Hi all,

Soon I will have an unrestricted drivers licence in AUS and Im planning to buy a car.

Currently on my licence, we are not allowed turbocharged/supercharged or anything above 6 cylinders.
I have 2 cars in mind:

-Mazda RX7 Series 8
-Nissan Skyline R32 GTR

I have searched on many forums and videos on the specs, pros, cons etc of each car and all I have found on each is a bunch of weasels who know bugger all about how a car works and handles. Each video have been a crap drag race between their friends on the road that show nothing! I have come on to these forums hopefully to get an unbiased OPINION as i feel members here seem to be abit smarter and knowledgeable on handling, power to weight, performance etc.

Now, over here these 2 cars go for roughly the same price for a clean car. So outright purchase isn't exactly an issue.

The RX7 is known for its unreliable engine, good handling and expensive costs.

The R32 is known for its overall everything.

What im curious to know, is all these true? I would love an Rx7 the most, but because of its known unreliability and consistent maintenance costing an arm and a leg, ive been slightly put off.

Problem is, ive heard people talk about how that's not true. Maintenance is not an issue for me. I run 2 stroke karts and work on engine rebuilds and high maintenance each week and i have no problem. Clearly, a car is a much bigger scale yet is it really very expensive?

I can never find an issue with an R32 however. No one complains, Its quick, sexy, great handling, yet its 4wd with an rb26 engine which arnt exactly a cheap engine either.

The car would be used as a weekend car, yet driving daily too would not be out of the question. It MAY be used to go to and from work etc. The car i would also have plans on engine modifications as well as suspension/brake modifications for overall handling. I plan on taking the car to the track.

I have driven both cars.

I LOVE the idea of a light, nimble Rx7 focused on track suspension and high end brakes, but do they like increased internal power? I dont want to rely on boosting turbochargers. Id perfer to increase compression and increase HP from the engine before the boost from the turbochargers.

Ive also heard improving cooling and fuel systems help make the car alot more reliable than the R32.

The R32 on the other hand is a heavier car with 4WD. The grip of this car is apparently amazing on track (i have not used this car on track). Its known to be much more reliable in every way and cheaper to maintain too.

So, by giving a rough background on my interest and what ive heard, does anyone have anything to advise?
Does anyone have either one of these cars?
Are the talks true about each car?
Can an Rx7 handle more power and be reliable?
Is it a waste though were there is simply no point going down that path when the r32 just does it all?

Id appreciate any opinion given.

I was pretty disappointed when this actually was "another 'what car to buy' thread".

Quote from BlakjeKaas :

I was pretty disappointed when this actually was "another 'what car to buy' thread".

Haha, I didnt see it like that! Maybe not the best place to seek advice and opinion?

Saying this with the experience I had with my BNR32: Presuming the engine hasn't had the turbos changed, you will be under constant fear of the ceramic turbines snapping off and ending up inside the cylinders. Needless to say, the aftermath of that is never pretty, and you'll be looking at a complete engine swap in the worst case scenario. The early models also had a very thin oil pump drive, causing possible pressure loss when driving hard and dead crank bearings as a result. Getting an N1 pump and an adapter pump drive collar for the crank fixes that though. My car was also starting to have pretty worn out gearbox synchros resulting in iffy gear changes, making city driving quite painful at times. You gotta remember that it's a 23 year old car now, and you will be spending a lot of money keeping it running pristine.

Other than those main big issues, the car was a dead reliable daily driver in stock form atleast. If you sort out the turbos, the oil pump and possibly the synchros, it's pretty much bomb proof. The GTR grip and power aren't praised for nothing, when you drive one for the first time, it's an unforgettable experience.

S8 Rx7

Its an enthusiast car..if you can afford a S8 FD you should be able to afford the maintaince costs. Get one with a engine that has already been rebuilt, or has a very low KM engine.
Get it compression tested before purchasing, The twin turbos constantly **** up due to the vaccum lines perishing so a single conversion or new vaccum lines are ideal.

Other than that, treat it like any other engine, warm up, cool down, and for **** sake DO NOT SKIP A SERVICE NO MATTER WHAT.

The fact that youre buying a performance car im sure this doesn't need to be said, but redlining a rotary engine is perfectly healthy as long as it isn't excessive. Carbon can build up on the apex seals(which is a bad thing) if you're only ever in low revs.


Not going to bullshit, rotors ARE expensive to own and maintain...but its no where near as bad as some people make out. Just remember that if you're planning to modify, a tune is everything...itll be the reason your rotor hits 8k rpm all day every day, or hits 8k rpm once and pops an apex seal into the cars bumper behind you.

With that being said, some people just get the short stick, i know someone thats been through 4 engines in 2 years, but i know another guy that street drifts his rx7 for 4+ years with no issues on a high km engine with no rebuild

i think as long as you get it compression tested beforehand, and thoroughly checked out, you should be fine...but as i said, they're an enthusiast car, its really something you have to have a passion for to make the head****s worthwhile.


"but do they like increased internal power? I dont want to rely on boosting turbochargers. Id perfer to increase compression and increase HP from the engine before the boost from the turbochargers."

The ONLY way you can do this is through porting, which requires rebuild(could probably get away with just soft seals) and porting. The issue with that is the larger the port, the less life expectancy, the louder the car will be, and the more they pigroot(Makes driving in traffic a ****)


If i'm honest, unless you have a passion for rotary engines, the R32 GTR will be a better choice

Go for the skyline, the mazda's are way to unreliable.

having owned an sw20 (sw 22 to be precise) and used it as a daily driver for ~3 years now the only advice i can give you is no to buy any "unusual" and desirable car
its way more hassle than its really worth it
you probably wont regret buying it as those cars are an absolute blast to drive but on average chances are you wont enjoy probably even regret your purchase

whichever you buy, buy the cleanest example available in every way or you will pay for it down the road, in spite of the obvious fact these cars get an extremely hard life ( normally boy racer owners, not all but most )


with that in mind, keep 2-4000 spare in the bank account for repairs and maintenance, you'll thank me later.