whats the reliability like?

[rocket]

hi all

im looking to buy an RX7 during this year but i want to now how reliable are they? I need a car that i can use as a daily drive and be relaible on long journeys as i go to france and the lake district.

any info would be appreciated.

also can you but a bike carrier on these?

[davegttph1]

Not sure about a bike carrier but IMO the RX7 is as reliable as most other cars providing you put the time and effort into it, for example as a daily driver your going to be doing a fair few miles, meaning regular oil and plug changes, this will add up to be expensive but providing you keep ontop of the maintenance it\'ll be reliable for you, had mine since May and the only problem Ive had is the Caliper has decided to stick so Im going to have to source a new one but thats about it. I use mine most days but only cover about 10 miles to work in it and back.

[RobbieRX-7]

i too reckon they are reliable cars. Ive had mine 2 years and nothing serious has gone wrong with it even on the original engine. I have got a slight idling and  boost issue now but it is still easily driveable. I change the oil & filter every 1000 miles(£20inc filter) and do a lot of the service work myself. Not many people know this but mazda  rotary engines have been used in aeroplanes in the USA, so that gives an idea on how reliable they really are IF LOOKED AFTER PROPERLEY!!

[Jono FD3]

I\'ve only coverd about 4000 miles in mine since I bought it 11 months ago, and the only thing I have had to change (apart from the oil & filter) is the pipe to the boost gauge!!! starts first time every time, sounds ace and goes like hell!!!
(you watch it won\'t sart next time and the engin will blow!!!!)

Jono

[Kieron]

Now where to begin  

Find your self a tuner you can trust! VERY important.
Get it serviced religiously.
Change the ECU for an A\'PEXi A.S.A.P.
Don\'t let your friends drive it.

Petrol consumption is a bit high for a daily driver, I use to use mine everyday and it just wasnt worth it, I now walk the 1 mile to work  

Make sure you join this fab club and come to as many meets as you can, you will make some good friends here. I\'ve had loads of help off other member and they have always got me back on the road after my problems.

Don\'t forget FDUK if you want more RX7 action.

Oh and don\'t read any of my threads cos you\'ll be put off them for life  :yes

All the best.

Kieron

P.S Mine is up for sale  :Thumbsup!

[rocket]

this is starting to sound preety good. do you think they will be ok on a seven hour non-stop (well apart from petrol, boat, and calls of nature which we all know have to be answered) trip to france in very hot weather???

also anyone know a tuner in the wet london area or preferably uxbridge

@ jono - good luck with that starting!!

[Kieron]

With an apexi you can keep a close eye on water temps. But it should be fine, when I was in south of spain last year I saw 2 english RX7s and I also saw one in Ayia Nappa  :Thumbs-up

Didn\'t Ross @ Dragon take his on holiday with him?

[rocket]

whats an apexi? also ive seen a lot of jap cars with what seems to be big clocks stuck on the dash with what i think is a light stuck on teh side. are these rev counters or something?

[Red and Single]

Hi there,

I haven\'t had mine long and so cannot comment on long term reliability from an owners point of view. However I do have some observations and opinions  that might be of interest.

Firstly late models are extremely rare and will never come over now due to import laws so the newest model you are likely to get your hands on is an 11 year old car.

Now all cars of that age are going to need a good deal of looking after, and with an FD that means considerable maintenance expense unless you are handy with a spanner or know someone who is.

IF you can do the maintenance yourself and the little jobs you can save a fortune.

Parts for these cars are not cheap new, but loads get smashed \'cos they bite hard if mishandled, so second hand parts are a plenty.

There are 2 things that cost big money owning an FD.

1. Petrol (I get between 12 and 18mpg period)
2. Rebuild.

Every car will need a rebuild at some point, the price of this varies massively depending on the condition of the engine and it\'s cause of failure.

A stock car is often good for over 60k.

There aren\'t many stock cars around !!

When I was buying my car, I wanted reliability and as such believe it or not, went for a single turbo car, you see the twin turbo system has two downsides for me, firstly it is v. complicated and thus unreliable at this age, and secondly, that second turbo comes on hard and thats a great laugh in the dry in a straight line but... you guessed it !!

My advice...Buy a well sorted recently rebuilt single turbo motor and turn down the boost to give low temps and good reliability. It\'ll save you spending all your money modifying it and allow you plenty of cash to pamper it instead  :Thumbsup!

For a daily driver, you definately do not want any of the following...

1. Twin Plate Clutch.
2. 1.5way or 2way locking differential.
3. Bridgeport ....nasty idle and off boost behaviour apparently.

Hope that helps

[Martiny]

Hi Rocket.
As everyone has said, these cars are reliable , if you are meticulous about the maintenance. I dont beleive you need an Apexi, the Mazda ECU ( Control Unit) is extremely reliable. Carl Hayward, an advertising vendor, has good avice on reliablilty that I agree with - "leave it standard", which also means you dont need a single Turbo conversion. The twin Turbo system is usually only let down by a little rubber pipe here and there.

Yes , you can get a bike rack, I have one for my car, which, as a bonus, fits my 323 as well. The downside is you have to get it from the US or Canada.

http://www.yakima.com/home.html

Mine is similar to this one...

[bnaellis]

this is starting to sound preety good. do you think they will be ok on a seven hour non-stop (well apart from petrol, boat, and calls of nature which we all know have to be answered) trip to france in very hot weather???

also anyone know a tuner in the wet london area or preferably uxbridge

@ jono - good luck with that starting!!

They are fine long journeys. I have made many a long trip to France in mine. Once made over 10 hour Journey to France nonstop apart from ferry and petrol in a very hot summer. Car is really left standard for ultimate reliability.

[mattmaclennan]

An engine rebuild is not the end of the world, if you put it next to a car of similar age and performance such as a skyline, it knocks the socks off it. You couldn\'t get a new set of pistons for a liner for the price of a complete rebuild on a rotor motor. Like all engines, it has a life expectancy, 60k miles (100k Km) is about average, however I\'ve seen 90k+ on an FD motor. It had been used for making long comuter dirves up and down the uk all it\'s life.

Early models will probably need suspension and brake work as well. Post \'96 is a significant change in quality edited to add: not so much in build but in second hand condition. Typicaly as they have been owned by people that can afford to maintain them properly.

[satch]

Welcome to the club mate! :wave
If your looking for long term reliability then you\'ll want one as near to standard as possible :yes
If you\'re interested,i\'ll be putting my pride & joy up for sale pretty soon (the reason\'s a long story but being self employed & recovering from a back operation dosen\'t pay the mortgage :2Rolleyes )
It\'s a mint 1993 RZ twin turbo RE Amemiya (RZ\'s are the more rarer of the 3rd gen models) in black,sourced through Newera imports...including a private plate(HI RXY)!! and guess what?...It\'s got a completly stock engine!! :god

Interested?? contact me on the e mail address below and give you more good news about it!

Cheers,Paul :cheers
PS: my e mail is ; helenandpaul@tesco.net :Typing

[2qk4u]

I will be buying an RX-7 in the coming weeks/months but my question is the oppisite,what are they like when they dont get used much,it is only a toy for me as I drive a transit most of the time and my second car is lucky if its used a couple of times a month,will I have problems ?

[iaint]

this is starting to sound preety good. do you think they will be ok on a seven hour non-stop (well apart from petrol, boat, and calls of nature which we all know have to be answered) trip to france in very hot weather???

also anyone know a tuner in the wet london area or preferably uxbridge

As long as everything\'s in good order it\'ll be fine in hot weather.  Le Mans 04 was hot, 05 was hotter (38C one day!).  1st year in mine - no heat issues at all, even in heavy traffic.  Last year in a friends car we had some issues in traffic (i.e. stop start for 2 hours in 35C temps) but nothing major.

It\'s a wise upgrade to replace the stock rad with something beefier any of the vendors on here can help with that.

As for overall reliabilty - there\'s day to day reliabilty and the FD is pretty good (only had a hydraulic clutch hose spring a leak so no worries there).  THe other thing is the long-term engine rebuild saga.  60k miles seems to be the average.  Some, like mine, will show signs of tiredness earlier, some later.  I had mine rebuilt (water seal failure - the usual cause of death) at 45k.

You can use it as a daily but you\'d save money buying a beater for the daily grind that does 35+ mpg as you\'ll get anything from 15 to 22mpg depending on the nature of the run to work.

I use Shy and Re:worx for upgrades and tuning and generally do my oil and plugs myself.  Not sure of anyone in the Uxbridge area though.  PLugs and oil can be done anywhere but the garage may ask you not to bring it back after doing the plugs - it\'s a sod of a job!

Iain