JFreeman

I'm sure this has been discussd on here time and time again, but I went and helped a friend pick up an 86 Mazda Rx-7 (FC). I actually towed it for him. We are both pretty big car nuts, I own one 86 951, an 83 944, and an 87 924s. He used to be into the BMW E30's, but decided he wanted to break into the mazda scene. The whole drive up was a debate about how the Fc was built to compete with the 944 and which was better, and which cost more, then which turbo version was better, ect ect. My girlfriend was about to go insane after listening to us go at it for an hour and a half. His proudest statement was that the Turbo Fc was even faster than the 911 of the time. I quickly shot him down with "so was the 944 Turbo S, that is why they de tuned it." I have done a little reading on how the Rx7 copied the 944, but I was astonishing at the wheels on this Fc. They look exactly like the phone dials, but a cheaper knock off version lol. Or maybe I'm astonished at how much they coppied the 944 then dropped in that ba$tard triangle, two stroke, oil burning, apex seal blowing, alien technology motor. Not trying to dis the Fc, just all carried over from last night...

bordin34

My uncle had a pretty modified turbo Fc Rx-7 that he sold to buy a 968. He says the 968 while a bit slower is a much better car and isn't comparable to the Rx-7.

mfyoung1086

A non turbo FC is as big a dog as a 944 of comparable years, so your friend really has no arguement haha

I owned an S4 FC, and I've driven more than a few 944's in my days the shake down

Best motor: RX7 (rotaries are seriously fun motors, and well tuned on a good side draft, exhaust make really good power)
Handling: the 7 is stiffer but suffers from typical numb Jap steering, edge goes to the 944 but its really almost a wash
Brakes: 944
Reliability: not touching this one, they both suffer from sports car quirks, one postive is that the mazda doesn't suffer from the porsche tax
Looks: opinion but I enjoy the 944's more

My conclusion the 7 is a marginally faster, better handling car and as gay as this next part is gonna sound it just doesn't have the soul of the 944... other than that its almost impossible to tell them apart... both can be had for as low as 2kish, both will get smoked by a 3 year old mini van, ppl will think your rx7 is a 944 and the other way around

your friend should have gotten a first gen 12a > 13b all day 12a makes more torque, is way lighter and in the right trim has the 86's suspension anyways

87 944 C

rx7 was made to compete with thet 924 and 924s, so says reviews from that time.

i've been tempted by rx7's, but never an fc, just fd's which put 968's to shame in pretty much everything, making more power, more torque, and offering the same handling. only real difference is cost(968 favor) and mpg(968 again). all rx7's and 924/44/68 are fun, and throw the right money at either of them will make you not care which one you own

JFreeman

To me, it looks as if the Fd body lines were a lot more like the 944/951. And the back seats are nearly identical lol. Both cars do have their pros and cons, but which would you rather show up to the party in, a Mazda or a Porsche? Even if it's a budget Porsche lol

V2Rocket

if you can deal with 18mpg downhill and the weedwacker 3000rpm cruising noise then the RX is for you. i love the rotaries but only when my friends let me drive theirs...wickedly fast though, esp RX8

Mikes-951

I dont know what's done to your friends rx-8 but when i had one, it wasalltalk. Made a bunch of noise and was slow as hell!!

masterdave

A good buddy of mine has a turbo RX7FD (not sure the year) but it feels faster than my 944 for sure. It is a nice little car but in the end of the day its still asain. IMO people respect Porsche owners far more than asain import owners. I would take a 944 any day no question.

Regards
Dave

cannon1000

CVDH

I've never owned an "asain" car before.

I have both. They're different cars. I love both for different reasons. This discussion amuses me. Please, gentlemen. continue. Where's the "eating popcorn" smiley?

JFreeman

The interior in the Fc does have that cheap 80's feel to it, but they really stepped it up in the Fd. Kinda like the difference in the early and late 944's. Anyone race their 951 against a turbo Fd?

Rogue_Ant

Stock for stock, I doubt any trim of FC is faster than the equivalent trim 944/951.

JFreeman

But what about an FD?

odurandina

nice video. warning buzzer. yeah,that's a party i want to be at.

the '80s were great. but not because of the cars.

i want to see a stiffer front suspension and big fat tires on that 924.


the other car is a pile of rubbish.

Rogue_Ant

The FD started in 1992 and was made until 2002, and only came in turbo platform...
So the comparison would be to the 1989 turbo. When the FD came out it was rated 255hp, vs the 951's 250hp. So very close. However, in braking, reliability, fuel economy, emissions, and probably skid-pad (assuming equal tires), the 951 wins.
Regardless the FD was a complete generation newer than the 951, and if the 951 would have continued development all the way to 2002 like the FD, then the gap would have increased more.

Don't get me wrong I quite like the RX7, the simplicity of a rotary engine, and the FD looks amazing. But I wouldn't take one over a 951.