Mazda Eunos 1.8 RS-Ltd Turbo
This is my 1994 Mazda Eunos 1.8 RS-Ltd and I’m reluctantly putting it up for sale. I bought this in 2021 and its been modified into a fast road car though I have also used it for hillclimbs and sprints too. Its covered around 99000 miles and this is no immaculate garage queen – the car was bought/built to be used and I reckon its now one of the best MX5s I have ever driven. In fact I have actually owned this car at least three times in the past dating back to about 2010. I’ll tell the story to any potential serious buyer.
In 2019, it was turbo-charged by M-Tech who have an excellent reputation. Since then, I have constantly improved on various areas making the car even better to drive. The cost of the M-Tech conversion alone was over £3800 and resulted in the car making around 227bhp. It weighs around 950kg so performance is excellent.
Only 500 RS-Ltds were ever produced and there are probably less than 50 in the UK. This one is far from its original specification though. Its finished in Montego Blue with a matching hard top – there is no soft top fitted.
I’ll add a full spec list at the end of this advert (its rather long) but the highlights are as follows:
It has a TD04 turbo, EVO II manifold and Mazdaspeed exhaust system and this lot was built up with the correct turbo stud kit, better gaskets, an oil return sump kit, RX8 injectors and lots more. This lot is controlled by an ME221 ECU. For better control, its also fitted with a two stage power switch with the lower setting limiting power to around 180bhp (quite handy in the wet) while the second setting gives the full 227bhp. I have also added many parts to help things along including a Mishimoto alloy radiator, cone air filter, Moroso alloy coolant expansion tank and a relocated Dave Fab alloy washer bottle. It uses its original 5 speed gearbox which feels perfect along with a BOFI Stage 2 clutch.
Its fitted with Meister R suspension, adjustable for height and stiffness, a four point Mazdaspeed roll bar, welded-in harness bar, original Mazda engine bay strut brace plus extra bracing around the rear subframe. I fitted a Wilwood Dynalite big brake kit on the front complete with four pot calipers while the rear uses standard discs along with Brembo pads. It now stops as well as it goes. I have replaced all rubber brake hoses with new HEL stainless steel braided brake lines front and rear. A couple of years ago, I fitted a Torsen 3.9 limited slip dif (complete with new oil seals etc) and half-shafts from a Mk2.5 which is better suited to the turbo’s extra power though it does mean that the speedometer under-reads by about 10%. Its sitting on 15” Enkei alloys, fitted with Toyo 888 tyres and these are quite worn though are still legal and on a dry road, they offer daft levels of grip.
Inside, it has Cobra Monaco Pro seats and a Sabelt 4-point harness along with a Momo Prototipo steering wheel and leather gear knob. I have switch fittedt has a switch that will allow two different levels of boost, either roughly 180bhp (quite handy for wet roads) or the full 227bhp and it has a boost gauge fitted too. It also has a Pioneer stereo with USB port, new door speakers and an IL Motorsport stubby aerial .
The exterior has some subtle mods too and these include white reflectors and repeaters, led sidelights, Wipac polycarbonate headlights, a Mazdaspeed lip spoiler and front and rear tow eyes.
Bodywork is pretty good with good sills, wheel arches and wings – in fact the front wings were replaced with new ones about 4 years ago and at the same time, the rear sills were repaired by renowned MX5 specialist, The MX5 Restorer. The bill for this lot was over £3500. There is some signs of a poor repair on the n/s/r wheel arch but its passable.
Paintwork however is average at best. The lower half of the body has been painted and the finish isn’t as good as it could be and I reckon the driver's door is a fractionally different shade of blue as is the hardtop. There are various light scratches, marks and areas with an odd paint finish. I had always planned on getting the car painted but while I was still using the car for hill climbs, it didn’t seem like a good idea. I’ve probably made it sound horrible – it really isn’t and if you stand ten feet away, it looks terrific. Close up, its not so good – presentable but far from brilliant. Underneath its all solid, though again its not immaculate. Its been treated with Dynax every year so there’s no corrosion worth worrying about.
Where it really shines is out on the road. Performance is very strong indeed and its good at surprising drivers of supposedly much faster cars. It genuinely takes your breath away and leaves you giggling at the absurdity of its acceleration. The other factor that helps no end is the Meister R suspension: it improves the standard MX5 handling by some margin and the car can cope with dips in the road taken at speed, without any fear of becoming unsettled or bottoming out. The clutch and gearbox are just right and the brakes feel really strong thanks to the Wilwoods on the front. Its as quick as a Lotus Elise but without the expense. Its also ultra-reliable and has never ever let me down. I have driven to Harewood Hillclimb a couple of times, competed in it all day and then driven home. Its the same when I compete at somewhere like Kames (Scotland); I always prefer to drive to the event, compete hard and drive home and the car always behaves perfectly.
Its been well serviced by me with the last one just a few weeks ago. Spark plugs are changed every year and oil changed probably every 1500 miles and I always use Titan Fusch Synthetic. The timing belt, pulleys and water pump were all replaced about 4 years/6000 miles ago. Its MOT tested until January 2026.
Its brilliant as a weekend fun car but would be competitive as a track day, hillclimb or sprint car. I have a big file full of old receipts too including a dyno print out. I could talk about this car all day long – there’s a lot to tell so if you are genuinely interested, its best to give me a call. I’m looking for a firm £7500 and I can safely say that the car owes me substantially more than that. In fact I don’t think you could build one for £7500 these days. I am certainly not desperate to sell and unless I get my full asking price, I'll be happy to keep it.
Youtube video of the car here: YouTube Rs-Ltd
Spec Sheet
TD04 Turbo
EVO2 G19 Cast Manifold
Turbo Gasket Set
Turbo Stud Kit
2. 5” CNC Downpipe with Mazdaspeed exhaust system
M-Tech Intercooler Kit
Oil Feed Line Kit
Oil Return Sump Kit
Water Fittings Kit
Yellow rx8 Injectors
ME221 Plug-n-Play ECU
IAT Flying Loom
Boost Control Solenoid
EGR Blanking Kit
BOFI Racing Stage 2 clutch fitted to handle extra power. Fitted 2022.
Custom made brake stopper.
Jackson Racing ignition leads.
Mishimoto Alloy Radiator.
Moroso alloy coolant expansion tank.
Dave Fab alloy washer bottle (relocated)
Dave Fab alloy bonnet slam panel
Bonnet struts.
Front and rear red tow eyes.
Mk2.5 Torsen 3.9 limited slip differential with new oil seals and filled with synthetic lsd oil by Rock Oil
Mk2.5 hubs and driveshafts
Mazdaspeed four point roll bar.
Meister R suspension.
Original yellow engine bay strut brace.
Enkei 15” alloy wheels fitted with Toyo 888 tyres.
Wilwood Dynalite Forged four piston Big Brake kit – Four
Front & rear stainless steel braided brake hoses.
Standard rear discs with Brembo brake pads
Mazdaspeed front lip spoiler
Front LED sidelights/indicators
White bumper and wing repeaters
Wipac polycarbonate headlights
Genuine Nardi steering wheel.
Cobra Monaco Pro seats
Sabelt 4 point harness.
Leather gear knob.
Boost gauge.
Pioneer stereo with aux and USB and with upgraded door speakers and stubby aerial.
In 2019, it was turbo-charged by M-Tech who have an excellent reputation. Since then, I have constantly improved on various areas making the car even better to drive. The cost of the M-Tech conversion alone was over £3800 and resulted in the car making around 227bhp. It weighs around 950kg so performance is excellent.
Only 500 RS-Ltds were ever produced and there are probably less than 50 in the UK. This one is far from its original specification though. Its finished in Montego Blue with a matching hard top – there is no soft top fitted.
I’ll add a full spec list at the end of this advert (its rather long) but the highlights are as follows:
It has a TD04 turbo, EVO II manifold and Mazdaspeed exhaust system and this lot was built up with the correct turbo stud kit, better gaskets, an oil return sump kit, RX8 injectors and lots more. This lot is controlled by an ME221 ECU. For better control, its also fitted with a two stage power switch with the lower setting limiting power to around 180bhp (quite handy in the wet) while the second setting gives the full 227bhp. I have also added many parts to help things along including a Mishimoto alloy radiator, cone air filter, Moroso alloy coolant expansion tank and a relocated Dave Fab alloy washer bottle. It uses its original 5 speed gearbox which feels perfect along with a BOFI Stage 2 clutch.
Its fitted with Meister R suspension, adjustable for height and stiffness, a four point Mazdaspeed roll bar, welded-in harness bar, original Mazda engine bay strut brace plus extra bracing around the rear subframe. I fitted a Wilwood Dynalite big brake kit on the front complete with four pot calipers while the rear uses standard discs along with Brembo pads. It now stops as well as it goes. I have replaced all rubber brake hoses with new HEL stainless steel braided brake lines front and rear. A couple of years ago, I fitted a Torsen 3.9 limited slip dif (complete with new oil seals etc) and half-shafts from a Mk2.5 which is better suited to the turbo’s extra power though it does mean that the speedometer under-reads by about 10%. Its sitting on 15” Enkei alloys, fitted with Toyo 888 tyres and these are quite worn though are still legal and on a dry road, they offer daft levels of grip.
Inside, it has Cobra Monaco Pro seats and a Sabelt 4-point harness along with a Momo Prototipo steering wheel and leather gear knob. I have switch fittedt has a switch that will allow two different levels of boost, either roughly 180bhp (quite handy for wet roads) or the full 227bhp and it has a boost gauge fitted too. It also has a Pioneer stereo with USB port, new door speakers and an IL Motorsport stubby aerial .
The exterior has some subtle mods too and these include white reflectors and repeaters, led sidelights, Wipac polycarbonate headlights, a Mazdaspeed lip spoiler and front and rear tow eyes.
Bodywork is pretty good with good sills, wheel arches and wings – in fact the front wings were replaced with new ones about 4 years ago and at the same time, the rear sills were repaired by renowned MX5 specialist, The MX5 Restorer. The bill for this lot was over £3500. There is some signs of a poor repair on the n/s/r wheel arch but its passable.
Paintwork however is average at best. The lower half of the body has been painted and the finish isn’t as good as it could be and I reckon the driver's door is a fractionally different shade of blue as is the hardtop. There are various light scratches, marks and areas with an odd paint finish. I had always planned on getting the car painted but while I was still using the car for hill climbs, it didn’t seem like a good idea. I’ve probably made it sound horrible – it really isn’t and if you stand ten feet away, it looks terrific. Close up, its not so good – presentable but far from brilliant. Underneath its all solid, though again its not immaculate. Its been treated with Dynax every year so there’s no corrosion worth worrying about.
Where it really shines is out on the road. Performance is very strong indeed and its good at surprising drivers of supposedly much faster cars. It genuinely takes your breath away and leaves you giggling at the absurdity of its acceleration. The other factor that helps no end is the Meister R suspension: it improves the standard MX5 handling by some margin and the car can cope with dips in the road taken at speed, without any fear of becoming unsettled or bottoming out. The clutch and gearbox are just right and the brakes feel really strong thanks to the Wilwoods on the front. Its as quick as a Lotus Elise but without the expense. Its also ultra-reliable and has never ever let me down. I have driven to Harewood Hillclimb a couple of times, competed in it all day and then driven home. Its the same when I compete at somewhere like Kames (Scotland); I always prefer to drive to the event, compete hard and drive home and the car always behaves perfectly.
Its been well serviced by me with the last one just a few weeks ago. Spark plugs are changed every year and oil changed probably every 1500 miles and I always use Titan Fusch Synthetic. The timing belt, pulleys and water pump were all replaced about 4 years/6000 miles ago. Its MOT tested until January 2026.
Its brilliant as a weekend fun car but would be competitive as a track day, hillclimb or sprint car. I have a big file full of old receipts too including a dyno print out. I could talk about this car all day long – there’s a lot to tell so if you are genuinely interested, its best to give me a call. I’m looking for a firm £7500 and I can safely say that the car owes me substantially more than that. In fact I don’t think you could build one for £7500 these days. I am certainly not desperate to sell and unless I get my full asking price, I'll be happy to keep it.
Youtube video of the car here: YouTube Rs-Ltd
Spec Sheet
TD04 Turbo
EVO2 G19 Cast Manifold
Turbo Gasket Set
Turbo Stud Kit
2. 5” CNC Downpipe with Mazdaspeed exhaust system
M-Tech Intercooler Kit
Oil Feed Line Kit
Oil Return Sump Kit
Water Fittings Kit
Yellow rx8 Injectors
ME221 Plug-n-Play ECU
IAT Flying Loom
Boost Control Solenoid
EGR Blanking Kit
BOFI Racing Stage 2 clutch fitted to handle extra power. Fitted 2022.
Custom made brake stopper.
Jackson Racing ignition leads.
Mishimoto Alloy Radiator.
Moroso alloy coolant expansion tank.
Dave Fab alloy washer bottle (relocated)
Dave Fab alloy bonnet slam panel
Bonnet struts.
Front and rear red tow eyes.
Mk2.5 Torsen 3.9 limited slip differential with new oil seals and filled with synthetic lsd oil by Rock Oil
Mk2.5 hubs and driveshafts
Mazdaspeed four point roll bar.
Meister R suspension.
Original yellow engine bay strut brace.
Enkei 15” alloy wheels fitted with Toyo 888 tyres.
Wilwood Dynalite Forged four piston Big Brake kit – Four
Front & rear stainless steel braided brake hoses.
Standard rear discs with Brembo brake pads
Mazdaspeed front lip spoiler
Front LED sidelights/indicators
White bumper and wing repeaters
Wipac polycarbonate headlights
Genuine Nardi steering wheel.
Cobra Monaco Pro seats
Sabelt 4 point harness.
Leather gear knob.
Boost gauge.
Pioneer stereo with aux and USB and with upgraded door speakers and stubby aerial.
