New kuro owner in Leeds - MOT passed!!!

[BigRedAngus]

Hi there! I'm Angus and I live in north Leeds.

I'm about to pick up my new-to-me 2007 kuro this weekend. I'm not sure which number it is, but will update the post when I know as I'm sure someone on here will keep some sort of registry.

Rotary engines have always fascinated me and being in my 30's and growing up with The Fast and The Furious, the RX7 was always a dream car. However, the RX8 has always been on that list too and that dream is about to be realised!

The car belongs to a close family friend who has owned it for the last 11 years or so, using it as a 6th or 7th car (he has a lot of cars and motorbikes). About 3 years ago, he was getting it ready for its MOT and noticed an oil leak. Being quite handy, he traced the issue to a leak in the oil cooler line, so dutifully ordered an entire oil cooler and line setup and swapped over the offending parts. Unfortunately his wife's dementia took a turn for the worse at that point, so the car was left with the front up on axle stands, the front bumber off and things like the airbox and battery tray left in the boot. Luckily he had the foresight to drain the oil in anticipation of leaving it stood for a while.

Fast forward to summer 2025 and sadly he lost his wife. Any motivation to fix the car was gone after an exhausting few years taking care of his wife. the issue was compounded back in October during storm Amy when a branch came down and landed on the roof, denting it in a couple of places. To him, this was the final straw. Too much work for not enough reward as he put it. He was all for scrapping te car.

At this point, I stepped in. He has always taken very good care of his vehicles and with this one on only 38k, I knew it should be rescued, so a deal was struck. I went up to look at the car in November and check out the condition. Oil was added to the engine, a new battery fitted and the airbox temporarily plumbed back in. The car fired up straight away and purred like a kitten. However, there was still a serious oil leak, so the car was stopped and left until I had time to go and work on the car. This was how the car was left for the last couple of years:

So, after Christmas, I met another family frind up there who loves tinkering with cars, and we got to work. The issue with the oil leak was not as he suspected - a dodgy connection in the oil line, but the wrong sized copper washer was used on the banjo bolt on the retun line to the block. So that was an easy fix!

We spent the rest of the day putting the front end back together, stripping and cleaning the front brakes and generally making sure everything was all good on the car. I'm heading up to Scotland at the weekend with a trailer to pick it up with a view to getting it MOT'd next week. Fingers crossed it passes ok!

One it's back on the road, I will be looking to come along to any meets that are organised as well as things like Japfest etc that I always wanted to go to when I had my '96 Celica GT (Jap sportscars have always been a special interest of mine). Look forward to hearing/meeting some of you in the coming months!

[Conan]

Hello Angus and welcome to the forum
Thank you for rescuing another RX-8
Have a look at becoming a club member and look through the events list
JDM at Castle Combe is a very nice and friendly event to attend and get to know like minded people
Regards
Pete

PS : make sure you get it warm before the mot and don’t let them put it on the brake rollers as this can break the ltd slip diff
It does specify this in the mot instructions to testers

[BigRedAngus]

Hi Pete. Thanks for the welcome! I signed up to the club as soon as I posted that first post, these things are usually an invaluable resource. And I will look into the Castle Combe meet.

Thansk for the advice abput the MOT, I'll make sure they undertsand that.

Angus

[geofftl1000r]

Also, regarding the MOT, there are two stages to the emissions test.

The first is normal idle, for which the engine has to be good and hot, with AC switched off, and should be fine.

However the Fast Idle check can be a challenge for the operator.

They need to bring revs up to 2k, then start the test, which runs for a minute.

The problem is, if they delay starting the test then the ECU recognises that the engine is being revved on "no load" and drops the revs, if they drop too far then the test fails, while if the tester tries to catch the revs with the throttle then there's a spike of emissions, and the test fails.

At the garage we used to go to, only one of the testers could get it right, first time while one of the others couldn't do it at all, always blaming the cat...

Sent from my SM-G556B using Tapatalk

[RX84EVA]

Hello and welcome!

It’s always nice to see owners from the North!

Once the MOT is sorted, if you ever feel like meeting for a ride or coffee, I am just a couple of miles away.

Regards,
Eva

[Nickp47]

Thank you for rescuing another RX-8

This

The attrition rate of RX-8s has been high so good to hear a low mileage example being passed to a caring owner.

[casey]

to the Club

[BigRedAngus]

Hello and welcome!

It’s always nice to see owners from the North!

Once the MOT is sorted, if you ever feel like meeting for a ride or coffee, I am just a couple of miles away.

Regards,
Eva

Very close! I live in north Leeds, but pass through Pontefract every day on my way to work in Ackworth! I’ll keep an eye open for you.

[BigRedAngus]

Also, regarding the MOT, there are two stages to the emissions test.

The first is normal idle, for which the engine has to be good and hot, with AC switched off, and should be fine.

However the Fast Idle check can be a challenge for the operator.

They need to bring revs up to 2k, then start the test, which runs for a minute.

The problem is, if they delay starting the test then the ECU recognises that the engine is being revved on "no load" and drops the revs, if they drop too far then the test fails, while if the tester tries to catch the revs with the throttle then there's a spike of emissions, and the test fails.

At the garage we used to go to, only one of the testers could get it right, first time while one of the others couldn't do it at all, always blaming the cat...

Sent from my SM-G556B using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip, I’ll make sure they know what they’re doing.

[BigRedAngus]

Hi all. It's been a couple of days since I signed up for club memebrship. Any idea when it will be approved so I can start enjoying all the benefits of the forum and sign up to events/meets? Thanks!

EDIT: Having read through a couple of other posts, I understand it takes time and have to be patient until the member sceretary has the time to process, so no worries!

[BigRedAngus]

Well, picked up my RX8 today and I have no words. I have never driven anything with such responsive handling! I can’t believe how well it turns into corners and how much fun it is. Not to mention how addictive that engine note is! Desperately need it to pass its MOT on Tuesday so I can start enjoying it!

And for reference to those that need to know, it’s number 185 Kuro.

[BigRedAngus]

Well, as expected, it failed its mot. Two bad tyres, a split drop link boot and sidelight bulbs. Currently sat in kwik fit getting 4 new tyres before heading home to fit new drop link and bulbs that I picked up this morning. Hopefully all set to pass tomorrow!

[BigRedAngus]

MoT passed with a couple of advisories in line with it being stood for a couple of years. So I can start coming along to events and meet some other owners! Next job, check my calender and look at booking Castle Combe JDM day.

[RX84EVA]

MoT passed with a couple of advisories in line with it being stood for a couple of years. So I can start coming along to events and meet some other owners! Next job, check my calender and look at booking Castle Combe JDM day.

That's great! Looking forward to see another RX on the streets

There is someone else with another black one somewhere around Knottingley/Ponte area, have seen it multiple times last year but not sure if they are on here.

[Delanor]

MoT passed with a couple of advisories in line with it being stood for a couple of years.

Just a bit of advice check out the ignition coils, leads and plugs make sure they are sound as duff components can wreak havoc with a Rotary - OE items were not so good, there are cheap Mazda copies of coils, and even plugs so if required buy from a reputable supplier there are better quality coils and leads available.

In that respect its better to start off with ignition parts you know are good quality.

*
*
Del.

[BigRedAngus]

MoT passed with a couple of advisories in line with it being stood for a couple of years.

Just a bit of advice check out the ignition coils, leads and plugs make sure they are sound as duff components can wreak havoc with a Rotary - OE items were not so good, there are cheap Mazda copies of coils, and even plugs so if required buy from a reputable supplier there are better quality coils and leads available.

In that respect its better to start off with ignition parts you know are good quality.

*
*
Del.

Thanks for the tip. The prvious owner was a close family friend, so the last 11 years of history is very well known to me. He looks after his cars, so I knew this would be a good one. He fitted new coils and plugs fairly recently in his ownership, as well as an upgraded starter, so hopefully no issues on that front!

[BigRedAngus]

MoT passed with a couple of advisories in line with it being stood for a couple of years. So I can start coming along to events and meet some other owners! Next job, check my calender and look at booking Castle Combe JDM day.

That's great! Looking forward to see another RX on the streets

There is someone else with another black one somewhere around Knottingley/Ponte area, have seen it multiple times last year but not sure if they are on here.

I'll have to keep my eye open!

[RotationsSorted]

Hope to see you out on the roads! They're a rare sight nowadays. I'm also in North Leeds with a PZ. I've SORNed mine for winter at the moment, but come about March/April time I'll have it out and about for weekend blasts.

[BigRedAngus]

Hope to see you out on the roads! They're a rare sight nowadays. I'm also in North Leeds with a PZ. I've SORNed mine for winter at the moment, but come about March/April time I'll have it out and about for weekend blasts.

I'll keep an eye open for you! Where are you? I'm Alwoodley area.

[TimeTravellingToaster]

Looks like there's a few of us around here now, I'm near Bingley so just the on other side of Bradford from you

[RotationsSorted]

Good to know there's a few of us in locally. I'm in Horsforth.