EndlessCorners
Member
Ive been searching mostly Google for the better part of an hour and was only able to produce one line that said Clarkson thought it was the new E-type. Did he ever review this car in print or video?
Did Clarkson ever review the FD Rx-7?
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EndlessCorners
Member
I think his e-type comparison was mostly based on looks.
kaBOOMn
Well-Known Member
He said it looked good, had chromed gauges, but the centerpiece of the car, the rotary engine was a useless gimmick...this from his Hottest 100
.....I'm another person who can't see the point of the rotary, but thats just me....
.....I'm another person who can't see the point of the rotary, but thats just me....
Ottobon
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I can quess pretty confidently clarkson wouldn't have liked the twitchyness of them, but the chassi itself i believe is fine, its just the stupid stock spring rates that much everything up
they sound like electric guitars and they shoot flames out there exhausts!
they sound like electric guitars and they shoot flames out there exhausts!
'CruiserMan
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Yet, oddly, he loves the engine in the RX-8. Go figure.
nomix
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Most love torque when they're young. When you grow up, you want a VERY smooth power delivery.
(Generalization)
But that don't mean you can't love torque, I'll allways perfer it. Torque is AWSOME!
(Generalization)
But that don't mean you can't love torque, I'll allways perfer it. Torque is AWSOME!
'CruiserMan
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Or you could be like me and have neither!
Part of the twitchyness was the diff ratio, it was something astronomically high, it's on the mazda website somewhere..
Part of the twitchyness was the diff ratio, it was something astronomically high, it's on the mazda website somewhere..
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EndlessCorners
Member
I think Clarkson of all people would understand the rotary engine. Its something no other car has, its something Mazda fought for. It gives the car character.
As far as the unpredictability goes I blame Takao Kijima. After saying things like 'MacPhersons have the same geometry and function as unequal length A-arms except with an invisible upper arm', and designing stupid ideas like the DTSS, he should have been fired and flogged to death. There is another problem with the car as well. The rubber bushings that locate the rear subframe and suspension wear over time making the rear end quite loose and unpredictable. This is sort of a Mazda thing to happen.
At least with the MX-5 Kijima smartly decided to put on unequal length a-arms and leave the car alone. I have an MX-5, and ive driven an FD. They feel quite similar, with the MX-5 feeling just a little more laid back at the limit. When you live with the car every day you get used to the responsiveness. Whenever I drive anything else it feels to me like the steering is slow and imprecise.
As far as the unpredictability goes I blame Takao Kijima. After saying things like 'MacPhersons have the same geometry and function as unequal length A-arms except with an invisible upper arm', and designing stupid ideas like the DTSS, he should have been fired and flogged to death. There is another problem with the car as well. The rubber bushings that locate the rear subframe and suspension wear over time making the rear end quite loose and unpredictable. This is sort of a Mazda thing to happen.
At least with the MX-5 Kijima smartly decided to put on unequal length a-arms and leave the car alone. I have an MX-5, and ive driven an FD. They feel quite similar, with the MX-5 feeling just a little more laid back at the limit. When you live with the car every day you get used to the responsiveness. Whenever I drive anything else it feels to me like the steering is slow and imprecise.
MN12BIRD
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I heard a great little saying about the Rotary motor that got a laurf outta me the other day...
"The Rotary engine is like Communism... it's great in theroy!"
Well something like that anyway. They aren't reliable, and don't have much grunt and aren't the best to live with esp in the winter or when it starts to get some klicks on it. gas millage is poor for the power they make too. But they are light and small and that help the cars handling. and like someone said no one else has it. I would sport it and I would love driving a car with the only engine out there that is actually different!
"The Rotary engine is like Communism... it's great in theroy!"
Well something like that anyway. They aren't reliable, and don't have much grunt and aren't the best to live with esp in the winter or when it starts to get some klicks on it. gas millage is poor for the power they make too. But they are light and small and that help the cars handling. and like someone said no one else has it. I would sport it and I would love driving a car with the only engine out there that is actually different!
NecroJoe
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Don't forget, they also burn nearly as much oil as they do fuel...
'CruiserMan
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They're a nice, tractable engine, particularly the latest one, the RENSIS, which is quite light on oil and fuel, about the same as the 3.7 V6 in the Holden Commodore.
Very smooth power delivery and a noise like nothing else. The one you want in terms of performance is a 20B though. That's a 3 pot instead of the normal 2 pot, and with the turbo it's very powerful and torquey. I know a guy who has one in a 1stgen RX-7, it does hillstarts in third
Very smooth power delivery and a noise like nothing else. The one you want in terms of performance is a 20B though. That's a 3 pot instead of the normal 2 pot, and with the turbo it's very powerful and torquey. I know a guy who has one in a 1stgen RX-7, it does hillstarts in third
EndlessCorners
Member
Misinformed people are great, they keep the prices of RX-7s down.
Rotarys are plenty reliable, you just have to keep up on maintenance. Longevity is a bit of an issue with the motor in FDs but a replacement motor from Mazda is only $3,000. Most people get over 100K miles. Oil consumption is typically a quart ever 1000 miles iirc. This is because it is injected into the housings to lubricate the seals. Some people do disable the oil injection and run two stroke oil in the fuel tank.
The motor just takes some love and attention. In return its compact and has amazing upgrade potential.
Cpt.Zanzibar
Member
People who dont own a rotary car wont understand why people who do own one love it. All the unreliability issues came with the engines form the FD's. The would blow apex seals on the road like crazy, this was because Mazda decided to put apex seals in that couldnt handle the horsepower and boost coming from a twin turbo. All the accel and decel that goes on in city driving caused them to blow. Not on the track tho, see rotaries love to stay in high revs and last a very long time like that. Mazda was the first company to win 24 hours of lemans that wasnt european, and they did it with a rotary, it was also the only engine in that whole series that didnt have a single issue. So basically dont buy a 3rd gen Rx-7.
kaBOOMn
Well-Known Member
If I'm useing that much juice I'm getting a large V8/V10/V12 or a killer RB engine (and earplugs for the woe ful noise)....sorry
"The Rotary engine is like Communism... it's great in theroy!" <-- and even funnier when you realise Lada in Russia made rotary powered cars in the 80's and they where used by the KGB....rolf! They had wierd things like a microprocessor controlled ignition system.....
But the be all and end all is that if it was so good why doesn't everybody use it? Sorry guys your sunk, then add in the unburnt hydrocarbon emmisions which cause more problems than plain ol' carbon di-oxide!
As for the reliability question, well I suppose its like Alfa Romeo's <-- the people that have them say they are not bad while everybody else thinks they are unreliable rubbish!
A common line here is: Brap, Jap, Crap!
"The Rotary engine is like Communism... it's great in theroy!" <-- and even funnier when you realise Lada in Russia made rotary powered cars in the 80's and they where used by the KGB....rolf!
They had wierd things like a microprocessor controlled ignition system.....But the be all and end all is that if it was so good why doesn't everybody use it? Sorry guys your sunk, then add in the unburnt hydrocarbon emmisions which cause more problems than plain ol' carbon di-oxide!
As for the reliability question, well I suppose its like Alfa Romeo's <-- the people that have them say they are not bad while everybody else thinks they are unreliable rubbish!
A common line here is: Brap, Jap, Crap!
Cpt.Zanzibar
Member
the reason why companies dont use them in their cars is because they arent very good consumer engines. they arent for your average 70 year old lady who has the time or money to take good cars of her rotary. they are race engines, thats what they were designed for. most racing leauges have banned them or put them in a class of their own so you dont beat the shit out of the piston boys. and as we are watchers of top gear, so then we really cant care about the enviroment that much. i was glad to make my exhaust fully free flowing. i ripped all the emissions shit outta my FC. and once again the unreliability came from those damn FD's blowin apex seals, get a real Rx-7 and you wont have that problem, that didnt happen untill power hungry ford designed the FD. and you can diss on jap cars, but then toyota waltzes over and says, "oh wait, we are the most successful car maker in the world right now and when was the last time you saw a broken down toyota on the side of the road?"
EndlessCorners
Member
-_- Ford acquired %25 of Mazda in 1979 you can't blame them...
FDs are plenty reliable, especially the motor. Most failures can be attributed to tuning mistakes or everything else associated with the motor. The problem is that Mazda wanted a lot out of the car, but designed it right in the middle of their financial crisis.
Theres the intake system that, under high rpm, pulls engine bay air backwards through the intercooler and into the engine. This could cause the engine to lean out, which rotarys aren't tolerant of.
Then theres the plastic AST (air separation tank) This can crack and spill all of the cars coolant on the road with out giving any indication to the driver. This is responsible for plenty of blown motors. Along with this, they also fitted an undersized radiator. More heat=bigger risk of detonation=blown motor.
Both these problems (and more) make it easier for the engine to suffer detonation which as stated rotaries do not tolerate, hence the unreliability. The FD uses the same apex seals as every other rotary after 1986, they're good to quite a lot of power.
Now if that didn't bore you to death nothing will.
FDs are plenty reliable, especially the motor. Most failures can be attributed to tuning mistakes or everything else associated with the motor. The problem is that Mazda wanted a lot out of the car, but designed it right in the middle of their financial crisis.
Theres the intake system that, under high rpm, pulls engine bay air backwards through the intercooler and into the engine. This could cause the engine to lean out, which rotarys aren't tolerant of.
Then theres the plastic AST (air separation tank) This can crack and spill all of the cars coolant on the road with out giving any indication to the driver. This is responsible for plenty of blown motors. Along with this, they also fitted an undersized radiator. More heat=bigger risk of detonation=blown motor.
Both these problems (and more) make it easier for the engine to suffer detonation which as stated rotaries do not tolerate, hence the unreliability. The FD uses the same apex seals as every other rotary after 1986, they're good to quite a lot of power.
Now if that didn't bore you to death nothing will.
Cpt.Zanzibar
Member
yes it was only 25% but they designed cars for each other. Mazda designed the early probe and ford helped mazda out during their financial problems by developing the FD and the b series truck around the same time.