RX-8 Owners Club UK

After a few years of patients my banger Lancer estate has finally become uneconomical and my gf agreed I could get a stupid car to replace the practical one. After reading through this site (great resource!) and a general internet review I'm looking for a tidy R3

I've had a little look and the pickings look a bit slim right now. What's the general view on compression for getting a car, the guide said Factory is 8.5 and 6.5 is minimum. Most of the cars I've seen are 6.5-7.0, is that signing a blank check or are the series 2 engines robust enough? Common consensus seems to be that the series 2 rarely require a rebuild (and that sourcing housings for them is harder due to the lower volumes sold).

The other option I was thinking of was a 40th anniversary but the price seems on par to the R3 so I was thinking it was better to get a series 2 with low likelihood of issues (clearly still has a high service burden but that's part of the ownership!)

I'm based in Derby if there are any locals on here

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Hi and YellowFish. I think most people would be happy with compression numbers between 6.5 and 7.0. More importantly you'd want the numbers across all the faces of both rotors to be close to each other.
Have you seen the Buyers Guide? viewtopic.php?f=25&t=24047

I believe the 40th Anniversary had many of the upgrades that were to be included on the R3 (but not the series 2 engine). Personally I'd be looking for whatever car I could find that is sound and with no rust, other issues are more easily sorted.

Hi YellowFish

It sounds like I was in a very similar situation to you not so long ago! For me I only wanted an R3, the right one came along in the end but it felt like I was waiting around quite a while but looking back it was definitely worth it. I wouldn't get too hung up on compression numbers for an R3 but the peeps on here will give you the best advice.

One thing I would recommend though is to try and hold some of your buying budget back for immediate maintenance if you can, or at least be aware that you might need to spend some more to get it into a condition that you are happy with.

Dan

I'd be happy to buy an R3 with compression over 6, provided as Shaggy said the numbers are within about 0.5 tolerance.

The 40th has some of the changes that ended up of the R3, but doesn't have many of them. It's very much an S1 rather than a v1.5 if that makes sense. That's not saying that it isn't a lovely, lovely car. It has lots of unique trim items. Just that the R3 changed more than most people realise. The downside of an R3 is that some parts can be rare, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue if you're buying a tidy example. As Dan wisely said don't strain yourself financially to buy one and keep some money left over from your budget.

You'll find more come up for sale in the New Year/Spring. This isn't a popular time of year for buying/selling sports cars.

Best bit of advice is to stop getting your info from factory guides and other places on the net and just look/chat here. There's a lot of misinformation out there. Really good place to start is to memorise the Buyers Guide that Shaggy kindly linked above.

Thanks guys! It's not an ideal time to buy either but my cars getting scrapped/broken this weekend so in the market now, having said that I don't need a car to get to work and can borrow the gfs for weekends if needed so not a major major rush.

I'd been reading here, also the amaerican version too to get a heads up on issues. I've also been checking the forum out generally for hints on common issues based on what people are posting.

May not be the best reason but I want cloth seats which allowed the 40th edition to make the cut but would prefer an s2. Its a funny car given that most of the mods are reliability rather than performance (appreciate its already dialed in from stock) but I guess highlights the number of potential issues you could face and the s2 seems to have addressed a large number.

Is pre mixing still recommend on an r3 of does the more uniform oil distribution negate it?

Premixing makes even more sense on an R3, as you don't have the option of Sohn/COFS adapter to provide a supply of clean oil to the injectors.

I have an R3 coming up for sale, Good comp figures high 6's and a couple of low 7's. Mot'd on Tuesday this week.
It's a 10 plate with 64k on the clock. D 585 coils and Racebeat intake scoop. Just been serviced as well, 3 keys and some service history. Sparking black.
I'll get some pics over the weekend if your interested. Price £5500
Ps atm there is no sound from the head unit but have a replacement amp coming which should fix that

If Pete's got one he's offering then it's doubtless a good one, but I would always say don't rush into going for the first one, take a good look at as many as possible. Maybe take a couple of nearby more common S1's out just so you get a feel for the car and can make a sensible decision on a good one rather than one based on "I want one of these and this is one".

Body rot is becoming more of a concern with these cars than engine health now, especially with a good number of excellent rebuilders about, and a relative glut of used engines on the market (albeit not perhaps for the R3).

Whatever you get, welcome to the club, and trust me - you're going to love the car.

(Under)body rot is the killer to watch out for - definitely - though it should be less of an issue with an R3, purely down to being younger, everything else being equal.

Regarding "Don't buy the first one you see" I recall a newbie a few years ago that was looking for a PZ. He took that advice and didn't buy the first one but travelled all around the country looking at alternatives.

By the time he realised that the first was by far the best, it had been bought by someone else - who is now still a member and very happy with the car.

In the meantime our would-be buyer revisited his 2nd choice (also now sold) and ended up buying one close by in a panic. That one turned into a nightmare, costing more than the same again in parts/work to try and get it sorted before he gave up.

Sometimes buying the first one is the right answer....

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

I bought the first one I saw - 13 years on and I have no regrets. I think the advice should be: don't buy the first one you see if you have any reason to doubt it isn't entirely as you would want it to be. So - don't buy the first one you see just because it is the first one you see and you can't resist. Check it over carefully, use the buyers guide so you know what you need to look out for. If it has no problems (or maybe just a couple of small issues you know you can sort out) then maybe it is the one for you, but you used your head first.

Yeah patience is the key! Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately Ill have to pass on bigpetes, despite sounding ideal, bit too dear for my budget. Although, on the topic of stereos, anyone bother fitting aftermarket HUs? Got the one from the lancer (as well as some other decent audio kit) now sat around but doesn't look like people do much sound wise with the car.

undersealing seems like a sensible preventative maintenance whatever car I end up with to try and head off the rust before it starts. With rust, where are the most common places? I'll be honest, it's not something I've had to deal with on previous cars and if possible don't want to start getting familiar with!

As for viewings, I don't really have the time to see 100's so I'll try and narrow down the options firsts and then view. The lancer is getting scrapped today so I'll have to borrow the gfs car to go see potentials.

Have you actually seen the one Pete has for sale? Given the proximity and his reputation,it is surely worth a look.

goodeggbob wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:37 am

Have you actually seen the one Pete has for sale? Given the proximity and his reputation,it is surely worth a look.

I'd second that
If he's local to you then, he's a good ally to have and from what I've heard he does like a good barter

YellowFish wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:19 am

Unfortunately Ill have to pass on bigpetes, despite sounding ideal, bit too dear for my budget. Although, on the topic of stereos, anyone bother fitting aftermarket HUs? Got the one from the lancer (as well as some other decent audio kit) now sat around but doesn't look like people do much sound wise with the car.

I'm going to be a here and suggest that if that price is too high you're probably better looking at an S1. There's a reason why cheaper cars are priced lower and I'd bet real money those cheaper ones will cost you more in the first 12 months to put right unless you're incredibly lucky. That's meant out of kindness to help you, not trying to be mean.

Bigpete looks after my car and is an excellent human. Definitely worth seeing if you can find a happy compromise on the price.

Yes on the aftermarket HU question. Mine has had 3 different aftermarket HUs in it since 2016. It's cheap and easy to do in an R3, much less so in an S1. I put up a post on how to do it that should come up in a search.

YellowFish wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:19 am

undersealing seems like a sensible preventative maintenance whatever car I end up with to try and head off the rust before it starts. With rust, where are the most common places? I'll be honest, it's not something I've had to deal with on previous cars and if possible don't want to start getting familiar with!

There's a deal for members at the moment with Krown rust proofing. They completely rust proof the car for £245. That's a bargain considering the cost/time of doing it properly yourself. I'm booked in with them on Friday. Thread on it here: viewtopic.php?f=144&t=80393

If your looking to spend less than £5k on an R3 then you probably wont find one worth having.
I suggest you have a look at bigpetes and take it from there. If you cant afford it then start looking at non R3 versions of the RX8 as there are still plenty of them in decent condition for less than £5k.

Thanks for the advice, and no offence taken over the budget comment. Basically trying to find the sweet spot in value which I'd thought was more around £4k than £5k. The objective is to spend enough you start with a reasonable chance of issue free motoring. Will have to discuss with the other half over how quickly she wants an extension...

I'll give Pete a call and take it from there.

Opinions will vary but you can find a good R3 for £4K, it will probably just take a bit longer compared to higher value ones.
If you can make the numbers work, I 100% agree that buying from Big Pete is a wise move but if not There is a black one with good compression numbers at £4K for sale by another member here.

Good call. We're having quotes for an extension at the moment and at least the bump up in car budget is modest compared to that kind of investment!

It's a tricky thing to advise where the sweet spot is as any used car is a relative gamble... but yeah that price and seller is probably about as close as you'll get to a smart investment. Bigpete knows the market and these cars verrrry well. Plus Black R3s look Batmobile levels of cool

You could well find a cheaper one that'll run fine but you've seen how rare these cars are. So the chances of finding a decent one from a trustworthy seller are slim. Good luck with the negotiation, these cars, particularly tidy examples are well worth the initial investment and running costs.

EDIT: Good point Nick. I didn't mean to discount jwalla's car. Have you considered that one yellowfish?

It's definitely on the list but Southampton is a little far, I'm down south in a few weeks and will check it out then if I'm still in the market and it's still around. Only worry is the rust but if it's as minor as it looks it shouldn't be too dear to fix

And yeah I want it painted black, looks awesome! IMO by far the best colour for this car

My R3 has sold sorry

An 09/2010 will mostly be around £5k I would be a tad cautious if it was lower priced than that average.

I'd say you can get a good S1 for 2.5K upwards

for that price you can often get one with a recent rebuild

and there's this R3 for 4.5 K
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-RX8-R3 ... 0005.m1851

and there's one for sale on here

viewtopic.php?f=145&t=80829

So the search continues! Any opinions on Kent Rotaries? I'll be moving the hunt south over Christmas and although they don't have any r3s they have a few s1s which look tidy on auto trader so was thinking of paying them a visit.