I went for a long drive on the weekend. All on sealed roads. My air-con stopped working at some stage. I had it checked today, and the condensor (looks like the radiator) is leaking badly. Initial dealer assesment is that this was caused by a stone/rock, and such damage is not covered under warranty :(

I hope I don't get a stone through the engine oil cooler, and the engine lunches itself. I will have to pay for that too. At least it only has 3 moving parts...

Hymee,

Where is the condenser in the engine bay? Have you been able to inspect the damage yourself?

sco

If you look under the bumper, it is what looks like the radiator. Right at the bottom of it, about 10mm above the line of the stone tray :mad:

$810.80 - just got the call.

I am planning to inspect further myself. I guess it needs to be proven or otherwise if it was caused by the impact of some FOD.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Hmm.. just went down and looked at mine. To me it looks like the the rock must have flown almost horizontally above the stone tray to hit in this spot...correct?

Would some sort of mesh (say 10mm wire) above the stone tray just behind the black part at the front of the bumper helped to prevent this?

HYMEE

Have you got a second opinion on what caused the problem with your condenser ? IT would have to have been a sizeable rock .

$810.00 MAN THAT SUCKS .

Originally posted by sco
Hmm.. just went down and looked at mine. To me it looks like the the rock must have flown almost horizontally above the stone tray to hit in this spot...correct?

Would some sort of mesh (say 10mm wire) above the stone tray just behind the black part at the front of the bumper helped to prevent this?

I'm sure that some form of open mesh like what was on my HSV Clubsport would prevent this from happening, without causing detrimental effects to the cooling...

Just like the Miata, the front has a big opening for air-flow, but comes with some sort of grille for protecting the condensor, radiator...

I think one should put a grille over that small air-flow opening to avoid the same accident.

Originally posted by M-ster
Just like the Miata, the front has a big opening for air-flow, but comes with some sort of grille for protecting the condensor, radiator...

I think one should put a grille over that small air-flow opening to avoid the same accident.

I agree. It should be something that Mazda does - even as a precaution.

Cheers,
Hymee.

So far Mazda have not offered any "help".

Originally posted by Hymee

$810.80 - just got the call.

BARGAIN.

Here's Mazda's quote from the FD RX-7 price database:
61-480 CONDENSER $1292.60
This is the 2002 price. As in, before the rx-8 timed price slug. At '03 prices, supplied & fitted you wouldnt get change from double your quote :(

-pete

Hey - whos side are you on :)

I think they should address the risk of it happening. Prevention is cheaper...

Cheers,
Hymee.

Originally posted by Hymee
Hey - whos side are you on :)

I think they should address the risk of it happening. Prevention is cheaper...

Cheers,
Hymee.

More importantly whose side is the ACCC on? :)

-pete

HYMEE

Hopefully mazda will eventually upgrade and protect the condenser by covering the oulet with mesh or plastic as in front of number plate, i believe that they should take responsibility as i would consider this as design fault and as a cost cutting excersize as i 1 oil cooler scenario .(*MAYBE THEY DONT HAVE STONES OR ROCKS ON JAPANESE ROADS).

$810.80 FOR REPLACEMENT CONDENSER ?? THAT SUCKS.

SORRY TO HEAR THE BAD NEWS.

MICHAEL

The same thing just happened to me!!!! I was driving down the road and all of a sudden, my A/C stopped blowing cold air. I immediately took it to the Mazda dealership, and they pointed out that there is a hole in my A/C condenser. It will NOT be covered under warranty...... I was PISSED!!!!!! I only owned the car for about 3 weeks now...... Getting madder by the minute!!! There wasn't anyone infront of me when it stopped blowing cold air.......

Originally posted by Lock & Load
HYMEE

Hopefully mazda will eventually upgrade and protect the condenser by covering the oulet with mesh or plastic as in front of number plate, i believe that they should take responsibility as i would consider this as design fault and as a cost cutting excersize as i 1 oil cooler scenario .(*MAYBE THEY DONT HAVE STONES OR ROCKS ON JAPANESE ROADS).

$810.80 FOR REPLACEMENT CONDENSER ?? THAT SUCKS.

SORRY TO HEAR THE BAD NEWS.

MICHAEL

Thanks for the support. I spoke to Mazda Customer non-assistance, and I suggested this was a potential design fault. I was told in no uncertain terms that "...there is nothing wrong with the design. We could put a big steel plate there to stop stones, but that would block the air flow". I was not happy with that response. Do they think I am a dickhead or something. A coarse mesh would surely work well.

I am still waiting for a further rsponse from the dealer, althought in many ways it is not techinally their problem, but in many other ways it is.

As a customer I don't not need to be concerned if I am dealing with Mazda "itself", or their "authorised agent".

I have said plenty of good things about Mazda on this forum in the past. Let see if it lasts... The ball is in there court.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Yeah, it seems like Mazda would have put something there to protect it. But if you start noticing, there are quite a few sports cars that have the same basic design, i.e. unprotected openings to the radiator/condenser.

That's where the aftermarket companies step in.

I think I'll put my fabricators hat on when I get home. And I'll stop on the way home to look for some suitable meshing.

Here is what the damage looked like:
http://www.ssute.com/ls1/dscn5121s.jpg

And my attempt at bogging it up with QuickSteel:
http://www.ssute.com/ls1/dscn5126s.jpg

It was regassed today, and so far it has held the pressure.

Time will tell!

Cheers,
Hymee.

I'm going to make me up a screen that goes in behind the lower air inlet part of the bumper, to protect the condensor from further damage.

Anyone interested in a screen/grill kit to protect their condensor - please PM me. If there is enough interest I will make up a batch of them complete with all hardware and fitting instructions.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Hymee
I for one would be interested , however have you checked how putting a screen in front of the condenser would effect air flow temperatures , and if mazda would sanctify this move.
Also what would the cost , and time to install ??

L&L,

To address you question, the mesh will not affect the temperature of the air coming in. I might slightly affect the volume of it. But what is the biggest restriction to flow? It is the condensor and radiator themselves.

Give me a little credit ;) I am not going to put my pride and joy at risk by doing some stupid irrational thing.

I don't believe the line fed to me that a grill would adversly affect the cooling.

I'll give you a hint... It will be a compromise between a solid plate, and a mosquito net :p Actually - picture in your mind some stainless steel woven mesh with an aperature size of about 5mm, and a wire thickness of 1mm. Anything big enough not to fit through, but with enough size/speed to break through the wire will have a most of its kinetic energy taken away from it. It is all about reducing the likelyhood.

I have spoken to a service manager announcing my intention, and at least one other in Mazda itself, and I am not doing anything they disapprove of to my car.

Cost? I will let you all know. It will be less than $810 dollars though. Would something around 10% of that be acceptable?

Let me know your thoughts. Of course I will post pictures of what I will have to offer.

Cheers,
Hymee.

If you can make it look nothing like the flyscreen on my laundry window ... count me in for numbers.

Hymee
In no way was i doubting your engenuity in developing the protector for the condenser , i was just expreesing my thoughts , and concerns , no harm intended .
Keen to see the finished product , and i am definetely interested in protecting the condenser .

Michael

Micheal,

Sorry - that came across a bit harsh. I must have had a bad evening!

Cheers,
Hymee.

I'm keen on some protection too so please let me know ... whilst you are at it, you you think that the radiator needs some defense too. I know its a long way back but rock can fly quite a distance ...

Do you mean the oil cooler? The condensor is directly in front of the radiator. I'm planning to put a grille in front of both.

Hymee, do you have a screen yet?
Will it be just for the centre air inlet or will you be also doing a screen covering the smaller radiator/oilcooler in the LHS (passenger side) duct which seems to be much more exposed. I have a new RX-8 and I am very concerned about stone hits on these radiator/cooler components as I do a lot of highspeed freeway driving along with many large semi-trailers and I had a screen fitted to my previous car ofr the same reason after a number of hits. Looking forward to the pictures and I will be very interested in fitting a screen kit if it looks good and you are going to provide them to interested parties.

Cheers,

Tony.

Tony,

Here are some pics of my first prototype...

Un-painted:
http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/marko/images/Dscn5131.jpg

Painted, off car:
http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/marko/images/Dscn5156.jpg

Painted, on car:
http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/marko/images/Dscn5159.jpg

That will keep the nasties out!

I plan on offering these for sale in a kit to interested parties, ready to install with installation instructions and all required fittings.

I am also thinking of the oil-cooler as well, although it seems to be made out of a heavier material (not confirmed), and it is higher up off the ground, therefore perhaps less susceptible. Who knows.

Anyway - I hope you like how it looks!

Cheers,
Hymee.

Related thread in the Tech Garage area (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12363)

I plan on offering these for sale in a kit to interested parties, ready to install with installation instructions and all required fittings.



Looks pretty good Hymee, and as I do a lot of hwy miles, er, ks I'd be interested. What are your thoughts on price including delivery to Canberra?

Timbo

Timbo, I'd be keen too, so we could perhaps get both shipped down together, might be cheaper.

Suits me, Pepe

OK Hymee -- you have some customers!

Timbo

Hey Hymee,

I'm having problems downloading your JPG's. Any chance making the images smaller?

Same. I can't see them either.

I've been having a bit of trouble with some images displaying here too (and on another forum). However, I found that if I saved the pages to my hard drive and then opened it from there, then the pics showed up fine.

Not sure why this is, but they aren't especially large (from around 56k to 78k according to Explorer). It might take a few minutes for the full page to load and save as the 5 pics there are about 330k and the other bits and pieces bring it up to over 450k.

Saving the page to HD might be worth a try if you can't get the pics to show on your screen normally.

Oh, and I like the look of the grille Hymee, nice work. I would also be interested if you make kits - or even just knowing more about the mesh, where to buy it, etc. :)

Hi guys,

I don't know why they are not working, but the links themselves work to where I host them, just not from when launched in a browser. Weird.

Unpainted:

That last one came up fine on my browser.

BTW, I notice that on car forums people very often seem to blank out their licence plates. A general privacy precaution I guess, but is there some specific 'nasty' that people are guarding against? Some particular misuse of the image or information that could occur?

Still looks like problems.

So if you right click these links, then "save target as..." you should be OK.

Un-painted (http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/Marko/Images/Dscn5131.jpg)

Painted, off-car (http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/Marko/Images/Dscn5156.jpg)

Painted, on-car (http://users.tpg.com.au/adslnt5c/Marko/Images/Dscn5159.jpg)

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Originally posted by BVD
BTW, I notice that on car forums people very often seem to blank out their licence plates. A general privacy precaution I guess, but is there some specific 'nasty' that people are guarding against? Some particular misuse of the image or information that could occur?

We if the law was reading, and they see a nice picture with plates from Mr RX8FAAAST, along with that other post where they boast about doing 235km/h down the queens highway, they may well get more attention than they bargined for next time they are out and about.

Cheers
---Dave

Thanx for the pics Hymee, they worked fine for me, and looks good. I'm definitely interested once you get it sorted!
Are you going to paint black or maybe you could source anodised or powder coated mesh as they are liss prone to chipping. How is the screen fixed to the fibreglass bumper/airdam?
Also what about the little radiator/cooler in the LHS duct which shows clearly on the RHS of your pic and it is in a more vulnerable position?

Cheers,

Tony.

Sorry Hymee, looked at the pics but didn't read your comments below them covering the oil cooler .

As for being higher up and maybe less vulnerable to stones, I don't think so. Consider how many headlights get broken by stones and windscreens with 'stars' from freeway driving.

It does seem to have some sort of "rubberised" coating which will help with the bug hits but probably not with stones at high speed. Also it would possibly have a more deavastating effect - its one thing to get a bit hot in the cabin, but it is an entirely different thing to possibly cook the wonderful rotary engine, even ignoring the price of the cooler component!

I think it definitely needs to be better protected, what do you think?

Looking forward to

Cheers,

Tony.

I am planning on including an oil-cooler grill as part of the kit.

Powder coating would be the go, but of course add to the expense. Then some people might wan't a different colour etc. Just because I like black doesn't mean everyone else does. What are ppls thoughts?

I hope to have it all sorted over the weekend, and I will be able to post a price. I am thinking around $80 - what do you think? Money well spent I hope.

BTW - There does seem to be a problem with the site - at the moment my browser is stuck on downloading "spacer.gif"

Cheers,
Hymee.

HYMEE

Count me in as soon as u are ready , they look great .

Count me in too. I think black is the go. Matches the black grill above it.

I think the forum server might be part of the picture problem also. The"save target as" pictures worked a treat though.

Great job on the grill.

Hi Hymee

$80 and black seems like a good deal -- count me in

Timbo

For that price, definitely... I actually think the black will look great on my car, I've always felt that there's too many gaps right down low anyway, so this should help... either that or I buy a Mazdaspeed kit LOL :)

tell me hymee, will it fit the same for a front end with the air dam?

Hey this looks like a great idea!

I think I'm in.... let me know when I have to make a decision !

Originally posted by Kev
tell me hymee, will it fit the same for a front end with the air dam?

That is why I am making them - because those dam stones come in through that dam opening.

Seriously, I'll have to take a look at the air dam and see the difference.

Cheers,
Hymee.

Here's my grille. This is the same mesh as Hymee's except it's in matt black instead of gloss black. This is all my own work... so I can't vouch for Hymee's effort. But I've seen his in person on the SE Qld drive last week.. and it looks good.

The stainless steel mesh is very strong... is significantly harder to cut than some aviary wire I've got.

Sorry about the picture... will post one taken in the daytime sometime soon.

Hymee, I think Black is best and $80 is great if it also includes the oil cooler. We will need to get a shiping cost from you as well for particular areas, so tell us when you get closer to doing a batch.

If there is someone else around Gosford interested then we can share the shipping cost hopefully.

Cheers,

Tony.