what would rather drive?? FC TII or CA18DET S13??

[Loofee95SE]

which 1 will u drive?? i can choose but it s hard

[Loofee95SE]

yes,, 1988 mazda rx7 tII , or 1991 240sx with Ca18det.. emmmm
i can drive both , ...but whice 1??

[91CRXsiR]

drive or own?...

i would rather drive the FC TII


i would want to see how the rotary engine holds up to its rep..

but i'd rather own a 180SX

[MorganS13]

i'd take the Ca18det S13 myself... i know way too many people :in my area: with TII's and FDs and i'd just want something different.

[Zemus]

Well i would would take a CA18DET, both have the about the same HP, but the CA is my Faviote engine, thats just me :-D

[TrueSlide]

I love RX-7s, they are remarkable in every way. Honestly though I would rather own the CA18DET 240, due to rotartys consistant unrealiablity streak they have going on. Its hard to compare the 2 because rotary is higly potential with little realiablity. Remarkable cars, but my choice is the CA18DET, I love that motor(one of the best Nissan has built) and it is my motor of choice!!!

[KiDyNomiTe]

I know more about the CA, so I would own the CA. The only thing I know about rotaries is what I read and hear, and some is prolly BS, but actually you would be taking a risk with either, 10 year old enge, or a rotary.

You could tell us how you are or will be financially after getting the car. I guess what you want out of it doesn't matter much since to me both are in a similar league, both great handling cars with potential to have a lot of HP, the FC would be easier to get parts for, but I think it would still be more expensive.

[Jsquared]

first off, A ROTARY ENGINE IS NOT INHERENTLY UNRELIABLE. this is a common misconception, and a rather ignorant one. the vast majority of people with blown rotaries have a blown rotary because they screwed up the tuning or ignored some part of normal maintenance. i know plenty of people with RX-7s of all generations and have spend nearly two years researching rotaries and a year or so participating in rotary forums. saying a rotary is inherently unreliable is like saying 240's are secretaries' cars with truck engines or that Miatas are crappy girly cars :rolleyes:

[TrueSlide]

A rotarty is unreliable, weak apex seals are not normal mantience. Wasn't that reason mazda lost its ass for the FD in america? Majority of the FDs were blowing seals left and right while under warranty, guess thats why you dont see many:( I think tons of RX7 ppl will say the same thing, my friend who is a die hard RX7er(has owned a few) will even say that, they have a habit of blowing up or having very weak apex seals.

[Jsquared]

ABSOLUTELY NOT. the only things that will kill an apex seal are:
a) detonation, caused by poor tuning
b) oil starvation caused by the owner not having a damn clue about how rotaries work
c) detonation, caused by running low-octane gas

there aren't really any weak links on NA rotaries and the only true weak links on turbo rotaries are the side seals and cooling systems (both problems that can easily be cured with some water wetter and a bigger radiator). actually, all rotaries have a weak link: the local Mazda dealer! Most dealers aren't knowledgeable enough to service rotaries and unless you get recommendations from at least 3 RX-7 owners, never ever take your RX-7 to a Mazda dealer. the reason Mazda stopped selling the FD i the US is the same reason Nissan stopped selling the 300ZX and Toyota the Supra. bad market for imported sports cars. the strong yen and a flat market killed everyone. even Porsche nearly lost their shirt and was a year or two away from pulling out of the US market, and they make 4-5 times more profit than ANY carmaker on the planet (percentage-wise). i'm not trying to insult anyone, but these comments you are making really are ignorant. it isn't your fault, you just haven't done enough research to understand what you're talking about. hearing a piston-head drone on about myths about rotary unreliability are akin to hearing muscleheads drone on about how all imports have puny engines and are all revs and no torque...

[Firelance]

Originally posted by TrueSlide
A rotarty is unreliable, weak apex seals are not normal mantience. Wasn't that reason mazda lost its ass for the FD in america? Majority of the FDs were blowing seals left and right while under warranty, guess thats why you dont see many:( I think tons of RX7 ppl will say the same thing, my friend who is a die hard RX7er(has owned a few) will even say that, they have a habit of blowing up or having very weak apex seals.

Okay, the reason FD's had a bad rep is because of the complext twin turbo systems. The # of hoses running for the system far excedded twin turbo systems in 300z, 3000gt and supra.

secondly, Jsquared is right, most rotaries blow because they have different (not necessarily harder) maintainence requirements. Namely frequent and timely oil changes. Also, fuel systems and cooling are extremely important (and often forgotten) when modding a rotary.

Oh yeah, last thing, NA rotaries are just as relaible as normal engines the bad rep is mostly from turbo engines and FD engines at that.

edit: FD's are rare because less of them were sold than any of the 4 japanese sports cars except the TT supra. But yeah, mazda lost a bundle on warrenties for engines.....

[slideways240]

hmm...my first post. i would go for the Turbo II. even though i owned an FC and it died within the first 6mos of owning it...and i have an SRpowered 240 right now...i would choose the FC over the CA powered S13, because i like the look. and i have seen 2 CA projects go down unsuccessfully. the first was a clip imported that never ran due to reasons undetermined...and the second was a fully built, haltech controlled motor that blew the headgasket during tuning.both could've been realized(possibly) but the owners didn't think it was worth the additional effort/funding.

[nrcooled]

I would have to go w/ a properly installed CA18. Iron block, square bore and stroke, tons of potential ::ummmmm...potential:: The RX-7 have always had my interest and desire but I have always been put off by rotaries. Great engine but low knowledge base puts me at the top bell curve (with the rest of society). I also found a n/a FC at a auction that went for $1100 and I almost bought it but common sense prevailled. Still want one though;)

[Jsquared]

Okay, the reason FD's had a bad rep is because of the complext twin turbo systems. The # of hoses running for the system far excedded twin turbo systems in 300z, 3000gt and supra.
d'oh! can't believe i forgot to mention this... the FD has something like 82 (or was it 84?) vacuum lines to control the sequential stock turbos... these crack easily b/c rotaries generate a lot more heat than piston engines, and then there is even MORE heat from the turbos... replacing them all with silicon lines every 2 years will fix this, but it's a bit of a PITA :D

But yeah, mazda lost a bundle on warrenties for engines.....
partly due to incompetent dealers who would replace whole turbo systems just because of a few cracked vacuum lines, stuff like that...

one more thing specifically for FDs: get a new AST (air separator tank, kind of like an expansion tank in the cooling system). the stock one is molded plastic and tends to split along the seam, most people get aluminum ones.

[thelinja]

I don't think I can give a valid response to this seeing as how I've never ridden/driven a CA powered S13. My friend at school though has an '88 TII and that thing flies. The turbo spools quickly (around 3000) and smashes you into the seat up to 6K. Right now I'd go with the TII. My mind could change though if I ever get the chance to ride in a CA S13.
Trueslide : Rotary engines aren't time bombs. They don't explode at random. Rotaries run a lot hotter than normal engines and with proper maintainence (mainly fluids such as coolant, water, and oil) they can last as long as any other cylinder engine. For instance, I know two other guys at school with FC's. One is a '90 GTU that is approaching 180K, and the other is an '89 approaching 150K. They don't baby the engines either, they are regular autocrossers.

[misnomer]

So, it just sounds to me (from this thread) that rotaries reliability issues may just be because they are less flexible under abuse and ill maintenance?

Regardless, without driving either of these cars, I have no opinion, just that the FC is a pretty fine looking car (almost as good looking as my fb s13 :P ). Probably one of the few cars I'd consider buying should (god forbid) my s13 blow up. I'd definitely need to research rotaries quite a bit more, though. I know next to nil about how they work