manual starters
 

how do you tell an upgraded starter from an original

Best starter DIY ever, courtesy of Vyndictive:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-starter-change-swap-dummies-189410/

"your starter will have the part number "N3H1"... if you have "N3H1 A", that means you have an upgraded starter. The other product number for the upgraded starter is "N3Z1" which came from later model years.... The non-upgraded starters are also about an inch shorter than the upgraded ones."