Planning to buy a 2004 Lynx RS

[combust]

Hey guys, I've done a bit of homework and I've chosen the Lynx RS to buy off the second hand market because it fits what I want.

Theres only so much I could get from magazine reviews and from sites but none from first hand experience with the vehicle.

Any thoughts? advantages? disadvantages? aftermarket options? I need some more inputs to convince the folks

[toyboxph]

calling niky, calling niky....
niky should be able to give you first hand info. actually, that is a very good choice. kung may pambili lang ako, i would get one myself. magkano na ba sya ngayon. bihira ang for sale na RS eh.

[Gerbo]

Yeah PM mo si Niky.

Its the best of the Lynxes. It's just a slot below the Honda SiR for the most desired car in the same price range.

The reason why it relatively rare is the limited number of units Ford brought here. AFAIK, less than 500 lang.

[niky]

Actually, just 250 units made it into the country.

Check the condition very carefully. The RS is a pretty good automobile, but there are some things that can go wrong with a five-year old car that should be checked out.

Common to most Lynxes is small rattles and "kalampag" in the suspension that can come about over time due to misuse or bad road conditions. Listen for these when you test drive. They're not deadly, but they'll cost money to fix, so you should haggle down if you spot anything.

RS motors, just like any Japanese motor (it's a Mazda motor), tend to drink oil when they are revved hard for long periods of time. The thing is, some RS owners drive hard. This car hits 200 km/h at over 6000 rpm... so it's tempting to keep the pedal floored when you're in a hurry... It's not a problem if you're religious when it comes to oil changes, but if the oil is low and looks really dirty, walk away. If the seller can't be bothered to check the oil often enough to have it topped off before showing the car to the buyer... he probably doesn't check it at other times, either.

Check for mileage and if the timing belt was changed, yet. Though the timing belt isn't as big an issue on this engine... being non-interference, it won't bend valves if the belt breaks... ideally. Still not a good idea to skip belt changes.

Some electronics and engine sensors can go over time. Check that the idle is stable and there's no "tope". But for a car this young, MAF problems and ignition coil problems (common with older Japanese cars) should not be noticeable yet.

Cars driven hard may have worn down engine mounts or gearbox synchros. If it's hard to shift, that's normal... but if it grinds all the time and pops out of third gear, that's a costly fix. Ford locally doesn't sell the parts, (they only sell replacement gearboxes... whole!) but I can source them for not a lot. Still... best to get the best condition unit you can get.

There's no consensus on rust, yet, but damaged cars can always develop rust. Check on the insides of the doors and around the fenders, just in case.

Otherwise, that's it. I've had less trouble with the minor electronics (sunroof, radio, power windows, etcetera) than with my Nissan, though some owners say the CD-player starts skipping after a few years. If it's well-cared for, an RS can last as long as any other Japanese compact. That's because it is a Japanese car. A Mazda, to be exact. But since it's branded as a Ford, negative market perceptions have assigned it a lower resale value. Add to that the fact that people don't like paying too much money for secondhand 2-liter cars, and the Lynx RS cost only 800k pesos when it went out of production back in 05, and buying one secondhand is eaaaaasy.

Fuel economy depends on where you live and how you drive. You can get between 6-8 in the city on a stock car, and about 10-12 km/l on the highway. Performance isn't quite as good as an SiR in a drag race, but they're just about equally fast on the road, the extra low-end torque of the RS making up for its lack of horsepower. In the end, though, if you're buying a car to modify it, the SiR has much more potential in terms of power, but the Lynx is a sweeter handling car and has more toys... so the decision will be based on what you want out of the car. ;)

[combust]

thanks for the posts guys.

I found two Lynx's here in the south both priced below 450k. I'll take note of it. Thanks niky

[dimes1827]

"Performance isn't quite as good as an SiR in a drag race, but they're just about equally fast on the road, the extra low-end torque of the RS making up for its lack of horsepower."

Sir curious lang, re:drag--
in stock form ba un (only bolt-on N/A mods)?

ung mazda protege 5 mp3 at Ford lynx RS same platform/engine(or exactly the same)?

[niky]

"Performance isn't quite as good as an SiR in a drag race, but they're just about equally fast on the road, the extra low-end torque of the RS making up for its lack of horsepower."

Sir curious lang, re:drag--
in stock form ba un (only bolt-on N/A mods)?

ung mazda protege 5 mp3 at Ford lynx RS same platform/engine(or exactly the same)?

Bolt-ons only, the SiR is quite a bit faster in a drag-race. The Lynx is a heavier car and has shorter gears... needing an extra shift into 3rd to get to 100 km/h.

On the highway, the difference is negligible... at higher speeds, the extra torque and short gearing of the RS make it a close match for the SiR between speeds of 100-200 km/h. With bolt-ons, both hit about 220 km/h.

On the race track, the Lynx is potentially faster... more mechanical grip, stiffer suspension, sharper steering. Even if the Lynx is slower out of hairpins due to the extra weight, it can hold more speed in faster corners and is more stable through chicanes. This is all theoretical for me, though, as I haven't timed a stock RS against a stock SiR with the same driver. I've matched an AE89 with a silvertop lap-for-lap on BRC, but I don't know if that was the car or the driver. I was within two seconds of a Subaru at SIR, but the Lynx wasn't stock anymore, and I'm pretty sure that was all driver...

-

There are engine differences... the Philippine market has better camshafts (from the Japanese market car) and an OBDI ECU (US has OBDII), as well as a different compression ratio.

The Lynx RS has the same body as the Mazda MP3, with similar suspension (I believe the MP3 is better) and the same engine. Almost all aftermarket parts for the MP3 will fit the Lynx RS, except for the US market Unichip (different version compared to the local one)... and of course, ordering japanese cams from the US is pointless, since you can pretty much buy a japanese engine here and swap it right in, since our wiring harness is the same as the Japanese car... an easy extra 10-15 hp over stock... should be 20 at 7500 rpm if anyone can figure out how to make the japanese ECU work (friend's car didn't, since the JDM ECU was for an automatic... sayang). All Protege5 tuning parts will fit (rear springs are an upgrade versus Lynx springs) except the exhaust axle-back and rear tower strutbar.