after a recent post i read where it was stated that about 60-70 rx-8's nation wide have had premature engine failures, i am VERY discouraged to even think about modifying my car. my mazda dealer has stated that i can modify the exhaust, and thats about it. seeing as i really need to keep the factory warranty intact, just in case something happens not saying it will but better be safe than sorry i will probably not be able to modify anything other than exhaust and other tidbits. even lowering springs they told me would void the factory warranty.

Reliability concerns aside, I will not add anything to my car that doesn't come w/ a warranty and/or voids the original warranty. It's just too bad that a company doesn't have a set up w/ Mazda like Stillen has w/ Nissan... I guess the only choice for me (besides the borland exhaust in my future) will be mazda-speed. Another thing to think about is that if you mod (engine wise)almost anything other than a cat-back exhaust, you will no longer be considered stock for autox

There's just not that many products to mod with anyways, so I would wait until you have a few options. Some of them you can remove yourself, take it to the dealer, and they'll never know you modified it. A turbo or blower on the other hand would probably take a while to uninstall though :(

I personally am going to stick to mods that don't void the warranty for now, such as the Borla exhaust, tint, etc; and to mods I can easily remove, such as Canzoomer's ECU piggyback fuel controller and the drop in K&N air filter element when it's released. I'll wait until the car is close to the end of the factory warranty before I do anything more serious, such as forced induction.

im with you omicron. i just want to get a exhaust, maybe tint and FO SHO canzoomers ecu mod.

i guess im kinda discouraged that i can't really mod the suspension, because i knoe that the 8 handles good already, how much better would it be with some Tein HA's on that bitch.

Originally posted by djmano
after a recent post i read where it was stated that about 60-70 rx-8's nation wide have had premature engine failures, i am VERY discouraged to even think about modifying my car. my mazda dealer has stated that i can modify the exhaust, and thats about it. seeing as i really need to keep the factory warranty intact, just in case something happens not saying it will but better be safe than sorry i will probably not be able to modify anything other than exhaust and other tidbits. even lowering springs they told me would void the factory warranty.

keep in mind 60-70 RX8's is about 1% of the RX8's in the US.

I gonna mod mine like crazy when parts come

Prober: Actually, closer to .5%

I personally never had plans to mod the car. Only now that I actually have it I do plan on the basic stuff such as exhaust, FC piggyback, maybe an intake. Also wanna lower the car a bit and put in stiffer sway bars, but thats cause I got into auto-x now :D

Regardless, it's mainly minor stuff. Of course, when FI kits start to show up I know I'll probably be week and get one eventually, but thats farther down the line.

Originally posted by djmano
im with you omicron. i just want to get a exhaust, maybe tint and FO SHO canzoomers ecu mod.

i guess im kinda discouraged that i can't really mod the suspension, because i knoe that the 8 handles good already, how much better would it be with some Tein HA's on that bitch.


The dealer can't void your warranty, however they can deny claims. If you want springs get them, about the only thing they will deny warranty wise based on that mod is suspension problems. However keep in mind, springs, depending on how much they differ from stock tension rates, will often wear your struts faster.

Ike

at the moment I am looking for Intake, Exhaust, and Coilovers.

does an intake take you out of stock classification when it comes to AutoX?


i stick with the KISS theory when it comes to cars and moding.. keep it simple stupid..

Yes, intake will put you out of the stock class

Originally posted by mikeb
I gonna mod mine like crazy when parts come
No worries about the warranty, Mike?

Personally, I don't want to be the first to try any new mod. I get no personal satisfaction in being "one of the first" and I would prefer to let others be the guinnea pigs for untested aftermarket parts.

I would try the mods but I would wait until there was conclusive evidence of some benefits. A turbo kit or something like that I would wait on.

anyone actually bought the rotory extreme intake yet?

By law the manufacturer can only refuse to warranty a given part if it is determined that the aftermarket item(s) that you added was the cause of it's failure. There is no such thing as completely voiding a warranty.......Having said that, will the dealer try to get out of replacing a tie rod because you have an aftermarket intake or N20 or anything else? Of course they will because most people are uneducated and take that as scripture. I had an 11 sec 2001 Camaro with N20, cam swap, torque convertor, exhaust, etc. and I got my transmission replaced under warranty because they could not directly link any of my mods to it's failure. I had to fight them tooth and nail but I got it done. For more info I believe SEMA has the exact legislation on their website.:cool:

I asked my dealer about the MP3 player. He said it was 450 installed. I asked how much it was uninstalled and he responded "whoa... you don't want to void your warranty do ya?" At that time I decided he is an idiot/asshole and that I'd just order it through trussville or mazda south for 270 or whatever it is.

-JiM

My main reason for getting the 8 was to have a car that didn't need modding. I really don't see what needs modding.. I plan on going to some driving schools and doing some driver mods.. :)

Originally posted by nt5k
My main reason for getting the 8 was to have a car that didn't need modding. I really don't see what needs modding.. I plan on going to some driving schools and doing some driver mods.. :)

take a look at the pics from SEMA and you might start thinking about more mods:D

As one of the few that have had an engine replaced already, I am VERY reluctant to do any mods that would void my warranty.

That said, I am already thinking about that cold air induction and a cat exhaust. I'll probably start with just the external appearance parts first, a little safer there!