I heard maintaining an fd was expensive, along with insuring one.

How much more maitenance does an fd need over an fc t2? Those that own an fd, is the higher cost worth it?

 

FDs generally have higher maintenance costs then FCs simply because the FD is much more complicated (twin turbo system) and carries some major design flaws.

However FCs are getting quite old and you will be spending some money to replace wear items.

"Worth it" depends on your point of view.

 

Well monthly maintenance estimate for each?

Known major problems that can occur with an fd (im sure theres a thread for this, I should just go look)

worth it, for the mass difference in purchase price = hp gains.

 

how much is the average cost you spent for a month of maintenance?

 

That's going to vary greatly depending on how good a car you get in the first place..in other words, how well was it maintained before you got it? Now this is just my personal opinion, but I think the 3rd gen RX7 is just about the greatest looking car ever made, and I plan to own another, but speaking just for me, they are not the car for my daily driver. Just not dependable enough, and when something does break (engine, turbos) it's gonna cost ya...
Just do enough research, you'll find you don't want to put lots of miles on one, just keep it around to love, polish, and have a blast on weekends. Trust me.

 

It is impossible to predict as it will depend entirely on the car. One could say that the 2nd gens are much older and are thus less reliable, but the reality is that the FD ranks among the most unreliable cars ever produced. They were practically delivered to the dealers broken.

The 2nd gen and 3rd gen FAQs both contain detailed how to buy guides that covers common problems.

My 2nd gen has been quite reliable over the years and monthly costs are mainly fuel. 1st gens are bulletproof. I've never owned an FD because I just don't like them (weird, huh?).

Looking at this from a cost perspective may be the wrong way to go about it though. You aren't buying a Honda Civic, you are buying a sports car.

 

Had my FC for goin on 2 years. Havent had to change anything but Fluids and plugs. Brakes are gonna be soon. Oh and a starter. And I do my own work so i save on that.

 

FDs have quite the list of wear items also. Engine is on that list.

 

I own a '93 and an '86. The '86 is still pulling strong with 60k+ on the engine... and the FD hasn't run in over a year. The main issue I'm having is I don't know what previous owners did to the car- she boosted at 17 psi and ran pig-rich all the time, but I had no other clues. I eventually parked her (more issues than I was able to sort out) and I'm currently saving for a rebuild, standalone and single turbo. Consider this: there are 17 solenoids and 40 feet of vacuum line under an FD's hood to control the sequential set-up. I don't have the time to trouble shoot that kind of mess, do you?
However- I wouldn't sell her if some one came to me with $50k in cash. I told my wife when we married that she should think of my car as an adopted child.
It's worth it to me...

 

After 19 years of being on the road, my 1990 Turbo II has had about $20k dropped in it to keep it in tip-top shape. None of these were aftermarket or performance parts. Just last week, I got rid of the tired stock exhaust system, and replaced it with the RB REVII system. There is about 226k miles on the car, 2nd engine, and a plethora of replaced factory parts.

In short, about $20/week.

 

The maintenance is going to depend a lot on the goals for your car.

If you just want to have EODD (every other day driver) that is reliable, and assuming your looking at a stock FD with a good engine and turbos at a minimum you're going to need:

Radiator
Coolant hoses
oil/coolant/diff/trans fluids replacement
AST
Air filter
Downpipe
2nd oil cooler if your model doesn't have 2
Fan switch mod
oil & coolant temp gauges, boost gauge
replace o2 sensor
new plugs
replace thermostat

Assuming you have no boost leaks/problems/etc currently, that will put you in a position where you can decide to stay where you are with it or go further. Going further than this point requires a lot of effort and money.

FD's get a bad rap cause ppl often arent willing to put in the effort to learn the twin turbo system, how it works etc, and thats usually why people end up blowing their engines. Its usually once the turbos have a bazillion problems and the engine looks like a grenade went off in it that people start trying. At that point, it's a little late and going to cost a TON of cash to fix. Not to mention working on an FD can be a frustrating experience. All I can say is get good at pulling the engine, cause it's 100 times easier to work on that way.

thats why the "Fix it now or pay 10 times more later" is a common theme on this board.

This car demands respect and attention to detail.