any other Mazda rx7 owners here?
 

C'mon, I can't be the only one here. Anyone else own one of the most finicky cars ever mass produced?
I've got a 93 FD just waiting for the new precision 6265 turbo to get here. Thinking about picking up an ft86 as a fun, economical daily when available.

we have a few i forgot who, I use to own one fc3s

good to see another Nebraskan on here. :)

Lol I dunno maybe it's just me. But I don't think of these words when I think of the FR-S/FT-86.

If I get one it'll be my fun weekend driver. I would not want to make one my Daily Driver. If they do it right, I don't think it'll be livable for most people. Plus it's such a beautiful car. I would hate to ruin it with a ton of miles, chips, and abuse.

lol that's how I see it...it's light, super small, somewhat cheap, somewhat small engine (2.0L is pretty small in this world of ever growing cars). I don't know about the paint though, is there anything that can sorta protect the paint? Does wax help?

Yes. Proper paint maintenance will help a lot. I do professional detailing and would consider myself pretty well educated on paint care so feel free to ask me any paint questions.

The most important thing you can do for paint, aside from wax, is be very careful how you wash it. Going through none-touch-less car washes is harsh on the paint and will wear it down. Hand wash only if you want it to last the longest, and clay often, especially before waxing.

ok so how about clay bars? whats a good and proper way to use clay bar?

I like Meguire's. Their clay kit is easy and non abrasive so it won't hurt the paint. Well most are but I like them for a few reasons.

Here's a good video:

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It about covers everything. Pretty simple, you knead the bar, spray the bar and the area you will work, then just rub the clay back and forth. On really bad cars you will feel the bar slide smoother. :party0030:

The video doesn't mention it, but you want to FOLD IN the dirty side of the clay bar once it becomes really dirty, NEVER flip it over. If you fold it in and the knead it flat again you will have two clean surfaces once more. Pick one, use until dirty, then fold again. If both sides are dirty you can't fold it in for a new clean surface.

claying is not the major issue....

its the Paint cleaning thats the issue. No knowledge on how to use the buffer machine properly for paint cleaning...then you will have to resort to hand power...and that is a pain.

Clay is easy...can clay the car in under 20min.
But everytime you clay ...YOU MUST wax.

Doesn't help the rear fenders on my XRunner. Everyone's got chips on them on the front side of the Flares.

I got that "invisible shield" on my front end and it seemed to help with Chips. Of course it didn't help the rocks that hit 1 CM above it..... I wish they had applied it to the flares lol. Live and learn.

I'm an rx8 owner. I want to one day own all the 3 rx7 body styles but I'll do that later. Ft86 is next on my list. I need something reliable and better on gas.

I've owned 2 FDs and driven both a carb'd and fuel injected FB and an NA and NA-T FC. The FD is by far my favorite, it just feels solid (minus the interior plastics)

I have a 10th Anniversary and a beater FC. Hopefully the FR-S and Subie variant are as fun to drive.