BugDiddy

What year is the 10th Anniversary? I'm guessing its some deluxe model turbo or something... there is one in what appears to be excellent condition like 50 yards away from me (I have a few pics if you want em- didn't talk to the owner though, as I don't know who it is)

Even when I get the car- I will still probably take the city bus to school at least 3 times a week (my high school has no parking lot- and its 2 hour parking on the street, in addition to dumbasses who like to wreck cars for fun... not fun at all). Do they run on regular, mid-grade, or premium?

and 10-15 in the city? DAYUM! is that driving conservatvely or a 7 tenths? What can I expect on the highway (at the speed limit, hehe)

So basically, buying a good condition RX7 with a blown rotor and rebuilding it is a bad idea?

BugDiddy

Oh yeah:

I don't know too much about rotaries yet (I know the basics of how they work, but not much else other than that and the fact that they rock) but I am not a stranger to working on cars. I plan to keep reading on these forums and hopefully learn a bit more.

Thanks for your great responses so far :-D

philiptompkins

iTrader: (4)

they run better on low octane gas

jdmsuper7

iTrader: (1)

For whatever reason rotaries get horrible gas mileage in the city, even if driven very conservatively. My old NA could get 25 mpg on the highway though.

onePOINTthree

i am also 16 and i plan on buying a clean 87 N/A localy, good to read this thred. i know quite a bit about cars and goto a auto tech class so fluid chages are no prob for me, but doing everything yourself is much better IMHO then taking it somewhere, becasue you learn about your car and you have the satifaction of knowing you did it yourself

SJ_chameleon

All I can do is agree with everything that has already been said. As a native to colorado I too am no stranger to winter driving, and trust me I have had my share of accidents in the snow. All I can say is dont drive like a jackass in the snow and you should be fine, even in the snow you will probably be surprised at how fast you can go before you start sliding in these cars (considering it is a lightweight RWD car). As far as uniqueness these cars are definately in that category. If you plan to compete at all with an RX there is a pretty good chance you will be one of the only ones there, and will almost definately be the only one with a rotary engine. I think that the best advice for you that i have heard so far has been "learn how to do work on your car". It is absolutely true that you learn a great deal about working on cars when you own a RX. The reason is that it is just cheaper generally and plus most of the owners her love their car so much that it is kind of a bonding experience. So if you love the rotary then i say, by all means get this car.

P.S. 10th AE's were made in '88

therotaryrocket

i almost disagree, you can almost wail on rotaries all day long and they last, redlines at 7 but im shifting at 8 and in the next gear before the rpms have dropped below 7(powershifting), staying between 5.5k-6.5k rpms for over an hour with speeds of 110-130 mph(before getting a ticket), and still runs like a beast, i think rotaries are reliable. if you maintain it you can beat the crap out of it, actually i have yet to try to not maintain it, how does everyone seem to "know" that if you don't change your oil the rotary engine can't handle that, did someone test this? I no it's not good, but let's here first hand experience of a comparison to your guys suggested civic. BTW do not plan on rebuilding the engine, what kind of **** is that? You can rock a rotary all day long without it phasing. Snow driving....you got skills? I think rx7's are reliable, oh yeah and being in the cold+moist, make sure you do check for rust. Maybe I don't have enough experience with them yet, but i've got two and several friends with them. you'll probly be satisfied.

fcrx88

buy an n/a s4 prefferably. i drove my 88gxl daily for years with the only maintenance needed was regular oil changes. i attempted to drive it in the snow and it was NOT a fun experience.

Syonyk

Regarding oil changes & such: The most common problem with not changing oil often enough is sludge buildup. If you've looked at MOP lines, they are far too easy to clog with sludge (or, if it makes it through the line, it doesn't take much at all to plug the injector). It's not uncommon for people to test their lines/injectors after pulling a blown engine apart and find 3 completely clogged.

High RPMs are good for rotary engines, but if you look at the number of NAs with seized actuators (6th ports & VDI on the S5s), it's clear that many have been babied for long periods of time. That's bad for the engines. Also, while you can keep a properly warmed up rotary engine up in the 6k+ RPM zone basically forever, there are people who will do this with a cold engine or one that's low on oil. Again, bad.

Basically, it comes down to the fact that 95% of people in America are annoyed by the fact that their car requires "regular maintenance" in the form of putting gas in. Changing the oil is often done long after it's required (especially on a rotary engine that burns oil and tends to dump more than a bit of gas in the oil), and coolant flushes are rare.

There are people on this forum with 200k+ miles on the factory engine. They almost always are original owners who perform regular maintenance. Most 2nd or 3rd owners are lucky to see 150k miles on a NA engine.

-=Russ=-

rosey

iTrader: (1)

Where in Madison do you live? If you get an rx-7 we should meet up some time, I'm always looking for more people around here with rx-7's.

The people at Don Miller Mazda are ******* douche-bags, so I wouldn't reccomend going there if your looking for someone to do work. You'll be doing alot of reading and figureing stuff out if your going to be working on it, but these are not hard cars to work on. I'd be happy to give you a hand if you need some help with something.

I've still yet to drive my FC in the snow, but I drove my old FB in the snow a couple times on summer tires and it was fine...I'd imagine with some good all-season tires or snow tires the only thing that would stop you is if the snow is higher then the car has ground clearance. Just learn to deal with rwd, its worth it

vice

I LOVE MY FC IN THE SNOW!!!! as long as you are expecting a slide, and you know how to drift (as ricer as that may sound) the fc is totally controllable. i can get my fc in and out of a slide really easily. you can't really go too fast though. but so far, my FC has been my favorite car in the snow.

also, i havnt used anythign but street tires.

BugDiddy

I live on the South Side, off of Badger. You?

I am also looking at an old 74 Beetle that needs some body work (but is in very good mechanical condition). I am going with my friend who is a part time mechanic tomorrow for rough estimates for repair.

I might have to go with that because I don't think I can afford the parts (the rebuilds have me really worried) and the 7s are probably a little out of my price range (although I don't know how much that will cost- I will look into that soon) I'd love a 7 for a second, maybe third car (believe me, I am DEFINATELY going to try to get one- but they are just a bit expensive for me as of now)

Thank you guys a lot for your help. Good to know that the rotaries are reliable, its just human error. You can bet that I will keep visiting here, even if I don't have an RX