Hi everyone, I am new and this is my first post.
I come from the 300ZXClub forums actually. Just sold my 300ZX NA and I'm looking to buy a 300ZX Twin Turbo or a 3rd Gen RX7 TT. I am not very familiar with the rotary but know how it works. I know very little about the RX7 though.

Would anyone give me a quick walk-through? I saw an FD TT on Ebay going for around 13K. Is this a good representative of the value of these cars at the moment? How much power do they put down? How responsive are they to mods?

Coming from 300ZX I know that the TT is very responsive to mods and can be taken to 360HP with no problem. How are these ?

Also, is maninteneance going to be a big issue with these cars?

I'm still exploring and making my decision. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Please read the frequently asked questions here: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/. It is a very long page but should answer a majority of your questions.

Also the word RX7 and Ebay in the same sentence don't usually go down well here.

 

FDs can go from between $10k-$30k depending on condition. Generally $15k is a safe bet.

Get the Z. It's rock solid, can lay down a lot of power, and is daily drivable.

 

Do a lot of research.

The 300ZX chassis itself, you are already familiar with. Just going from the NA to the twin turbo. The mechanicals aren't that different. Plus gas mileage is better w/ the 300ZX.

 

They are both completely different cars.

Both suck working on.

 

if your lazy and just like to drive get the z, however compared to the fd all it can do is go in a straight line and look/sound boring like every other car on the road but its not as fragile

if you want to pull up to car meets and be the center of attention, have older folks think you are driving some kind of new porsche, man-handle anything in the corners, and hear the sound of a sequential turbo setup buy the fd....but this requires lots of work no matter how good of condition the car is in...it will break frequently, rarely major if you keep it up but mainly things like hoses, solenoids, small stupid ****

 

read the FAQ and then do a lot of research on here

and BTW, we do not say TT since all FDs have seq. twins

 

If you like driving around in something that looks like a doorstop with down syndrome... The Z car it is!

 

Thanks for the info. I will look at the FAQ and do some more research. I'm not here to debate which car looks better as I like both very much.

Thanks again!

 

just in case you would like to know the stock 300zx n/a is 222 hp and the twins are 300 hp. i know this because my friend had a stock n/a 300 and he thought it had 300 hp which i said no way because it would keep up with my car if it did.. i just had to prove him wrong on paper and the streets

 

does weight weigh on your mind?

no pun intended.....

btw not bias, i actually do not like the 300zx at all.

 

You should indicate what your plans are with your prospective purchase. Daily driver, track, drag, high HP,etc??? I owned a 95 300ZXTT for a few years before I bought my 94FD. Despite being classed together, they truly are different cars. The FD is more responsive to mods than the TTZ is, and also cheaper to mod. But FD's are high maintenance cars, although they are slightly simpler to work but more difficult to diagnose. Just compare all the technical questions asked here vs. the ones on tt.net. Typically, an FD priced at 13K needs some work and TLC. And good TTZ's are hard to find at that price too.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty well versed on the NA and TT. I've been around these cars for about 3 years and I did much of the work on my NA. These cars are a pain to work on because the engine bay is so cramped. One thing that attracted me to the FD was its ability to put good numbers down while maintaining a workable engine bay.

I have a 200SX DD so this car (300Z or FD) will be for 3/7 days of the week. I'm not looking to make it a competition car or anything but to simply enjoy a cruise while doing what I can to increase its power. For example..intake,cat-back,pulley,ECU..possibly larger injectors and bigger turbos. I know Zs have a very strong block and can reach up to 500HP without modified internals.

My intention would be to get it to 420-450. Slowly.
I personally love the Z look (much more than the 350Z) but as I've not seen an FD in real life in a while I can't really say how much prettier it is. I do know it was voted amongst the top beautiful cars of the century though.

I doubt dealers have these cars around anymore (FD) in order to test drive one...

 

IMO, if that's your goal, I would suggest a different car. While the FD can definitely get there and beyond, it becomes more of a handful at that point. 300-330rwhp is the sweet spot for this car.

 

i have owned a 300zx TT before and i personally sold it to get my FD. you can't beat the handling of the FD as the 300 weighs so much, especially those equipped with the all wheel steering. in my personal opinion the FD looks way better as the lines of the car flow well, the 300 looks boxy by comparison. in reference to everyday driveability, i've had my FD for a year and a half and the only thing i've replaced, other than regular maintenance, is the power steering pump. the FD is a reliable car if you know how to take care of it. and there is no reason for that excuse now considering there is so much information on this forum.

 

I meant 420-450 for the Z If I were to get it. As for the FD, I know it weighs a lot less so like you say 300-330 would probably give the same feel taking into account the comparative weights. To be honest as long as I can pass someone on the expressway from a roll of 60 to say 70-80 quickly is good for me. I don't race or take the car to the track much.

I must say that I'm serioulsy considering this car now. I was dead set on a TT. Unfortunetly I set my cap to $13-$14K tops. Am I dooming myself in terms of getting an FD?

 

Getting the car and keeping the car are two different things. You can find a decent FD for that price, however how much will that leave you for other things? IMO, this is not the kind of car to buy if you are on a budget. Some people get real lucky and don't spend a lot of money on them, others are pretty much constantly dealing with some issue which requires money.

While the price of the car has gone down due to the car's age, the price of the parts have not (in some cases, the part prices have increased). Also, you can't just run down to PepBoys or NAPA for parts. Basically, you are stuck ordering parts and waiting for them to come in.

Do you have a house or duplex yet? IMO, use your money wisely on a nice place to live with a nice garage. Then get a nice car to go into that garage, regardless if that becomes an FD or something else.

 

I'm a 23 yr old - out of school last August. Still live with parents (leeching for a while) so my monthly expenses include insurance, electric bill, credit card bill, school loan. No rent. I would do most of the work myself. I don't rape cars..meaning I never take them up to the red line. My Z with a redline of 7K..always shifted at 3-3.5K and rarely taken to 4.5+.

I see no problems there..other than general old parts that may go bad.

 

There is a problem here. 7 have to be taken to redline every time you drive it.

 

You also have to realize that we read those same words all the time. A lot of people get really get discouraged with the car and end up getting upside down with it (i.e. they bought it, it broke, they have to sell it for a loss).

IMO, this is not the type of car you own until you are financially independent. But, it's your money.

 

I hear this quite a bit. Even on the 300ZX Forums.
What exactly is Financially independent? How much $$ per year would be a good number?

 

au contraire bonjour! .... Over the past 10 years of me watching the value of the rx7 (fd in paticular). I've noticed the car slowly depreciate in value... then a year or so ago I've watched it increase in value (blue book up $2k). I believe the value of the car in the next 5~15 years will sky rocket, and eventually (if you can find one) a low mile matching number 7 will be in the Barrett-Jackson $50k+ range.
I've personaly owned 3 fd's (own 2 right now) and 5 fc's (sold my last one yesterday)... about 5 years ago I bought a good condition 93 touring with some vacuum leaks for 8k.... now days a good condition rx7 with a blown motor goes for 8k... I also bought 3 turbo 2 fc's for under 2k about 8~10 years ago... all in good condition and stock. Now it's hard to find a good condition one under 4k.

The rest of what you said is true though.

 

When you can pay all your own bills which includes your own roof over your head. IMO, that's more important that "having a cool car".

 

Wishful thinking. I'd like it to be the case but I don't think it will. It's just "Fast and Furious" following at the moment.

If FD deppreciates about $500/y from this point - I'm fine with that.

 

get the 300 then, dont have to be on the dot with mantainance like the fd's and it wont really break down as much.. also if you get an fd and baby it and shift low all the time with no high revs once in a while you car will build up carbon