I’ve been in love with the rotary engine ever since the fateful day I was at the local drag strip in my SR20DET swapped 1985 Nissan 200sx (s12) and a brilliant black 88 T2 staged next to me and beat me by a solid car length. That day I parked my s12 and went and bought a flood damaged 88 T2 just to see what made them tick. That was 1998 I never did get that car running but I’ve owned probably 15 or so first and second gen 7’s. I love the way they feel and perform and especially the way they look. Always had a love for late 80’s early 90’s Japanese sport compacts. Well in the early to mid 2000’s maybe as late as 06ish when Super Street mag was still a thing I saw a spread on a car that I’ve had wet dreams about ever since, the Cosmo. Back then I was like hell I’ll never own one by the time they can be imported they will be as expensive if not more then the FD so I kinda gave up on the dream, until right around the 1st of the year. A super cool dude in my local rotary group offered me his at a reasonable price! Well folks I’m hopefully going to pick it up tonight! The car is mint ive known the guy a lot of years so I trust all the work that he said has been done and the fact he says it’s solid. My question is what should I look for? What parts are common failures? Anything I should look into upgrading? Where’s a good place for parts? All that jazz that fairly easy to know on the SA/FB and FC. Any knowledge would be very appreciated as I don’t know much about the cars other then what I’ve read.
Long time Rotary fan, first time 20b
- Thread starter Rxbrooks7
- Start date
Antoine
Administrator
Welcome and congrats, @Rxbrooks7! Be sure to post pics if possible. 
As @sm1ke mentioned, I used to own a 1995 20B Cosmo (in Japan). Wonderful automobile although it requires special care. Treat it well and you will be rewarded with a great ownership experience.
May I ask where you’re located (country)? If you’re not a Rotary guru, I would find one because the 20B Cosmo can require a lot of custom work since parts are hard to find at this point. I would highly recommend investing in an aftermarket EMS (like Haltech, I used a F-Con V Pro) as it can really refine and enhance (modernize) the 20B (even with just bolt-ons). I had mine professionally installed and dyno-tuned. It allowed the tuner to use modern aftermarket sensors in place of failing OE ones that are no longer available from Mazda.
Focus on replacing and upgrading weak points like the ECU, cooling system, hoses / tubing (engine and engine bay can get really hot), ignition wires etc. Look for ways to reduce heat like coating the exhaust manifold. Stocks brakes could use an upgrade. Check and change oils, fluids and coolant frequently using high quality brands.
Hope that helps and I’m looking forward to reading about your ownership experience...Enjoy!
As @sm1ke mentioned, I used to own a 1995 20B Cosmo (in Japan). Wonderful automobile although it requires special care. Treat it well and you will be rewarded with a great ownership experience.
May I ask where you’re located (country)? If you’re not a Rotary guru, I would find one because the 20B Cosmo can require a lot of custom work since parts are hard to find at this point. I would highly recommend investing in an aftermarket EMS (like Haltech, I used a F-Con V Pro) as it can really refine and enhance (modernize) the 20B (even with just bolt-ons). I had mine professionally installed and dyno-tuned. It allowed the tuner to use modern aftermarket sensors in place of failing OE ones that are no longer available from Mazda.
Focus on replacing and upgrading weak points like the ECU, cooling system, hoses / tubing (engine and engine bay can get really hot), ignition wires etc. Look for ways to reduce heat like coating the exhaust manifold. Stocks brakes could use an upgrade. Check and change oils, fluids and coolant frequently using high quality brands.
Hope that helps and I’m looking forward to reading about your ownership experience...Enjoy!
I’m in the US Utah to be exact the Cosmo was imported back in 2016 by a good friend of mine. He’s owned it since, he’s kept up on all the maintenance religiously. The cooling system has already been upgraded using an aluminum radiator and electric fans from an IS300. I picked it up this past Tuesday evening. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s been a dream and it runs like a champ it’s on coilovers. Car is a solid 8/10. Unfortunately I got called away to work the next morning so the only pictures I have are in the darkWelcome and congrats, @Rxbrooks7! Be sure to post pics if possible.
As @sm1ke mentioned, I used to own a 1995 20B Cosmo (in Japan). Wonderful automobile although it requires special care. Treat it well and you will be rewarded with a great ownership experience.
May I ask where you’re located (country)? If you’re not a Rotary guru, I would find one because the 20B Cosmo can require a lot of custom work since parts are hard to find at this point. I would highly recommend investing in an aftermarket EMS (like Haltech, I used a F-Con V Pro) as it can really refine and enhance (modernize) the 20B (even with just bolt-ons). I had mine professionally installed and dyno-tuned. It allowed the tuner to use modern aftermarket sensors in place of failing OE ones that are no longer available from Mazda.
Focus on replacing and upgrading weak points like the ECU, cooling system, hoses / tubing (engine and engine bay can get really hot), ignition wires etc. Look for ways to reduce heat like coating the exhaust manifold. Stocks brakes could use an upgrade. Check and change oils, fluids and coolant frequently using high quality brands.
Hope that helps and I’m looking forward to reading about your ownership experienc
. And I haven’t been home since. Also means I haven’t been able to register it. I’ve only driven it once to get it home and I have to say for it being 99% stock it absolutely rips. Now for the bad behind the drivers door over the wheel arch there’s a dent the size of a baseball, the tach doesn’t work, and the radio/gps stopped working the day before I picked it up.1990
Antoine
Administrator
Nice, looks like you have the original factory "infotainment" system there...The previous owner in my case already replaced it with an aftermarket unit which was fine because I wanted to put a modern navigation system in it at some point (which ended up having to be custom fitted).
Looking forward to more pics!
Looking forward to more pics!
The car is all original except for the radiator and fans, intercooler, BOV, and coilovers. Otherwise unmolested.Nice, looks like you have the original factory "infotainment" system there...The previous owner in my case already replaced it with an aftermarket unit which was fine because I wanted to put a modern navigation system in it at some point (which ended up having to be custom fitted).
Looking forward to more pics!
Antoine
Administrator
Nice, I upgraded to coilovers as well...I was lucky to find a mint low mileage SX (took a while but the wait was worth it).
I was going to upgrade the radiator but after adding the HKS EMS, it actually ran cooler (despite making more power and doing it more efficiently too) so I delayed that upgrade (ended up selling it before upgrading).
Got any plans yet?
No major plans as of yet, tires and wheels probably soon.
