Cosmo advice needed..

[2qk4u]

Im thinking of buying a Cosmo 20B. What are main things to look out for when buying ? Its coming from a reliable Rotary source so Im fairly happy that its a quality car just curious as to what to watch out for.Also what are they like as a weekend car ? Any other info would be great.

[mullins]

As with all Rotaries - 1. = compression test (esp the rear rotor which seems to take the brunt of the factory fuel cut)

[JamesFD3]

Do the same checks as you would as if you were buying an RX-7 really,they are heavy cars and can eat suspension bushes etc.A puka rebuild is going to cost alot on one of these so worth checking the engine out very carefully before parting with the hard earned.I used my 20B Cosmo ECC-S as my everyday car for 3 months!! nearly killed me on fuel bills but great fun and a very relaxing car to drive long distance's in and capable of embarassing all sorts of stuff in a straight line :-)

The brakes are crap though and need uprating,get a set of FD calipers for the front and some custom mounting brakets and Hawk pads,this will transform the stopping power.As a weekend car they are great fun and more easy on the wallet.....

Here's a picture of my old girl :cool

[2qk4u]

Are parts easy to find ? Is it best to leave as Mazda intended or are modifications recomended ?

[JamesFD3]

Common service parts like oil filters,airfilters,plugs etc are fairly easy.I sourced a few bits through import parts specialist's like Newera parts.Mazda dealers were helpful but when I asked them to source Cosmo parts they ran for cover!

Depends on what you want to use the car for,as standard they put out 300bhp with far more torque than an FD RX-7 so it's already a quick car out of the box.The sky's the limit with power on these,really depends on how big your wallet is!!

[kev-yorks]

Basicly as said plus check out all the electrics and there's lots to check! Rear bushes are mega £ so make sure there's no knocking from the rear end. As a weekend car there great if you can resist driving it more than that. Mods wise decat and a new cone air filter will take you up towards the 400hp mark. If you want a more sporty set up you want the type s or sx depending on year, but you lose out on some of the toys. Of the shelf mods are out there but take some tracking down if you want to go really radical though your looking at custom parts and the expense that goes with that unless you can fab your own as i've done. any specific questions email me at kev@mazdarotaryclub.com
Kevin

[mullins]

Performance parts are quite easy to get downuner.

Just some of the bits you can get hold of over the shelf in N.Z.....
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5563/membercosmoff6am.jpg
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/4420/membercosmorr6fk.jpg
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1715/tower20bar20main4jg.jpg
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8480/ramcosmosoucyaku1uc.jpg

[2qk4u]

Thanks for the info lads,keep it coming.... What do they handle like ?

[mullins]

I'd ask Lance at 3rotor.com about handling but I think from memory he used Bilsteins. He said factory handling was "boat like" hence the 4" lowering on his.

[kev-yorks]

Depends on the model type e and eccs are so soft they are like a boat. Type s and sx is set up with firmer springs and dampers plus a quicker ratio steering rack. Whilst the handling isn't up to FD standard its pretty good on a type s Firm not crashy and suprisingly little body roll for a big car.
Kevin

[DMRH]

Kev is right .

Shocks are the same across the board with all the Cosmo's.

Springs are what changed.

Soft = 13B - Type-E
Medium = 13B - Type-S + 20B - Type-E
Hard = 20B - Type-S

Now something I found out later was that the spring rates on the 20B "Type-S" went harder for the series-II version.

Hence, a series-I Type-SX will have slightly softer spring rates over a series-II Type-SX.

[JamesFD3]

Mine was the ECC-S top line model,had all the toys but the suspension was way too soft for sports driving,that said I could still keep a fair pace up down a flowing A road.On the way to Japfest a few years ago I got mugged by a convoy of Subaru sti's,think they were quite suprised how quick the old barge was!

Pip said the handling could be sorted easily though with uprated dampers and springs,think he mentioned Koni's and Eibach springs at the time.

[2qk4u]

Im still considering a Cosmo but the main thing puting me off is that they are auto.I was offered a 20b S, but havnt taken a test drive yet.
What are they like to drive ? are they quick ? Will the power be enough to make me forget its an auto ?
Im fairly interested in it but im afraid if I buy it and dont like it Ill be stuck with it.

[kev-yorks]

Even in a Auto they are faster than 90% of whats out there, or you can always convert to a manual box.
Kevin

[2qk4u]

Dont think I would go to the extreme of a manual conversion.. Would they be quicker than a R32 Skyline GTST ? Would it strugle to catch a Supra ?

[ramirez]

would've thought it'd be a bit behind a recent supra turbo. Probably quite similar in ride to a soarer maybe?

quite interested in getting a cosmo at some point.

[Tim_Burgess]

If you're interested. Mine's for sale at the moment - see the private ads section.

Here's a photo: