At first I was a bit at loss to what car to get, especially seeing that prices on late RX-8s had *increased* in Japan after production ended last year and everyone wanting to own the last rotary car (for now anyway). A lot of beefier stuff could be had for similar money (used M3s, older Caymans, tuned FD3S, etc), but in the end what won me over in the first place (sporty fun ride that fits four people when needed that is tinker able and trackable) got the best of me. Also having hit that pesky wall has cured my desire to get a faster car - at least for now.
I got a friend that runs a GT-R tuning shop so he provided me with access to the various dealer auctions through out Japan so I could get something below the going price (the mark up on 8s seemed to be 20-30%). After almost getting a couple of black S2 8s of which one totally tanked the compression test I got worried about getting a lemon, threw economic sense (if I had any) out the window, and went for a pearl white 2011/6 that had been show room car at a Mazda dealer in Hiroshima. It had only 9k km on the odo, had been pampered with at Mazda and you could lick the engine bay if you wanted, it was that shiny.
I’ve just received it so it’s pretty much all stock. Being a show room car all the option check boxes seem to have been ticked off, but the audio is a mystery. My previous 8 (2009) came with the optional satnav + Bose 9 speaker audio so not sure how the stock one is supposed to be, but I don’t think this is it as it came with a Clarion satnav and Pioneer Carozzeria audio all around which frankly sounds much better than my old Bose so a bit confused. I guess I won’t be moving the Bose over as originally planned - unless someone here with more audio knowledge chime in and tell me I should..? Also unlike my previous 8’s rear camera, this one’s can actually be used to align the car when parking!
The car had to get shipped to Tokyo and then there is all that pesky Japanese paperwork (proof of parking lot, police has to inspect the spot, etc) so finally got the car late Saturday. Then got the brake fluid and pads changed to something more trackable (IDI GT2 as previous car) and harness installed. Then went out to Fuji Speedway Sunday morning for a shake down. The car is positively stiffer than my old. Maybe the 80k km I had accumulated on the old one wore it down more than I had noticed. The suspension was also a lot firmer than I remember my old ones to be, but I might remember wrong as I’ve been through a couple of coil overs on it since then.
The car has gone back to the shop to get the first batch of mods so I’ll post progress here. Some parts are delayed so we’ll see how that goes. The plan is to bring it to the same level as my old one ASAP and then go on a cup noodle diet as I’m broke.
Things done before car went in for tinkering:
- * IDI GT2 based brake pads - done (2013/12/14)
http://www.idijp.com/gt-spec_brakepads.html IDI custom made some for me based on their GT2 series. They stop great and take a lot of abuse. Forgot what brake fluids I got, but they're for track use. Callipers and rotors are still stock.
* HPI 4-Point Seat Belt Harness (3 inches, red) (2013/12/14)
http://www.rhdjapan.com/hpi-4-point-sea ... ness-67744
* TRUST GReddy Intelligent Informeter Touch (2013/12/14)
http://www.trust-power.com/overseas/ov_ ... 4&item=194