narrowed down my choices..

[veyron 16/4]

ok im going with either an 89-93 240sx whatever i can find in my area or an 88 rx7 that i can get cheap. which should i get?

[1viadrft]

Market on all of these cars are booming... prices are going up! You may pay more for an FC Rx7 ('88 Rx7 for $3-$5k opossed to a '89-'93 for same price... why pay more for an older car?) so I would go with a 240sx... try to stay in the '91 to '93 range 'cus these one had DOH cams...

[drftk1d]

yeah theres a couple 240s in my area, but most have body damage; the ones that dont are automatics. But theres always my bus driver's car, a 92 s13 with only alittle dull and chipped paint for around 2gs. Then theres a 87 fc im looking at.

Just check the sig.

[Soyo]

ok veyron, please ignore the stupid post 1via just made because it was the dumbest thing ever...

240's are all over priced because they are the basically the symbol of a drift car to most people now days, so more people want them, meaning that the price goes up.

the rx-7 on the other hand, few people know much about the rotary engine, if anything at all(a lot of people think it has a 4cyl engine) and very few people are looking for them because the FC(86-91) are not prevalent in D1 or any of the other drift videos out there, mostly the FD (93+) rx-7 is used because it comes stock with more power, and a lot of people like the look of it better.

anyways, your probably gonna be lucky to even find a decent 91-93 240sx for under 3,000 bucks, where as you can find a 89-91 rx-7 that is in good condition for $2,000 easily... well not easily because they are somewhat rare, but you get my point

not to mention that the 240 has very little aftermarket support for the KA24DE(and almost none for the KA24E) because everyone wants an SR20DET... but with the rx-7 it has a ton of support for both the non-turbo and TII


but its just whatever you want to do

[1viadrft]

You're a sad lil' mongrel, Soyo... always trying to pick fights... sad.

Anyhow... Soyo is right about the FC Rx7 being rare... that is why they are so darn expensive! I rarely see any FC's under $3,000! But if you do and you want it! Snatch it up! Just make sure it's in good shape! I'm not sure where Soyo is seeing his for under $3k...

Soyo is also right about the KA24 motor... there is no love for it in the aftermarket! It put's out about 160-170hp (about the same as a NA rotary FC). I do not think that the SR20DET conversion is essential for drifting... I did'nt use one! Don't worry about the motor! The suspension is what counts in drifting! And there are loads of suspension mods for the RPS13/S13... they are the same chassis' as the ones in JAPAN so you can use any parts made in Japan or the US! Don't let Soyo scare you from getting a 240... but at the end, I hope you get what you want! Good-Luck!

[1viadrft]

Oh... and if POWER is what you want they also make TURBO upgrades for the KA motor... you can always get that later on down the road or get the SR20DET which puts out 220hp! And I know you want a 'cheap' car, but you can also get the turbo-powered FC Rx7... but they run like $5k and up... just some last minute thoughts...

[jdmkenji]

Hey guys, keep it down... both cars are good. Prices depend on what market you are looking at, the seller, the condition of the car.

Motorswap is definitely not required. I would initially do maintenance and keep the car in good working condition and then do some suspension work, thats ALL you need.

Once you maximize the car and actually start competing, then maybe you can start doing more work. Good luck.

[Corey I RanciD]

Some info on the 240SX..

89-90s have the KA24E. This is the single cam 2.4 liter engine making about 140 horsepower.
91-94s have the KA24DE. Almost the same engine except dual overhead cam, higher compression and a few other small changes, it makes 155 horsepower.

The SR20DET is found in 180SX/Silvia K's in countries outside the US.
91-93 180s/Silvia K's have the redtop SR20DET making 205hp with a t25 turbo.
94 or 95-96 180 K's have the blacktop SR20DET which is the same as the redtop.
95-98 Silvias have the blacktop SR20DET with variable valve timing and a (I believe) t25 turbo, making about 220hp.
99+ Silvias have an SR20DET with a (again, not 100% sure on this) t28 turbo, making about 245hp.

The chassis code is S13. R symbolizes it's a fastback like the 240 hatch or the 180SX. P means it's got an SR20DET. RPS13s do not exist in the United States. M signifies a KA24DET and H signifies a KA24E, so if you've got a stock 240SX it's either a H/MS13 or RH/MS13.

Early model 180 and Silvia K's (89-90) used the CA18DET (where the 180SX name was derived from originally). This is a 1.8 liter turbocharged engine making about 175 horsepower. This engine has an iron block compared to the SR20's aluminum block and has a better valve train, as well as the use of a timing belt instead of chain. The problem with these engines however is that they're quite old.

Anyway, I reccomend you get an RX-7. Everyone, including myself, already has a 240SX. Do something different and get the RX-7 then get super famous drifting it so all the dorifto kids will stop hounding my car.

[veyron 16/4]

i can get the rx7 for 2000 so im gonna get that and corey thanks ur post helped alot

[zerogt86]

ive also been looking at FC rx7's recently for two reasons:

1. no one has them (comapred to FD's, 240's, AE86, etc)

2. They are just genuinly cool cars! Decent looks, Decent power, and its a rotary, very different from the norm.

if ur looking for more specific rx7 info, then go check out http://www.rx7club.com , they have tons of info about FB's, FC's and FD's.

[Corey I RanciD]

They're definitly cool cars. When I was still shopping for another sports car I was torn between getting an FC TII or a 240SX. I love them and Mazda rotary engines, but I ended up getting what I'd been after originally, the 240SX, because I really wanted something as basic as possible. I settled for a sunroof and power options in the MR-2 so the second time around I didn't want to make any compromises. What I ended up with was exactly what I'd hoped for; a base model 92 hatchback. If I were in the market for another car (not likely since I already have three ) I'd definitly be looking for an 89+ Turbo II.

[Layla's Keeper]

I'll have to step in here and mention that a rotary car is generally a bad buy if you don't have a lot of money for maintenance and/or repair.

Because the RX-7 (up until the FD generation) was a mid to low price sports car (in the same arena as the Z's, Supras, Camaros, Mustangs, and other such small mid level sports cars/coupes) they were frequently purchased by people without technical knowledge of the car and driven hard well beyond their prime. The reason many FC's, FB's, and SA22C's are inexpensive is because you frequently hear these little quotes from the owner:

"Runs a little rough at start up, but smooths out."
"She burns a little oil."
"Probably needs a tune up."
"Couldn't hurt to take her to a shop."

Guess what, 9 times out of ten, you'll then look at the odometer and see it's well over 50,000 miles and you can be damn sure the owner wasn't changing (not adding, changing) the oil every 2,500 and using a good high end synthetic. The apex seals are well and truly shot and the engine will have to be pulled, torn down, and rebuilt by a specialty shop that actually deals with RX-7's.

This is the truth of RX-7 ownership.

[Soyo]

well what low end sports car is treated great? 240's were low end sports cars too. but the part that makes me a bit curious as to how much you know about rotorys is this "using a good high end synthetic" it is general knowledge that using synthetic oils in rotorys is a big time risk because only a sellect few of fully synthetic oils are good for it, most synthetics mean certain death(well, close to it)

but honestly the non-turbos are maintenance free, just change the oil and everything like scheduled and its fine, the only problem area is the clutch goes out between 80-100k miles and that is a given on every single one, if you get a little past that your lucky(mine went out at 102k) also the other bad thing is the wiring, but most of it just needs to be resoderd so its not too difficult

but yea the rx-7 has its pros and cons just like any other car, but I don't plan on buying anything else after owning mine, and I hear the same thing from most rx-7 owners. although my cousin has an rx-7 and 2 240sx's and is about to sell is rx-7 pratially because its in bad shape and partially because he prefers the 240, its all just a matter of opinion... although the rx-7 tops out at 138mph and the 240 has a speed limiter somewhere at like 110-115mph


oh yea and all rx-7s burn a little oil, thats because they run hotter and burn more oil from the factory, thats just how they are. also all rx-7s have a 3k rpm startup system to warm up the cats. for emissions reasons so a lot of the time that is what people think is wierd about the start up


my favorite part is that people generaly know nothign about them so you can talk them down with all kinds of crazy things, like me, I talked the guy I bought mine from down because the driver side auto seatbelt didn't work, well thats a factory recall that is free to fix, although he didn't know it

anyways happy buying/driving

[Layla's Keeper]

I know of six guys around Nelson's Ledges and Mid-Ohio (it pays to be in a hotbed of road racing) who run RX-7 (four SA22C's, an FD, and an FC, plus three different RX-3 drivers) and all of them swear by either Castrol or Lucas Oils. For sustained high-rpm use, which is what a competition rotary sees, nothing beats a good high-end synthetic. Quaker State and Havoline might be okay for Mom's 626 or dad's Miata, but a rotary engine demands the very best.

Yes, I'll agree that the N/A engines, so long as they're lubricated, live forever. One of the aforementioned SA22C owners has put 400hours on his Spec 7 class car since its rebuild. They're very good engines when they're maintained, but they don't have high tolerance for when they're not maintained. You hear stories of Chevy 350's that ran underwater with 12 out of 16 valves broken and all the oil replaced with sand. The same cannot be said for a rotary engine car.

My warning isn't that rotaries are bad engines. Far from it. My warning is when you're buying any low buck sports car, in particular high maintenance example LIKE the RX-7, you're not getting a bargain. More often than not, you're inheriting someone else's problem child.

[Corey I RanciD]

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

I'll have to step in here and mention that a rotary car is generally a bad buy if you don't have a lot of money for maintenance and/or repair.

Because the RX-7 (up until the FD generation) was a mid to low price sports car (in the same arena as the Z's, Supras, Camaros, Mustangs, and other such small mid level sports cars/coupes) they were frequently purchased by people without technical knowledge of the car and driven hard well beyond their prime. The reason many FC's, FB's, and SA22C's are inexpensive is because you frequently hear these little quotes from the owner:

"Runs a little rough at start up, but smooths out."
"She burns a little oil."
"Probably needs a tune up."
"Couldn't hurt to take her to a shop."

Guess what, 9 times out of ten, you'll then look at the odometer and see it's well over 50,000 miles and you can be damn sure the owner wasn't changing (not adding, changing) the oil every 2,500 and using a good high end synthetic. The apex seals are well and truly shot and the engine will have to be pulled, torn down, and rebuilt by a specialty shop that actually deals with RX-7's.

This is the truth of RX-7 ownership.

Rotary engines are supposed to burn a little oil, it's part of their design.