RX7 faults

[QBridge]

What are some of the faults of the RX7?
I heard some say that the engine is not reliable and that it burns oil but that is all I heard. Anything else wrong with this car?

[coolieman1220]

horrible fuel economy, bad emissions.

[QBridge]

horrible fuel economy, bad emissions.

I wouldn't really consider those to be cons. Those become cons depending on fuel prices and strict emissions. If the gas prices were low and the emissions less strict then those would not be cons.

What I want to know is why do people say that the engine is unreliable?

[Egg Nog]

What I want to know is why do people say that the engine is unreliable?

Because in general with an equal amount of maintainance it breaks down more often and more severely than the average piston engine. Rotaries also tend to need rebuilding a while before their piston counterparts. When anything does go wrong, it is also generally more expensive. That said, not all piston engines are extremely reliable, but consider that you should compare the RX-7 with its direct competitors.

High emissions and awful fuel economy are absolutely un-arguably negative.

[Souljah]

I heard that you need 2 renew the engine more often then a regular piston engine.....but the put out good perfomance....but i dont know what neeed renewing!!!

[Quiggs]

Apex seals. 'Nuff said.

[BlueSubaruSTi]

Ugh... the rotary engine is really an amazing thing. 3 moving parts (usually two rotors, and the output shaft). The problem is it doesn't take kindly to neglect such as not checking the oil constantly or high heat. You also need to run it hard occasionally to prevent carbon build up becuase if some of it flakes off it doesn't just go out the exhuast like in a piston engine, it'll carbon lock the rotor and ruin the whole engine. I do think that the rotary engine has more potential than the piston engine in general and if it had gone through the years of refining that the piston engine has it would be much more common.

Right now the only production car that has it is an rx8. 250hp out of a 1.3 liter? Too bad it dumps half the fuel out through the exhuast and gets bad economy. 9000rpm redline- easily capable of 12k if you had the right transmission.

[Falcon500]

Thats the best answer ive seen in a long time for that queastion bluesubaruSTI (if i had a hat id take it of for you) and it is a shame their quite fun to drive....shame some people dont look after them as well as they should.

[coolieman1220]

ok yeah but it got no torque

[Quiggs]

ok yeah but it got no torque

You've never driven a RX8, have you?

[coolieman1220]

nope but i'd take a 350Z over it anyday. but i mean yeah its a small car it dun need torque but its nice to have it

[johnnynumfiv]

Are you going to buy a RX7 to win all the races to get mad cash cause thats what racing is a about?

[VtecMini]

I remember hearing that the engine needed rebuilding around every 60,000 miles, I don't know if it's true or not, but I do recall seeing a lot of RX7s for sale in the classifieds with 58,000 miles on the clock.

[Quiggs]

nope but i'd take a 350Z over it anyday. but i mean yeah its a small car it dun need torque but its nice to have it

The RX8 has plenty of torque for its weight, and it's a nearly flat curve. As with all high strung motors, you have to keep it above about 3000, but after that it's more than happy to pull all the way to redline.

[h00t_h00t]

250hp out of a 1.3 liter?

Its really a 2.6, 1.3 litres is the displacement of one rotor. Given the amount of strokes that go on at the same time it would like a V6, now 250hp out of a 2.6 V6 isn't that impressive.