Help me R-Onda (R8 content)

[mercrocker]

Committed as I am to RWD and life in the past lane, I have been offered a nice looking 216 of the correct R8 shape for what appears to be very little money.   This I am led to believe is Honda engine (its an SLi auto) flavour and therefore a better* thing to throw cash at.   I am not looking for a long-term meaningful relationship just want to get through the shit season without pelting old Morrises with salt rash.   Any special ways these Rovs can kill themselves?

[KruJoe]

Nope, they're fairly good. I have one as a daily, for nearly two years now.

Also Wobbler's white 416, remember that thread? Much discussion there.

 

Autos are a bit thirsty, but it's good engine. There's a matchbox-sized ignition module inside the dizzy, which can fail without warning (easily fixed with a spanner and screwdriver), but otherwise reliable.

Look for crusty back arches, usually rot there first.

[dollywobbler]

Sorry, I'd disagree. I think it's a crap engine! I'd rather risk kettle-death if I was to own another R8. Not one of my favourite cars, though the steering was rather delightful.

[mercrocker]

Two replies and a 50/50 split!   TBH, I think at the price this is being waved at me for it might just get bought or not bought on things like tyres etc.  I will have a read of that thread if I can find it (couldn't earlier...!)   Yes, I remember module blowing on one at work whilst still quite new - are they easily/cheaply obtainable?    They did indeed drive nicely as I recall, given my FWD aversion.

[KruJoe]

The one thing I DISLIKED when I first got mine was the steering!

Just a bit over-assisted. The PAS on a 205GTi or a Mk2 MR2 is about right for me.

 

Anyway, modules... I bought a couple spares when I found them at £8 or something on ebay, but the cheapest ones are about double that, from memory. Maybe £20 or so now.

[mercrocker]

Cheers, K-J, not a killer then.  I seem to remember the one at work costing hundreds...Have to admit I had a yank tank when the company cars were R8s so anything else with a steering wheel would have had more feeling at that time.   The only other thing I had to compare it with back then was a pool car Metro, I think.   As I say it isn't something I envisage living with long-term but the thing is starting to make quite a bit of sense as a nice place to park my backside in for the winter....

[Richard]

Here is the Dollywobbler thread http://autoshite.com/topic/17581-dollywobblers-gr-8-rover-getting-better-all-the-time/page-9

 

I think at the price this is being waved at me for it might just get bought or not bought on things like tyres etc.

.

 

That's how you have to look at cars at the bottom end of the market. The make and model is almost irrelevant, the most unlikely cars can give trouble-free service. 

[mercrocker]

Thanks, Richard for the thread link.  

[Honey Badger]

I had a 216Sli for 7years and I loved it, the engine was perky and liked being worked through the rev range, no problems at all in the time I had it apart from rear suspension arms for an MOT, not sure how good a mix of the 1.6 D series engine and auto box will be though, still if the price is right they are great little cars.

[dollywobbler]

Could do with some RobT input here. Didn't he have a 416GTi auto?

[Richard]

I think he's busy trying to buy a Corsa today.

[Guest Lord Sward]

The D-series with the 4-speed auto is a belter and costs nothing in extra fuel over a manual.  Brilliant cars.  Buy and enjoy.

[mercrocker]

If it ever stops pissing with rain I will go and see said mate-with-R8 later.   I think I could live with it for a few months.   Thanks for all the advice and information - where else in t'Interworld can I discuss 78rpm records, obsolete British chod and phone pests?  

[KruJoe]

Could do with some RobT input here. Didn't he have a 416GTi auto?

 

Yes, and he didn't like it. That had a DOHC version of the same engine. The regular ones like ours are 16v too, but SOHC.

 

 

Cheers, K-J, not a killer then.  I seem to remember the one at work costing hundreds...

Some "mechanics" would quote about £200 just for the part, but they'd swap in a whole new dizzy. I believe at one point, the module wasn't available separately so that was the only option. Now there are quite a few manufacturers of the module itself, so we're laughing.

[Guest Lord Sward]

The last module I bought was about £34 from Intermotor.

[mercrocker]

Blimey...An improving spares situation.  Makes  a change.

[Guest Lord Sward]

Thank the Honda content for that.

[ianmac]

I had a 416sli in the mid 90's Honda engine and no pas, best car i ever owned. ran it for 50k miles in 4 years never only let me down once whe the ignition module went. Super comfy, big boot quiet on the motorway and cornered well.

[Sigmund Fraud]

I think that R8s are the best car you can buy in the sub-£300 part of the market !

 

They make great daily cars, as they're very easy to live with (in a rather bland, 1990s Honda, kind of way). Parts are plentiful and cheap, and there's a huge amount of technical know-how online, should any problems appear.

 

Honda-engined ones are easier to sell and command a premium compared to the Kettles, but I agree with Dollywobbler that the K-series is a superior engine.

[Bren]

Any R8 with out a kettle can only be a good thing.

[nigel bickle]

And there was me, thinking another Ronda had landed!

[Lacquer Peel]

Any R8 with out a kettle can only be a good thing.

 

The Honda D16 shares some of the K's foibles, including a minimal coolant capacity, and is just as prone to cooling issues.

The best engine in the real world in an R8 is the n/a XUD of course*.

[twosmoke300]

The Honda D16 shares some of the K's foibles, including a minimal coolant capacity, and is just as prone to cooling issues.

The best engine in the real world in an R8 is the n/a XUD of course*.

A Honda engine as prone as a k series to cooling issues ? Really ?

 

The 418td is the one have I agree

[Guest Lord Sward]

D-series isn't trouble some.  Its fine.  

 

The only K-series worth bothering with is the one with MPI and a lovely alloy inlet manifold.  Now that was a world class powertrain.  Aside from the occasionally weak R65 'box.

 

I never liked any of the diesels.  I could get them to over-heat on a motorway incline.  All of them were PSA rejects.

[Craig the Princess]

T series all the way, apart from the odd oil leak it is awesome.

[Guest Lord Sward]

Leaky, heavy old pig-iron.  Early ones were very prone to sticking valves.  More economical than both K and D-series.  Give me the Honda unit any day.

[Craig the Princess]

Leaky, heavy old pig-iron.

 

Winning! The Honda unit is too revvy, all about the torque

[twosmoke300]

They are revvy but they thrive on it. Embrace the revs

[mercrocker]

Well I wont find out for a while longer yet, the bloke who wasted my mates time first time he advertised the car has turned up with the dosh while I was hiding from the rain.   Meh.

[RobT]

I didn't like my DOHC auto, partly because it was a tappety fucker, but I just put that down to me buying a wrong 'un. However, it's still going strong despite the racket as my Dad has it now. For a cheap runabout it'll be fine, but the revvy nature did my head in on long trips. I had hot start issues with it, which I solved by re-soldering the dried out joints on the fuel relay, which is located behind the centre console and is easy to get to.