cost of running a rotory

[mattallac]

I think the rotary mazdas are for the mechanic/tuner/fabricator/rotary addicts . Yes the fuel economy sucks ,but the power band is what truly grabs me . That and when you meet a guy with a big block chevy who's engine bay looks like the high performance parts store threw up all over it . They are telling you how fast it is and you beat him in the drags.....No more talk. The other aspect of rotarys (to me )are the 7 guys and the vintage guys .I'm a vintage guy and in my lifetime I have owned one FB .My opinion is buy an FB or FC they are cheap ,fun and fast for 1.1 to 1.3 L. Throw a header and an exhaust on it , block all the smog shit and thrash on it. FD mazdas are great but still big$ ,but they did win best sports economy care of the year for a reason . When you are a vintage guy your in for the style and the bigger picture ,parts are hard to find (if you don't live in Australia )and my emotions get involved when I'm building a car from the ground up . All I see is the finished product in my head .I live in northern California and when I get to a show I'm usually the only vintage rotary there.So in my opinion if you want one get one ,they sell tools and work shop manuals . The learning can be the rewarding part of the fun when you own a Mazda.

[RICE RACING]

Originally Posted by mattallac

I think the rotary mazdas are for the mechanic/tuner/fabricator/rotary addicts . Yes the fuel economy sucks ,but the power band is what truly grabs me . That and when you meet a guy with a big block chevy who's engine bay looks like the high performance parts store threw up all over it . They are telling you how fast it is and you beat him in the drags.....No more talk. The other aspect of rotarys (to me )are the 7 guys and the vintage guys .I'm a vintage guy and in my lifetime I have owned one FB .My opinion is buy an FB or FC they are cheap ,fun and fast for 1.1 to 1.3 L. Throw a header and an exhaust on it , block all the smog shit and thrash on it. FD mazdas are great but still big$ ,but they did win best sports economy care of the year for a reason . When you are a vintage guy your in for the style and the bigger picture ,parts are hard to find (if you don't live in Australia )and my emotions get involved when I'm building a car from the ground up . All I see is the finished product in my head .I live in northern California and when I get to a show I'm usually the only vintage rotary there.So in my opinion if you want one get one ,they sell tools and work shop manuals . The learning can be the rewarding part of the fun when you own a Mazda.

Well said

I second, if you have the drive and passion for rotaries, learn to do everything yourself and you will win on many levels, be warned its not an easy path, but it is very rewarding if you are of the right character to fit the rotary car club

[Shaun]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replys and advise. I would be willing to have a go at trying to learn maybe I could get a non turbo and try and learn the ins and outs of a rotary, would you by any chance be able to link me or pm the details for getting hold of one of these rotary manuals.
I actually live in the colder parts of aus in tassie.

[RICE RACING]

Originally Posted by Shaun

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replys and advise. I would be willing to have a go at trying to learn maybe I could get a non turbo and try and learn the ins and outs of a rotary, would you by any chance be able to link me or pm the details for getting hold of one of these rotary manuals.
I actually live in the colder parts of aus in tassie.

That is a nice place, I'd consider moving there just for the climate, and the fact you have more lax laws for road cars, there are some nice rotary turbo's for sale there .......... something to do with Targa Tasmania I suppose

The rotary thing is not really NA, its just Turbo's in all engines are harder, but in rotaries specifically you can break one pretty easily if you are attempting to do it yourself. In Tasmania you have the extra added problem of finding decent people to work on your car. One car I consulted on that was a strong performer (550rwhp @ 24 psi) bullet proof combo (dyno sheet featured on my water injection page) was sold from QLD to a customer there, they decided to re tune it and they promptly blew it up! the new customer rang me asking for the original set up parameters, and a few parts to help get him back on the road..... anyway that is the kind of thing that happens to turbo rotaries.

if you go NA its pretty hard to fuck it up. Only problem is they are retarded slow!!! even in 3 or 4 rotor form! so once you have had a turbo car, bit like American chicks, once you go black you never go back LOL.

To run a FD3S you really only use it as a secondary fun car, you need your own workshop space to work on it and an assortment of tools, there is nothing beyond any enthusiast from the whole drive line to the electronics or anything to do with engine of turbo. If you are prepared for the work and the fun and satisfaction and spend a bit of ca$h then I say DO IT! A nice low km unmolested stock FD3S and do EVERYTHING yourself step by step stage by stage, from BPU to 600bhp supercar killer! what ever you want you can do it. If on the other hand you are a useless back rubber or pay to play wannabe, be prepared to sell you ass to the bank manager to stay in the game

If you go to my web page and look under VBOX testing you will see an unrivaled resource of actual testing of many FD3S set up options, comparing stock to finely tuned, to do base level mods its easy, and like I said if you swing the spanners yourself and are willing to listen and learn to the exerts then you will have a good time in a rotary turbo.

Hope this helps/motivates you!