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Rx7 Fd As Daily Driver?

EVOIV

By EVOIV,
in General Automotive Discussion

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babyskyline Grand Master

babyskyline

Posted
Posted

Got a couple of mates who use theirs as daily drivers and they love it.

The only downside is the cost of fuel keeps going up and up and once you have one you cant keep it stock....look at buying a big fuel container for your yard lol

mark_sudakov Community Regular

mark_sudakov

Posted
Posted

i wouldnt buy one for a daily coz of fuel consumption. If its completely stock then fuel consumption is more affordable. Also for a daily, if your driving alot, the rotor needs a rebuild after round 150000, 200000 is rare i think, so id stay with a piston engine for a daily.

It is my dream car though, but will probably only get it as a second car only, as having it as your only car is not smart unless u catch the train to work and drive it only on the weekends

R34NRG Grand Master

R34NRG

Posted
Posted (edited)

i would of got a rx7 if i could fit in one, the cars like a 1inch of the ground and i have to literally crawl out. and my legs are to long

id say keept these sorts of cars as weekend cars. you appreciate them so much.

everyone kept saying it and i didnt believe it. but after buying a piece of shit car to drive around during the week.

getting into a turbo charged car and cruising down the road is the greatest feeling.

Edited by R34NRG
Modena Grand Master

Modena

Posted
Posted
my mate gets on average 300 to 350k's in his lightly modded rx7. strangely enough he just picked up an evo.

as with the others, if you can afford running costs and comfort, space then go for it.

+1 for appreciating the car more as a weekender.

Who is your mate's main supplier? :P

CNG Contributor

CNG

Posted
Posted

Had a Series 7 which I used as a daily for a few years and can say it makes a great daily driver subject to the following:

1. Fuel comments above definately apply. Mine was bog stock except for some suspension work and it still chewed the gas. You can watch in horror as the fuel guage needle drops if you get on it. (no joke)

2. Learing to be conscious of every speed bump and driveway you come across. The clearance on these cars is the equivalent of a go kart (with the benefit of handling like one too). Fibreglass front bumper lips will get shredded and exhausts/cats crunched if you are not careful. I kept the plastic factory lip on mine and it would have saved $$$$$$ in repair/repainting costs as it would absorb most of the bad crunches.

3. Cosmetics. Due to the height and shape of the car, people less careful with parking WILL back into you. Its not a matter of if, just when. A mangled numberplate when you return is usually an indicator of irresponsible parking. Stone damage - again on a daily its going to happen. With a car that low debris from 4WDs and cars now become a problem.

4. No luggage space. I couldnt fit a suitcase in the boot (mine had the Bose factory sub which makes things worse), and found even food shopping duties difficult if you are buying alot.

In terms of interior comfort its a personal thing. I'm 6'3 but I could live with the difficulties in getting in and out of the car as a daily. It definately is not as easy as a commodore but as previously mentioned it IS a LOW vehicle. Getting out of the car whilst parked uphill is NOT fun. Also tall people retaining the stock seating will have problems with headroom. It was easier for me to reach out my window and scratch my scalp through the open sunroof than it was to do so inside the car. That said I loved the way the seating position and gearshift combined and the whole 'cockpit' feeling the car gave to the driver.

So from my experience if you can live with the above then go for it. Its an absolute blast to drive and arguably has more street presence than my GTR has now. I'm not sure about the market now but in my few years of ownership it also held its value extremely well due to its rarity back then. (95% of what i paid for it)

CNG Contributor

CNG

Posted
Posted

I had a standard R32 GTR (now sold) for a while alongside the 7, but they are completely different cars enjoyable in different ways. I loved the RX7 for its handling/chassis dynamics and braking (std 4 pots with pagid blues) whilst the GTR was (to me at the time) a complete monster in a straight line with such a beefy midrange that made it so much easier to extract its potential from. You really had to buzz the 7 to get it going but what a wonderful sound it made when it was on song! You could also feel the extra weight the GTR carried under cornering in terms of extra body roll etc as the center of gravity of my RX7 was quite a bit lower. (practically sitting over the rear diff provides lots of seat-of-the-pants feedback)

Current GTR is a different beast again compared to those two :P

EVOIV Community Regular

EVOIV

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

CNG: Do you know what the fuel economy was like for the RX7? I do mostly highway driving to and from work. I've always wanted an RX7 cos I love the shape. Didn't wanna go for an s15 as I know at least 3 ppl who have one. Didn't want an R34 GTS-T cos my friend has one. Can't afford an R34 GTR. I want a newer car (year 2000+) but still sporty. I don't particularly like the newer sports cars out there like the RX8. So I'm thinking of getting an RX7 but I am aware of their "difficulties" such as high maintenance, high fuel consumption, unreliable...etc.

Anyone recommend another sports car apart from the FD?

Also CNG, did you have any mechanical problems with your Series 7?

Cheers!

t01-100 Mentor

t01-100

Posted
Posted

I used my FD as a daily for a week and a bit before pulling it apart for race prep... great car with nice chassis out of the box, but loved fuel, I'm 175cm and the Japanese seat rails didn't let the seat go back far enough to be comfortable, they didn’t sit low enough for be to be comfortable either, the wheel isn’t height, reach or tilt adjustable, the door plastics are crap and rattled like hell… particularly the internal door handle area, the interior feels tight on space generally, but the hatch back design was handy... not so handy or practical now with a roll cage!

As a road car I much preferred my 32 GTR and now 33 GTSt as simply more space.

CNG Contributor

CNG

Posted
Posted

Evo,

You are testing my memory as it was a few years ago when I had the thing, but if driven conservatively I would get just over 400kms to a tank (+/- 5%). This was 100% city driving though with minimal highway kms in that 400. Im afraid I cant help with an estimate on highway kms as the car is so unpractical for longer trips (unless you use the whole boot as a suitcase) it was never used outside of Sydney. If you were to use it agressively then that 400km estimate would fly out the window. I'm also not sure if would make any difference to range but my car had the old 16 bit ECU. Mazda updated to a newer 16 bit ECU (and im guessing would have resulted in a change to the mapping due to different turbochargers) in the Series 8. I would suggest that highway driving would provide significantly more range as you would be off boost more often. (well depending on how you drive on highways)

I didnt have any major mechanical problems with mine but was religious with servicing by a rotary professional and getting the oil changed every 5,000 kms / 6mths. I saw it as cheap insurance against blowing up an engine. My car had under 100,000kms so I cannot comment on the accuracy of claims that a rebuild is necessary between 100-150,000 kms. I didnt have any rattles from the door area, but due to the way the centre console trim (ie behind the shifter) is attached to the trans tunnel plastics, I did have looseness from this piece of trim. I do agree with T01-100's comment on the seat position though. I learnt to change my driving position, but more legroom & headroom would have been welcome. Something that can be fixed with your choice in aftermarket seats and rails I guess. Dont forget mine had a sunroof as well so my comments above are predicated on this fact.

They can have problems though with the sequential operation of the turbochargers as it involves a 'rats nest' of vacuum hoses under the manifold. This was addressed in the Series 8 somewhat (ie simplified) but I dont have the specific knowledge to tell you if it solved the problem with the secondary (ie larger) turbocharger either failing to operate or operating at reduced capacity. A common problem in the Series 6 and is one that increases with age/kms as the rubber vacuum hoses age through repeated heat cycles causing leaks. An easy fix is to switch to a big single! :)

Have you considered a S2000? Its sporty, has roughly the same amount of boot space :cheers: and 1999-2000 models can be had for $30K. Much much easier on the fuel too. Not too much chop though.

Although I have moved on from the rotor world I will never forget the wail punctuated by the shift chime so unique to the 3rd Gen RX7. Its an absolutely timeless shape and if you can live with its eccentricites is a great car to own and drive. I still dream of owning a Series 8 RS+20B combo.

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