Battle of the Wankel engine

  • Thread starter Thread starter Victor Vance
  • 33 comments
  • 1,258 views

Which Rotary would you drive?

  • FB3S

    Votes: 5 12.5%

  • FC3S

    Votes: 14 35.0%

  • FD3S

    Votes: 18 45.0%

  • SE3P

    Votes: 3 7.5%
  • Total voters
    40
Victor Vance

Victor Vance

Messages
1,795
FB3S
1984mazdarx7.jpg

1984mazdarx7bk.jpg

(1979-1984)

FC3S
14_p3.jpeg

14_p4.jpeg

(1985-1992)

FD3S
11mazda_rx-7_08-med.jpg

17_p2.jpg

(1993-1995)

SE3P
rx802_02_800.jpg

RX-8.JPG


OK, so you want a sports car without pistons in it. Hmm, there are a couple of good choices... which one would you choose? The early RX7's, the FB's are classics, you hardly ever see them on the road. The FC's are getting older and aging well, and now you can find beat-up (read: project car) FC's for cheap. The FD's are great, but I don't know why Mazda discontinued it after two years of production. The SE? Well, that's a truly different design... and you could buy one new...
 
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm wankel.

I have driven an '85 GSL and an '86 GSL-SE both were mk.1. Unless im mistaken you have the production years off.

I love this car. I always thought the 7's would be a really "peaky" engine... until i dropped the clutch for the first time and left rubber right in front of the couple selling the car. Oops.
 
I'd take all of them. Since I can't. I would drive the FC3S just cause the car its just pure rotary goodness.
 
FD3S if i had the deep enough pockets to keep it's high maintence bill
Through on a nice big T-51 and a thick FMIC good to go...

for reliability sake and daily use and cost effectiveness take the SE3P... and u can even run it off Hydrogen :p but it's no speed demon... 350Z is still a better choice in the same class...
which even has a Greddy twin turbo kit avaiable for it... that engine has a lot of potential..
 
Hmm, nobody likes Mazda's take on the '4DSC'
(four door sports car, a la Nissan Maxima marketing campaign in the 80's)

Oh well FC for me they're cheap quick and in decent supply. For me, I just don't get the idea of introducing a brand new car than discontinuing it 2 years later... (FD3S)

Edit: just realized this belongs in cars in general...
 
Good idea for a thread, bad execution.
The "FB"(I call it SA, and so does Mazda) Ran from Sept. '78 till '85, FC ran from late '85 till '91, FD ran from '93 till '95(in the US), till '99(in Australia), till April '02(in Japan).
The GSL-SE ran in '84 and '85(thus, Wellyrn, you didn't drive a '86 GSL-SE) My dad had an '84, it was nice. In Japan they had turbo SAs(Savanna GT). The FD left the US in 2 years because it didn't sell well due to the near $40,000 price.
For my money(or lack there of), I'd buy a FC non-turbo. The most reliable of the RX-7s, got fairly good gas milage, and if anything broke junkyards have tons of them. What's stopping me? Insurence...any RX-7 regardless of trim level is considered by the insurence companies as a Sports Car. Take my dad's RX-7. '86 FC non-turbo base model. Insurence on the 18 year old 142hp car is just as high as his '93 Probe GT with 165hp. And the property tax on it is higher than my brother's way-faster '88 MX-6 GT.
It would be cool if Mazda had rotary versions of other cars, such as the Miata and the Mazda 3. Even a new-age REPU would increase B-series sales by a little bit(because they sell like crap now).
 
BASTARDS!
(am yelling at whomever decided it was a good idea to stop shipping 7 years before actual FD discontinuation)

So, it's SA3S. huh? I'm just calling it an 'FB' from what I've searched through on Google. Apparently some ppl don't have their codes straight.

Hey, a rotary B would be real cool, and retro-style. Unless I'm mistaken, Mazda has played the rotary-pickup game before.

Again, WHY THE HELL DO WE ALWAYS SUFFER WHEN IT COMES TO JAPANESE AND EUROPEAN MANUFACTURERS IMPORTING THE GOODS OVERSEAS!? We get a watered-down STi with an 'illegal' motor and an Evo VII which, although it's only 6 hp down on the Japan-spec model, is still not as quick as the Japanese model. Plus they get a lot of traction hardware we don't... oh well I guess I'll have to stick with what we have, since I don't have the option of moving to Japan or Europe :guilty:

Edit: Oh that's why they discontinued it. Still, :irked: they should have given the car a chance or step up their marketing program first...
 
Yeah, Mazda had a rotary truck, the REPU(Rotary Engined Pick-Up) from '74 till '76 if I remember correctly. Some still exist too.
The first gen was called the SA22C according to Mazda, not SA3S.
The problem with the Renesis is that it's pretty gutless. A lack of lower RPM power and torque means that it can only be used in lighter and smaller cars such as the RX-8 and Miata. They'd have to rework it to meet the needs of a pick-up owner. Nevertheless, the B-series is the worst selling Mazda and it's being discontinued in a year or so.
 
Let's just say i already own a FC3S :D :D :D, but given the choice i would own a FD3S, **** the other markets the Japanese specs the only way.
The RX-8s are very nice, and i've been in one of them, beautiful cars.
And to clarify, the First Gen RX-7, is actually an FS, not a FB.
 
Well, since you only gave me 'SA' I went on the assumption it was '3S' like in a series. Japanese modeling codes are confusing, normally in America we like to follow a series. Normally. Since the Fx3S are the only cars that seem to follow a series, are they the same chasis? I mean, sure one's newer and have curvier bodywork and with a twin-turbo 2R motor. but their dimensions are very similar and so is the roof in proportion to the bumpers...

(btw I was looking at your location and I noticed a very nice collection of old-school rides 👍 )
 
MazKid
Yeah, Mazda had a rotary truck, the REPU(Rotary Engined Pick-Up) from '74 till '76 if I remember correctly. Some still exist too.
Click to expand...

the REPU? does it have the words ROTARY POWER on the back? I think I have seen one buzzing by me on the freeway.
 
MazKid
It's SA22C, atleast in Japan.
Click to expand...


Yeah, my bad i didn't read it. FS is the australian one, they go FS, FC, FD, they don't have the 3S on the end, just two letters.
Anyways, i own a FC3S so i don't care :D


Oh, and also you forgot to add the FC3C. (know what that is?)
 
FD, no contest. I don't care about reliablity with a car that looks that good. Not to mention it's friggin fast.

I'd have no problem with an FC either though, also very cool little cars.

The RX-8 is too big for me.
 
The SE is only 2,900 and something pounds. That's considerably lighter than the Z, and it shows on the road tests like Car and Driver's test, I think it was 350Z vs. S2000 and RX-8, RX-8 won :)
 
I think the C&D comparo was the Z, Mustang Cobra, and RX-8, and the RX-8 did indeed win.
 
I hate rx8's. It's from bad experiences with one of them though, but it seems to make me predjuce :sick:

I walk home from school with my friend most days (unless we get picked up by one of our upperclassmen friends) And the biggest a** in school drives a rx-8. (purchased completely by his "daddy") He's the typical star football player a-hole. He likes to see how close he can drive next to me on my way home (on quiet side streets). Keep in mind i've never bothered him, any of his friends or anything like that. Things like this generally tend to piss me off. Not only does he swerve as close to me as he can, he often honks the horn, throws notebooks and crap out the window (I'm making myself sound like a nerd, but this is the only kid who botherd me when I was a freshmen) So one day, after having decided I've taken enough crap, I glanced back and noticed the blue Rx-8 barreling down the road behind me. Well, I happened to hold out my keys a little too far :trouble: So now theres a blue Rx-8 with a small white "racing stripe" down the passenger side door. IMO he got what he deserved, and he didnt bother bringing it up with police or anyone because he knew It would have only screwd him more once they heard about the reckless driving.

Besides that, I never really liked the styling of the car anyway. FC3S would be my choice.
 
Well, I get AutoWeek, Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Road & Track delivered in my mail so I could've mixed it up, but I'm sure the RX-8 won a comparo against a Z.

JDM, if the dude was careless you shoulda snuck in the car, popped the hood and put in two quarts of 20W-50 oil. That woulda really made his day. Remember Takumi's first battle with Sudo? :trouble:

Then again, it's abusing the Wankel engine but 'Trust Fund Tommy' needs a good lesson from the people who are actually trying... like me and my RA...
 
I would undeniably go with the RX7 FD3S. The styling and the performance is overwhelming. It is the fastest RX7 made, and the best looking one also (opinion).

It is a tossup between the FC3S and the RX8. As much as I am a fan of the RX7 FC3S, I rather have a new car, and therefore I must choose the RX8. Although I am sure that insurance on the 8 wouldn’t be all that contemptible either.
 
Well you cannot really compare the rx8 to the 350Z. They are very different indeed. Nevertheless, it seems like these two are huge rivals. The S2000 is also a huge rival of both and the clear winner in my opinion ;). Although Car and Driver do not think so, due to its recent comparison where the RX8 won.

S2000 could take the RX8 on a windy road, just go test drive both and tell me what you think.

The 350z could easily out run the RX8 in the ¼ and on highway; battles since their trap speed are usually higher.

There are some quick 350Z and S2000 out there. I have heard/seen stock S2000 and 350z running 13.5s. Well 13.5 for the fastest Z and 13.6 for the fastest S2000.

Here is a comparison you guys might enjoy.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article..._id=39&article_id=1404&page_number=1&preview=

Mazdaspeed RX8 vs. Nismo 350Z S-Tune

Once again it is a personal outlook but I would have to go with the Z once again.

S2000 > 350Z > RX8

:)
 
DJM PRODUCTIONS
I hate rx8's. It's from bad experiences with one of them though, but it seems to make me predjuce :sick:

I walk home from school with my friend most days (unless we get picked up by one of our upperclassmen friends) And the biggest a** in school drives a rx-8. (purchased completely by his "daddy") He's the typical star football player a-hole. He likes to see how close he can drive next to me on my way home (on quiet side streets). Keep in mind i've never bothered him, any of his friends or anything like that. Things like this generally tend to piss me off. Not only does he swerve as close to me as he can, he often honks the horn, throws notebooks and crap out the window (I'm making myself sound like a nerd, but this is the only kid who botherd me when I was a freshmen) So one day, after having decided I've taken enough crap, I glanced back and noticed the blue Rx-8 barreling down the road behind me. Well, I happened to hold out my keys a little too far :trouble: So now theres a blue Rx-8 with a small white "racing stripe" down the passenger side door. IMO he got what he deserved, and he didnt bother bringing it up with police or anyone because he knew It would have only screwd him more once they heard about the reckless driving.
Click to expand...

If you have access to the car, rather than harm it, I'd dismantle it. The whole engine cover system comes off without tools. Just lift the front of the main cover, pull it forward, it comes out. From there you can take off the battery cover, and other covers. The bottom of the back seats also come out just by lifting the front and tilting them up and sliding out. Take the shift knob. You can also take out some fuses, that'll get him really bad. Fuse box is on the side of the driver's foot well by the door, it pulls right off. Taking some fuses out will turn on the check engine light, other lights, and possibly make the car immoveable(I think one affects the throttle since it's electric rather than cable). If you do this, see if the car is still there the next day or whatever, and get a box and put all of the parts you took in it and quickly and quietly drop them back off on the car, you can even leave a typed note saying "If you didn't drive like a moron this wouldn't have happened".
 
Some people have such high egos that a simple verbal attack is meaningless to them, in such a case tampering with thier property is the only way to really get them.
 

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