1986 Mazda RX7 TurboII review from North America

I had pretty much all the clutch hydraulics go out on me a couple weeks ago. Parts cost $120 (new master, slave and line) and labor was $300.

Differential mount is believed broken (due to an extremely aggressive clutch).

Vacuum Leak causes high idle.

Shifter bushings were shot when I bought the car, cost $20 in parts and less than an hours labor.

Heating and AC do not work.

Clock and idiot lights were dead, soldered them myself in less than an hour.

This is my first car and I have enjoyed it very much, for very little money ($6000), it outperforms many new cars. Over all, I have had few problems and it's a pleasure to own.

The handling of this car is nothing short of phenomenal. Its perfectly balanced and very predictable. The 4 wheel steering feels a little weird at first, but is easy to get used to. The non-power steering is perfect at speed and not too bad in parking lots (I have no muscle at all).

Spooling up the turbo in this car is sure to cause euphoria. Thanks to the twin-scroll system, the turbo is responsive and power is more than adequate. Even though there is a heavy racing clutch in this car, the pedal is still very light and engagement rather linear. Despite being over twenty years old, it will still outrun most of the car on the road today. One of the advantages of the rotary engine is that it produces power all the way to its 7k rpm redline and it is quite safe, in fact critical to the longevity of the engine to bring it up to redline at least once a day. There has even been a buzzer put in place to remind you to shift (when you get to redline).

The interior is admittedly cramped, but the driving position is comfortable and everything is easily in reach. The instrumentation and gauges are always easily in view. However, after a few hours, the seats' lack of lumbar support becomes apparent and driving without heat or AC is a pain. The audio system (around 100 watts) is decent and fills the interiors relatively well. This is a sports car, and there are some sacrifices there.

This car responds very well to modification and the addition of a cone filter and a catback have significantly decreased spool time. Mechanics are hard to find (don't go to the dealer) but after-market support is very good. And there is some sort of bizarre thrill in knowing that you have on of the few cars out there powered by a rotary engine.