Reliable RX?

"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura) 11/05/2013 at 22:50 • Filed to: None

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Are there any of the RXs that are particularly doable on a day-to-day basis? Even if it's not the fastest, I'm sure it would be a fun, well balanced car.

Anon > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 22:52

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From what I understand is that if they've been properly cared for, rotaries are decently reliable.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 22:57

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An LS swaped RX.

Nibby > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 22:57

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OH... Mazda RX.

Had me worried there for a moment.

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 22:59

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Get a non-turbo second gen and then have the engine rebuilt with new seals. Engine rebuild are cheaper than normal since there are like 3 moving parts

Matt > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/05/2013 at 23:00

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+1, I want to believe in RX7s but all my narrow experience with talking and reading them says otherwise. Not a hater though, grew up with one across the street when I was a wee Jalopocito and still luv

YSI-what can brown do for you > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/05/2013 at 23:00

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It is like. . .we think on the same brainwave or something maaaaaaannnn

roflcopter > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 23:01

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RX's can be good if you do your research and get one that has been properly maintained(different than a piston engine) and you're willing to stay on top of the maintenance too. There are a few pitfalls when looking for one to keep in mind...

never buy an automatic

Try to keep it under 60-70k miles if you plan to keep it for more than a year or two

Learn what to look for on a failing rotary before going to look at cars

Remember that even routine maintenance parts are expensive

Also keep in mind the fact that they are picky as far as daily driving goes if you have a short commute, or drive in city where you will never wind it out. Poor fuel consumption is a given, and depending on the model, plugs and coils can become routine maintenance as well.

What particular ones are you looking at? Model, year range, features you'd like?

RotaryLover > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 23:02

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IMO, as long as it's N/A and you give the care it needs, you won't have any problems. Go for a FB GSL-SE (1984-85). It's like a rotary Miata, with a solid axle. FCs are somewhat reliable but there's too much electronics that can fail. FDs...don't even go there unless you've done enough reading about them countless times. OH and the RX8? I'd say go for a second gen.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Nibby 11/05/2013 at 23:07

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RX350

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > roflcopter 11/05/2013 at 23:11

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Oh, I live in the city. Constant stop/go :\

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 11/05/2013 at 23:12

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That's pretty handy!

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > RotaryLover 11/05/2013 at 23:13

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That's what I was thinking. Less is more.

roflcopter > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 23:15

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Stop/go isn't particularly good for rotaries, they aren't self-cleaning like piston engines. They need high rpm runs decently frequently to keep the carbon build up out of the intake valving as well as the combustion chamber seal springs.

roflcopter > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK 11/05/2013 at 23:17

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This isn't exactly true... there are less moving parts, but seals and springs aren't. A decent rebuild kit is between 800-1200 depending on which motor and what all parts you need for parts alone, plus however much a shop will charge you if rebuilding it yourself doesn't seem like a good idea.

RotaryLover > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/05/2013 at 23:25

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On the Rx series? I can't say that. Look at the 2nd gen Rx8. It's almost perfect for the common person that forgets it's a rotary engine from time to time. It's the only time where I'd say electronics really helps make the car reliable, but at the cost of expensive bills when you wanna fix something.....yeah old stuff is better.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > roflcopter 11/05/2013 at 23:33

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No bueno :(

Textured Soy Protein > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/06/2013 at 00:56

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Well if you want to find a rare duck, look for an '89-90 FC GTUs. According to Wikipedia, "Starting with the lightweight base model GTU, which came with manual windows, no rear wiper, no sunroof, and A/C was dealer optioned, the GTUs added items found on the Turbo model such as four piston front brakes, rear ventilated brake rotors, vehicle speed sensing power steering, 1 piece front chin spoiler, cloth covered Turbo model seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, 16 inch wheels, 205/55VR tires, and a GTUs only 4.300 Viscous-type limited slip differential (all other FC LSD's where 4.100). ... Mazda built 1100 GTUs's in 1989, with the last 100 re-stamped as 1990 models." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_RX-…

therotaryisdeadlonglivetherotary > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/06/2013 at 01:22

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Which is why God made weekends and winding roads. Seriously, I have the shortest commute in the world, the only reason I drive is cause work makes me, so I take the RX-7 out for exercise every once in a while. It's a great excuse to get you out on fun roads. As for reliable, it won't all the sudden spit apex seals out the tail pipe, and if you get a car with low miles and treat her right she'll do just fine I should think.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 11/06/2013 at 09:24

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RX8 makes a great daily driver, and can be had relatively cheaply. Great handling, comfortably seats 4 average adults, and heated seats. Make sure you get a manual trans model - the automatics won't rev, and the engine is detuned to protect the torque converter. I also reccomend getting one with the factory powertrain warranty still in place, even if its only for another year. If it ever feels down on power during the warranty period, you're likely to get a free motor out of it - the engines rarely pass Mazda's compression test threshold for warranty replacement, even new.

If you want a cheaper reliable RX car, the naturally aspirated FC generation cars are a good choice. Great chassis, tons of space with the liftback, and '80s doorstop styling. I have one that I use as a track day car, and I can load it up with a full tool set and full set of tires to drive to the track and back. Slightly quicker than a 2nd gen miata when driven similarly.

Reliability considerations for both:
1. Premix: All Mazda rotaries have a small pump that pumps engine oil from the crankcase into the combustion chamber. This oil lubricates the apex seals, but burns dirty and tends to foul the plugs and seals. On the FC I reccomend disconnecting the pump completely and putting a good two stroke oil in the gas tank at each fill up. I use 1oz oil per gallon gas. For the RX8 you don't need to premix, but half a quart of a really good two stroke oil in the gas every once in a while helps to clean out the carbon deposits left behind by the engine oil.

Check your oil: The car injects crankcase oil into the combustion chamber by design. Therefore, these cars consume a lot of oil, by design. If its not burning oil, there is something very wrong.

Transmission on the RX8: Its cheap, and only takes about 4 hours to replace, but tends to not live long on cars that are raced heavily.

Rust: Watch for it. These cars arent particularly bad, but it exists.

Sources: This is all personal experience and anecdotal. I own a '86 RX7 that I track regularly and DD when its warm out (heater and AC are gone). Close friend owns a RX8 that he DDs and tracks regularly. We work on each other's cars, and have both been impressed with the reliability (assuming you don't start with a basketcase). Neither of us would ever touch a FD - those things are scary.

roflcopter > therotaryisdeadlonglivetherotary 11/06/2013 at 10:08

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Very true, I'm just letting him know it will have to be a consideration. On the note of randomly exploding, that is a rotaries strong point, very rarely will one just stop, even with multiple broken internal pieces, they'll usually still get you home. And even if they're on their way out compression-wise, you probably won't notice it unless you know what to look for. I guess that makes it kinda scary buying one. I'd suggest a compression test on any one you are seriously considering, I usually do that.