onewhippedpuppy

iTrader: (3)

That's the actual pocket. The door latch handle insert can be removed without pulling the door panels, I just replaced mine. Remove the screw and pull, they snap into place.

eslai

Apparently you are very correct! I guess I was not pulling hard enough last night--didn't want to break anything.

onewhippedpuppy

iTrader: (3)

It snaps in there pretty good!

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

iTrader: (7)

Another low mileage FD! Congrats on your purchase, let me tell you its hard to not want to drive the car around. Lol. One question i got to ask you... does your door handle key light work on your driver side door? I did not know about this light that illuminates the key hole until recently and mine is out but many might not know about this simple stock feature.

eslai

Okay so I looked at the date code on the tires. It's three digits only: "272". So. Uh yeah, they may be the original tires. The detailed had a REALLY hard time getting the wheels off the hubs so i wouldn't be surprised if they'd never been removed in 23 years.

Hmm. I should probably replace the tires haha.... I wonder if Michelin Pilot SuperSports come in R16!

Yes, the driver side door lock light does work! I was going to ask about that eventually--it looks like it's missing the shield that normally covers a keyhole, and this light is shining through that isn't intended, but I suppose it's a feature, then?

Fritz Flynn

iTrader: (263)

Nice car

If you take the door handle off and check the harness that goes to the light there's a good chance you can simply push the wire back in and it will work. You'll now what I'm talking about when you take off the handle and check the harness.

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

iTrader: (7)

You are a lucky man then. I'll be replacing mine with a slightly darker amber to match the spirit r gauge cluster and unit.

eslai

Here's what the illumination looks like, for those that don't know.

onewhippedpuppy

iTrader: (3)

That's really cool, I didn't know there was a light in there! I would replace those tires asap, there are a lot of good options still available in the stock 16" size. You will probably be amazed how much better it drives with proper rubber. I have Potenza RE971AS because my car is a semi-daily driver and we have winter here, but if you can get by with summer tires the Potenza RE11 is a fantastic tire. I have them on my 911 and have had them on past cars as well. The Firehawk Indy 500 is very similar to the RE11 and also very good, I have them on my Boxster.

eslai

I have Michelin Pilot SuperSports on my 987S, and have loved their wear rates, grip profiles and low road-noise. I've been a Michelin convert for a while now, but I'll definitely check out the RE11 then, thank you!

onewhippedpuppy

iTrader: (3)

I had the Pilot Super Sports on several past Porsches and my C63 AMG. Great tires but I think the RE11 is as good or better for much less money.

eslai

I just looked on Tire Rack and for R16 there isn't a vast selection of top-performing tires available. The RE-11 looks like the best bet in fact, and they're not very expensive. Thanks for the recommendation!

eslai

Okay, so I took off the door grip cup thing today. I'm sure none of you will be surprised that one of the retaining tabs broke off in the process. I don't think it's an issue because there are the felt-covered retainers around the top edge that really seem to do the brunt of the retaining. And of course the screw.

Anyhow, here are some photos of the 1993 cup removed from the door, showing the static button and the copper ground connection. Very interesting that they bothered to do this, and I wonder why they did away with it in the 1994 year. I was able to glue it back on with cyanoacrylate and it is holding very well after I pulled it out of the vise an hour later.

Now, if I can just find a scratch-free center console bezel and a Bose tape deck with a working backlight, the interior of this car will be pretty much as close to 100% as one can get.

Thank you, Matt J. of onewhippedpuppy fame, for the details on this one.

I went ahead and took off the whole door panel as well, just to see what was back there and determine if I felt like doing anything to solidify the door as Sgtblue suggested. At this time I'm going to leave the door alone I think.

By the way--this seems like a really crappy design--all the stress of pulling the door closed goes through that one screw at the bottom of the door pull cup. I imagine that eventually the plastic surrounding that screw is going to break--is that a common problem with these cars?

Mazderati

iTrader: (3)

Some of the '94 model years had the button as well. It does seem totally bizarre Mazda included it given their penchant for weight reduction in the third generation cars.

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Hi I have the same "problem" as you. My black euro-spec with 33k miles, and i am also trying to preserve it as a classic.

What i have done so far of maintenance is:
- Replace strut mounts since the bellows had holes in them (and added some lowering spirngs)
- Did a full vacuum hose job replacing them with silicone and Viton valves.
- Replaced all coolant hoses with new OEM ones.
- Replaced AST (OEM), Radiator (Koyo) and thermostat (OEM)
- Replaced Downpipe with HKS pipe modded to keep heatshields.
- New fuel filter
- Power-Flex diff mounts

Then the cosmetic mods like 99-spec wing and front, but i have of course kept all parts i removed so its possible to put it back to original condition

I also read a thread here where this company would refurbish old stereo systems like this. You can find it if you search i guess

eslai

Thanks Zepticon! The old Bose units seem to be selling for under or around $100 so to me, refurbishing is not my first option to pursue, but I'll look into it anyhow.

Farkel

iTrader: (19)

When the itch comes to tamper more deeply, indulge

eslai

Okay, finally diving into maintenance on the car, and am looking for some advice. Sorry, this may be more suited for the newbie forum, but since I already started this thread here, I figured I'll just continue it.

Car still has under 14,000 miles, and I really don't know what all's ever been changed.

The plan is to do the following right now:

• Change coolant
• Change brake fluid
• Change transmission fluid
• Change diff oil
• Change motor oil
• Send injectors to RC Engineering to get cleaned and balanced
• Replace the fuel filter
• Replace spark plugs
• Replace vacuum hoses
• Replace fuel pulsation damper

Anything else that I missed on that list? Not changing the AST immediately, and the coolant hoses were replaced about 2000 miles ago by the previous owner in NorCal, allegedly, but if those look to be not new, they'll get replaced as well.

There is at least one recall still applicable to my car that the dealership says hasn't been completed, but even they didn't recommend that I have them do it as they've never worked on an RX-7. I believe it was the one about the brake vacuum check valve restriction. I'll have that taken care of too.

Now, for questions:

I can't find a succinct list of fluid recommendations. Brake fluid and coolant are no biggie, but did the hive mind ever come to a concensus on synthetic vs. dino oil? I am assuming I should use 20W50, either way, but don't know if we have The One Brand That You Must Get.

Is Redline MT-90 still a proper choice for both the tranny and the diff? It's a GL-4, but I saw a thread where one poster said that the diff should have GL-5, which would be Redline's 75W90 NS gear oil instead.

Spark plugs, just NGK Platinum 2 x BUR7EQP (Leading), 2 x BUR9EQP (Trailing)?

OEM fuel filter, OEM oil filter, right?

For vacuum hose replacement, I found three good guides. Does anyone think any one of these is better than another, or is there an even better one to use?

• Rob Robinette's "How to Replace the Vacuum Hoses"
• Dave Disney's "Rx7 Project: Vac Hose Job"
• DaleClark's guide to vacuum lines and your FD

Is there a guide for replacing the fuel pulsation damper? It doesn't look like anything complicated to do, judging by the part, but for some reason I wasn't able to scrounge up a process for it.

And lastly (and thank you for reading this far), I haven't been premixing...is that horrible, or is this another thing the community hasn't completely agreed upon?

Thank you all, kind sirs!