I've got 2 choices in mind, for my first car. These will both be, pretty much in my price range, and gas doesn't matter as my parents will be paying that. Any comments on which one you would prefer, let me know. And don't just say the FC just because it's "cooler" as much as it is, the Supra has got more oomph.


1. 1991 Mazda RX-7 TII
More calm. About the same reliability. 200 hp, 194 lbs/ft. Handles better, rotary. Repairs possibly cheaper.

2. 1992 Toyota Supra Turbo
Waaay faster. This things a rocket. About the same price too. 232 hp. 254 lbs/ft. Handles not bad, but repairs potentially killer. Head Gasket is known to blown, and not be cheap to fix.

I would have to go ahead and pick niether as my 1st car.
Get a beater....your bound to make 1 or 2 "boo-boos" and i wouldnt want that to happen with an rx7 or a supra.


No doubt the supra is faster and the rx7 handles better.

I would go with teh Supra if it was me....but ya gotta remember a modified supra is a [top end] monsta. Zero-60 may be alright........but your gonna have to be raggin that thing from 60 till whatever on a highway / track to really experience it.

Is that feasible? I dunno

What's your price range?

welcome back potatos... workin' again, eh?? :D told ya i'd get it done... (<- didn't acutally do much)

anyhoo, his price range is about as much as a late 80's RX-7 or Supra...

get the FC, 'cause i know lots about rotaries and we can wrench on it together man!! :D (also looks better, and when you learn to drive you can beat all the ricers in their Supras ;))

Tough decision, I think the Supra is better looking, but that thing is tight like an...well...an asian at a vietnemese restaurant. Theres only one person here who'd know what I'm talking about.
Anyhow, my price range is as follows:
Currently: $750
At the end of the summer: 1508-$3000
Next Summer ('04): $5000-7500

So as you can see I'll probably be waiting til '04. Then I'll be buying my car. Although I might just save up for a last gen RX-7...me no know. Because if I wait until '05, then I'll definately have enough money, around 18 grand.

I don't know if I'll be able to survive that long tho, maybe I can start with an FC and work up to an FD. Time will tell.
Does anyone know of a place where I can compare the two? Anyone with experience of BOTH cars could you please tell me? Man I need a car. My dad'll only let me drive his Aerostar to school on fridays, that smells. And not like potatoes I might add.
Taters.

Also, a critical aspect of me buying the car is how well they keep, and the tranny. They both have awesome engines, so I don't need to worry about that. Then again, that Supra does have that awesome removeable roof...oh man that'd be so cool in the summer. And in the winter? Just put those little bastards up!
Good to go!
(I don't need major weatherproof cars, and I don't need to worry about rustoleum as I live in Victoria).
The nicest weather in Canada. (Sometimes it's too nice, and its hard to grow potatoes!)

Be careful of the FD. You think you have enough money to buy one, then it starts eating all your money and then some. Just a thought.

As for my thoughts on the car, I would go with the FC because I am a (obviously) a rotary fan. I do like the looks of the FC better, but you can't go wrong either way.

Howso?
I would've thought that the supra would've been worse.
Hell, thats the most unreliable Toyota made since...since...well, its probably the most unreliable Toyota EVER!

hey look potatoes is back.:cool: 'bout time

Originally posted by ilovepotatos
Howso?
I would've thought that the supra would've been worse.
Hell, thats the most unreliable Toyota made since...since...well, its probably the most unreliable Toyota EVER!

no, he means the twin turbo 13BREW is a beast which happens to blow up more frequently than the Supra motor (no, i'm not talking about the 4th gen JZ)... not to mention the insurance on an FD will break your balls, guy... much like that tight vietnamese girl... :D woah, she was somethin'...

Ho crap!
*Awakes from Best Dream Ever. Ever.*
I completely forgot. Insurance. Another obstacle I have to leap. Looks like I'll have to stick to the FD. The Supra would cost more than a date with Jennifer Lopez. Damn shes expensive.

Originally posted by ilovepotatos
Looks like I'll have to stick to the FD.

...you mean the FC, right?? ;)
http://www.fc3s.org/car_of_the_month/images_february_2002/lftprofile.jpg

Originally posted by ilovepotatos
Ho crap!
*Awakes from Best Dream Ever. Ever.*
I completely forgot. Insurance. Another obstacle I have to leap. Looks like I'll have to stick to the FD. The Supra would cost more than a date with Jennifer Lopez. Damn shes expensive.

You know how much it costs to date Jennifer Lopez? Voice of experience?




No wonder you only have $750 saved up for a car. :D

If you want a dependable, cheap, good looking drop top that won't be hard to insure, get a 90-93 Miata. It also handles like a dream.

If you want speed, drop in a greddy turbo for about 2K CDN and you are off to the races. The nice thing is that the Miata will hold its value quite well compared to some other cars.

Better yet, use some of that money for driving schools, not driver's ed but performance schools. They will help to keep you safe and teach you what you need to know about going fast safely.

Originally posted by Midnight Flyer
If you want a dependable, cheap, good looking drop top that won't be hard to insure, get a 90-93 Miata. It also handles like a dream.

but he doesn't, he wants some hardcore coupe speed, with tons of fun... not to mention that a 90-93 Miata will cost you more than a 1989 FC TII... yes, stupid, yes sick, but that's where the demand is... whatever... it means me and potatoes get rice cookers (by which i mean either of these cars will cook rice... to eat... for dinner :)) for < $10k CDN... :D


Originally posted by Midnight Flyer
Better yet, use some of that money for driving schools, not driver's ed but performance schools.

yeah, that's on the list, but that comes after getting a car to "performancely" drive ;)

c'mon tatos... get the FC, and by next summer (when you end up with that $18k) it could look something like this ;) ... well, yes, just like this, minus the pointless TII hood (who needs it if your IC is front mounted???)

http://www.fc3s.org/car_of_the_month/images_november_2002/attack.jpg

...my new wallpaper :D

Yes, I did mean an FC. Do you have any more of those pictures? That thing looks really clean.
Hmm...anyone know what the insurance rates would be for a driver with 1 year of experience on a 1991 TII?

I would totally go for the RX7. Growing up in the 1980's, I drooled over the Supra, 300ZX and RX7 (1st and 2nd generation). The RX7 was my favorite of the three.

I'm just curious, does anyone know the relative strengths/weaknesses of each one and how they compared back then? Believe it or not, I still see a fair amount of 1980ish 300ZXs still around, and I stiill think they look great! :)

When I priced the insurance for my son driving a Miata or an FC the cost of the FC was quite a bit more.

As far as speed is concerned, speed costs money, how fast to do want to go? A Miata with a 1.6 and a greddy turbo puts out some impressive numbers for very little cost. Add intercooler, link, etc. and some cars are up over 250rwhp, but at a price.

Just for the fun of it I priced some drop top rx-7's and they are in the same price range as the mx-5. HT come in significantly cheaper.

We were fortunate in that I came across a 91 Miata for under $5K CDN. My son learned to drive it for a year, at the performance schools and this year we are dropping in a larger engine but staying NA.

One guy down the street has a 5.0L Miata. Don't care for his paint job but it looks like a really mean car.

the initial cost of a Miata over an RX-7 is way higher, and here in BC your insurance is mostly a reflection of your driving experience/age, and history, then coupled with the "value" of the car itself... ICBC has a monopoly on the insurance market, so the cost difference between the two is almost nil. besides, only 250 hp out of a TII is kid's stuff: easy numbers.... not to mention that Potatos is a really big guy (6'0", 250ish) and really wouldn't be comfortable in a Miata... i know, i konw, there are things you can put up with, but i think in this case the RX is the better choice.

anyways tatos, i got the pics from http://www.fc3s.org ... the black GTUs is a repeat winner of Car of the Month, and this big rez 1991 TII :cool: was the 2002 car of the year...

i'd totally get the fc over the supra. i've loved these cars when i was a kid growing up, and i think they still look great, and are realy cheap now. turbo II's are awesome, and they look especially slick after the 1989 (?) cosmetic makeover. i really liked the 300zx's as well, not supras as much, but i kinda liked 'em all. i think in its time the rx-7 was somewhat slow compared to these, but, like all other mazdas, was a handling wiz. in non-turbo trim the fc was more fun than quick (0-60 somewhere around 9~10s), but turbo's were real quick and much scarier. the supras and z31 300zx were bigger and heavier cars, w/ bigger engines (v6's) so were faster but were probably not as nimble. i've always liked the z and a big reason is the t-top and cool headlights =) i believe the z32 300zx came out in 1990 (or 89?) and those were just plain awesome, w/ twin turbo and 4ws and all that. this was outdone by the fd in '93, however =) i love these cars.

i think fc would make a fine first car, 'cuz it's getting old and cheap and a good number of them out there are pretty much beaters, yet it's real fun and has a lot of potential so makes a good project as well (might get expensive fixing 'em tho). i don't know anything about insurance =P good luck

Hmm, I think I'm gonna go with the FC. Yes ICBC are a bunch of blood sucking know it...sorry.
Yeah, it wouldn't take much to get a nice 250 hp out of the car. New exhaust, better turbo, intake...Not more than $1500. And insurance companies don't charge you for the extra power.
:D *Cha-ching* :D
The trick I'll have to pull off though, is finding one with not many miles, in very good condition, and with as many options as possible. (TII of course).
And I will definately not be getting the convertible. Okay, maybe when pigs fly, but other than that never.

Originally posted by ilovepotatos
and with as many options as possible. (TII of course).


the TII's had nearly all, if not every option you can get... the GXL was the "glitziest", but i'm almost positive the TII had everything that car had, with the 13BT.

as a side note chinx, the 160hp NA RX-7 base models (lightest) could clock a low 8s 0-60, and the turbos a low 7 or something (...dont' know as much abotu the turbos, 'cuase i used to be an all-motor kinda guy... no more).

tatos, to get that 250, you won't NEED a new turbo, but a bigger/better intercooler, and a machined/refinished stock turbo with a higher A/R ratio would provide all the boost necessary: the exhaust by itself will give you a huge bump in power.

How much extra power are we talking, with just the exhaust? Would I get 215 with exhaust? Oh man I hope so.

i guess... a lot more will come from higher boost as you tune the whole system to breathe better at higher flow rates (at the cost of driveability and fuel efficiency at lower rpms).

here's a cool link at the Supraforums.com about exhaust systems, and in the guy's second post, he uses the FC as an example... strange, but true. :)

http://www.supraforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=123037

...just finished reading it... his engineering is a little dodgy, but you get the idea...

As I was reading that, I began to picture my car in my head.
It will be a Mazda RX-7 Turbo II of course.
It will be either a 1988 Aniversary Edition, or a 1991. It'll be Black, White (88), or possibly red. Why red? Well, it's not my usual choice, but it just suits this car so much!
Actually, if I really could, I'd think of getting it in a nice green or blue, possibly yellow.
Wow, I just listed the entire rainbow.
It makes me want to get exhaust. This will be the first thing I do. Next it'll probably be in the intake, so the whole thing will breathe better. After that? Maybe new wheels if they suck, or other cosmetic items, but other than that, I don't want much more than 250, 275 hp. I wouldn't mind living long enough to see the next RX-7!

By the way, I know exactly why my account wasn't working. It was because I was using RX-8 forum through hotmail. You know how when you click on a link in hotmail. it'll take you to the site, but with that little banner on the top? That's what was messing with all my registry settings in RX-8. If it wasn't for that, I'd be at a good 400 posts by now. *whimpers*

I'm all alone. Isolated. Desolated. Mutilated. Spatulated.
Okay, so I made a word with Spatula. I'd like to see you do the same!

the wheels that come with the turbo model, for any year, are already pretty nice and really complement the design of the car well... if you were going to further enhance the ol'skool appearance and performance, a set of very light 2 piece 16" wheels (the same size as the "performance" wheels on the TII/GXL) for that priceless 80's ghetto styles... it's just my opinion, but i like the BBS trademark spoke pattern the best.... that, or rhomboids ("diamonds"), with gold centres and chrome rims... on a black FC TurboII, that would be sweeeeeet (my setup in Gran Turismo)

anyways, the entire exhaust system, intake system, ignition, intercooler (and plumbing??), engine mounts (/brace), suspension bushings (ouchie on labour), stripping the interior of most of the useless crap in there, and turbo (last) would be great for a streetable, quick setup, with a lot of the labour doable by you and me (with the right tools, of course). :D

By the way Keech, do you have a microphone? If so, we can actually chat. Cause I got a microphone! (Yay)

couldn't you just use the phone?

good choice on the 7 tater. although i see your car being pink for some reason instead of red.

how about "mashered"

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005O66P.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

I could use the phone, but MSN is free. (Theres a way to talk like on the phone on MSN)
Anywho, I don't think I'll be getting red. Either black, white or some custom color where I end up having to pay for a paint job.