- 1.3l 2-rotor wankel rotary
- twin sequential turbochargers
- 255 hp @ ~8000 RPM (when stock)
- 225/50ZR16's mounted on 16x8" lightweight alloy rims
(Man, this page is really old. I've had the RX-7 for 3 years now and have barely updated the page. Oh well, I'm lame.)
I guess you could say I'm a car nut. My car is my greatest passion at the moment and I spend quite a bit of time driving it and working on it. I find it very relaxing.
I've owned and operated the following cars over the last number of years:
I realized a year or so ago that all my cars have appeared on the Car and Driver 10 Best Cars list over the years. Not bad, considering it's more-or-less a coincidence.
Over the last few years, I'v gotten more involved in high performance driving on racing tracks. In particular, I've spend quite a bit of time at Summit Point Raceway near Charlestown, WVA and most recently Virginia International Raceway (VIR) down near Danville, Va.
Summit Point has 2 circuits: the big 2.2 mile main circuit and a smaller 1.1 mile Jefferson Circuit. The small track has about 9 turns, is reasonably low speed (<100 MPH), and is very fun and educational, especially for novice drivers. The larger track (10 turns) is higher speed and has a 3/4 mile straight that allows cars like the RX-7 to really stretch their legs a bit.
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My latest car acquisition is a 3rd generation '93 Mazda RX-7. This is, by far, the most fun to drive of any 4 wheeled vehicle I've ever driven. With it's tiny 1.3 liter twin-sequential-turbo charged rotary engine, this car puts out 255 hp in stock trim. The sequential turbos give it acceleration on par with what I'd expect from a rocket. The car is super light; the handling and braking are amazing.
The fact that the car is already blindingly fast hasn't stopped me from wanting to make it faster, though. This is the first car I've made any attempts at modifying. I joined a local club, the Mazda Sportscar Club of Washington, and met a lot of great car enthusiasts. The only problem is that all we do is sit around and talk about what we can do to our cars to make them faster. Man, that can get expensive quickly. A couple conversations with John Duff at Peter Farrell Supercars (a local and world renowned RX-7 race shop), and I've chalked up a modest by growing list of modifications. Most of the stuff I've installed myself or with the help of friends.
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Some of the next things on my list include a roll bar, front sway bar brace, and other general maintenance.
I find some of the following links valuable:
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We bought this car for my wife to drive. This is one of the smoothest cars I've driven. The 5 valve per cylinder motor is quite torquey for a 4 banger and the turbo adds a nice bit of power to the mix. The turbo is very non-intrusive; it's almost impossible to tell that the car is turbocharged. There is no perceptable turbo lag or sharp power increase.
Had I to do it over, I'd get the "sport package" A4 with the same 1.8T motor. The sport package lowers the car a little, adds a slightly stiffer suspension, and comes with 16" wheels. (I hate the 15" wheels we have now - they have lots of little grooves and are a pain in the ass to clean.) I would probably also go with the Quattro package to help a bit with the power dispersion. The pseudo-limited-slip differential on the car now doesn't do a very good job of keeping the inside wheel from spinning.
Overall, a fantastic car and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a 4 door sport sedan. We bought this car over the Internet from Autobytel.com (I think) and took delivery from Tischer Audi in Laurel, MD. It was an extremely pleasant car buying experience. I put in a request over the 'Net and got a call from a local dealership (Tischer) about 7 days later. They had a couple cars similar to what I requested that were supposed to be delivered soon. We dropped a refundable deposit, then looked the car over when it arrived. Two hours later, we drove home in our new car.
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The Probe was the leading car in the $20K sports car class for a while. It was reasonably fast (but a little underpowered), handled well (not like the '7, of course), and quite practical (it had a HUGE hatchback). The motor was had a smooth as glass power curve. Tons of torque down low. I enjoyed driving it for about 3 years before I started to get even remotely bored. The biggest complaint I had was that the seats were grossly uncomfortable.
Interestingly, my best friend from college did the same cars in reverse order ... bought a Probe when I had my SE-R, then sold his Probe recently (after I'd sold mine) and went out and bought a used SE-R. It's a nice tribute to how great the car is SE-R is. (see below)
Some old Probe links, if you're interested:
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The SE-R was my first new car. It was cheap, fast, fun to drive, and never had any real problems. I should probably never have sold it. The motor was fantastic. It pulled reasonably well down low and screamed all the way up to redline. Doesn't get much better. I think the only reason I traded up to the Probe was because I wanted power windows and a sunroof. In hindsight, the SE-R was probably a better car.
O.k. I had to mention it. This was my first car, which I bought as a sophomore in college. Back then, I thought it was a pretty good car. It had a little 80 hp 4 cyclinder engine that ran like a top. Sun roof (manual crank, of course), decent stereo system, etc. What more can you ask for as a college student with no money? It only broke down once while I owned it ... the alternator died. I spent the next semester parking the car outside my apartment so I could plug it in and charge the battery every night. My friends got a real kick out of it.
I eventually sold it to my brother for $400 and he used it for 3 years in college.
Thats all for now, folks.