Hey guys.
As the title states. I currently own a 93 Rx7 R1 that I'm considering getting rid of. I've always loved the look of Rx8's and have driven a few as well and i enjoyed the ride. My main concerns are however, if the Rx8's are just as temperamental as the Rx7's as far as maintenance, motor work, etc. After all it is a rotary . If you can throw some feedback my way i'd greatly appreciate it.

Also this is my first post on the forums so if I'm in the wrong spot, please just point me in the right direction.

Thanks guys, I'll leave you with some eye candy.

 

mmmmmm i like your car lol

 

keep the car if you can! just add the 8 to the garage.

and yes, just as temperamental as a 7.

 

Haha thank you. Actually just came out of hibernation yesterday. The picture was the last picture i took of it before we covered it for winter.

Any new features the new rotarys have in these things that the 7's did not?

 

OMG! sexy car...keep it! and add an 8

 

i wantz sex with ur rx7 lollol theres no turbo :P but you know that

and the stickeys in this section cover almost everything... but i cant really say anything since i dont have a 8 yet! and dont know much about the 7 :S

 

Yes I'm aware of the performance differences between the renisance engine in here and mine. I was just wondering if, reliability wise, things have been modified.

Also, I'm only 19. Getting an 8 and keeping the 7 is 93% out of the picture, lol.

 

reliability has improved. however make sure to go with either an '04 with a new engine, or an '05+. first year, bugs had to be worked out and most complaints about engines are mostly the 04 models. like any rotary, redline it at least once daily, and drive it like you stole it. babying them is the biggest problem rotary n00bs make. which having a 7 i am sure you are aware.

 

We all like your RX-7!

I've not owned a '7, but from all my readings it certainly was/is more tempermental than its progeny.

The '8 is actually very reliable. Just a few add'l things to watch, as you're well aware. Oil cleanliness and topped up capacity are of course important.

............ come to think of it that's about the only somewhat unique thing. Everything else is just normal maintenance you'd do on any vehicle.

Most of the detrimental things you'll read on this board have been remedied, especially in 2005 and on models, e.g. a more powerful battery/starter to overcome a "don't shut down cold or risk flooding" issue.

As you would expect, there's a large silent majority out there without any operational issues and therfore we hear mostly from those relatively few with problems and therefore it's perceived to have more issues than it really does.

 

oh man....

as much as i want to throw my 2 cents in about getting the 8...that 7 looks so damn good...

iono man - it's a tough choice - the 8 has it's perks...but you'll be giving up that sexy 7

 

Unless you replaced the entire interior yourself, that's not an R1.

 

As much as i would love to show you a picture, it seems i dont have any of it gutted. But the car was replenished, inside and out. The black interior was completely shot, mainly because the car was bought with flood damage. So we went with the tan interior that i felt broke it up and looked a little cleaner.

In response to Huey, i thank you for the information. Obviously all cars will have their ups and downs, and i am familiar with the rotary engines and the problems that emerge from them. However, i can't drive my rx7 for more then an hour without having to fix something when i get home. Its come to the point where i want a car i can enjoy, AND work on... But enjoy more. :P

 

the rx-8 will be much more reliable than the rx-7 you got there. Upkeep should be lower too. Nice 7 btw. Are those headlights? If so, why is the pop-ups still there? Be fun to mess people up at night. hahahah

 

It was in Superstreet and Import Tuner readers rides, but other then that i don't know where it would have been seen.

Its nice to know that the upkeep may be more affordable. Like i said im 19, 3rd semester of college, so money is obviously tight, especially in this economy. the headlights pop up. The ones on the bumber are more so "fog lights" then anything else, although they are very bright.

Even though this picture doesn't do justice on how bright they are at night, here is them functional:

 

Definitely more reliable but not carefree. Talk to mazdaverx7, he's had something like seven RX-7s at one time:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/bought-my-first-rx-8-a-162478/

 

Hahaha, yea. Im on the nation. Your name looked mad familiar. haha.

And yea, its like i said above, for every hour i drive it, its like 3 hours of work time. Its like the car is almost ment to break and get worked on.

And even if the 8's do have problems that rotarys are known for, at least i know that reliablilty wise i wont have to worry about taking the car out of the garage for a weekend, and working on it the following week.

 

I have 20k on my '05 now and nary an operational problem. Just a couple minor "fitment" type issues (condensation in tailight, console armrest track - fixed under warranty).

I've kept up on all the TSB's, etc and it really has been just as reliable for me as any other vehicle I've had in the past 10 years.

Only an hour of RX-7 uptime for every three repair, but that's a real sweet hour!

 

So it is definitely best to find an 05 and newer because a majority of the bugs were worked out?

Any major recalls on them? You said console armest track. Any other major nusences that were covered under warranty?

 

ok... I'll take your word for it, if the original interior was flood damaged that is totally understandable. It was just that I've seen so many RX-7 owners claiming their car is an R1/R2 when it isn't. I think the worst example I've seen was a car on eBay claimed to be a CYM, when it had a tan interior, a sunroof, a red engine bay, and wasn't even the right shade of yellow. Also, usually people want replace tan interiors for black, not the other way around. I used to have a 94 R2 and you wouldn't believe how many times other RX-7 owners asked me how much I wanted for the seats.

 

Great looking rx7, i notice the ny plate, you close to manhattan?

 

I too went from an rx-7 to rx-8, albeit it was a 2nd gen but I had a good amount of work done on 3rd gens from friends. I love your FD though, is that the 99spec bumper?

anyways, the 8 is going to be alot more reliable when compared to the 3rd gens, but maintenance and upkeep is still going to be pretty high just not as high. I say this because it's still a 13b at heart, so oil is going to be regularly added, Plugs, etc etc...

Now, since your FD is twin turbo stock, you prob know about the "reliability mods," to help with heat issues. Which imho was the downfall of the FDs. Random mods such as intake/exhaust without adding better injectors to compensate the extra HP gains, and the extra heat created from the x2 turbos without sufficient cooling, just made the motor work more.

Seeing how the FE is N/A though, you'll see less power/ torque, but the trade off is better engine longevity. And aslong as your willing to deal with that, your really getting the best of both worlds. That redline buzzer is still there, the great noise the motor makes, still one of the best handling cars, only now you have an extra set of doors and seats lol.

 

Haha yea. At first my father and I wanted to bring it as back to normal as possible. But finding black seats, black door panels (in good condition, you know how much of a pain that is), and etc etc was costing a fortune. I saw many Black 7's with the tan and i liked the look of it.

About 2 hours. Im in upstate NY.

Thanks for the words man.

 

lets trade cars

 

Beautiful 7, but I think the 8 will be a better choice for you. They are much more reliable in general. Neither me or my closest friends (we all own 8s) have had any problems with our cars. I've only had mine like 6 months, but I have a fair amount of modification so far and no issues. We'll see how things go when the turbo goes in.

 

I think I've seen your 7 before....did you go to the OCC meet last november?