I have been working on a 1985 Fiero for the past few months and am almost done. I just recently picked up a 1980 RX7 for $400.00 with mint interior leather and sunroof. The car is mechanically A1 and runs perfectly, just rust on the wheel wells to repair. I am planning on welding in new sheet metal so that it is done right.

My question is, which car (the Fiero or the RX7) would handle better? I know they would probably be almost the same off the line, but I mean like track racing. Just curious.

I still love my little Fiero, but can't wait to finish it so I can start on my next project. I have always loved both these kinds of cars and now I have both - I feel so luck!

Anyways, thanks in advance, and anyone with experience in both would be good to here from.

Tommaso

is the 1980 a first or second gen RX7 (FB or FC)? the first gen are god awful slow until you get them real high in the revs, and even then they are meh. 2nd gen N/A arent terribly quick either; theres just no torque from the little 1.3L wankel.

quote Originally posted by Jermz238: is the 1980 a first or second gen RX7 (FB or FC)? the first gen are god awful slow until you get them real high in the revs, and even then they are meh. 2nd gen N/A arent terribly quick either; theres just no torque from the little 1.3L wankel.

first gen. i had a 85 right before they made it a second gen i gave mine away

The 12A's aren't the best motors in the world. I have respect for 13b, and 20b's but first gen's aren't good for very much. If the motor lasts longer than 75,000 miles , then consider yourself lucky.

As for handling purposes, personally the fiero is a better platform. Not to mention how gross the sound of a rotary.... ergg... ( minus the 13b tt's )

The motor longevity really isnt a problem. Yes the high RPMs take their tool on the little bugger over 70-100k miles, but they are so simple mechanically, they are very cheap to replace.

I have read they RX7 is pretty light and very well balanced. Its on par or greater than a base Fiero, more or less.

I'll let you know after I tool around with my brother. I think he's getting an 84 or 85. It's was the year right before the body stile change.

Have fun replacing apex seals every 30K. That's about how long they last on modded rx7's.

From what I have been reading the 1980 RX7 to recent has a 50 - 50 weight ratio due to the engine being light and being placed low and tucked in behind the front wheels. As for speed, I can say after taking mine around the town a little the 12A is incredibly lacking off the line, but once it is going it isn't too bad for a 100 HP motor. For it's size (1.1 ltre) it is amazing. I would say it is on par with the iron duke, but once moving the higher rev capability of the RX makes it the faster vehicle. If I reved the iron duke like I did the X today the pistons would have came out the hood (rear - what-ever lol) The six would blow it away though because of it's much higher torque and HP. The nice thing about the rotory engine is that you can rev the crap out of it and not worry about throwing a piston. So, I guess I just answered part of my own question.

I have not driven a Fiero in years so I cannot remember how it feels around corners. Mine is almost done, but still needs a little so I am anxious to drive it to compare.

Anyone else driven both to give a comparrison on handling (not speed)? You would think the Fiero would be the better handling car as it was created five years after the RX. (i'm talking about the first generation by the way.)

Thanks for the input so far!

Tommaso

I dont own a rx7 yet but am a enthuisast, Ive ridden in both a 81 n/a and raced a 88ish turbo in my 3800 car. i think the 81 was really fun to ride in and it sounded neat but it really didnt perform that great. it handled well but swayed much more then a fiero and felt loose in the corners compared to our heavier fieros. the 88 was deffenitly a quick car but not as fast as my 3800 n/a swapped fiero. now imo the fiero handles better stock. and though not near as fast as the turbo 7 in stock form, with a low budget engine swap the turbo 7 is no competition hands down imo. but then again if you crank up the boost and add some fresh shocks and rear sway bar the turbo 7 could own my swapped fiero...

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Artero Rebody , 18"s, 91' 350 SBC / Muncie 4spd
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82' Benz 300SD turbo . *for sale*
87' Fiero Cp. candy blue, GT 15"s, *will sale*

I would say the Fiero handles better, not having owned an early model RX7, but the technology of the older RX, and having owned many Fieros they do handle pretty good. +1 for the Fiero on this one.

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'96 Schwarz II BMW 328is, UUC SS, CDV delete, M3 exhaust, M3 FX, 18x8" ROH Drift/Toyo Proxes, DEpoo Projectors/Chromiums/6000k HID, clears all around, Blau ICE, more go fast mods soon!
'86 Polaris-Metallic BMW 325E, stock 5-spd cpe.
'87 Fiero GT *show winning* SOLD
http://evolutionsnp.com <-THE place for BMW work.

They both have pretty much the same capabilities. They're both light weight with a short wheel base and a low center of gravity. When setup right, both can corner like they're on rails. My fiero is the only one I have driven , and I have a really good idea of what it's capable of once I have it set up the way I want it. The RX-7 is alittle lighter though, and therefore just a tad more nimble. As mentioned before though, the weight distribution on them is a near perfect 50/50. Slap a 13B into a first gen, and it will be a decent little rocket. I've autocrossed an '85 RX-7 and ran fastest time of the day with it out of about 100 entries. So pretty much both have a great potential of handling great. And both can easily accept more powerful motors.

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'88 Fiero GT - 3.4L GM Crate engine
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/707857
'91 GMC Syclone - #449
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2067330
'02 Yamaha V-Max - it go fast

I would get a FC rx7. But even a FB has better options than a fiero. Look at the racing heritage. I see way way more rx7's racing (road racing, scca, nasa.) than i have fieros. I've actually only seen 2 fieros out of at lest 80 rx7s.
I just got my FC turbo a few weeks ago and I love it. Handles great ( yes better than the fiero) and its very quick (ditto). Don't get me wrong i loved my fiero but the rx7 was faster for cheaper ironically

[This message has been edited by NorthFloridaFiero (edited 09-27-2006).]

i used to have an 81 RX-7 that was a POS. I bought it for 150$ Ran the piss out of it and sold it for 200. To tell you the truth the little 1.1L rotary suprised me. The odometer read 160,000miles and it still ran strong. I would run the thing to 8 grand every day and never had a problem. And the biggest thing that suprised me was the handling. It handled better than my 85 GT but then again my 86 gt needed at alightment real bad had a bad ball joint and a leaking strut. To tell you the truth if i wasn't in to Fieros i might have been in to those after driving that one. I believe the stock first gen RX would handle better than a stock pre 88 fiero. But wouldn't you rather have a fiero....;o)

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If both the Fiero and the Rex were in equal condition I would put the Rex ahead of the Fiero on a road course. However in a drag race even the stock V6 fiero should be able to take it. However the main drawback I found with the Rex was fuel mileage. OMG was it bad. It got about 1/2 the mileage of a V6 Fiero.

I am comparing an early 80's Rex to an 85GT. I kinda liked the low slung interior of the Rex, felt more like you were in a cockpit rather than in a drivers seat. The long revs were kinda nice too. But I would not want one as a daily driver.

There is a reason I drive a fiero and not a Rex. Rex was more nimble, but a fiero is more fun.

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85GT 5spd ,93 Eldorado 4.9 Dual O2 Custom Chip, Archie Clutch. Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything 245/50/16's Not Your Average 4.9 Capt Fiero Com --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Stock.

The problem with the first generation RX-7 (I owned a new 1980 GS model) was the feedback from the steering. It used recirculating ball (usually seen on trucks and old family sedans not sports cars) rather than rack and pinion and was a little sloppy compared to the fiero. Also, you can get some nasty lift-throttle oversteer from the 1st gen RX7, despite the 50-50 weight distribution. I personally experienced this when stupidly (in 1981) taking a decreasing radius exit ramp too fast and lifted off the throttle to reduce speed - I wound up doing a 270 spin. Fortunately no one was behind me and I managed to keep the car off the curbs.

Of course tire technology has improved tremendously since 1980 and if one put modern tires on an 80 RX7 it would definitely help. I have a 1986 Fiero GT, lowered two inches, 100% poly and Kuhmo MX ultra-high performance tires now and is corners (and unfortunately rides) like a go-kart. The RX7 was fun to drive but the overall quality of the Fiero is much better. The interior of the RX7 didn't hold up well (the seat fabric tore with less than 50K miles on it. And the car rusts very easily. I imagine later generations were greatly improved, as I own a 2001 Mazda Protege ES and a Mazda MPV and they are very well made.

[This message has been edited by NewGT (edited 09-30-2006).]

In terms of handling, the 1st gen RX-7 is a lighter car, and does handle better on a road course. It has nearly 50/50 Miata like handling.

That said, if your 85 Fiero is a V6, then it's simply no contest... I mean... a 1st gen RX-7 can barely get out of it's own way. We're talking like an 11 second 0-60 and a quarter mile of around 20 seconds. You could challenge one with a 2000cc Volkswagen Bus. They simply just don't have any low-end torque.

A good RX-7 driver would power into the turn at a faster speed and maintain it through the apex and power out of it. Going into the turn at the same speed with a Fiero would induce some scrub and understeer... you would want to go into the turn slower, and power out of it. The RX-7 would pull ahead in the turn, but you should have NO problems easily catching back up to the RX-7 and passing it.

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Todd,
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible (Wife's Car)
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 (3.2) 5-Speed
1984 Pontiac Fiero 2m4 SE
1984 Porsche 944 5-Speed
1981 Pontiac TransAm (Olds 455BB)
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

quote Originally posted by NewGT: The problem with the first generation RX-7 (I owned a new 1980 GS model) was the feedback from the steering. It used recirculating ball (usually seen on trucks and old family sedans not sports cars) rather than rack and pinion and was a little sloppy compared to the fiero. Also, you can get some nasty lift-throttle oversteer from the 1st gen RX7, despite the 50-50 weight distribution. I personally experienced this when stupidly (in 1981) taking a decreasing radius exit ramp too fast and lifted off the throttle to reduce speed - I wound up doing a 270 spin. Fortunately no one was behind me and I managed to keep the car off the curbs.

Something about that... most of the RX7's you used to see in the wrecking yards had been wrapped around a tree or telephone pole. I suspect from inexperienced drivers coming up to corners to hot and lifting... can you say spinout?

I have driven an 85 Rx7 little 12a carb motor ran damn good and pulled good. It would definately outrun a 4 cyl Fiero. Biggest issue handling wise on them is the small tire size stock. 13 inch rims and a small wheel well doesnt add up very well. Mine had power steering and i never had any issues there. Have locked up the brakes a few times on it and had it spin around on me.

Now a second gen Rx-7 will definately out handle most Fieros. I also have an 88 Turbo II Rx-7 and it handles like it is on Rails.

As for motor reliability yeah they typically last around 75-100K mark. But I have also seen several running near 200K on the original motor. So like anything it all depends on how you take care of it.

If I remember correctly, the 1st Gen RX7 weighed about 2450 lbs, about 300 pounds less than a Fiero GT, The engine had about a 7500RPM redline (the RPM of the crankshaft, not the rotor which turns at 1/3 the speed of the crank) and put out about 105-110HP. Torque is not a strong point on a rotary, and the engine, despite a 4-barrel carb put out less that 100 lb-ft. Handling was good on smooth roads, but it had a live rear axle with a panhard rod - inferior to the fiero 4-wheel independent suspension. The car would easily outrun a 4 cylinder Fiero - 0 to 60 was about 9.5 seconds with one person in the car. You could really feel the effect of a passenger on acceleration though, because of the low torque.

At idle a rotary is so quiet and smooth, people 10-15 feet away would not know if the engine is running or not. Taking off the exhaust and revving the engine will generate and ear splitting 135 decibels of sound.

Another weird thing about the engine was that it, like a 2-stroke motor, had to have oil injected into it to lubricate the rotor walls, which were chromed and then micro pitted to hold the oil. You needed to add a quart of oil every 3,000 miles to the sump (an oil pan bolted under the engine - the oil does not flow in a rotary quite like a piston engine) to replace the burned oil. This also made passing later HC emissions requirements a problem.

Even stranger was that in the winter (temps below freezing) there was a reservoir that would inject an antifreeze mixture into the engine - I don't remember why it was necessary, but it was a pain remembering to refill the thing.

[This message has been edited by NewGT (edited 09-30-2006).]

quote Originally posted by aerosmithr0cker: Now a second gen Rx-7 will definately out handle most Fieros. I also have an 88 Turbo II Rx-7 and it handles like it is on Rails. As for motor reliability yeah they typically last around 75-100K mark. But I have also seen several running near 200K on the original motor. So like anything it all depends on how you take care of it.

Right on. Preach fellow rotorhead!