Hello, new RX8 owner here

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Viperous
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Hello, new RX8 owner here

Post by Viperous »

Hello guys

I've just recently purchased a 40th Anniversary Edition model of the RX8 in Met Grey which I took a bit of a gamble on by auction winning it on Ebay, but actually (for once) I seem to have been landed with a decent car. Need to remember to take a few pictures of it later - it's just been cleaned.

The car itself has actually featured on here in the past, I've noticed it was owned by a member here in 2016/17 when it had done around 68k miles, it was compression tested then and (from the research I've done) the numbers weren't amazing then, with all 6 being mid-low 6s.

However it's only done 7k miles since the testing in 2017 and although it takes a couple of seconds to start, there's no other issues with the engine from what I can tell - no hot/cold start issues. However to be on the safe side I've got it booked in at a JDM garage on Friday to run compression tests on it to see where it's at, and will get it serviced at the same time.


My strange request for advice is - though the bodywork is in really good condition, when the valeter I've used today was cleaning the car some scratches have come to light on the rear end of the car which look like they were made by a cat (annoying little b*ggers!). I think a few of them have gone into the actual paint which is extremely annoying.

Apparently car covers are not a good idea as they have a tendency to rub the paint off? I'm not dailying the RX8 (due to the horrific price of fuel at the moment, and I'd rather not do too many miles on it) so it's sat on the drive a bit - I could potentially clear a space in the barn to store it in when it's not out but, I'm just wondering if anyone here has any suggestions on how to keep cats away from your car before I resort to keeping it inside?

Also, what's the best way of trying to touch up any surface/minimal scratches?

Cheers guys
Last edited by Viperous on Fri Mar 25, 2022 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by warpc0il »

A good hard wax polish should protect the paintwork from the elements and keep the cats at bay.

Make sure that the car isn't parked alongside a wall or anything else that might make it potential route for climbing up/down.

If not in daily use then a battery conditioner/charger will be required to keep the systems happy, which should also help with starting.

See here https://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/v ... 25&t=38133
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Viperous (Tue Mar 08, 2022 6:15 pm)
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Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

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

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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by 79398 »

Without seeing the scratches it's difficult to see if they could polish out, tcut will restore some light scratches, otherwise invest in a good detailer who will be able to remove deeper imperfections before polish and topcoat, should cost about £120 better than buying products yourself and finding they don't work.
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll take some pictures of the scratches tomorrow. They aren't really noticeable unless you're looking for them to be fair.

Do have a battery charger actually as both my old A3 and Focus were quite prone flat batteries in the winter. I'll have a read through the topic :)

Here's a picture of the car, excuse the grim weather - Cumbria isn't really known for its sunshine.
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GreySilver Beast (Tue Mar 08, 2022 6:42 pm) • wreeve (Wed Mar 09, 2022 8:00 pm)
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by 350matt »

Looks pretty nice
what wheels are they?
and Meguiars scratch X is better than T-cut as it polishes finer and finer as you use it
much easier to to get a good result
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

They're Cruize GTO wheels - really nice looking actually.

I'll see if I can source some of that stuff, cheers for the advice.
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Shagrington »

Hi and :welcome: Viperous. :D
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

Thank you sir! :D
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Nanotrox »

Nice to see another person from oop north and with a 40th! any other mods be done bar the wheels?

We have a special edition register so you might want to put your number up on there out of 400 or if you post the number in here I'm sure one of the mods will add it to the list
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

Hello! Oh yes, not far away indeed! RX8s in general don't seem to be that common around here - I think I've seen 1 on the road in the entire time I've lived in Cumbria.

It has a Remus exhaust on (which is a bit tired now), R969 ignition coils that were fitted by a previous owner, wheel spacers and Bilstein suspension. It also used to have a SOHN kit on it but this has been removed at some point.

It will need an engine rebuild in the not so distant future - so kind of reluctant to modify it further before this is done, though from the sounds of it decat might be a good idea so I can premix without ruining the cat?

It will already be on there I think as a previous owner was a member here. But I'll look and update it :)
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Nanotrox (Sun Mar 13, 2022 9:40 pm)
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Nanotrox »

Viperous wrote:
Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:23 pm
It will already be on there I think as a previous owner was a member here. But I'll look and update it :)
Ahh good point I didn't read that part in the original post hahaha, yeah they are quite the rare sight I've only seen about 3 others in Cumbria

Your nearest specialist is probably the same as me Rotary Revs they rebuilt mine last year, along with countless mods they took those style ignition coils off mine in favour of OEM rev C ones. It's a bit of a drive to go see them but they know the ins and outs and have always been great with me.

As for decat you can happily premix away with a cat it really wont affect it at all I usually put about 150ml - 175ml of premix to a full tank and mine currently has the cat on just make sure it's a quality 2T I personally use KRT2 but everyone has their own preference. Most people recommend a dual res decat to stop / minimise droning on motorway drives

Thread about cats and premix if you fancy a read: https://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=81425

Just a side note there use to be a north west meet but it hasn't run for some time, most of the people that went their cars are SORN for a few more months but hopefully we can get the meets up and running again soon in the north
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

That's who I was thinking of going with for it - they seem like a great bunch, and it was partly the Car Throttle videos with RR that made me want to get a rotary in the first place - just bought some service parts off them as well.

I know the guy who changed the coils to these current ones regretted the swap. Definitely something to consider.

Oh really? I'd seen some videos where people said it messed the cat up, but I'll take your word for it! And thanks for the advice and links as well :thumleft:

That'd be awesome! I'll keep a look out for any updates in the future
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Nanotrox (Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:32 pm)
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

Hello people

I will maybe start a project topic at some point rather than continuing to post here but I've got more (apologies) questions for whoever happens to be around.

So the front bumper on my RX8 is a bit scruffy to be honest - not noticeable from far away but up close, there are at least 2 different points where the numberplate has been mounted (so 4 holes) along with a scuff mark right above the front grill which has been badly touched up with some paint, and also a dint to the right of it where it's been driven into something. I'm going to try and buy a touchup kit from somewhere (think I saw Dcotor Colourchip recommended here) and see if I can touch it up a bit.

Initially I didn't really want to do a lot cosmetically to the car as it's a 40th Anniversary Edition and I don't want to ruin its potential future value, providing I maintain it properly.

However, I really like the idea of wrapping an RX8 in dark blue with black trims and alloys. Nothing too ricer-y, that's not my style. Would this kill the value of the car? Obviously all the 40th edition trims would be left on - but I don't want to seem like I'm violating something sacred by modifying a 40th edition :shock:

So some thoughts would be nice!

Also, with regards to replacement bumpers/bodykits - does anyone have any experience working with this bodykit?
https://www.madmotors.co.uk/body-kits/m ... umper.html

I've also seen the full one listed on ebay - but it's from Poland. Not sure if anyone has bought from this place before? I've heard replica/knock off kits can be prone to cracking or not even fit properly in the first place.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133955995764 ... %7Ciid%3A1

Also I'm suspecting that my cat has been gutted. How would I tell?

I thought I had a couple of other things to write down but I can't remember what they were so, I'll come back to you later!
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by 79398 »

A good wrap will run 3k anything less would be a risk, you can get a full Respray for similar money or just the bumper for around £600 including the repair.
The Respray will last the wrap won't even a good one.
Body kits are a personal thing and could affect future value of a 40th.
That one you link to looks a tad cheap and so fitting may be problematic but I have no experience.
Stick to stock it will be cheaper and I suspect less hassle, use the money saved on the Essentials and making the car future proof.
Just my opinion.👍
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by ChrisHolmes »

For the price of those bumpers you could probably have your own bumper painted thus preserving the OE look of the car.
Personally if I had a 40th then I would keep it original and hope it developed a decent value.
It is however of course your car to do what you wish at the end of the day.
If your cat has been gutted then you should have a deeper exhaust not. The standard exhaust is very quiet.
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

I'd be doing the wrapping myself (only ever helped a friend do a bumper and some panels on his Golf GTI so am no expert by any means) so it would just be the cost of the wrap, but yes I do see what you mean. Clearly need to get myself another cheaper RX8 to experiment on! Was a shame actually as there was an '03 231 with 49k on the clock that came up on Facebook recently for just over a grand that I meant to enquire about and it went fairly quickly.

@Chris The exhaust isn't stock unfortunately, it's a Remus one. I was thinking perhaps you might be able to tell in a different way as opposed to sound? Should've said the exhaust wasn't stock - apologies!

Thanks for your replies guys.
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ChrisHolmes (Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:20 pm)
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by nightfire10 »

If it passed its mot chances are it has a cat cos it ain't going to pass with a gutted one

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ChrisHolmes (Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:20 pm)
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just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here - need some strange advice

Post by Viperous »

I know what you're saying but considering everything the PO did to the car was all done cash in hand I am questioning the authenticity of the garage :lol:
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here

Post by Nanotrox »

This is my personal opinion and I have a white 40th, however its your car so do as you please

My thoughts are everything I do to the car mod wise I have to be able to take it back to stock once I'm finished purely with it being a 40th anni edition (Minus the street port on the engine) everything else, like wheel colour change, neons, RRP mounts, etc etc I must be able to put it back to as close to OEM or OEM+ as possible whether that be spending money in the future or keeping the parts I took off to put back on at a later date

Body kits most of them can be taken of and the stock option be put back on, personally I'm going for the R1 kit this summer which is pretty much a mazdaspeed replica

Since you mentioned about the cat being gutted, If you do want to go decat I would personally say go 3inch throughout like the RRP or RB system and get it dual res
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Viperous (Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:23 pm) • ChrisHolmes (Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:21 pm)
40th Anniversary Edition 369/400 203rwhp
Engine Rebuild + Street Port - 24/09/2021
Lightened and balanced rotors
Pettit Catback
Smoked Rear S2 Style Taillights
Exedy Clutch
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Tein S.Tech Lowering Springs
Racing Beat Ram Air Intake
Footwell LEDs

Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=104&t=83328
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here

Post by nightfire10 »

My view of ownership is do what you want with it and enjoy it if you worry about future values sell it now and buy something else

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just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here

Post by Viperous »

Nanotrox wrote:
Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:05 pm
This is my personal opinion and I have a white 40th, however its your car so do as you please

My thoughts are everything I do to the car mod wise I have to be able to take it back to stock once I'm finished purely with it being a 40th anni edition (Minus the street port on the engine) everything else, like wheel colour change, neons, RRP mounts, etc etc I must be able to put it back to as close to OEM or OEM+ as possible whether that be spending money in the future or keeping the parts I took off to put back on at a later date

Body kits most of them can be taken of and the stock option be put back on, personally I'm going for the R1 kit this summer which is pretty much a mazdaspeed replica

Since you mentioned about the cat being gutted, If you do want to go decat I would personally say go 3inch throughout like the RRP or RB system and get it dual res
That sounds like a good approach to it actually. I did notice the R1 kit while I was trawling the internet - looks very nice!

I shall have a think and maybe even postphone the full bodykit idea for the short term, at least until I get the engine rebuilt.

And thanks for the suggestion re the decat as well :thumleft:
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Nanotrox (Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:52 pm)
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Re: Hello, new RX8 owner here

Post by Nanotrox »

Viperous wrote:
Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:29 pm

I shall have a think and maybe even postphone the full bodykit idea for the short term, at least until I get the engine rebuilt.
This is exactly the approach I took, spent my money getting the car mechanically sound first and now I'm focusing on the more cosmetic side of things

I thought it was no good having a beautiful looking car if I was waiting 15 - 20 minutes at the petrol station to turn the engine on after getting petrol :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
40th Anniversary Edition 369/400 203rwhp
Engine Rebuild + Street Port - 24/09/2021
Lightened and balanced rotors
Pettit Catback
Smoked Rear S2 Style Taillights
Exedy Clutch
CC Ultra Lightweight Flywheel
CC Counterweight
Tein S.Tech Lowering Springs
Racing Beat Ram Air Intake
Footwell LEDs

Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=104&t=83328