FML and all things rotary related that i touch =(

[muibubbles]

OK this may not be in the right section so mods please move where you see fit.

Im in some REAL need of advice. My story is long so if you plan on reading, get comfy.

So i first started my rotary journey back in 04 when i got an 04 rx8. winning blue, fully loaded, the whole nine yards. it was my first car (hell of a first car, i was very fortunate) loved it to death, handling was superb and self corected itself like no other, great beginner car. then i got the modding bug.. greddy sp2 exhaust, intake rims body kit cf hood. yada yada. being a first car i didnt know how to work on it so most of the mods were installed by shops/others. i got the speed bug then went for the greddy turbo kit. at that time the only turbo kits out were sfr and greddy. i opted for greddy as it was more practical budget.. i was one of the first in the NE to have a greddy... i was running it with the intx and had it tuned and installed by jpr... about 6 month down the road it blew, eshaft broke.. i believe it was my fault. i was young, stupid, and not well educated. i think i didnt do my oil changes as religiously as i should have. ok expensive lesson.

sooooooo remans shopping i went. ended up going with mazmart as i heard good things about them.. i was at school at pennstate so closest rotary shop to me was kdr, dropped the car off at kdr until engine arrived. first engine in and after about 2 months got the car back.. stripped the turbo kit, sold it off and left it NA. drove arlight 2k miles gone by first oil change came out like a milkshake (still a noob) i though maybe it was the gaskets resealing or some crap. then after adding about 2gallons of antifreeze in a week i knew somethign was up. called dave to check it out, turns out block was cracked. awesome.. thankfully (i forgot the owner of mazmart) sent me a new one free of charge. ANOTHER month later im about to get my car back dave calls me and goes, fired up fine but out of the x amount of years ive worked on rotaries the pulse of the car does not sound right. a call back later confirms bad compression on one of the rotors. FML. call mazmart again sends ANOTHER engine. finally everything works out, get my car back after a total of like 5 months. runs awesome but now i have a bill of 2 engine pulls/ installs ontop of the original price i paid for the FIRST pull/install and the one engine i paid for. mazmart did pay HALF of the extra labor i had to do for all the engine swaps but it still was 1xxx more then what i should have paid.

SO after all these headaches, time to sell. i looked into is300 but it was priced out of my league.. i kinda gave up on cars for a while and just mellowed down with the 8. ended up selling it last september and picking up a 7. so i flew to IL to buy the 7 from sean at aspec and drove it back to NJ in one shot... INTIALLY i bought the 7 to do an lsx swap on it. i was gonna drive it around for a little then tear it apart winter and have it running for spring. the parts and upgrade were gonna fund majority of the lsx swap.. i enjoyed the stock twins for a while then it started having stall out issues so i just took the car apart early... i litterally stipped car to the chassis with the chassis harness doors and hatch left. but after taking it apart after the influence of my rotorhead friends, convinced me to put the rotary back in. so back went the recently rebuild mild streetport engine. baout 7k miles. so i drive it about another 2k miles (DGRR) and back. on the way back it doesnt feel right then within the next few days i find out its blown.

so im now im in this cross roads of life. i LOVE the rotary but i feel like im just having the worst luck. heres one way to put it. ive had 2 cars, 5 engines, 5 years, and im yet to break 50k miles ACCUMULATIVE. is it time to give up on the rotary? sad thing is i ahve 1600 secondaries waiting to go in and an AEM water meth kit hooked up ready to get wired up. what sucks is i was taking all the precautions i could think of to prevent blowing the engine but now this..? i having the engine still in the car and in one piece im not 100% what caused this. but from the previous stalling issue and what not me and my friend think this blown engine wasnt my fault and had prior issues before my ownership...

honestly, if you were in my shoes, what would you do? im already in 1700 debt for parts i bought to try and make the engine more reliable and safe... money isnt tooooo big of an issue but i really would like to keep cost down to a minimum. is it time to give up on rotaries given my past? time for pistons? if so lsx or another car? please shed some light =(

[Cp1]

your situation of debt right now should be telling you what i think you already know. for most young its unfortunate that they are willing to put their own financial well being behind owning a car. the honest truth. there will always be good condition 7's around and my advice to anyone is honestly wait till you can afford one. it took me 3 years just to find the one i have which cost me quite a bit and in the 4 years ive owned it its cost as much as i paid for it in upkeep.

Ive even contemplating coming back to it another day because i no longer have the time or the disposable income to work on it, as my situation has changed dramatically. new house, and starting new business and all.

People like the guys you find on here that are dedicated to preserving 7s in amazing condition will always have one for sale for the right buyer, it may just be a matter of time. i guess its like buying a house, if you cant afford to mow the lawn when you get one you cant ever really get any satisfaction of owning it now can you?

[My5ABaby]

I've owned my 7 for 6 years and put on 8,000 miles. I'd put on more but I've had to do a lot of work including a transmission replacement, engine rebuild, and a crap ton of other stuff. As such, it is still in my possession and I don't plan on selling it anytime soon. Suck it up and enjoy your car that still has clearcoat in some places.

[MotoTek]

If I were you I would do one of the following.

1) Put it in your parents garage for a few months, and save up some money to pay off your debt.
2) Buy an LS1. I don't care what people say about the swap, the LS1 is a great engine. When you are in the predicament you are in; it makes sense.
3) Look for a used honda civic, go to school, graduate, then buy a rotary if you want to.

[muibubbles]

another thing is. i took the car completely apart (minus the engine) so its really hard to part ways with it as ive practically rebuilt the car ground up attempting to recondition everything i could (with a budget in mind) http://muibubbles.blogspot.com/ (my build blog)

now as much as i hate to be that guy i was actually lurking the idea of an ls like you said mototek as it might be finacially cheaper. i dont NEED my own car but by all means it would be easier since im in a family of 3 and we have 3 cars.. if mines out of commission i could drive my mothers but i rather not make it a hassle on everyones behalf when they need the car (mother takes the train)

so the way i see it is, i have a few options
1. another rotary, probably the easiest solution, probably looking at 3000+tune - what i can make back from my old block

2. sell off rotary stuff and swap to lsx... not sure what the price difference would be but i believe i can make 2-3grand on rotarty parts alone, i have queit a few mods that hold its value.. pf, commander, aem water meth, 1600 secondaries that havent been installed yet, m2 IC etcc..

3 keep the 7 and just store it in the garage for a WHILE, slow build, and get a bike in the mean time

4 buy another engine, fix the car up, selll it and buy a different car (mostlikely a subbie for the winter and a bike for summer)

thanks for the advice, please keep it comming

[rx4ur7]

Feel for you lad. Afraid I have heard many similar stories. Most came down to lack of correct information and/or well intentioned work. People who have worked on piston and think that it directly relates to round motors. The internet is a two edged sword. Lots of both good and bad information.

I grew up in the age of cheap bolt on horsepower. Back then it didn't take much to make something run a lot better. Over the years most manufactures have made their package very effecient and refined. Mazda in particular has always worked on a handling package that usually out performs anything in its class. It's costs a lot more now for very little improvement.

I always tell my clients that if you want it done correctly you are going to spend a lot up front. If you want something that is going to perform and be reliable.

I, like you have very bad luck when it comes to used. I know some people have good luck with them, I do not. That is why I will not buy and install used parts unless it is the last resort. And even then there is no warrenty on labor when it goes bad.

If you can take the 8 back to original, have a good motor built for it. If you want to go through the learning process, get a first gen and play with it.

If you do have to upgrade the 8, Use the same manufacture for all your components. That way you have equipment that was designed and engineered to work together.

I can safely say that every premature motor failure in vehicles that had multi manufacture parts installed could be attributed to the configuration found in the vehicle. Either not working correctly together or installation.

Please don't make another piston 7 or 8. Buy a 6 if you have to, or Miata.

[bbade]

I'd go with a new rotary, get one built by a great builder hopefully with some kind of warranty. I'd trust Dave to build my motor anyday, in fact he has .

[muibubbles]

yeah.. ive started tearing the car apart again... hopefully ill get to go to dave at kdr this week, we'll see what he says after we tear it apart..

[REVIT93RX7]

I've owned my 3rd gen for 17 years. It is undergoing a complete refreshening. Before I decided to tear mine apart, I looked into buying another car. But after looking at was out there, I realized I would have the same issues with anyone I bought. The cars would be atleast 13 years old, and unless it had a new motor would need to start from the ground up. So that's what I did with mine. It is well under way at the moment. Should be running(finally) the middle of next year. These cars are expenive to work on, parts are always going up from Mazda. But I love this car, although sometimes I don'y know why. So hang in there and remind yourself when you are driving the 7, that there are few cars on the road that feel as good as this one does.