I use a Mazda RX7 as an everyday car, commuting to work and for play. ;)
I bought it from the Southampton car import dock yards and here is my honest review.
Note: Remember I am only talking about the 1992-2001 "FD3S" RX7 as in the picture above!
The designer of this RX7 was not happy ... Read review
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A review by Tech777 on Mazda RX-7 August 27th, 2007
Author's Car rating:
Road Handling
Excellent
Security
Poor
Looks
Excellent
Fuel consumption
Satisfactory
Advantages:
Supercar Speeds . Exotic Looks . Very Driver Focused .
Disadvantages:
Group 20 Insurance . Small rear seats . Regular 3kmile Services Needed .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full car review
I use a Mazda RX7 as an everyday car, commuting to work and for play. ;) I bought it from the Southampton car import dock yards and here is my honest review. Note: Remember I am only talking about the 1992-2001 "FD3S" RX7 as in the picture above!
The designer of this RX7 was not happy with the standard of sports cars around at the time. He proposed to Mazda that he wanted to create a REAL sports car designed for just that. The rotary engine was used to keep the bonnet as low as possible as well as for pure power. The layout of the car is midship - meaning the engine sits in between the front and rear wheels resulting in improved handling and further enabling the designers to tweak the chassis so that all 4 wheels can be pushed to their full potential around corners without sliding. Obviously this is a rear wheel drive car and is also a good example of a drift car. In fact this car is very easy to drift and also easy to correct while mid-drift. As quoted by 'Tsuchiya' the Drift King of Japan (who did the stunts for the film Fast & The Furious Tokyo Drift) "High standard, also very easy to control, most outstanding and the racers will enjoy the RX7 most." What Mazda ended up with is the most lightweight car out of its competitors at the time which made it the best handling high power sports car for 1992-2001. Forget the newer RX8 - it is a weak attempt at recapturing the target market from the RX7 pedigree where the RX8 fails badly.
Often described as the sexiest car from Japan - RX7s between 92-01 are ALL twin turbo 1300cc engines. 280bhp with a very quick 0-60 of 5 seconds (for my standard Type-R2 but others are pretty much the same). You can only get single turbo if it has been modified. Brand new these cars costed about £35,000 and nowadays you can pick up a decent one for around £7,000 however there are a few things to look out for...
Rotary engines are known for "blowing up" (needing an engine rebuild) every 60,000 miles. This is not totally true, if you look after it and make sure it is serviced regularly on time (every 3,000 miles) you can easily see 100,000 miles. Don't be put off by this though as there are a couple of ways to make sure you have a healthy car. - Compression testing is the main way and is measured in bars/PSI. A rotary compression test tool is needed rather than a normal piston compression tester. Any Mazda garage can do a compression test however there are a few specialist independent garages that deal with rotaries solely. You will be looking for a good 6/8 Bar reading, 8 Bar being a brand new rebuilt engine figure while 6 being a decent engine. Go much lower such as a high 5 (5.7 etc) and you should just walk away as the car may not last long. A 4 Bar reading would make you wonder if the car starts or not. - Secondly a coolant pressure test - again a simple test that all garages should be able to do and all you are looking for here is that the coolant should be able to hold a good pressure.
If you've come this far looking to buy a car you've probably looked at the competition: Toyota Supra Twin Turbo, Mitsubishi GTO, Honda S2000 to name a few. Why choose the RX7 over all these? - Supra Twin Turbos are a very big and heavy rear wheel drive car, I havent had the chance to play with one but I understand they do not handle as well as the RX7 but they're supposed to be as fast? - Mitsubishi GTO 280bhp is the four wheel drive competition, however i feel 4WD is very unnecessary on British roads. There is more transmission loss with 4WD so the BHP figure stated will actually be a lot less on the road in reality. Interior looks inferior to the RX7. - Honda S2000 is the only naturally aspirated car here however it deserves its place. 2.0L 240bhp RWD with a 0-60 of 6.2 seconds. Interior is nicer than a GTO but not as driver focused as the RX7.
The RX7s interior is very focused like a cockpit. The handbrake is already in your pocket and you feel like you're playing Tom Cruise's role in Top Gun. It is very snug so if you are tall/overweight try getting in one before you buy it! Visibility is still good out of the rear window but as with most coupes you do have a lack of blind spot views. For short journeys the rear seats are fine - they come from the factory as leather 'bucket' seats which means even the passengers in the back are sitting close to the road. The driving position feels luxurious so you know this is a car that you would feel comfortable in for long distance journeys.
I service the RX7 myself and oil changes take no time at all. The oil filter is located in the top right of the engine bay which is easily accessible, and the sump plug is in a very good location too. Try having the passenger side jacked up a little more to help the oil flow out. Mazda recommend Mineral Oil only which is a lot cheaper than synthetic!
When you drive an RX7 you will find you can surprise 600+cc motorbikes, say bye bye to BMW M3s and even push Ferrari Testarossa's up the road... i know I have! ;)
High petrol costs and group 20 insurance is wallet crippling if you are under 21 years old like me but if you can afford it and you love fast Japanese cars this is actually the Mecca for you.
Advantages: sporty, eye-catching appearance Disadvantages: rotary engine - unlike most other sports cars
..."kick" and style - well, Mazda achieved that in this car. However, because of the discontinuation of this model and the introduction of the RX8, this car has been relegated to and is being sought after by street racers, who just find it to be a very good mergeance of style and power.
However, I must admit that I am a fan of Nissan (300ZX, 350Z, 200SX, Skyline) and Mitsubishi (every model of the Lancer Evolution, Eclipse and the 3000GT), and rotary ... ...has four, six or eight pistons and a corresponding number of cylinders (one for each piston to move up and down in), whereas a rotary engine has no pistons or cylinders of the sort. The premise of the design was the engine power is lost in the assorted movements of the pistons and other internal engine components - less moving parts translates into a higher efficiency.
As a result of this, the engine looks tiny when you pop the hood.
At 1.3 litres, ...
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Advantages: will dessimate all even as standered! Disadvantages: only a 1.3L engin
The classic model rx7 is by appearance just another sporty mid life crisis car for the lower-middle class businessman.
However beneath its polished veneer and stylish trim lies the most amazing machine even as standard. it has only a 1.3L engine, however don’t be fooled; with its rotary engine (for you car rookie wannabe's a rotary engine has no maximum rev capacity, thus allowing for greater horse power and a fast yet reliable ride), as standard ... ...some modifications) and allows you to increase horse power to an astonishing 350BHP. not good enough for you? i thought not, the RX7 can handle an intake of two nitrous systems, two fogger systems and a V-TECH fuel management system. fully "SQUEEZED" (modified with nitrous) it can run at an awesome, brown trousering 600BHP ride of a lifetime.
this car cannot be beaten when modified correctly, and even rivals the "NISSAN SKYLINE”, brought to ...
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Advantages: Supercar Performance Ford Focus Money Disadvantages: It'll cost a Ford Focus a year to run it
...electronics is built in true mazda fashion made to last and should not cause you any problems once you have that piece of mind that your engine won't break until that 60,000mile mark trust me nothing else goes wrong you can enjoy one of the sports benchmark cars of this century. A True Mazda Marvel,all ratings which i have made on the car are based around a new warranted engine being installed and what the car is a sports car ...
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Advantages: superb performance Disadvantages: can be costly
...This is an awesome car with 320 bhp this car will suck you into the back of your seat! I owned this car for about a year and i have to say it saddened me to get rid of it but I had to make way fot my mazdarx-7 that I was having imported from japan.
The drive of the car is bumpy if used to potter around town,it likes to be drove fast and hard which on todays camera ridden roads is probably not the best idea,but suspension is very stiff so if you do then ride is absoluteley awesome
The engine comprises of a 3.0 24 valve straight six twin-turbo charged lump,transmission comes in a six speed manual or auto box but less fun is gained by the latter. It is a rear wheel drive motor so it can be very hard to use in wet.
The reliability is average on these once one thing goes wrong everything seems to follow and parts are not cheap...
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Advantages: great gas mileage Disadvantages: discontinued, hi-cost maintenance parts
...After recently returning my friend's MazdaRX7, I was in need of a car to move around with, and I got a Kia Pride at next to nothing (US $100).
I figured what the heck.
The car is a four door hatchback and mine came with a 1300cc engine, no power steering, automatic and air conditioning.
Perfect for a fixer-upper quick-money-bringer.
In terms of looks, you can't do much worse (if at all). This car is square - even Scion doesn't have a car this square and boxy, and this car was probably the inspiration for Nissan's cube.
Inside, this car is a bad 80's flashback - grey interior, square, straight-edged dashboard, flimsy-looking gear shifter, everything is very basic.
But she had it where it counted - under the hood. At 1300cc fuel injected, this little car isn't much to move around with (by comparison, the MazdaRX7 also...
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Advantages: real sports car performance without attracting too many stares Disadvantages: she's a little older and parts are getting into the "hard to get" bracket
...) with little or no modifications required. Even with the original SR20 motor, it is possible to reach as high as 800 or 900 horsepower with all the possible modifications your wallet and schedule can allow - or so I was informed.
Because of its 2-door coupe design, Lamborghini up-swing door kits can be added on rather easily, with no worries about centre or door support posts.
Rear wheel drive cars are always looked at as being older in design (most newer cars are front wheel driven), sports cars (check most of the sports car you know - MazdaRX7, RX8, Mitsubishi GT3000) or luxury cars (Mercedes Benz, BMW). However, because of this car's sheer power, coupled with its heavy curb weight (or at least, heavy for a 2-door vehicle) and rear wheel drive, this car is a perfect candidate if you want to do drifting or power-sliding.
Even though my...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
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