9.1 0-60 is considered somewhere between "Fast" and "Rocket"?!? Could you imagine how quick someone's head would expload of they tested something from today back in the 80s??
+HJ Farooqi (Hjfcool) just because it's better at making power than a conventional doesn't change the fact that the combined displacement of the combustion chambers add up to 1308CC.
+HJ Farooqi (Hjfcool) I understand what you're saying but it could be worded better. The statement "it is not a 1.3 liter engine" is not correct in any way, you could say "it's not comparable to a normal 1.3 engine".
@Anaheim Mike $500 where . . . .? Kids these days are selling them for 10k. There saying its all drift tax and what knot. They'll buy the car trashed and say they'll work on them only to sell them for crazy amounts. Gladly I was given an Rx7 FC for my 17th birthday 4 years ago. I'll never sell it, ill die in my grave with my car 😅. Over 200k miles original engine still going strong. I just love the sound of Rotary powered cars
@@Alex-vz2jz bruh same here! Had it for 7 years! 88 GTU Lightened sports model with aero package and optional sun roof cause the lightened sports model was usually a slick top unless they wanted the sunroof!
He had quick enough hands to save the first skid, but then clearly did not trust the car to try to correct his course. That’s bad news. Mazda’s still have oversteer issues even on front drive cars.
@@39PSIOnTheDaily I know. Just bustin' balls LOL. They were a little tail-happy. I owned a Turbo II. Only Japanese car I've ever owned. Good shit. Really Good shit.
This was my first car! Same red and the GXL package I picked it up for 4 grand. I miss this thing like crazy and regret ever selling it. Although I never seen mpgs higher than 19. This brings back so many great memories! I sold it with over just over 100k miles and it still ran strong! I was lucky though because not many of the rotaries held up that long.
@@MRCBOT_YT if it doesn't crank anymore, put an once of trans fluid in one of the larger vacuum lines and then try. I had a 86 model that wouldn't crank in the winter due to the seals retracting in the cold. The trans fluid trick worked great and it never failed to start again as long as I had the fluid. If you run it every couple days it likely will start every time, I had 3 cars and would go a week sometimes. The RX-7 was one of the funnest cars I have ever owned, and I have had over 70, many Corvettes, and other really nice cars. The RX7 was just fun to toss around. ( it will smoke for a minute after the trans fluid trick but the fluid expands the seals and gives it compression to start )
Memories.... I drove an '87 GXL in college ( 93 - 95). I had 160k on clock when I bought it. Ran flawlessly for almost 3 years. I miss that car... I bought a new AP1 S2000 in 'O3, and still have it. Reminds me of my RX...
the cockpit feel from the seating and dash were outstanding in these versions..i had the 86 turbo and those seats were the Very best of Any car ive ever had
Thank you motorweek. As an RX7 owner I would love to see any more RX7 or Mazda retro videos you may have. I look forward to watching these newly posted retro reviews every night when I get home from work.
Man, I love watching these old reviews and seeing how much cars have advanced. By today's standards the old NA RX7 is slow as dirt, but god I would still love to buy one. Fun cars are just timeless. Just think if we dropped a BRZ or a Camaro 1LE back in time what reviewers would think. Hell, a modern Accord would leave them speechless.Makes me think in 20 years how laughable slow my WRX will be to the minivan of that time.
John Smith speaking of WRXs, I have a JDM ‘01 Legacy GT-B (factory twin turbo EJ208) and it has modest for today 6 second 0-60 times, nearly 20 years on and it holds up well. I think cars have kind of plateaued in the combustion technology, and 20 years from now it’ll be all about the most efficient electric motors, which will indeed be very quick if left un-restricted
Side by side it's pretty uncanny, it was shamelessly inspired by it because the Porsche was such a well accepted car in the states and that's where Mazda wanted its most sales.
I had an 86 RX-7 base model (it had super small alloys with no sunroof.) That car was soo much fun to drive. I learned alot about power sliding from it. got horrible gas mileage, made shit horsepower, but was still fun as shit to drive.. even by today's standards when compared to the Toyota 86/BRZ)
This is a 1986, 1985 was the old style. I used to sell them in 1986 and I even sold myself the same color one like this but the base model, with black loovers on the back window and blacked out Enkie wheels. I hit a deer 🦌 going home to show it to my mom. I fixed it and kept it for 6 years. I loved that car.
I was 18 when this came out, and it was straight up like seeing a spaceship... Looked WAY, Way ahead of its time, and still so beautiful today. Two years later I was driving a Mazda 323 hatch 5 sp manual, and LOVED that car. Think it was $5700 brand new.
My dad used to tell me that his first car was an FC RX-7 back in 1988, the first song played in the radio was Together Forever. So he used to reminisce whenever the song plays on.
This is about the time I became obsessed with cars. My mom would drive me to all the dealerships to look at sports cars. I'd been to the Porsche lot many times. As soon as I saw this RX-7 I knew exactly what it looked like. Didn't understand money at the time, but I knew the RX-7 was closer to reality for us. Both cars were beautiful in-person new on the lots. My mom ended up getting a used 86 I-ROCZ. A truly life altering experience for me. Good times.
I learned to drive on one of these at 9 years old. THE easiest car to learn with. The clutch is smooth, the gearing is direct, the steering is easy yet predictable, and it's a good handling vehicle. Would love to buy one, but they are becoming more and more rare.
Never owned one but have always loved the looks of the RX7 and RX8. back around 92 or so I took one like this for a test drive. really wanted it but couldn't afford it.
Owned an RX-8 for a few years. Most fun car I have ever driven...but full of issues. I had it for three years, and I'm not even exaggerating, it was in the shop nearly a full year of the three. Between two blown engines, body panels rusting through so badly it made holes in the door sills, electronic gremlins, and even stupid stuff like the taillights filling up with water because they were improperly sealed, it was always something. Thankfully I bought it new so this was all under warranty, but after 3 years was up I unloaded it. A shame though, because the car handled like you were driving a formula one racecar. It was unreal.
Due to emissions issues, Mazda can't launch anything like that in rotary form anymore. Even the RX-8 had a lot of emissions compromises already - hence not a lot of power.
My first car was an 87 RX7-SE 2+2 (no leather, no ground effects, no spoiler, no electronic suspension... aside from brakes... no power anything). So I was starting with a lighter car that you drove by seat of your pants (the way God intended). ((Consequently, I thought I knew all there was to know about the RX7... I thought 86 was the first year of the new body style... guess I was wrong. I do know the 13B engine was available in the 85 RX-7 SE model. Live and learn I guess)) My saphire blue 13B went something like this... If memory serves: - Manifold removed, replaced with a mandrel bent header pipe - Reposition the sensor in the header to activate the four-valve ports (bigger pipe wasn't generating sufficient back pressure to engage them) - Cat removed, replaced with a "super" silencer (it was a glass pack that replaced the cat. Leading and trailing pipes were mandrel as well) - Mufflers replaced with Super Traps (I remember tuning the plates to the expected "activities" I'd see that evening) - Smog control disabled (inserted a BB into the line) - Replaced the belt-driven fan with an electric - Removed the A/C drive belt (in winter) - Replaced the stock boat anchor flywheel with a racing model (I think it was part aluminum... it's been so long). HUGE throttle response improvement - Had the clutch discs upgraded at the same time - Added a two-point strut tower brace (night and day difference above 110mph) - Added a thicker/much stiffer sway bar (watched a 300Zs wreck one night trying) - Cut the springs (lowered the car 3/4 of an inch) - Removed the stock boat anchor rims and added black five star Enkei's at all four corners (pretty big unsprung weight improvement) - Ran Goodyear Fulda's (discont.). 205s front. 225s back (best rain tire on the planet at the time. They lasted 5-7K miles per set... I drove hard) - Gave my best shot at fabricating a ram air induction pipe below the front air dam and removed the spare tire (every tiny bit helped) - Upgraded to K&N gauze air filter (required regular cleaning/oiling) - Hard wired power for the many Maxon RD25s I ran through. Unit clipped to the visor (no cord hanging, cops none-the-wiser all the years I owned it) - Bought a front end bra made of radar-absorbing material (it was high-tech for the time) - Had a local seamstress sew a leather boot for the brake handle (to match the shifter) - Wrapped the steering wheel in leather to match the above - Tinted the glass to 20% and had the tint shop add a visor strip along the top of the windshield with a slight curve down at both ends (it was sharp) - Undercoated the wheel wells and painted all four calipers fire engine red (subliminal touches, but the devil was in the details, or so I believed) With the power upgrades above, the 13B (with lighter config) would routinely destroy Mustang 5.0s in a 0-60 competition. Quarter mile... not so much... the gearing and power band simply/rapidly dropped off after 2nd gear (60mph). That said, the locale I was operating in at the time... 0-60 was a more common match up. I recall one particular line up... a friend pulled up in his GT 5.0. About that same time a 944 Turbo took up the third position at the light. I had them all by three car lengths when the speedo hit 60. The GT didn't take long to close that gap and the 944 blew past us both once his Turbo got up to cruising altitude. Lining up against other stock RX-7s... I had friends lining up for copilot invitations to witness these encounters. It was just fun to watch the expression on the stock owners' faces. My RX would just walk away from them, but it looked relatively stock. Aside from a pretty severe under steer tendency (native to the this model), the handling was spectacular on my RX. It could out corner nearly anything I put it up against. Pre-upgrades, the car was extremely (scary) loose above 100. After... I could steer comfortably (with two fingers) above 120. I topped it out on a downhill grade on a section of the Indian Nations Turnpike at 146. That's all the engine would give (the suspension was ready for more). A friend and myself did a Canon Ball Run from Atlanta to Dallas... we pissed in Gatorade bottles and stopped only for gas. The trip took just shy of 8 hours. I don't know what we were averaging, but there were multiple stretches (over an hour) where we were 120+ on Interstate 20. I loved that car. I miss that car.
You are correct, the 2nd gen started in 86. Gsl-se 13b was 84 & 85. I had an 87 red w sports package. The 4 piston caliper brakes were cool. It was a great handling car. The rotary in mine had a weak apex seal and flooded with gas often. Had to dump it.
The reviews are day time. But the gauges are great at night. Soft orange (easy on the eyes), no glare. Those of us that owned one of these know what I am talking about.
Not bad. The people who could afford one of these new usually took good care of them. I still see excellent and good examples of this still on the road today.
I had a 12A 82 RX7 that lasted 282,000 miles before I finally parted it out. It had to get water every week as it leaked it out from the block seals and it required oil every thousand miles as part of its design, had a balky choke etc. but never left me stranded and was a lot of fun to drive for such a slow car. LS engine swaps are popular with these, and with the low weight are real sleepers when swapped.
I bet you took good care of it. Those old 12As are pretty reliable if properly cared for. My FB has 120,000 on the body but the engine has about 80,000. I swapped in a street ported engine and have lots of supporting mods. The chassis has been set up for autocross.
@@damontroch4765 what kind of crack are you on lmao?? The NA 12A is by far THE most reliable rotary engine out there right infront of the NA 13B. It's the turbo motors that are the unreliable ones.
@@JoshRex7venwhat you said it's right turbo engines, tend to consume more oil than an N/A engine, the only turbo engine, I would abuse would be a 3SGTE or any Volvo/Yamaha turbocharged engine, but If it is a 4G63T, EJ20ET, 13B rew turbo or any Ford Cosworth, Renault turbo engine, better take a special care for them.
I had one on dark grey and the same burgundy interior shown in the video. And mine was an automatic. That thing was a beast! Slow off 5he line but when it kicked in the tack would slam over to the redline and you better be holding on! Too bad I was dumb and didn't know about the rotary and the oil...my dumb kid self blew the engine. It was my favorite car ever. Even the Nissan 240 convertible I bought after graduating nursing school couldn't make me not like that RX-7.
4:30 was the driver fault. He cut back to late and was going too fast. I ran from the police in an 86 RX7 and i did wreck but only because a cop cut me off at 100 mph. I was clocked at 128 mph.
I actually took this "exact same car" on a test drive the other day and boy was it awesome. Super slow but I loved the rotary feel. Only had 30k miles on it and absolutely no problems, almost bought it right there
Had a 1990 in the mid 2000s. Loved that thing, but as anything… time wasn’t kind to it. Always had fun with the 4way flasher switch on the side of the cluster. I’d get asked sometimes what it was for, I always joked it was a ‘max power’ switch but like the ac, it was broken.
I'm confused. I had a 1985 RX-7 and it was the previous body style to this one. This body style launched in 1986 with the 13B fuel injected rotary as standard. You could get the 85 model with the same engine, but it was called the GSL-SE.
Found an 86 at the junk yard. Rough, but amazingly no rust or dents, needs a respray and interior bits. Engine is missing, so if I were to pick it up, I'd like to try fit in a 3.0L V6 Yamaha from another car at the JY (91 Taurus SHO).
That would be a very interesting engine swap but I would wager it would be very difficult. Almost everything would have to be fabricated and the SHO engine was designed to be transverse mounted. Older RX7s make good project cars and many engine swaps are possible. The LS series small blocks are by far the most common, along with 5.0 Fords and obviously other wankel engines. Nissan turbo 4 and 6s are also done. I have even seen an FB with an S2000 engine in it. One that works well and is cheap is a 4.3 liter GM V6. You can get decent power and they are reliable. If you do decide to go for it, I wish you luck. Nice elder scrolls user name btw.
Interesting that the Turbo II RX-7 would do the 0-60 MPH thing in about 6-1/2 seconds or so, considered very good for its time, but totally unremarkable today :)
The FC never came to north american until 86, so this would make it a 86, not a 85. This was also way slower than the 85 GSL-SE... perhaps even slower than the 12a cars.
I remember going to the Porsche dealer with my dad to pick up his new 944T and one of these was sitting there as well. Even at the age of 11 or 12, I could tell they pretty much designed it after the car we were getting into, except it just wasn't the same... ;) Dad's car did NOT have the "swiss cheese" wheels however... Funny, because that's what we called them too!
9.1 0-60 for a sports car back in the day is just normal. There are cars in the 60's that could do 7 or 8 seconds 0-60 or super cars during 60's to 70's around 5 - 6 seconds 0-60. 9.1 in just 60 mph is not midway between fast to rocket. You make us RX-7 fans laugh! Better version of this until early 90's can do 6 seconds 0-60 and quarter mile of 14 seconds or so.
6:22.........now, THAT'S what an instrument panel SHOULD look like, sports car or not!!!! Large, clear gauges that are easily read at a glance & are not obstructed by the steering wheel.
I always joke with my buddy who has one of these RX-7's. He's dumped over $10,000 into his and it still is broken more than it runs. I always tell him for every one you actually see running, there are another 10 in the garage up on jackstands. These cars win the award for most broken down but still not in the junkyard yet, because there is a small but extremely masochistic group of enthusiasts that love that rotary.
Kelly Krall The RX-7 FC came out in 1985 but it's first model year in the US was 1986. But yes, I absolutely agree these are fantastic cars. I'm planning on getting one as my first car.
Beautiful car, I had an 87. The tach spun 100 times faster than the speedo. Lots of rev, not much giddyy up. Lots of show, not a log of go. Amazing though how some lesser cars reviewed on here were considered just Ok or even slow with faster 0-60 times, and loud with the same DB level.
This was not necessarily the best, but my favorite generation of RX-7. Nice clean look, what a sports car should look like. Also, 4:27 yikes! And that's on a dry track!
![BabyChiefDoit - Too Slow (feat. STAR BANDZ) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zayaxws7RPg/mqdefault.jpg)
This car is 34 years old and STILL looks amazing! imagine how modern looking it was in 1985! It aged so well!!! Looks like a mid 90s car actually
the convertibles looked really cool.
Even The 93 RX-7 Looks Like It’s A 2000’s Car!👌🏽
Actually, this rx7 look prettier than most of today cars.
Is that because it was a copycat design from the Porsche 944? I think so.
I own a 90 fc and believe me it turns heads more then most cars and when people hear a rotary there just curios
Putting the Rotary car in front of the mill wheel is a cute touch.
9.1 0-60 is considered somewhere between "Fast" and "Rocket"?!? Could you imagine how quick someone's head would expload of they tested something from today back in the 80s??
Steven D 2013 Ford Focus... "Even though it's billed as a economy car, it can give supercars a run for their money"....
Steven D yeah imagine if they has a challenger hellcat LOL
Steven D for a 1.3 engine that is fast. the smart cars are like 12 seconds or more
+HJ Farooqi (Hjfcool) just because it's better at making power than a conventional doesn't change the fact that the combined displacement of the combustion chambers add up to 1308CC.
+HJ Farooqi (Hjfcool) I understand what you're saying but it could be worded better. The statement "it is not a 1.3 liter engine" is not correct in any way, you could say "it's not comparable to a normal 1.3 engine".
I used to dream about winning this car on Hollywood Square in 86.
Me too
@Blue Face what are you talking about bruh those things are still quite expensive
@Anaheim Mike $500 where . . . .?
Kids these days are selling them for 10k.
There saying its all drift tax and what knot. They'll buy the car trashed and say they'll work on them only to sell them for crazy amounts.
Gladly I was given an Rx7 FC for my 17th birthday 4 years ago.
I'll never sell it, ill die in my grave with my car 😅.
Over 200k miles original engine still going strong. I just love the sound of Rotary powered cars
@@Alex-vz2jz bruh same here! Had it for 7 years! 88 GTU Lightened sports model with aero package and optional sun roof cause the lightened sports model was usually a slick top unless they wanted the sunroof!
@@Alex-vz2jz 100k miles runnings strong after drifting it and it’s been my daily for the last 7 years! Pulled motor from my Vert 88!
The FC is my favorite of the RX-7s
It is great but can't compare to the FB
Gary Zackodnik +1, I prefer the FB to the FC and overrated FD. The FB is _literally_ a Japanese 944 with a rotary, but less expensive.
87 turbo2👐
Nothing touches the FD
$16k is $35k today.
Poor value. You can get the new Mustang GT (460hp V8) for $36k
@@basshead. yeah but in 85?
@@Andyface79 well in 85 the mustang would cost 16k if inflation is accounted for, so yes
1. The GT didn't make anywhere near that power stock in the 80s
2. The RX7 would walk all over the Mustang in anything but a straight line
"Control could be regained...." As he slides off the roadway at 50 mph....
Christopher King He means that he didn't lost control by spinning off
you mean burns off the road into a ditch going straight instead of in a high speed roll over?
He had quick enough hands to save the first skid, but then clearly did not trust the car to try to correct his course. That’s bad news. Mazda’s still have oversteer issues even on front drive cars.
It’s the drivers fault, not the fault of the car. RX-7’s need a flick, whereas most cars need a full directional change.
@@39PSIOnTheDaily I know. Just bustin' balls LOL. They were a little tail-happy. I owned a Turbo II. Only Japanese car I've ever owned. Good shit. Really Good shit.
This was my first car! Same red and the GXL package I picked it up for 4 grand. I miss this thing like crazy and regret ever selling it. Although I never seen mpgs higher than 19. This brings back so many great memories! I sold it with over just over 100k miles and it still ran strong! I was lucky though because not many of the rotaries held up that long.
yeah my 89 rx7 convertible has 124k miles and needs a rebuild. Sadly the fund are not with me yet so I have to delay.
@@MRCBOT_YT if it doesn't crank anymore, put an once of trans fluid in one of the larger vacuum lines and then try. I had a 86 model that wouldn't crank in the winter due to the seals retracting in the cold. The trans fluid trick worked great and it never failed to start again as long as I had the fluid. If you run it every couple days it likely will start every time, I had 3 cars and would go a week sometimes. The RX-7 was one of the funnest cars I have ever owned, and I have had over 70, many Corvettes, and other really nice cars. The RX7 was just fun to toss around. ( it will smoke for a minute after the trans fluid trick but the fluid expands the seals and gives it compression to start )
Remember when gas was $1.59 per gallon. I had this year rx7 too and loved it. Wish we had gas that cheap here in California.
Memories.... I drove an '87 GXL in college ( 93 - 95). I had 160k on clock when I bought it. Ran flawlessly for almost 3 years. I miss that car... I bought a new AP1 S2000 in 'O3, and still have it. Reminds me of my RX...
I think this, the Starion/Conquest and 944 are the best looking sports cars of the 80s.
the cockpit feel from the seating and dash were outstanding in these versions..i had the 86 turbo and those seats were the Very best of Any car ive ever had
Loved my '79 RX7. These cars were awesome fun.
Bought my wife an '80 Savannah Rx7 while stationed at Kadena '86-'89. An exceptionally fun car, fantastic torque, great traction and steering.
Thank you motorweek. As an RX7 owner I would love to see any more RX7 or Mazda retro videos you may have. I look forward to watching these newly posted retro reviews every night when I get home from work.
I really think that fc looks better than the 944,
and even today the fc still looks gorgeous.
Man, I love watching these old reviews and seeing how much cars have advanced. By today's standards the old NA RX7 is slow as dirt, but god I would still love to buy one. Fun cars are just timeless. Just think if we dropped a BRZ or a Camaro 1LE back in time what reviewers would think. Hell, a modern Accord would leave them speechless.Makes me think in 20 years how laughable slow my WRX will be to the minivan of that time.
John Smith speaking of WRXs, I have a JDM ‘01 Legacy GT-B (factory twin turbo EJ208) and it has modest for today 6 second 0-60 times, nearly 20 years on and it holds up well. I think cars have kind of plateaued in the combustion technology, and 20 years from now it’ll be all about the most efficient electric motors, which will indeed be very quick if left un-restricted
Roddy Dykes
If cars didn’t have emissions restrictions we would find twin turbo V12 lawnmowers lol I’m excited for the future and electric cars
I never thought about it looking like a Porsche 944, but it does
Side by side it's pretty uncanny, it was shamelessly inspired by it because the Porsche was such a well accepted car in the states and that's where Mazda wanted its most sales.
matt k although the rear suspension is more like a 928, from the description
2:31 That muffler shake though lol
Lmao
These were great handling cars. Wish that I could buy a new one today.
I'd take this FC over a 944 any day.
As you should
Z31
The NA is nice but the T2 is the real deal imo
dafonz ...go ahead
dafonz
I had a 1986 944 . It was very slow . Great handling car . I think the RX 7 would definitely beat a 944 .
I had an 86 RX-7 base model (it had super small alloys with no sunroof.) That car was soo much fun to drive. I learned alot about power sliding from it. got horrible gas mileage, made shit horsepower, but was still fun as shit to drive.. even by today's standards when compared to the Toyota 86/BRZ)
This is a 1986, 1985 was the old style. I used to sell them in 1986 and I even sold myself the same color one like this but the base model, with black loovers on the back window and blacked out Enkie wheels. I hit a deer 🦌 going home to show it to my mom. I fixed it and kept it for 6 years. I loved that car.
Went on sale in 1985 and was introduced that year too. Not everyone cares about model years, if you can buy it before the year 1986 even started.
I was 18 when this came out, and it was straight up like seeing a spaceship... Looked WAY, Way ahead of its time, and still so beautiful today. Two years later I was driving a Mazda 323 hatch 5 sp manual, and LOVED that car. Think it was $5700 brand new.
My dad used to tell me that his first car was an FC RX-7 back in 1988, the first song played in the radio was Together Forever. So he used to reminisce whenever the song plays on.
This is about the time I became obsessed with cars. My mom would drive me to all the dealerships to look at sports cars. I'd been to the Porsche lot many times. As soon as I saw this RX-7 I knew exactly what it looked like. Didn't understand money at the time, but I knew the RX-7 was closer to reality for us. Both cars were beautiful in-person new on the lots. My mom ended up getting a used 86 I-ROCZ. A truly life altering experience for me. Good times.
Very nice FC, beautiful JDM classic sports car.
You clearly don't even know what "JDM" means. This car isn't even JDM, it's just Japanese.
I learned to drive on one of these at 9 years old. THE easiest car to learn with. The clutch is smooth, the gearing is direct, the steering is easy yet predictable, and it's a good handling vehicle. Would love to buy one, but they are becoming more and more rare.
Had a convertible 88 with the BBS Wheels.. People used to love the look of it wherever I went.
Never owned one but have always loved the looks of the RX7 and RX8. back around 92 or so I took one like this for a test drive. really wanted it but couldn't afford it.
Owned an RX-8 for a few years. Most fun car I have ever driven...but full of issues. I had it for three years, and I'm not even exaggerating, it was in the shop nearly a full year of the three. Between two blown engines, body panels rusting through so badly it made holes in the door sills, electronic gremlins, and even stupid stuff like the taillights filling up with water because they were improperly sealed, it was always something. Thankfully I bought it new so this was all under warranty, but after 3 years was up I unloaded it. A shame though, because the car handled like you were driving a formula one racecar. It was unreal.
@@100percentSNAFU "Thankfully I bought it new..." WTF???? Yikes
Mazda really needs a new RX7 with around 400hp:) MMMMM yah
360hp and sub 2800 pounds would be fine with me
+Acc0rd79 well there's a concept already and it's called rx-vision
Due to emissions issues, Mazda can't launch anything like that in rotary form anymore. Even the RX-8 had a lot of emissions compromises already - hence not a lot of power.
@@TechInspected Not to mention those rotaries drink fuel like it's going out of style. Super inefficient. But fun for sure.
Acc0rd79
I agree . 👍👍👍👍
I absolutely love these throwbacks!!
I've watched HUNDREDS of these Motorweek reviews over the decades, and this is the only time I've seen the driver lose the car on the slalom. lol
My first car was an 87 RX7-SE 2+2 (no leather, no ground effects, no spoiler, no electronic suspension... aside from brakes... no power anything). So I was starting with a lighter car that you drove by seat of your pants (the way God intended). ((Consequently, I thought I knew all there was to know about the RX7... I thought 86 was the first year of the new body style... guess I was wrong. I do know the 13B engine was available in the 85 RX-7 SE model. Live and learn I guess))
My saphire blue 13B went something like this... If memory serves:
- Manifold removed, replaced with a mandrel bent header pipe
- Reposition the sensor in the header to activate the four-valve ports (bigger pipe wasn't generating sufficient back pressure to engage them)
- Cat removed, replaced with a "super" silencer (it was a glass pack that replaced the cat. Leading and trailing pipes were mandrel as well)
- Mufflers replaced with Super Traps (I remember tuning the plates to the expected "activities" I'd see that evening)
- Smog control disabled (inserted a BB into the line)
- Replaced the belt-driven fan with an electric
- Removed the A/C drive belt (in winter)
- Replaced the stock boat anchor flywheel with a racing model (I think it was part aluminum... it's been so long). HUGE throttle response improvement
- Had the clutch discs upgraded at the same time
- Added a two-point strut tower brace (night and day difference above 110mph)
- Added a thicker/much stiffer sway bar (watched a 300Zs wreck one night trying)
- Cut the springs (lowered the car 3/4 of an inch)
- Removed the stock boat anchor rims and added black five star Enkei's at all four corners (pretty big unsprung weight improvement)
- Ran Goodyear Fulda's (discont.). 205s front. 225s back (best rain tire on the planet at the time. They lasted 5-7K miles per set... I drove hard)
- Gave my best shot at fabricating a ram air induction pipe below the front air dam and removed the spare tire (every tiny bit helped)
- Upgraded to K&N gauze air filter (required regular cleaning/oiling)
- Hard wired power for the many Maxon RD25s I ran through. Unit clipped to the visor (no cord hanging, cops none-the-wiser all the years I owned it)
- Bought a front end bra made of radar-absorbing material (it was high-tech for the time)
- Had a local seamstress sew a leather boot for the brake handle (to match the shifter)
- Wrapped the steering wheel in leather to match the above
- Tinted the glass to 20% and had the tint shop add a visor strip along the top of the windshield with a slight curve down at both ends (it was sharp)
- Undercoated the wheel wells and painted all four calipers fire engine red (subliminal touches, but the devil was in the details, or so I believed)
With the power upgrades above, the 13B (with lighter config) would routinely destroy Mustang 5.0s in a 0-60 competition. Quarter mile... not so much... the gearing and power band simply/rapidly dropped off after 2nd gear (60mph). That said, the locale I was operating in at the time... 0-60 was a more common match up. I recall one particular line up... a friend pulled up in his GT 5.0. About that same time a 944 Turbo took up the third position at the light. I had them all by three car lengths when the speedo hit 60. The GT didn't take long to close that gap and the 944 blew past us both once his Turbo got up to cruising altitude. Lining up against other stock RX-7s... I had friends lining up for copilot invitations to witness these encounters. It was just fun to watch the expression on the stock owners' faces. My RX would just walk away from them, but it looked relatively stock.
Aside from a pretty severe under steer tendency (native to the this model), the handling was spectacular on my RX. It could out corner nearly anything I put it up against. Pre-upgrades, the car was extremely (scary) loose above 100. After... I could steer comfortably (with two fingers) above 120. I topped it out on a downhill grade on a section of the Indian Nations Turnpike at 146. That's all the engine would give (the suspension was ready for more). A friend and myself did a Canon Ball Run from Atlanta to Dallas... we pissed in Gatorade bottles and stopped only for gas. The trip took just shy of 8 hours. I don't know what we were averaging, but there were multiple stretches (over an hour) where we were 120+ on Interstate 20.
I loved that car. I miss that car.
You are correct, the 2nd gen started in 86. Gsl-se 13b was 84 & 85. I had an 87 red w sports package. The 4 piston caliper brakes were cool. It was a great handling car. The rotary in mine had a weak apex seal and flooded with gas often. Had to dump it.
That one is 1986 brother 🧔🏻🇵🇷
The reviews are day time. But the gauges are great at night. Soft orange (easy on the eyes), no glare. Those of us that owned one of these know what I am talking about.
omfg I love these retro car reviews!!😌
The series 5 turbo has to be one of the best looking cars of the era.
Not bad. The people who could afford one of these new usually took good care of them. I still see excellent and good examples of this still on the road today.
“A 9.1 second 0-60, halfway in between what we call fast, and rrrrrrrrocket!”
Fuck 80s performance lol
I remember being in high school and all the 40 year olds with these trying to race my Mustang.
I had a 12A 82 RX7 that lasted 282,000 miles before I finally parted it out. It had to get water every week as it leaked it out from the block seals and it required oil every thousand miles as part of its design, had a balky choke etc. but never left me stranded and was a lot of fun to drive for such a slow car. LS engine swaps are popular with these, and with the low weight are real sleepers when swapped.
I bet you took good care of it. Those old 12As are pretty reliable if properly cared for. My FB has 120,000 on the body but the engine has about 80,000. I swapped in a street ported engine and have lots of supporting mods. The chassis has been set up for autocross.
No way. Those are like the worst engines in a production car for longevity.
@@damontroch4765 what kind of crack are you on lmao?? The NA 12A is by far THE most reliable rotary engine out there right infront of the NA 13B. It's the turbo motors that are the unreliable ones.
@@JoshRex7venwhat you said it's right turbo engines, tend to consume more oil than an N/A engine, the only turbo engine, I would abuse would be a 3SGTE or any Volvo/Yamaha turbocharged engine, but If it is a 4G63T, EJ20ET, 13B rew turbo or any Ford Cosworth, Renault turbo engine, better take a special care for them.
This car was criticized for looking too similar to a 944. At least the 1993 redesign fixed that
You must be referring to the 928, not 944.
Hmm, these were redesigned in late 1991 and spring 1992. Not 1993.
I had one on dark grey and the same burgundy interior shown in the video. And mine was an automatic. That thing was a beast! Slow off 5he line but when it kicked in the tack would slam over to the redline and you better be holding on! Too bad I was dumb and didn't know about the rotary and the oil...my dumb kid self blew the engine. It was my favorite car ever. Even the Nissan 240 convertible I bought after graduating nursing school couldn't make me not like that RX-7.
4:30 was the driver fault. He cut back to late and was going too fast. I ran from the police in an 86 RX7 and i did wreck but only because a cop cut me off at 100 mph. I was clocked at 128 mph.
blackericdenice did you got to jail or no?
Hope you got ticketed to hell and back (for ruining such a classic car). If you're going to run, do it in something shitty like a Camaro.
blackericdenice nice, did you get the Rodney King treatment after the wreck?
Tell us more about what a worthless piece of shit you are. It's fascinating.
I had a gxl 87 an a 87 turbo2..them engines u gotta keepem revved up i done outran alotta cops an got away 💪👐
Lol, the the narrorater called a drift' a fearful slide. This really shows its age... 😁
In today's dollars $16645 would be around $37K. The current equivalent would be the RX-5 costing $24K.
Lambs think they were ahead of their time with those power window switches.
I actually took this "exact same car" on a test drive the other day and boy was it awesome. Super slow but I loved the rotary feel. Only had 30k miles on it and absolutely no problems, almost bought it right there
Noah Ludwig If it was clean you probably should have, these are on the way up.
Had a 1990 in the mid 2000s. Loved that thing, but as anything… time wasn’t kind to it. Always had fun with the 4way flasher switch on the side of the cluster. I’d get asked sometimes what it was for, I always joked it was a ‘max power’ switch but like the ac, it was broken.
I'm confused. I had a 1985 RX-7 and it was the previous body style to this one. This body style launched in 1986 with the 13B fuel injected rotary as standard. You could get the 85 model with the same engine, but it was called the GSL-SE.
You do realize the FC went on sale in 1985? It shouldn't be titled "1985", but the setting is 1985 nonetheless.
I uses to have an '86 model. Ran it until it blew a rotor. Man I miss that car.
Man I had two of these as a teenager in the late 90's. What a headache, but so fun.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same"
~General Shepherd
944 up front, Dodge Daytona in the middle, Chevy Camaro in the back. I prefer the prior generation, a GS or especially GSL SE.
Cool! Brand new 85'' Chevy Astro vans! @ 7:12 LOL
+ChristopherRisesLastTime That's not nice Christopher! Take it back!
Classic!
Found an 86 at the junk yard. Rough, but amazingly no rust or dents, needs a respray and interior bits. Engine is missing, so if I were to pick it up, I'd like to try fit in a 3.0L V6 Yamaha from another car at the JY (91 Taurus SHO).
That would be a very interesting engine swap but I would wager it would be very difficult. Almost everything would have to be fabricated and the SHO engine was designed to be transverse mounted. Older RX7s make good project cars and many engine swaps are possible. The LS series small blocks are by far the most common, along with 5.0 Fords and obviously other wankel engines. Nissan turbo 4 and 6s are also done. I have even seen an FB with an S2000 engine in it. One that works well and is cheap is a 4.3 liter GM V6. You can get decent power and they are reliable. If you do decide to go for it, I wish you luck. Nice elder scrolls user name btw.
4:25 Ryosuke is that you
Interesting that the Turbo II RX-7 would do the 0-60 MPH thing in about 6-1/2 seconds or so, considered very good for its time, but totally unremarkable today :)
Doug would give test car a 1 in Acceleration
MV Master : Doug score on acceleration would be -2 based on his scale. I think he gave a 0-60 in 5 sec a 7 score for a car once...
Whoever Did The 0-60 Launched This RX-7 Perfect!👌🏽😳
The FC never came to north american until 86, so this would make it a 86, not a 85. This was also way slower than the 85 GSL-SE... perhaps even slower than the 12a cars.
Do your research. You could buy these back in November 1985, if not before that. 1986 is just a title, it's not literally when the car even came out.
The "too easy" clutch is so true I have the same car and the clutch gets stuck now so I have to replace it.
I remember going to the Porsche dealer with my dad to pick up his new 944T and one of these was sitting there as well. Even at the age of 11 or 12, I could tell they pretty much designed it after the car we were getting into, except it just wasn't the same... ;) Dad's car did NOT have the "swiss cheese" wheels however... Funny, because that's what we called them too!
4:25 nice save by the driver. Even fwd Mazda’s still have surprising abrupt understeer when driven hard.
Some say the RX7 is still in the cornfield today. 🌽🌲🌳
Say what you will about the performance of the 80's, but they had style nailed.
I'll always love this model of Mazda rx7 and up
9.1 0-60 for a sports car back in the day is just normal. There are cars in the 60's that could do 7 or 8 seconds 0-60 or super cars during 60's to 70's around 5 - 6 seconds 0-60. 9.1 in just 60 mph is not midway between fast to rocket. You make us RX-7 fans laugh! Better version of this until early 90's can do 6 seconds 0-60 and quarter mile of 14 seconds or so.
A 0-60 time does not tell you everything about a vehicle's powerband,but a 1/4 mile with a low time and higher than normal trap speed will.
Loved this car as a kid! ♥️
I'm confused. My dad had a 85 RX-7 and it was the first generation body
6:22.........now, THAT'S what an instrument panel SHOULD look like, sports car or not!!!! Large, clear gauges that are easily read at a glance & are not obstructed by the steering wheel.
Maybe the 80’s weren’t so bad? Back when Mazda made desirable cars like the RX-7 Turbo FC and FD.
loved my 87, handled as well as my 951 (porsche 944 turbo) , would scream at 8k rpms ,everyone loved it.
4:30 "We experienced this fearful slide"
me: haha gonna be doing a lot of those.
I always joke with my buddy who has one of these RX-7's. He's dumped over $10,000 into his and it still is broken more than it runs. I always tell him for every one you actually see running, there are another 10 in the garage up on jackstands. These cars win the award for most broken down but still not in the junkyard yet, because there is a small but extremely masochistic group of enthusiasts that love that rotary.
Its an '86 BTW. The Gen 1 went from late 78-85..... Great cars.... Why wont they put that fantastic engine in another sports car?
Kelly Krall The RX-7 FC came out in 1985 but it's first model year in the US was 1986.
But yes, I absolutely agree these are fantastic cars. I'm planning on getting one as my first car.
My FC Turbo II was an '85 model, Aus/JDM spec though.
I had an 87 Turbo II RX7 that I loved!
I crashed a '87 t2 I have 2 10th AE 88 turbos and a RX8 I love the 13b!
@@jo-qp7mz they made 1500 annies..i had a 87 t2..my lil bro crashed his annie t2..it was his first car!!!
"Control could be regained faster than most sports cars"...as RX-7 goes off into the grass. Perfect.
The UK market 944 2.5 had nearly 20bhp more than the US emissions spec one!
Beautiful car, I had an 87. The tach spun 100 times faster than the speedo. Lots of rev, not much giddyy up. Lots of show, not a log of go. Amazing though how some lesser cars reviewed on here were considered just Ok or even slow with faster 0-60 times, and loud with the same DB level.
This was not necessarily the best, but my favorite generation of RX-7. Nice clean look, what a sports car should look like. Also, 4:27 yikes! And that's on a dry track!
That’s what you call drifting FC initial d style 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
Miss that one too maroon 88 model I love to have bridge ported one
My s3 with stock s4 13bt only has 178hp and does 14.2 quarter mile
Beautiful car. The Turbo II was the one to get. Very fast.
Using your flashers back then was normal,dare not do it now 😬
My old car. Best handling little car. My best friend had a 944.
THe turbo II suspension is stuck in sport mode at all times. You don't get the switch option. Is fine by me though.
my fast RX7 does 0-60 in 9.1 seconds,. I'm just wondering if anyone ever said that.
more like 7.5. and the 86 turbo did 6 to 6.5... their numbers are wayy off
I like RX7 but the 924- and 944 were sophisticated and superior to the copy japanese Mazda.
9.1 second 0-60 times are between "fast" and "rocket"? Wow....didn't take much to impress people back then, holy cow.
5 years later the Toyota Corolla would be s second slower.
At 5:30, that guy looks like a famous '80's pornstar!
80s as fuck! I like these videos
we all want rx 7 again !!!!! whats nice cars!!!!!
87 Turobo II checking in FTW! I love my car.
FACTZ!!
I heard next year's 86' model will have a supercharger! , and word on this newer model designation will be "FD" , hmm.
Car starts to drift “oh no” kids later “drift!!!!”
The driver deliberately aimed the car for the grass instead of staying straight on the road. Curious.
impressive braking
“New”, “best-in-class”, “polarizing”, and “race car for the road” are all overused.
@4:28
DEJA VU
Peter Guthrie somebody come get they ryouske
Higher and higher
This was Motor Trend Magazine import car of the year in 1986