Why so much bad press?

[probedb]

I know it's probably happened to everyone, but why do RX7s get so much bad press. So far since buying one I've had:

1. You'll need a rebuild at 60k miles (many, many times)
2. Servicing costs twice as much as for piston engined cars

...

etc and some of these are in Jap car clubs? Why so much bad press? I've learnt to just nod if anyone mentions anything because I can't be bothered arguing.

[Kieron]

Becuase alot of people have had alot of problems with them. I've had my fair share, but I love the RX7 and I'm on the lookout for another one.

They look and go better than any other jap car on the road so even if it spends half the time off the road on the few days it does work its amazing.

[Kash_]

1. You'll need a rebuild at 60k miles (many, many times)
2. Servicing costs twice as much as for piston engined cars


I get this from nearly all my friends since I told them I was getting a Rex.. they keep telling me to get a Supra.. I've tried to explain to them that its not as bad as people say and that a lot of the stories they heard is from people who have never owned a RX7. They know now that I wont budge as my mind has been made up to get a Rex, although I still get "its gonna need a rebuild quickly" every now and then

[20B_boy]

Its all swings and roundabouts; yes they are or can be delicate - but they also cost about 11p from autotrader now and compared to the cost of tuning say a 500hp skyline are cheap to make quick. As for servicing, i cant imagine that they are more expensive for a micro second!! what does a clutch change cost in a scooby or skyline?

Listen to owners not hear-say from jealous plebs driving inferior motors trying to justify the fact to themselves lol!!

:)

[Fish]

Its just jealousy mate. It's on par with my old cortina, sorry scooby. ;)

Fish

[ro284]

Well i bought mine needing a rebuild at 50k but it was because of poor maintenance, corrosion in the cooling system eats through cast iron housings,something you cannot see, but after 12 years that's to be expected, on any Jap car, but all that does not mean it's a bad design! just bad maintenance, the engine on mine was mechanically ok for a few more thousand k,but i went for a full rebuild while it was stripped, new housings and seals middle plate and rear plate etc.(overheated which killed it,) but i think the way is to see that is as an investment for the future, i don't happen to think rebuilds are that expensive for the power output,or compared to other engines, and when it's done that increases the value again, Perhaps we shouild all celebrate these wonderfully unique cars more often to counteract all the negatives from ill informed people,
Bob

[Martiny]

I know it's probably happened to everyone, but why do RX7s get so much bad press. So far since buying one I've had:

1. You'll need a rebuild at 60k miles (many, many times)
2. Servicing costs twice as much as for piston engined cars

...

etc and some of these are in Jap car clubs? Why so much bad press? I've learnt to just nod if anyone mentions anything because I can't be bothered arguing.

Probedb

I've been driving a Rotary since 1978, and I ve heard all the b*ll**** you can imagine about these cars. Its not worth arguing, because even when theyve been told by an owner, they will still stick to their cr4p story, because they want to.

I am on a US forum, and there is a 3rd Gen owner on there who's nearly on 160k miles. I got flamed on here last week for bringing this up. Now, its true that most of our cars come from Japan, and have been messed around with, either here or in Japan. Thats when the trouble starts. If left standard, and driven properly, I will say that more than 60k is possible. But, how many standard FD's are there around? Yes, I concede there are some that let go at less than 60, too. But I will bet , on most of those, there were some sort of extenuating circumstances - bad fuelling, overboosting, hot air intake, bad maintenance, etc.

Yes, the parts are expensive, but they are very good quality, ( except maybe the AST tank!) The servicing is also made expensive because you only want your car to go to a specialist, I hope?


To sum it up, people are ignorant about these cars, I would have thought that winning Le Mans would have woken people up a bit, but its made no difference, they prefer to listen to their Grandpa who says "Oh the tips are a problem on that engine".

[probedb]

I was just amazed that you mention RX7 and people immediately jump down your throat with the rebuild crap...because they've heard it somewhere.

I mean mine is a Jap import but it only has filters and backbox and is still running ok at 64k miles, had the AST replaced and intake gasket but it's what you'd expect on an 11 year old car. I think people still seem to forget how old they are :)

I'll have many years of happy motoring and keep ignoring all the know-it-alls ;)

[dandan]

Aside from the shocking fuel consumption that you just have to live with, the dreaded rebuild is probably the only minus point when it comes to rotaries.
Compared to other jap stuff, they tune better and cheaper, look better, drive like nothing else out there, have that important rarity value, etc etc etc.

I'm planning on getting back into rex ownership by buying a blown engined car and rebuilding it myself, and if I can do it once, I can do it as many times as I like, hence removing the biggest cost of owning a rex. win - win i reckon.

Then I just have to fund the scary fuel bill and all the shiny bits I want to buy for it!

[A7NTY]

The reason is because people are badly informed and believe all the nonsense in the press and programmes like top gear. The fact is a big power skyline will almost definetely cost you more to run that an equivalent FD, wont be as fast, wont look as good and will be as laggy as hell, the engines can be tuned to very high bhp but wont last 5 minutes. An FD engine wont last any longer but is atleast 1/3 of the cost to rebuild sometimes far less.

[Jodypamplin]

In my limited experience, and as a complete mechanical idiot, people who do not know the rotary engine (or want to know) are scared ****less when the words 'engine rebuild' are heard. I'm sure dramatic assumptions are immediately made and thats that, they are not interested. To be honest when I first thought about buying one, which is only a year ago, the thought of a rebuild was a major concern, but speak to some people in the know who you trust and it is not as bad as all that. touch wood my FD has been prob cheaper to run (barring petrol consumption obviously) than a clio williams which cost me about £2k/year for two years of ownership!! my only worry is what car to get next .... ? nah, i'll stick to the rex thanks :Giggle

[probedb]

I'm planning on getting back into rex ownership by buying a blown engined car and rebuilding it myself, and if I can do it once, I can do it as many times as I like, hence removing the biggest cost of owning a rex. win - win i reckon.

My plan too :) Except my engine is working still. Best way to learn about the engine too I figured!

Petrol isn't as bad as I expected, except Optimax is 95.6p/litre up here, it was 91.something in Watford!!

[Adriansturgess]

If you run a standard Rex and keep it well topped up with oil and coolant and fill it with optimax petrol it should be pretty reliable (as long as you don't cane the guts out of it every minute of the day). In reality you're at the mercy of the idiot that owned it before you - how well did they look after it? I keep servicing costs down by using a local garage for general maintenance issues (i.e. non engine related). But this is only because I do trust their competence. The main thing that sets the Rex apart from other aging performance cars is how far you have to travel to get to a Rotary specialist (unless you're lucky enough to live next door to one).

[babz_audio]

I got the same remarks when i told people i was getting an rx7..."rebuild, high maintenance costs, rebuild, petrol, rebuild" you kinda get the picture

but like with all cars if you buy an abused example then you wil fork out more, but if you get a good clean car with history then costs will be less

Ive got a 93 single Turbo which has nearly done 50,000miles and still going strong. Its never had a rebuold just been well looked after...

:flamed
:flamed
:flamed

[Brett]

To sum up, its all bulls*it. The rotary engine is no less reliable than any other type, with proper servicing and routine maintainence they will go for years. I know fo two UK FD's that went over the 100k mark and the non turbos easily do 120K+ (I've had two n/a, one did 155k, the other was on 128k when I pulled it out)

Skyline rebuilds are not exactly cheap either, I reckon you can get 2x 13B rebuilds for the cost of 1 RB26 rebuild....

[Ricco_04]

I don't know what it is with me and the high miler ones. My FD did virtually 100,000 and the TII has just over 116,000 on it and still runs and revs hard to the redline. Both cars used in the UK, FD all work, maintenance & service carried out by Mazda and the TII was owned by Mazda for 4 years and an enthusiast the rest.

Just to compare - S13 200sx has a life of approx 60,000 miles when the big end bearings have too much ware in them.

We can now get 2 engine rebuilds for the price of 1 six pod boinger one.

[Newera]

I've never been able to blow mine up yet. I always check the oil, warm it up and cool it down watching the Defi gauges, since the standard ones are rubbish...

I only changed the previous engine which was close to 60,000 miles because in Japan a complete new exchange Mazda engine with ancilliaries cost a fraction more than changing the turbos, after I blew the secondary some 3 years ago.

With the new engine despite a hard drives every time it goes out, a single tubby and a fair few trackdays of hard abuse, plus an exhaust silencer that's often glowing a faint red after use, it's still running perfectly 30,000 kilometres on with good compression.

In comparison, my previous R33 GT-R started rattling very faintly at 4,500 rpm after it's 2nd track day. Nothing terminal, but a decent rex is tougher if understood and well maintained.