POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

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Brad350Zed
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POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Brad350Zed »

Hey Guys!

I currently have a 2003 GT 350Z, and I fancy a change, I've been looking at RX8's for years! and now I have the oppurtunity to swap for a 40th Anniversary Edition in Metalic Grey.

I don't know if i'm crazy or stupid for swapping a 350z (which is argubly the much better car and will hold its value more)

It's such a clean example though, recent engine rebuild by Rotary Motion 10k ago (anyone used them)?

Had all fluids done, had recon gearbox, new clutch, current owner said he will install d585's and magnecore 8.5mm HT Leads for me that he had spare and some other little extras like sport cat etc...

Most Recent compression test was 6.66 Front and 6.7 Rear.

It's always been premixed and runs on 10w40.

I really like it, i've had a very quick test drive in it, still having doubts though:D

Anyone shed anymore light on what I should do?

Thanks!

Brad
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by SteveTroman »

I would be concerned that the compression is only mid 6's, 10 k after rebuild. Never heard of Rotorymotion.
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by v-rex »

Try and get all 3 numbers for the compression test if you can for front and rear to make sure they are even and then also check if there is any porting been done with the rebuild, that will lower the numbers you expect but doesn't mean the engine is worse. A streetport on the engine will naturally lower the numbers a bit.

Rotary motion are known on here. I've never used them, but not heard anything negative about them. I'll let others chime in on this one with their experiences.

In terms of 350z vs RX8, I had this deliberation back in 2006 when I bought my car. I had a 200sx and test drove the 350z. I found if quick off the line but I personally found it heavy on the corners and the rx8 was the more nimble car. Although I didn't have a partner or wife at the time, I also liked having the rear seats.

I had the nismo suspension on my 200sx so it handled well, and I found the rx8 a touch understeery, but the PZ model was spot on. I believe the anniversary edition had similar suspension, which although not exactly like the PZ was updated over the original.

I think if it is a good example of an anniversary and you wanted to try it for a bit I think you'd probably be able to switch back to the 350z as the rex would hold it's value, touch wood, being a special edition. I'd make sure it's rust free as that's a bigger problem to fix these days than the engine but you say it's clean so sounds good.

Hope that helps
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Nickp47 »

This sounds like the car Dan Jones is selling, in which case , it seems like a good swap to me. The compression figures are realistically the kind of figures an engine would have 10k after rebuild imo.
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Lucky 8 Racing (Sat Oct 10, 2020 3:35 pm)
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by 350matt »

I'd also say 6.6 is reasonable compression , did the rebuild include a street port as this will drop the figures a bit

as others have said check out the rear of the sills and rear arches for rust as this can quite involved to fix
otherwise the 40th anniversy is a nice edition thats worth a bit more over a stock car and should be easier to resell if you decide a few months in to move it on
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Brad350Zed »

Cheers guys!

Yeah the engine did have a, street port when it got a rebuild, you can also tell by the idle. the actual engine is from a different rx8 not sure if that will affect value etc...

the car also had a decent respray at some point as it looks brand new! And there is no rust on it, i havent looked underneath the car yet, there is a rattling noise but I think it's the ghetto decat it currently has :D

Think my biggest worry is the fact that with my 350z I know its going to be super reliable, with the rx8 I get no warranty and im just worried if the engine dies within a few months of having it turning it into a, pretty much worthless car compared to my 350z
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by v-rex »

Yeah so I think for a streetport those are good numbers after 10k. I think even if the engine was to fail, and it sounds like this has a strong engine, the shell is still worth a good amount if there is no rust and it being a special edition.

If you want to risk rx8 ownership then I think this is as good a bet as you can get.
Last edited by v-rex on Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Brad350Zed »

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 996974352/

Here is the marketplace listing if anybody wants to look, I'm sure it's on some forums too!
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Lucky 8 Racing »

Brad350Zed wrote:
Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:25 am


Here is the marketplace listing if anybody wants to look, I'm sure it's on some forums too!
It’s advertised on here too ;)
Welcome to the forum
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Brad350Zed (Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:47 pm)
All of the rotors, none of the compression
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by 350matt »

also if the engine as to 'fail' this doesn't make the car worthless
rather that the engine will have to rebuilt, at the cost of 2K ish depending on what has failed

from what I've seen the value of the cars seems to be very slowly climbing and examples like this with no rust, rebuilt engine and a special edition are going to be increasingly hard to find

what else can you get for 4K that's rear wheel drive, revs to 9.5K 200+ bhp, handles wonderfully and comes with a great interior, good stereo, climate control and its 4 seats

you can count them on the fingers of 1 head

BMW 328i coupe perhaps?
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Nickp47 (Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:13 pm) • Brad350Zed (Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:47 pm)
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by SteveTroman »

Mine was rebuilt and street ported 11k ago, still high 7's all round. Series 1, 2005 231. Anything lower than that I would not buy. I also had a 05 350z nismo, Nice, bad gearing and would do a trackday in the 8 over the 350 any day.
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by 350matt »

well don't forget there are a few variants of street port
if the porting was carried out so the trailing edge was moved a way from the stock position then this lowers the compression so you can have street ports which do not move this edge and ports that do
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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by warpc0il »

Note that no "porting" should actually lower the compression of a running engine.

However, at the speeds that we commonly apply the compression test, any increase in overlap will allow some of the intake air to escape before it gets trapped by the shut-off, and therefore there's less left to be compressed and the reading will be lower.

Also the algorithm used to compensate, if the reading is made at anything other than 250rpm, is based on the OEM ports, which means the maths goes out the window if you open those ports out.

For a ported engine, it's not the absolute or adjusted numbers that's really important but how they change over time/mileage.

They might be a little low immediately following the build.
They should increase once the engine has been run-in.
They should remain much the same for the lifespan of the engine.
If they drop or become inconsistent, then you know you have an issue.

In that respect, much the same as any other rebuilt engine, just that the absolute numbers may be lower.
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POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by GreySilver Beast »

Hi Brad & :welcome: to the RX-8OC :thumleft:

<<<<<< Please put your Location in your Profile Box, it will help us to know where you are, if required any help in the future :thumright:

Please check out the EVENTS SECTION's for anything coming up soon in your area :thumleft:

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Re: POTENTIAL* NEW OWNER HELP!

Post by Shagrington »

Hi and :welcome: Brad ... :-k I can't think of anything to add.
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