Should I have walked away?

[HarSc]

Most likely either a B8/standard spring combo, B12 kit (so B8's with lowering springs as a kit) or Mazda OEM sports suspension/40th/R3 stuff.

I personally fitted the B12 kit on my R3, and I don't think there will be much difference between the R3 stock setup, PZ setup or even the 40th setup. The fact it's new will likely mean more than which spec of suspension you choose.

Since the spring seats are flat on the PZ suspension, you can't just replace struts or just springs, since they're not compatible with any other RX-8 suspension - hence many people having issues when springs snap and they can't get spares. At that point it's either get new PZ suspension (if available at the time) or go for something different

[79398]

So if you need to replace your suspension now and the PZ stuff is all gone , then what do you fit ?

Tein coilovers

[SomnUsor]

Someone who understands the car is as you say just as important as the car, but its a fact that given the age of these cars, the type of car your after will be few and far between, good solid examples are increasingly harder to find and the only options are to stump up initially or go down the route of paying less and restoration.
Restoring these will cost what you want to spend, whilst keeping it legal and enjoyable, either way there is no way to own these cars without spending.
Please don't be put off they are more than worth it, only posted to give some insight in what ownership is actually like.

Thanks for the words of insight. I do appreciate the point, and am certainly aware of the likelihood of needing to spend some money along the way. My other car (an old Elise) can be a bit unpredictable too, so it'll fit in well, I hope.

I have found one I'm happy with, so took the plunge. The owner seemed interested in understanding the intricacies of the car. Everything seems honest, compression 'good' (6.6, 6.5, 6.5; 6.9, 6.8, 6.9, standardised is good??), generally it seems well looked after and runs well with 50k miles. Maybe the MOT tester will have something to say about the decat, but I'll figure that out later.

Pleased I didn't walk away this time Might be time to join the forum properly..

[HarSc]

Ahhhh nice! I think I know that car! OV06 BVZ is it? Was in for a service at revs when I was there in December last year, looked pretty sweet underneath and the chap was well chuffed with the compression results we had a good long chat about 'em. Standardised is good - that's mostly so you can compare apples to apples in terms of RPM, and your starter is running at 274rpm (that's if I'm correct on the car )

Honestly, that's a good car imo, so nice one!

[SomnUsor]

I'm impressed - I hide the numbers on the plate and you still recognise it! Yes, that's the one. That is reassuring to hear, and I'm reasonably local so may well be taking it there myself in the not too distant future

[warpc0il]

Back in August..

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Anti-roll bar ball joint has slight play (5.3.4 (a) (i))
Central Exhaust has a minor leak of exhaust gases (6.1.2 (a))

So it would be worth checking if they've been sorted.

[SomnUsor]

I can't see any evidence of these being addressed in the stack of paperwork. Brake pads look ok for now.. I'll enjoy doing those myself.

Incidentally, thank you warpc0il for your guides. Will be trying to add to the list of jobs I can do myself. I will be following the oil change one as soon as it reaches 6 months since the last (it was changed by Rotary Revs in November so I'll just assume they put a good quality oil in). The mouse mat idea has caught my attention, too!

Underneath the car is looking quite good really - I'm planning to slide under there in the next few days and liberally apply some corrosion block grease to give some protection.

[79398]

Or book it into Krown for a full treatment and take advantage of the group discount.

[ChrisHolmes]

- good value, done in three hours, and you get to watch instead of getting mucky while he does it all properly! gets inside all the sills and frame, bootlid & floor and liberally covers all bits of basically everything! And he offers a free top-up after 6 months (or at least he did with me and a few other members). Knows his stuff, so I'd definitely recommend Krown

Link to thread is here

[SomnUsor]

Definitely sounds worth seriously considering. I'll register here later today, will look at details in that thread then.

[ChrisHolmes]

Welcome to the club, add your name to your profile and someone will let you know where your nearest monthly meet is held.
Also have a look here https://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/v ... &hilit=JDM

[SomnUsor]

https://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/v ... 3#p1341053