JWteknix

iTrader: (2)

my fc has been 4 months clean but bout to tear it apart for new mods

ultmtrx8

if you mod it right youll be fine, just take your time and DONT TAKE SHOT CUTS.

SammyD

I'm using probably the most renown mechanic in the San Diego area. I know the workmanship is good. The problem is, he's a very busy man, has a backlog of other work to do, and I'm really in a privileged position that he will even work on the car. This is what takes so much time is the fact that he is buried in work. I'm not prepared to put the car in anyone eles hand, though - I'd sell it before I did that. Nonetheless, the repeated delays are starting to wear on me big time.

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I guess I should believe that I'm getting to the end of working all the bugs out and that soon I'll have a dependable car.

SammyD

NICE CAR!

Tell me this - could you lap a track as fast in your M3 as a STOCK RX-7? I'm guessing yes. I have coilovers and 290 RWHP - would this be significantly faster in your hands than the M3?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Stock for stock, the M3 is faster no doubt. In stock forum, the M3 has dialed in understeer from the factory which is kind of annoying, but it's not that bad (its just different coming form the RX-7 which has more oversteer).

I've seen M3's which only minor suspension mods and track tires give some well modded RX-7's trouble on the track. It would be hard to say. 290rwhp puts you around where most M3's are stock (and they get a little boost when running higher octane as the later M cars can actually advance timing/programming on the fly up to 98 octane).

If the RX-7 is giving you fits, its possible the M3 would be a better car 'for you'. You need to decide what you want/need out of a car; then find what can fulfill that.

Nuvolari

iTrader: (4)

First two years not a single problem.

Was on another streak for four months since I went single , but some moron at a shop ended that one.

cesarx7

iTrader: (1)

I agree. It seems like half the time I work on my 7, I find some little band-aid fix one of the previous owners performed.

White94RX

145k, had the car since '01. Only real problems were alternator, radiator. had the car since 70k, bought with 500 miles on reman. haven't had any real issues for like over 2 years now. Unless you count the pillow ball bushings, or a window switch. But was no down time. Fixed them myself at work.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

A good friend has been a tech at a BMW dealership for over 10 years. Based on the stories I've heard, if you think a stock M3 off it's warranty is reliable (let alone a turbocharged one), you're smoking crack.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

mine ate the radiator at 74,000miles in late 2000/early 01. didnt have anything except the 90k service @90k, and is still fine @96ish k miles. factory engine, papre intake gasket, turbos have never been off, original rear brakes, etc etc

i'll also second the BMW/reliability thing, they stink.

JustinStrife

iTrader: (2)

Where in San Diego have you taken it to? Mine's got a bunch of issues that need to be ironed out, and frankly it's a bit out of my experience level to work on(can't say the same about my C5 and S13 though). I'd like to find a good quality place that can get my R1 FD back on the road again as I miss driving it.

Can't seem to keep mine going for more than a month or so before some boost or idling problem pops up.

Speed of light

iTrader: (8)

I've had three 3+ year streaks: '96-->'99; ended due to clogged coolant passage in TB, '99-->'02; clutch fork broke, '02-->'03 (radiator) and '03-->present. 100k+ Motor is due for replacement from actually wearing out. Considering how it's been driven, it's actually been pretty reliable.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

I've heard nothing but shitty things about Seth at Puresports from reputable sources.....wherever you go, I recommend you steer clear of him.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Since I actually own one, I'll speak a little to this....

Most of the problems that happen with BMW's (at least the E46 M3's) have little to do with the actual engine. They are a lot of little nit-picky things that honestly just shouldn't happen with a car in that price range (i.e. door trim falling, interior door panels cracking). Just like any car, the harder you drive it, to more you wear out especially in the suspension area. In that respect, its not much different than the RX7 or any other performance car.

The weak spot of the car IMO is the clutch and transmission. The manual clutch is made for street driving and that's about it. Its not uncommon to wear one out in 20k miles are less taking the car to the drag strip or the track. The transmission is just flat raw. In cold weather, as you struggle to get the car warm, you also struggle to get the transmission into gear. There have been more than a handful failures on the transmissions as they seem to take the abuse the FD's differential takes.

As with any car, the more the base price of the car; the more the parts cost to fix it when/if something breaks. For instance, a single replacement Xenon bulb was about $250.

Having said that, my experience with the M3 has been fairly positive. Just like the RX-7, I bought a used one with one previous owner. Just like the RX-7, I had to deal with some out of pocket expenses to fix their abuse. Talking strickly dealer prices, I paid just a hair under $10k for the Mazda dealer to replace the engine and turbos on my FD not even a year after I bought it (keep in mind this was back in the mid-late 90's). With my M3, the clutch failed shortly after getting it and I paid $1100 for a new clutch. Since then, I've had the interior door panels replaced, the door trim repaired, xenon controller replaced and the engine fan clutch replaced. While everything but the clutch was a warranty item, the rest of them wouldn't have totalled up to 10k. Even then, none of those problems stopped the car from operating.

Another thing, when I first took my FD to the track (in pretty much stock form); I experienced severe brake fade after about 3-4 laps. The temperature that day was around 85 degrees. Now, the shot of me taking a student around the track a few posts back; that's a bone stock (performance wise) car on an 105F ambient temp (track temps were around 140F). While I did cook the tires within a few laps, the car never got hot, I never overheated the stock brakes (stock pads and stock fluid). While I wasn't completely flogging the car, I was making sure that I wasn't going to get lapped/passed in the instructor group (running with some C6 Z06's). I could easily give some people a hard time with some sticky tires and track pads on that car.

The M3 is a better "all around car" than the RX-7 (and it should be). No doubt about that. However, for a track only car, I would definitely pick the RX-7 over the M3 as its much more fun to track on the track. Parts are also cheaper for the RX-7 which is another attractive side for the track only usage as beating on any car is only going to run a whole in the wallet. Depending on how deep your wallet is depends on what car you beat up on the track. I don't think there is anyone on this forum who wouldn't want a Porsche GT3 as a track car; if they could afford it.

SammyD

While Goodfella has HEARD bad things about Seth, I have actually USED Seth for over a year and can only report excellent work.

I would strongly recommend taking your car into him if you want to get all the bugs worked out. He'll put it on a dyno and figure it all out. He has a ton of experience. He now works at JMC Motorsports off Ruffin Road. 858 268 2244. His prices are reasonable, you just have to stay on top of him since he's busy. If your car has a few bugs then he may have it for a while, but a sweet running FD can't be beat!

JustinStrife

iTrader: (2)

Some budddies of mine in supercharged C5's might disagree with you there.

Would like to be able to get my FD running right, long enough to take it on one of the canyon runs my corvette friends go on, and compare it to how well my stock C5 does(my driving put me in the middle of the pack even infront of some C6's). Neither one though is going to be able to stay infront with the big boys.

I'll give Seth a call though and see what he thinks. I'm tired of having her sit and not going anywhere(technically you can drive her, but it's a royal pain in the ***)

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Here you go:

I've also since received a PM from cozmo stating even worse problems with the car attributable to seth. I won't go into details b/c it was a private message, he can elaborate publicly if he wants.

Additionally, a good friend brought his car in to be tuned by Seth and the car left in worse shape then it showed up, with Seth exhibiting zero tuning aptitude.

I don't make bullshit accusations. Here's what I know----if I lived in that part of the country, I wouldn't be bringing my FD to him.

Not trying to turn this into some flame war, but JustinStrife, you may want to consider taking the car elsewhere for a second opinion.

JustinStrife

iTrader: (2)

Hmm well that's out then.

Can't do any big $ repairs on the car right now. Gotta work out a couple bugs in the S13 so I can sell it, then I can take the car in. Better start asking around I guess.

NAN777

my FD had been almost 1.5 year with me...
not to say full of problem... the 1st few months full of problems and once u fix that all.. the remaining are modifications only...
mine goes this way

1. gearbox seal leak - tear down my drive train, replace it
2. boost leak - replaced all the hoses
3. radiator crack - change the bugger
4. bushes causing rattling sound - replace them as well
5. AST burst - replaced with a alluminum ones
6. fuel filter - just change that...
7. replace every single oil in the car...

then my money is spent on below

1. PFC
2. 99 spec large brakes
3. hard IC pipes
4. datalogit - soon enough
5. spacers
6. interior replacement
7. HKS HyperD suspensions

the rest is marvelous.... just follow what i did.. the car will be problemless
that's unless previous owner doesn't run an air filter... ur turbos are grinding with sands.... apex seal is still stuck in the combustion chamber... water in oil, or oil in coolant.. etc.. those are headaches that i haven't... hopefully not see.

Monkman33

iTrader: (28)

Um.. still aiming for 1 day

But that's cause I am taking my sweet time with this project... and wanting it to be perfect.

rexhvn

I've owned my FD since June and no problems what so ever Completely stock besides an aftermarket exhaust.

Red95FD

iTrader: (3)

My car was a one owner car until I bought it. The original owner kept a folder with all the maintenance done. There's nothing in the folder except regular maintenance and the guy told me he has never had a problem. That makes 11 years with no problems. Of course, she only has 10,025 miles on her. Everything is original except the downpipe and AST.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Wow, that is some serious low mileage! The car must be so quiet with the stock main cat and catback, lol.

One thing I recommend---make sure you redline the car occasionally. I just tore down an original engine (52k miles, totally stock FD) that failed from severe carbon buildup. It trashed the motor and the turbos, very pricey repair. It happened while cruising through town at 30 mph, the motor just failed from carbon coming loose and damaging the apex seals.......