Rotary As A Daily Driver?

[Mickya]

basically i would really like a mazda rx 2 3 or 4.

how reliable would they be as a daily driver?

[pos513]

Are just as reliable as a piston engine when stock or modded correctly. They are an old car so if restored/rebuilt or looked after should be fine.

I wouldnt want one as a daily, too good. Maybe a rx7 series 3

Edited May 13, 2009 by pos513

[KezR33]

basically i would really like a mazda rx 2 3 or 4.

how reliable would they be as a daily driver?

Same as any other car.

So long as it has been serviced regularly and doesn't have an obscene amount of ks it should be fine.

Have you considered how much fuel a little 1.3ltr rotary guzzles? They're not the cheapest daily.

[Mickya]

yeh i've heard they're rather costly on fuel, just never an accurate amount, i'm currently getting 350k's to a 68ltr tank at the moment.

[KezR33]

yeh i've heard they're rather costly on fuel, just never an accurate amount, i'm currently getting 350k's to a 68ltr tank at the moment.

I've heard they're similar to a V8.

[GTR-32U]

Quick fun little machines, But have you had a look at the sort of money people are asking for them these days ?? If getting a rotary is a must then I would be going for an earlier RX7 . even the series 6 are not that expensive anymore. As for fuel economy an old friend I had used to own one. We are talking V8 like fuel consumption here.... Are you sure you want a Rotor as a daily ? They really are more of a weekend fun machine

[Mickya]

yeh i know they're not cheap, but they've been a car i've always wanted. it'd a daily/main driver, but i will have a second car.

[R33_Dude]

Have owned a couple of RX-7's. They are thirsty (but frankly I couldn't care after owning several stroked V8's) plus all the other things that people generally associate with rotarys i.e. smooth, revvy etc.

I will say this though: a good, well maintained rotary is reliable. Poorly maintained or owned by someone who is not an enthusiast will result in a short engine life, more so than a piston powered car. For instance treat a rotary like a VN and boy oh boy is it not going to last long.

However that said between all of the rebuilds I have done rebuilding a rotary was the cheapest (compared to just about all the piston engines I have had aanyway) and for that rebuild I paid someone to do it (not having dealt with rotaries before).

I love them its just a love hate relationship and sometimes the hate wins out.

[ylwgtr2]

there great.....we have one in our delivery ute here at work....they are a tad thirsty tho

[Mickya]

there great.....we have one in our delivery ute here at work....they are a tad thirsty tho

what type out of curiosity?

[jtrb25]

my old s4 rx7 averaged about 22o-250k to a 60lt tank not the most frugal thing as a dailey driver.

[Mickya]

my old s4 rx7 averaged about 22o-250k to a 60lt tank not the most frugal thing as a dailey driver.

woah, hahah that thirsty. still be worth it, i won't it to be reliable as a daily driver but not primarily as one.

any of the rx series are shit hot

[ylwgtr2]

its a mazda B2000

[jtrb25]

mate i had mine for two years and didnt have a problem with. it was a dailey driver.......... the tps switch played up but got that sorted and it was fine... i honestly wish i dint sell mine. great drivers car.

[Mike__]

9yrs ago i used to own a ser2 rx7 running a ser4 13bt. Bought it for $5500, sold for $4500. wasnt a bunky by any means. Price 2day for them has skyrocketed as there getting harder to come by. wish i had kept it.

Awesome lightweight and addictive to drive machine. with 209rwhp (stock turbo @ 12psi, 3" TBE, old school wolf 2d) i ran a best of 13.9 @ 173km/hr (note traction was a problem but good top end). Reliable if properly setup and VERY easy to work on. Definetly weekend only car IMHO. rebuilds are cheap/easy as pointed out above. My advice would be a later model car for a daily as pointed out above.

check out www.perthrotary.com

[Iron Chef]

To the OP, if you need to ask this question, you really shouldn't be buying one.

I'm sorry, but an old-school rotor is probably one of the worst daily drivers you could choose.

[evo8mrdude]

My misses bro drives a series 8 rx7 as a weekend car

Consumes fuel but the old chap loves it

He got a series 2 but they are HORRIBLE daily drivers!!!!

Hot cars though

[DC33VN]

petty guzzlers. not the ideal daily car

[blur]

The cars themselves are fine, reality is there a typical old capella or 808. Ususal old car stuff to worry about like rust and wear and tear, wouldnt be a problem on a good one if you spent the coin on it.. Theft and parts availability is the real drama, have a look what front and rear rx-3 parts sell for on ebay.

[NA_R33]

I drove my mates b1600 around for 6 months, made 400+hp at the tyres with a later model 13b, dowelled big throttle body, microtech and a tv51 truck turbo, the thing turned tyres in top gear as it came on boost and kept turning them past 200kph, it had a 80 Litre tank and used to average around 450km's to tank, that said we rebuilt it 3 times in a 2 year period and it probably got such great economy cause it was just to fast on the street...

Edited May 15, 2009 by NA_R33