1993 Mazda RX7 Touring from North America - Comments

Stock Turbos needed to be replaced, vacuum hoses needed to be replaced, Limited Slip Differential needed to be replaced, Lower Sway Bar Links needed to be replaced, Stock Radiator needed to be replaced, Stock Air Separation Tank needed to be replaced, Stock Pre-Catalytic Converter needed to be replaced, and interior plastic cracked in various places.

I replaced all those stock parts with better, stronger parts. Knowing what I was getting myself into before I even considered picking up one of these wonderful cars was the difference.

A lot of times, when people are taken aback by the up-keep costs and cannot handle the monetary commitment involved, they simply give up. The problem with doing that is that it perpetuates the problems the already has and the car gets sold to a younger, less experienced consumer/driver who does not fix the problems. The new owner ends up beating the car down to the ground, thus giving this awesome performance-minded machine a bad image.

In closing, I don't think the major problem with the 93-95 Mazda RX7's is their lack of reliability in parts or mechanical failures. I think the biggest problem is the perception going into the purchase of the vehicle. It is not an average, everyday car, and should be treated as such. These cars get run down to the ground, not because of a lack of reliability. Rather, it is because of a lack in understanding and know-how.

Wonderfully written.

I daily drive my fd. If you properly maintain these cars they'll do thier part. I have yet to have problems and have owned the car for over 6 mos. If you dawg these cars everyday thry're obviously going to have a problem, but if you keep up with your maintenance and don't drive hard every day these cars can last.

I owned my FD for 10 years, and met with many other FD owners during that time, so I know a thing or two about the car. It's an incredible sports car. But it's quite fragile. The engine/turbos are built to run at high temperatures and everything cooks under the hood including all those fragile vacuum/pressure hoses that FD owners affectionately call the 'rats nest'. The engine itself will normally need to be replaced at least every 100k miles. It's a complicated car, not easy to maintain by anyone's definition. So I agree with the other comments, you need to know what you are bargaining for when you fall in love with this car. Be sure to own an extra car, time and money. And then you will have a blast in your baby Ferrari.

I disagree with the Dec 7th comment. These cars need to be driven hard. I bought an `89 GXL from a girl that drove too conservatively for years, and the engine blew two months after I started driving it. If a rotary is driven too cautiously (too low in the rpm band or not enough throttle) there will be a carbon build up in the engine. This will continue to build up over time. When the carbon breaks free it can get wedged between the apex seal and the housing and break the seal. This was the definition given to me by the mechanic.

This also happened to me. I own a 1987 mazda rx-7 gx and the person I bought it from the engian was blown from driving with to much throttle and I was just woundering if anyone knows any tricks to get the crap out or if my seals are just plain shot. also I have tried the atf trick and I can hear it building up, but my gauge reads 0. anyone tell me what is wrong or is it just get ne engine time?

Wu... I planed to buy a used FD, but now I have to give up after reading the comments here. It looks too complicatedly to maintain the car.