Defeat one?

Hell, there are Civics and Jettas around that can defeat most FD's. Does that make them a better car or a better buy? Any car can be faster if you spend the money on it.

However, when my FD is down and my father drives over in his Z06 to pick me up for lunch or to run and pick up parts, yea it sucks. Hands down, the Z06 is a better car which is why you see them everywhere. Why shouldn't it be? It's had more years of engineering put into it than a 10 year old (and older than that in design) FD, so it should be better. I guarantee that when most Z06's reach 70,000 miles on it, it will have required a LOT less maintenance than it took to get an FD to 70k.

Practicallity when owning a sports car? Hell, even Vipers have less problems than FD's. I've owned several sports cars and "sporty cars". The FD has by far spent more time off the road than any other car I've own. Many sports cars have shown that a sports car can have all the perks of being a sports car and also being practical when it comes to maintenance.

You don't see Deloreans all over the roads, yet that doesn't mean you want to own one.

Would I rather have a Z06 (Viper, Porsche or any other sports car)? Yep. Do I want another car payment? Nope. My FD is kept because it's paid for and it's cost me too much money to keep it this long. There is no way I could recoupe the money I have spent just keeping it on the road.

 

I'm actually surprised that no one has said this .... but use the search function. If not in this section, in the General Automotive section. This subject has been a flame-able topic many times over.

That said, IMHO, trying to compare these two cars is impossible. They're different animals .... it's ludicrous trying to compare the two. Fun-to-drive factor is a completely individual preference. All the pluses and minuses mean diddly-squat ... it's about what you want out of the car. Which one makes you giggly when you look at/drive it? That's the car you should buy .... and keep in mind that it doesn't have to be an RX-7 or a Supra.

And for all you naysayers, a Supra can be made to handle and handle very well. I auto-x with a nationally competitive Supra and the Supra (and its driver) is typically 0.5-1.0 seconds faster than me (and I'm no slouch).

 

Who said anything about being better? The example I gave, was simply the logic behind my purchasing decision. If a person can beat an FD with a civic, for less cost, then more power to them. What justifies the cost, is up to the individual, which is why I chose to disagree with your general statement.

That situation is unique to you, and maybe some other people, but not all. I have friends who drive over with their FD's, and suped up cars all the time, and it doesn't suck. I understand that I do have an FD, and I am patient enough to know, that with time, it will be where I want it.

Just because you see them everywhere, does not mean it is the "better" car. By the same logic you used above, simply because we see civics everywhere, does that make them the better car? Granted, the vette is an excellent car, that does outperform the FD, and with the years of development behind it, it should. However, I still feel comfortable with the FD's design, and capabilities, and with less money, I can do more than the vette does. Better is a relative term, and for me, the FD justified the 'better' buy.

When speaking of practicallity, it was not exclusive to sports cars or their maintenance. The most practical vehicles on the road, are not sports cars, and rarely have to do with performance. Ergonomics, MPG, Seating/Trunk/Cabin capacity, emissions, and ride comfort etc. are all greater forms of practicality among the average, and largest consumers of vehicles. That was my point.

Actually, I'm very satisfied with my FD. Yes, there are other cars I would love to own, but I do not envy them. I'm humble with my decision.

It's known that cars depriciate in value. What did you honestly expect when you made the investment?

 

Using Civics as an example is a little different as more people can afford Civics verses Z06's. When you go to spend $55,000 on a car, you have several choices. The fact that there are so many Vette's on the road is a testament to their craftsmanship.

How many times have you seen someone drop in the forum and say "man, I'm tired of this Vette, I want to get an FD instead"? Hell, Jimlab is the only one I know who sold a Vette to mess with his FD and that was just so he wouldn't be blowing money upgrading it instead of working on his V8 conversion.

However, if you are confortable with the FD, that's great to. I'm confortable with it as well, however I would never recommend the car to someone else especially if they have the money to purchase a better car.

Just keep in mind, as you said you can spend half the money that it cost to get a Vette and be faster. That extra half of that money is what's keeping the Vette on the road while your FD isn't.

Depreciate? Depreciate is one thing. However, purchasing a car for over $20k, then spending $10k on a new engine and turbos less than 4 months after the purchase is another thing. As you have no idea the history with my car, those are the costs I'm referring to as "cannot be recouped". I've had my car a lot longer than you (around 6 years), probably before this board was around and definitely longer than I've had access to the Internet (just think back to what you were doing 6 years ago). Granted, knowing what I know now, I could have gotten the engine replaced much cheaper (and I would have been able to notice the coolant seal failure before the purchase) but places like this weren't as accessable at that time.

So, if someone says "Hey, I have $70,000 to buy a sports car, what car should I get?", FD is not the car that I would recommend nor a Supra. If you have the choice between a nice steak and a McDonald's Quarter Pounder, why go cheap when it will probably cost you in the end?

 

Believe it or not, even if people could afford vettes, they would still go after other cars, that were not necessarily 'better'. Part of the reason it sells so well, is not only because it's a great car, but because it's a classic American sports car. Camaros, and Mustangs sell(sold) just as much, if not more than vettes, and they are not the greatest cars out there in quality, or all around performance... This proves that quantity of sales, does not automatically mean anything is 'better', and that can extend beyond cars.

What does this prove? Again, by the same logic, I've seen a lot more people express their love/admiration for the 7, rather than hatred of it...

Neither would I. However, if they are on a limited budget, and looking for an excellent car, then I would recommend the FD (among others), and a bit of reading to go along with it. The FD basically has a cult following, similar to the VW, Mustang, Vette etc. guys. You have to love the car, to really go out of your way to own one, especially since it's 10yrs old.

As a performance enthusiast, and person who loves to spend time tuning/upgrading their car, I don't see saving 30K as being a problem, when a few months downtime is the sacrifice. On a personal note, if I had a vette, the first thing I would be doing, is trying to make it 'better'...at which it would be seeing downtime as well.

I bought my FD for 9K, and it was in great mechanical condition, engine pulling 20*hg, new tranny and upgraded clutch, as well as some of the parts already installed. The paint was not perfect, and it had minor problems, but nothing too bad, or anything I couldn't fix myself. Aside from that, 10K (my estimate as well) would bring me up to just below the buying price you placed here. I know other people who have had the patience to wait just as I did for such a deal, and it pays off in the longrun. However, I know my example is unique, so I will say most FD's run in the ballpark of 15K, in good condition. Seriously, if I am buying one for 20K, it had better have a LOT done to it...most of all a well running engine, and turbo(s).


Well to be honest, that is just unfortunate, and I'm sorry to hear that. However, like I said "That situation is unique to you, and maybe some other people, but not all".

I'm done with the debate, but good luck with your car.

 

wow, is this thread a piece of... well you know what.

The best advice got cluttered by all the garbage.

Drive the different cars. Check your wallet for how much you want to spend. Look at the car. Look at your watch and figure out how much time you have to work on it. Then drive the cars again, and figure out which you like best. Not Joe or Jim or shinobi or whomever.

Every car has their negative points for someone else, whether it be price, or feel, or look, or ... just the fact that its common.

Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Ask people here what they love about the FD, and what the weakness are. Ask on the Supra forum what the strength/weaknesses are.

Then decide what YOU want and what is right for you.

 

my best friend owns a 97 tt supra and he drove my 93 touring model rx-7 and he said my handled better and just all around drove better. we have yet to race though. but i have seen an R1 spank him!

 

Sorry, I'd like to see this thread die off too, but I gotta put my $0.02 worth in:

For all the flaming about logic that goes on back and forth between owners of various cars as to which is the better buy, what it really comes down to is that buying something like a car-- especially a sports car-- is an emotional decision. People can talk all they want about practicality, performance, resale value, etc., when justifying the purchase of a certain car, motorcycle, truck, etc.........but when the moment comes to plunk down the hard-earned greenbacks, it all boils down to how that particular person feels at the time. That motor vehicle has got to be pushing the right buttons on that person for them to step up and buy it, despite all the logical advice they may get from everyone around them.

Anything can be made to perform better than the rest with enough money and time. And there can be any number of justifications for it. Any car can be made to seem like a "better buy" because of those "reasons".

OK, done. DIE, THREAD, DIE!

 

For me, this is an interesting thread.

In Japan, like America, they are both top shelf cars. However - from the factory, the FD is faster, and by far, a better handler.

The FD is a classic allrounder.

Let's look at the following classes of motorsport;

circuit: FD by a long margin

drag: single turbo FD by a long margin (plenty of 10 second cars, not much action in the supra department)

drift: well, it's a class dominated by nissans - but mazdas run close. Supra - nope

If you want to consider it from a non-factory, ie: aftermarket/street tuner view - then look now further than the tsukuba testing circuit - the supra is nowhere in sight.

However, this is one very rare case where the US actually got a decent version of a JDM car - the US supra is actually quite decent! whereas the FD, like usual, suffers from the standard detuning.

If you want to take a lead from the japanese - the FD is the superior vehicle.

 

I'm with you

 

I've owned both an FD and an MKIV, and to honestly tell you my opinion formed from experience, I'll tell you that I sold the FD and bought the MKIV because of three reasons:
1) The MKIV is MUCH more comfortable and practical for everyday driving. It is quiet and very smooth, and it's idle is rock solid. It is very predictable and never does it do something you don't understand.
2) Reliability. My FD ran damn well, but that's because I dished out a lot of money to keep it running right. I did all reliability mods and it ran well, but in the back of my mind I always knew that anything can happen. The thought of driving a car and putting miles on it, knowing it can crap at anything because of some engineering flaw takes the comfort of driving it away.
3) Value that the car holds. I really got turned off by the FD's depreciating values. I was forced to sell my perfectly running, 60k mile RX-7 for 13,500. I bought my 60k mile, 6 speed MKIV for 23,000. I also don't like the new breed of FD owners-or ricers. The Rotary community is the greatest community...and the Supra owners, Skyline owners, Viper, Vette, VW, Mustang...etc...have NOTHING on the Rotary members.

Hope that helps you out.

 

i have a 7, but if i were you i would get a supra. there engines are bulletproff, and they are more rare.

 

As much as I love the RX-7 I would definetly get a Supra if i had 100 G's. unused username is right.. the engines can dish out 903 rwhp with all the stock internals, you cant do that on most cars. Both cars in my opinion look the nicest of all the cars to come out of Japan. I originally decided I would get an RX-7 because they were alot cheaper to buy and they were better balanced for autocross, road racing, drifting, and that sort of racing. Someone also posted a message after I posted one saying how badly i wanted a supra on www.ultimatecarpage.com. He said that when he was 14 he wanted a supra like i did too.. but then he bought the RX-7 and he loved it and would settle for nothing less. Then I really started getting into it and saw that if i bought one and wanted to modify it, an engine rebuild would probably be in need, and on top of that, a whole hell of alot of other reliability mods along with all the stuff to make it faster. I could see myself saying I wanted a Supra tomarow, but as for now I'm just kind of in love with the RX-7 and I'm willling to put all the time, effort, and money into building it into the car I want. Also, if you really think about it, there wouldnt be so many rotory phanatics if it wasn't a great and fun car to drive and race, de spite the fact that its su unreliable.

-Jim

 

From my 1st gen to my fd, I am proud to be an owner of a unique piece of technolocial history.

Say what you will about body styles....Im not a fan of the supra's chopped off back end and huge wing....but a piston motor is a piston motor. In my opinion in a piston car you would have to buy a lotus elise or other exotic to get the same amount of wow factor a stock fd has.

I go to car shows all the time and see a lot of well built high powered cars. But, they all end up coming over to look at my mostly stock fd to say nice car. AND damn right that makes me feel good.

Isn't that a big part of owning a rotary powered car? Being a little different, taking the path less traveled? If it were all about realiability, numbers, or statisitcs we'd all be driving a zo6.


can someone help me off of this soap box lol

 

BTW, so what supra engines are bulletproof??? A new mazda reman is only $2k, cheap as hell IMO and after that another 100k miles of rotary whoopass!

 

That's exactly why you do your research. Ill tell you the story about my car. I bought a 1993 Black rx7 w/32k miles on the car and an engine w/2500 miles for 17,200 dollars. They sealed up the oil leak and within a week it had leaked 3/4 of a quart of oil. I got this fixed for $350. I then had to fix the vacuum lines for 600 dollars and I added a defi gauge, a new clutch, an M2 d/pipe and a Blitz nurspec exhaust. This brought my grand total to about 22,000 dollars including the price of the car. Im selling it 20,000 and have been offered 18,500. By the way, I bought it in November of 2001 and have put about 8 thousand miles on it. You show me why 3,000 dollar depreciation is so bad after driving it for a year and half and putting 8k miles on it? As long as you take care of the car and dont buy a shitty one that hasnt been screwed up bad you wont lose much money at all. These are classics.

And the reason why I would recommend them over a supra is they are lightweight and you feel the exhilartion more.. I've been in both cars at 130 and in the supra it didnt even feel like it was enjoying it. The rx7 is a sports car that is meant to be sporty. The supra is a sports car that is meant to be both fast and luxurious. The luxury gets in the way and the pure sports car title has to go hands down to the rx7

 

Both the FD and the Supra have strengths and weaknesses that different people value differently. I think the difference in performance between the cars, in stock form, is small enough that it will be the driver's skill that ultimately decides in any 'race'.

I personally prefer the RX7.

 

lol, do research? How much information was available about these cars 6+ years ago? And how readily available was that information?

If you actually read my post, I was not even remotely talking about depreciation. I was talking about I could not recoup my expense of the engine I replaced shortly after the car purchase. It had absolutely NOTHING to do about depreciation.

Read before you post.

 

I hope your joking....do you know how many z06's there are, I could care less about getting a z06, evo or sti...maybe a viper

 

Who cares how many Z06's are out there. Did that bother you when you purchased your Camaro? There are certainly more Camaros on the road than Z06's.

However, for the money, you can't beat it. A brand new car, stock 405hp, warranty (gotta love those), heads-up display (which is just wicked) and an all-around nice car.

I'll tell you what, you go purchase a Z06, and I'll trade you even up for my FD.

 

Lets be realistic though. Most rotary owners who highly modify thier cars go through half a dozen motors when Supra guys rarely blow thier motors and thats even with 2x the power output of the 2 rotor. Cheaper initially for the RX7 but in the long run the Supra would be more reliable and about the same $ to mod but with much higher returns in Power output for the same money. The best thing the RX7 has it light weight. Everything else breaks under 400+ RWHP.

 

Personaly I dont care which car is faster, I just love knowing that my car dosnt have Pistons and that makes it Special. I love the Rx7.

 

If I had the choice it would be the RX7 of course!Then with the rest of the money, I would put the new R-magic body kit on, some valk racing wheels on it, and a cool paint job and a brand new LS1 engine in it heheh.Oh also I would put a 10 grand custom audio system in it too,with dvd and tons of LCD screens in it.I love my rx7! Its so much fun to drive! Some day I hope I can do all the things I jusy mentioned above and more.