| S13 |
I'm thinking about buying a Turbo II FC, just have a few questions for those of you who own one:
1. How do you like it?
2. What kind of major problems have you had with the car?
3. Are replacement parts expensive? OE and Aftermarket parts?
5. What kind of engine oil do you use? synthetic or regular? and what weight?
4. How much do engine rebuilds go for?
5. What is done in a rebuild?
6. Is it possible to do it myself?
7. Do i need a turbo timer right off the bat?
8. how long can i go for without one?
I think thats it for now, i'm a newb to rotaries but i want to see how its like. I've just been hearing all these things about how bad rotaries are and how expensive they are to fix. So i just want to get some things straight about rotaries and get the facts from people who know what their talking about. thanks |
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| REFLUX |
quote:
Originally posted by S13
I'm thinking about buying a Turbo II FC, just have a few questions for those of you who own one:
1. How do you like it?
2. What kind of major problems have you had with the car?
3. Are replacement parts expensive? OE and Aftermarket parts?
5. What kind of engine oil do you use? synthetic or regular? and what weight?
4. How much do engine rebuilds go for?
5. What is done in a rebuild?
6. Is it possible to do it myself?
7. Do i need a turbo timer right off the bat?
8. how long can i go for without one?
I think thats it for now, i'm a newb to rotaries but i want to see how its like. I've just been hearing all these things about how bad rotaries are and how expensive they are to fix. So i just want to get some things straight about rotaries and get the facts from people who know what their talking about. thanks
1) I like it, it's a great car but requires consistent maintenance. If you think of an FC TII from a well-rounded track car setup, it essentially has everything. Big brakes, massive oil cooler, low coolant buzzer, redline buzzer, low oil buzzer, bulletproof transmission (up to 400bhp I believe), pretty close gear ratios, shifter is close to the steering wheel (easier & quicker gear shifts), LSD, great power potential, 50/50 weight distribution, RWD, relatively lightweight, lots of aftermarket support.
2) After 3 years of ownership, worst thing that happened was a leaky front seal that caused oil to spray all over the engine bay at constant high rpm (track days) but it was replaced. Was also a probably cause of an oil leak that caused my lower rad hose to deteriorate & burst but that was from the previous owner. Sometimes if floods when it's super hot out & I've been using the AC but I have a fuel cut off switch which solves the problem pretty well.
3) OEM parts aren't expensive like luxury car parts (ex. BMW) but for the type of ppl who own FCs (typically the younger crowd which means they aren't rich BMW owners) OEM parts aren't cheap either. But OEM parts are almost always better than aftermarket replacements unless it is an upgrade (ex. radiator/spark plug wires/etc)
4) Engine rebuilds range from ~$2000+.
5) Factory recommends 10w30 Mineral Oil. My car has used Castrol GTX since day one (previous owner kept track) so I've continued with it. 10w30 during spring & going into fall but once summer rolls around, 20w50.
There is a lot of controversy about using synthetic since rotaries inject oil into the combustion chamber, some say synthetic doesn't burn as clean as mineral, other say GOOD synthetic burns even better.
IMO, unless you're pushing high HP or got money to burn, there isn't much benefit to using synthetic over frequent mineral oil changes.
5) A basic rebuild involves replacing all soft seals (coolant, oil, etc) and apex seals. An apex seal is like a piston ring for piston engines. More involved rebuilds can go up to replacing the housings (I believe it's like resleeving a piston engine). There are other little parts like springs as well but a basic rebuild is essentially = replace what is out of spec.
6) Ppl say if you've rebuilt your own piston engine, you can do a rotary. I haven't done either. But I figure if you take your time, be very detailed & keep track of everything (steps, parts, placement, orientation of parts, etc) you can do it.
7) No, you do not need a TT off the bat. It is nice to have but it is not a MUST.
8) You can go forever without a TT. It just means you can't leave your car right away after you arrive at your destination.
If you read this thread:
http://forums.780tuners.com/showthr...highlight=turbo
My posts give a brief outline about some alternatives to turbo timers.
The posts other users make are informative as well, I highly recommend you going thru it.
Good luck with your purchase and a word of advice, don't settle for anything but a Turbo II if you have ANY desire to go faster. |
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| ehos |
Best car I ever owned. Hands down.
I flogged the life out of it (because I kept hearing rotarys die). It NEVER even came close. The hardest KMs I ever put on a car (just to test that theory). Nothing, totally solid.
I sold it when I moved to Calgary, big mistake. I want another as my fun car. :)
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| PraxRX7 |
1. How do you like it?
2. What kind of major problems have you had with the car?
3. Are replacement parts expensive? OE and Aftermarket parts?
5. What kind of engine oil do you use? synthetic or regular? and what weight?
4. How much do engine rebuilds go for?
5. What is done in a rebuild?
6. Is it possible to do it myself?
7. Do i need a turbo timer right off the bat?
8. how long can i go for without one?
1. I love it to death. Never driven anything like it. (Come to the meet on Friday at UC and I will take you for a cruise).
2. Blew the clutch after 50+ drag runs at budpark in 1 month. $2500 in repairs. (had never driven stick before, got bad advice to "drop the clutch at 7000 RPM"....)
3. OEM is stupid expensive, forget about replacing anything OEM ($4500 for a new ABS Hydraualic unit). Parts can't hardly ever be found locally, almost always ordering them in. No big deal. Aftermarket is not huge, but its average aftermarket pricing.
4. Rebuilt 13B/T 1986-1988 ~$2200-$3000 OEM
Rebuilt 13B/T 1989-1991 ~$4400-$5000 OEM
The rebuild kits are ~$1200 if you do it yourself (assuming you dont need to buy new rotors or rotor housings.
5. Pulled apart, checked to make sure the chrome on the inside of the housing is within spec (wears down over time or with improper maintainence) if good, clear er up, replace all seals and slap er back together.
6. If you are mechnically inclined and can read a manual...yes.
7. I don't use turbo timers, they can malfunction. Just let your car idle down before you shut it off. Patience my friend, patience.
8. You do not need one. If you have been driving hard, let your car idle for about 1-3 minutes. Done and done. |
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| S13 |
| wow, sounds like everyone has good things to say about their FC's. Hopefully i'll be a new owner of a FC by sometime next week. |
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| Transporter |
not to burst your bubble.... the key to these happy onwers was due deliginece and mainteance .. especailly preventive maintenance.
If you are on top of it your car will treat u well u abuse her and u will regret it
on second note you get what u pay for if u get an rx7 for 3000 then u could be swapping engines fairly soonor it could have electrical issues |
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| ehrgeiz |
| Buy a shell with a good body, replace the engine right off the get go. |
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| 4kruzn |
| dont worry Dave the car he is looking at is just like yours and im putting in the new motor tonight. |
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| ehrgeiz |
| A 10AE ? Good good. |
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| 7tHkEvIn |
| Jolly good. supero uno! thumbs up! |
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