Mazda RX7 or Toyota Supra?

Question

Iam thinking of buying 1 of these cars and have a budget of 7000 thou.both have done about 60 000 miles and have been well looked after. The mazda has a single turbo and the supra is 3.0 non turbo whats the good and bad points in both cars plz help

Answer 1

Depends, the RX-7 is much much faster than a non turbo Supra - period. However, the two cars a slightly different in charachter.

Contray to many opinions, the RX-7 is the best handling of all the Japanese Sports coupes, the Supra and Skyline turbo's may be ultimately quicker, but the Maxda's compact size and light weight makes it much more at home on british roads than it's bigger competition. But it is a fickle machine, and it needs looking after. The rotary engine doesnt respond well to poor maintanence, and it needs love like a mazda shouldn't.

The supra is bigger, heavier and doesn't handle as well, but the non turbo's are bullet proof, gearboxes can survive a nuclear holocaust and spares in the UK are easier and cheaper, not that you ever seem to need them.

The biggest bugbear i see is that the RX-7's motor needs an overhaul at 60,000 miles, which is around £2,000. There's no getting around it, it needs to be done, specificallly the tips of the rotor need to be replaced. It's not a fault, its part of the mazda service requirement.

If it's already been rebuilt, then you're good for another 60k. if not, then your 7k RX just became 9k.

Personally, if the engines been rebuilt and it's got a full service, I'd plumb for the RX, it'll feel streets ahead of the Supra in both pace and fluency, but expect it to be a fairly expensive beast to maintain. If you can stretch to the Turbo Supra then things become a little trickier, the supra becomes the quicker but less involving car, and some people confuse the Mazda's light footedness with twitchyness if they've been driving big heavy cars previously. Personally, the mazda's the better looking in my eyes too, but if reliability is paramount, then I'd go for the supra.

Oddly, the rotary engine gets better economy at 70mph than it does at 30mph. Both cars have a penchant for rear tyres, so make sure you can afford to strap on new rears every 6k, and there's no point in buying cheap rubber, it's a false economy and you'll need new ones agan in half that.

Answer 2

I'd keep the Mazda. Learn how it works. The regular maintenance stuff like tune ups, belts, oil, cooling, is the same as a piston engine. The basic operation is pretty straight forward. Only when you get deeper into the ignition system or major mechanical issues do you need extended knowledge of the rotary. I could argue that many maintenance tasks are easier than on a piston engine. 1985 is a unique year for those, model GSL-SE had the 13b engine. Do you know what engine is in it? If it's the carburetorated 12b there's a few odd things a mechanic can run into. There's a few basic pieces of information to know to keep it running. Older rotary engines such as your should always be brought up to operating temperature before turning it off (short trips). Never ever ever let it run low on oil. Be sure the metering oil pump works. Don't use synthetic motor oil. There are experts out there that can help you. I have a 1987 turbo RX-7. I love that car. And I do my own mechanic work.

Answer 3

Go for the Toyota supra these cars are far more reliable than the rotary engine of the Mazda Rx7. Fuel consumption is not good on the Toyota BUT you don't buy cars like that for mpg.

Answer 4

You actually found some that cheap. Both cars are great and its a tough desicion. The Supra is slightly faster but the RX-7 looks better.

Answer 5

Get and rx7, and here is why. You can get conversion kits to let you put a small block v-8 engine in it. Chevy small blocks, in my experience, are quite easy to rebuild and service. If you want something you can mess with yourself without taking it to a dealer, get the rx-7 and get the conversion.

Answer 6

Be prepared to pay for premium gas with the turbo. If you use regular gas you will get an engine knock.