

See above, best bet is to look at those for sale here and on FDUK, but peeps will gladly help out. As there\'s not that many in the UK most are known to someone or other.

CAN\'T WAIT! :cheers :WaveBye :Thumbsup!

HTH

graeme

The stock life engine depends on the maintenance, The lucky ones may last 100/130k km
Whit good maintenance:)
For this you need to:
1 Oil change in max 5/6k km whit the good oil 4T 10w40 capable of burning well and to mix with gasoline, one example is Royalpurple :)
2 spark plugs change in max 15k km a good internal burning is the key for long life the wankel.
3 use the premix oil in your tank of gasoline, 2/3ml of specific oil 2T or specific premix oil whit Idemitsu. This helps to lengthen the life of the engine, lubricating the engine optimally and softening the residual carbon which are the cause of premature death
4 for optimal rebuild, make sure that the list of parts replaced is at least this.
The list founded to  http://www.reworx.com/

Post here  links of car would you buy and we will be happy to comment on them together and find the one with better health

If I forgot something in my answer, do not hesitate and do the questions you want :D

Welcome to MRC and sorry for my poor English

Amazing guys, really informative and helpful. Sorry for being a n00b and not searching, I know how annoying it is on my forum!!

What would be better a lowish mileage ~40k un-rebuilt engine in a stock car or one that has covered ~70k with a rebuilt engine by a reputable rotary specialist? Price being the same and the other variables the same.

is 14mpg when you\'re going for it and have a heavy right foot?!? :O I\'d be wanted about 350 out of mine if I get one... :)

Streetracer, all that information is gold-dust and very specific which is exactly what I\'m after.

If I service her regularly with high quality parts, plugs, oil etc. frequently then are they fairly reliable?

Oil in the petrol?! Reminds me of my two stroke days! :D

Keep the info coming guys, and with regards to purchasing cars are the imports ok in terms of build quality? Will it need to be undersealed? Would a high mileage car start falling apart even if the engine is good on her? My current celica is very well made so people have had 150k miles easily and you wouldn\'t know... :)

Thanks in advance!!

you live in the uk right?
First, do not buy a car with 40k or 70k in any situation.
I did, but my engine was completely rebuilt by ReWorx and had 30k at the time of purchase.
in short, is young, about 3 years from the rebuild, but to buy a car with an engine 8 / 10 years although a few km is dangerous.
FD is looking for a Jap spec imported from Japan, is much better than uk spec. no matter how many years did not fall to pieces, I have 130k miles, you just have to check that there is rust under the car, that is the problem of cars in the uk. for the rest of the engine with the right maintenance is reliable for a long time.
2 T oil is widely used in the Wankel to help the lubrication of the inner chambers, these are mixtures of 100/150 ml for 60 liters for road use. I did not understand, what is your target power? We can help you understand how to achieve it.
For example my FD run at 0,85 of boost whit the intake upgrade and full catback system whit decat on 85% of duty cycle for my stock injection and produces 320 Bhp :)

Cheap mineral oil is fine, don\'t waste money on royal purple snakeoil.  Premix is unneccesary if your oil metering is working.

12mpg was normal when I was on twins, its supposed to be much better in a single turbo coversion as its easier to keep off boost at a cruise.

Your priority should be a good chassis, younger the better, and a recently rebuilt engine OR one needing a rebuild and just price it in.

If you are going to want to go single, buy one thats already done unless you have deep pockets.

I think this is an old mentality, which will take you only to rebuild faster ;)
The minaral OIL is fine for 12a not for 13b ;)
the premix is not necessary, but recommended, call by phone
ReWorx,hayward rotary,rotechniks ecc. advise them what you feel :D

The lower chassis mileage cars tend to drive so much better than those with high miles. That\'s the reason I swerve high milers as I know that they\'ll generally need some sort of bushes or brakes doing just to get them thru the mot. I don\'t agree with the statement about the engines age. If the car and engine have been looked after there\'s no reason why it shouldn\'t go on. I sold a 97 car last year with 18000 on the clock and an original engine and it\'s still going today. My advice is buy the newest and highest spec from factory that model your budget will allow. 92-93 were the worst of them in terms of interior quality. 94-95 a bit better all around. 96 onwards had a few nice upgrades and 99 onwards came the facelift and power increases for certain models. I know of a low mileage 96 with a strong compression test that\'ll be up for sale soon. Can pass on the details if you like.

Quote from: Jit;782075The lower chassis mileage cars tend to drive so much better than those with high miles. That\'s the reason I swerve high milers as I know that they\'ll generally need some sort of bushes or brakes doing just to get them thru the mot. I don\'t agree with the statement about the engines age. If the car and engine have been looked after there\'s no reason why it shouldn\'t go on. I sold a 97 car last year with 18000 on the clock and an original engine and it\'s still going today. My advice is buy the newest and highest spec from factory that model your budget will allow. 92-93 were the worst of them in terms of interior quality. 94-95 a bit better all around. 96 onwards had a few nice upgrades and 99 onwards came the facelift and power increases for certain models. I know of a low mileage 96 with a strong compression test that\'ll be up for sale soon. Can pass on the details if you like.

is right, but you always figure out who you\'re buying and if the course has given the necessary care:Thumbs-up

Quote from: Edd1Ninety9;781562Moreover, how long does a factory built 13B engine last if it\'s stock?

Mines on over 90k miles and hasn\'t been rebuilt yet, and still going strong :Laugh

Ok so I should try and get as new and as low mileage possible then? Then when I get her full service and good maintenance procedure to prolong the life of the stock engine?

Then when she pops, big single?! :rollin :wiggle

Also, just found out one of my really good friends who is a god with cars, owns an Escort RS Cosworth with 660bhp at the fly (!), is a rotary specialist! :D

What sort of power can you expect out of the stock twins? ~350? :wiggle

Thanks again all. :cheers

I use the procedure as the one I described, I saw a lot of research and seems to be the correct way.


You can also have a great power, but you will go to single turbo :burnout

by the Twins turbos at 1.0 max bar of boost you can expect 350HP and more,
but you should review your injection system :rollin
there are people who to 350bhp increasing the fuel pressure and increasing the duty cycle injection over 90%, but for me it is not safe :Giggle too much stress for the stock injectors.
You\'ll then need to buy the new injection Kit whit the new fuel pressure regulator and new fuel pump.


ENJOYY :Thumbs-up

Yeah I\'m doing a lot of reading now to try and educate myself. :) I wouldn\'t have a problem upgrading the fuel system to cope with the extra boost if it needs it.

Been reading a bit about the non sequential turbo set up and a little confused. What does it do exactly? Convert the stock twins so that they both kick in later and no first turbo before a certain RPM? How much is this and how hard is it to do? :wiggle

I\'ve driven properly working seq and non seq twin turbos and I hated the non seq. Just felt more lethargic and on the road it\'s easier to drive quickly with a working seq system than non. Also if you get a 96- car then you have the simplified black box system rather than the maze of vacuum hoses and solenoids so diagnosing any problems is easier. Also stock twins don\'t tend to last long at 1bar.

Quote from: Lacey;782091Mines on over 90k miles and hasn\'t been rebuilt yet, and still going strong :Laugh

89k miles on my turbo II FC, compressions of 7.2 on the front 6.9s on the rear :)

its worth noting that FC engines tend to last longer as they dont run as much power as the fd engines.

As for buying. The shell is the most important thing in my eyes as it\'s the hardest to replace. Then engine, either look for a rebuilt one or a dead one. Then depending on budget you might wanna look at the state of the suspension, interior etc.

If you want to go single I suggest you buy one already done, much much cheaper than doing it yourself. Obviously it depends what you want out of the car etc. Make sure you get one that has the right single tub set up, they aren\'t all the same.

But generally the more you pay in the beginning, the less you pay later, unless you get bummed and your engine dies :P

to answer an above question. You can get 350bhp out of the stock twins, but they will be starting to squeal lol. IIRC the most boost you can \'safely\' get out of them is 1barg. After that they don\'t like it much lol.

You can get uprated twins from either Knightsports or BNR that will get you to 450ish, but they are pricey

Well I\'ll be buying a FD \'cos they look sweet and are awesome! :D

So now a decent shell is the only thing I should look for?! Would a high mileage import be undersealed and all ok over here in the UK? I\'m sure I\'ll get round to doing stuff like poly bushes at some point anyway so not a huge problem.

With regards to factoring in a rebuild, how much time does it roughly take and how much in pure parts? All brand new...? I\'d be undertaking it myself for sure so not a problem, just hoping to have it out on the bench and back in over a weekend.

Also, when I buy my car I would want to at least drive it for a bit before having to immediately rebuild it!! :O

With regards to the power, stock will be enough at first then usual mods then perhaps non-seq twins up to ~350 and we\'ll see. That\'ll be more than enough due to this being my first RWD turbo... :wiggle

So are the turbos the first to go at higher boost pressures as opposed to the actual internals? How good is the 13B at handling high boost and power? I know a 2JZ-GTE that is running 1200hp on the stock block and crank so....

Thanks guys, hugely helpful. :cheers

I might be selling my fd soon as I\'m going self employed and need to get a van. It\'s a single turbo set up looks sweet it\'s red just changed the engine Aswel to a different engine which had high compression results the chassis has only done 50,000 miles some of which is kilometres. It\'s running 368.9 bhp as needed a new cluth and a front bumper that doesn\'t block the front mount so much. The clutch is getting changed today as I write and the bumper is in my back garden just needs painting but should be able to get 440bhp ish then. But will be looking for 7500, can even thrown in my old engine so you could rebuild that one and still drive the fd.

Edd1 :D you\'re lucky, you\'re living in uk :D
I think that I live in a country that can not even pronounce the name Wankel.
 Here are all incapable of knowing, only a few fans like me looking for information, but otherwise you can feel comfortable, it\'s me who should I worry if I have some serious problems :rolleyes::Hammer

Splinter, sounds awesome mate. What\'s more of the spec? Where are you based as well? Might nip up and see if you can give me a passenger ride sometime soon so I can extend the overdraft! Haha :)

£7500 is a bit out of budget at the moment, well depends entirely how much I can sell my existing car for. Either I\'ll have to wait a bit longer or would you be open to offers? :wiggle


Haha streetracer, it seems there are many awesome rotary specialists in the country with three within 50miles of me! :D

Got to get one now... It be rude not to. ;)

Well if we\'re all plugging our cars.

My T04r turbo\'d FD is up for £6.6k atm. Absolutely no rust on the shell and 5k miles on the engine! Running on coil overs and has uprated brakes too

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71190

£6.6k? Are you serious?! :O Would you take a part exchange?!