The first week of June my 8 and I made the 600-mile trek to Tampa, FL to have my turbo installed. :) I had my trunk full of parts, and an appointment at Mazsport! Here's what was installed on my car:
GReddy turbo kit
GReddy Type RS BOV
Mazsport CAI upgrade
MazdaManiac's upgraded silicon hose couplers and T-clamps
GReddy catch can
Interceptor-X EMS with WBO2 kit
Microtech Dash Display
Blitz Dual SBC boost controller
RacingBeat ashtray gauge pod with AutoMeter oil temp, oil pressure,
and pyrometer
A new clutch
RX7 plugs with shims
Mazsport plug wires
New stock coil packs
Total cost including labor and tuning = about $7000 (almost $2000 over budget... the new clutch, which was unexpected, was a good chunk of that)

I dropped my car at Mazsport about 9am on Monday. I got to meet Betsey, got a mini tour of the shop, got to see a 3-rotor, and talked to Scott about specifics of the car. The plan was to have the install and tune done by Friday of the same week. There is some awesome stuff going on at Mazsport, and I could easily drop $30k there (if I had it!).
I got a few phone calls from Scott and Betsey throughout the week letting me know about the progress of the work. Friday came, and I started to worry that my car wasn't going to be ready on time. It was late in the afternoon, and I hadn't received a call that it was ready. In the back of my mind I knew that it still needed to be tuned... Scott called me about 4pm and told me to meet him at Mazsport at 5:30pm to take it to the dyno!
We met at 5:30, and took the short drive to the dyno shop. It was hot and humid. Scott did a few dyno pulls with the boost controller off to get the a/f in the general area of safe. Then, he asked how high I wanted to boost. He set up my boost controller, and did runs up to 10PSI to set the a/f at every PSI level. Total dyno time was an hour and a half to 2 hours I think.
I ended up with 253whp and 216tq. Scott claims that once I get rid of my stock cat and exhaust, I should gain 20whp. All in all, I'm happy with the car and everyone at Mazsport. I plan on adding pics very soon, and doing a lot more upgrades too, which I will post about in this thread. :)
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010219.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010223.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010225.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010226.jpg

with that amount of money you could have gotten the MM/BHR turbo kit plus it comes with the accessport. Congrats tho on your boosted 8.

nice numbers dude. numbers only FI will make.

definitely get rid of the exhaust and get a hi-flow cat. but thats another grand easy again.

with that amount of money you could have gotten the MM/BHR turbo kit plus it comes with the accessport.
So what? There is no one right way to do things.

^didn't say it wasn't right, sounds a little pricey to me, thats all

You gotta pay to play. Don't ask me how I know.

You gotta pay to play. Don't ask me how I know.

ooh oooh, i am gonna be that guy!!!

How do you know?:eyetwitch


yeah, shits expensive.... and as RG said there's not just one right way to do it..

then again even if future increases in power is not a factor, the Garrett turbo in the other kit is likely to last much longer(ball bearing, water cooled) and flow the air required to make that same power more efficiently, thus lower charge temps. :P

I'd get the 3071R even if it had the same power as the greddy turbo just because I wouldn't have to deal with rebuilding that friggin' turbo every 12k miles. What a pain in the ass it was to deal with. My greddy turbo was on it's 2nd rebuild. Most of them out there are on their second or more now.... they're really trash.

It's not how much HP you make but how much MORE hp you make. Taking a 175ish hp car and getting 253 whp out of it should put a nice smile on your face. Then, should you tinker with things and start pushing the car up toward 300hp, each step along the way should be quite fun.

Exactly, 250-350 whp makes the car perfect. Once you start getting into some serious HP, you'll start replacing things left and right anyway ... start small and work up.

It looks like a great start, Chatty!

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post my question or not but here it is.
:uhh:
I just bought a stock 04' rx8 that ive been waiting for, for about two years. I've been searching for a while on forced induction trying to find the best way to modify my car but the truth is i dont know jack shit about engines and all i wanna do is go fast and keep my car in good condition. So, here is my question...

I have a 4G budget. What is the best turbo kit/engine modifications i can buy and install to get the maximum amount of hp :) considering my unconditional love and long lasting care for my rotory engine?

^with 4G's you will have to find something used if you go FI--with that being said, FI is really the only thing you can do to the 8 that produces noticable HP gains. I would save more money and enjoy it as is for a bit. :)

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post my question or not but here it is.
:uhh:
I just bought a stock 04' rx8 that ive been waiting for, for about two years. I've been searching for a while on forced induction trying to find the best way to modify my car but the truth is i dont know jack shit about engines and all i wanna do is go fast and keep my car in good condition. So, here is my question...

I have a 4G budget. What is the best turbo kit/engine modifications i can buy and install to get the maximum amount of hp :) considering my unconditional love and long lasting care for my rotory engine?


for 4K and no knowledge(which means install/tuning costs) you ONLY choice is the Greddy kit, and thats pushing it if you want to do it remotely right or lasting

well only if your looking at new... even used thats gonna have to be a steal since you wont likely be installing yourself

with that amount of money you could have gotten the MM/BHR turbo kit plus it comes with the accessport. Congrats tho on your boosted 8.

Trust me, I could not have gotten the MM/BHR kit for the same money. It would have been at least another grand. Plus, I bought the actual turbo kit several months before their kit came out. Since buying the actual turbo kit, I had been collecting peripherals here and there. This shit ain't cheap.
Interceptor-X with WBO2 kit = $1200 used
Dash display = $400
Mazsport CAI = $350
Blitz boost controller = $300
New clutch w/ labor = $700
RB gauge pod with AutoMeter electric instruments = $550
New plugs, wires, and coil packs = $230
Also includes little stuff like an oil change, compression check, 4-wheel alignment, tire rotation and balance (good to do before dyno)

Come on, it all starts to add up. Everything I got, with the exception of the turbo itself, is pretty top notch. When the GReddy snail takes a crap I'm gonna get the Garrett.

chatty you will be very happy with your choice... in my opinion its the best way to go

dude....trust me...I know shit aint cheap....kinda why i'm in the position I am right now....

When the GReddy snail takes a crap I'm gonna get the Garrett.

If you've already thought that through and have a plan in place for this then you're golden :)

Enjoy!

I have the GReddy kit and will have it installed in a couple of weeks. In the process now but was caught by the sad things in life with going FI. I too plan on going with the 3071 when the GReddy dies. I could buy the 3071 now but I would be stretching the account thin and the wife wouldnt walk around with the smile on her face that she does now. I want to get a feel hands on with the turbo kit while I save for the gold. I dont blame Chatty one bit. Chatty is going the same route FI 75% of people on here have.

Nothin wrong with that plan; except the install is a tight fit; glad a shop did the first one!

LOL

Where did you end up mounting your MicroTech Dash Display?

The Dash display is mounted on the dash, in the left front where the nav system would be if my car had one. It's angled toward the driver's seat.
That's another really cool thing I liked about Mazsport. Scott called me and said, "Hey, how tall are you? We're getting ready to mount the Dash display, and I want to get someone your size to sit in the seat to get it in perfect position."
And they did get it in the perfect position. :) I can look at the display and the road better than the factory gauges. I'll post pics very soon!
Thanks for the words of encouragement from everyone!

Update: I ordered a Synapse Engineering Synchronic BOV to replace the GReddy RS. It should be here tomorrow! :lol:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010222.jpg
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010224.jpg

Good call on the BOV.

^ +1....

Good call on the BOV.

Sweet, my Synchronic just got here! I also ordered the GReddy flange adapter for it. I need to run out and get a little air filter since I'm VTA.
On the bottom of the GReddy flange adapter there is a rubber o-ring. should I use some kind of gasket maker too, or bolt it on with just the o-ring?

use the o ring.

ps: don't PM me the same thing you post here :P

Sorry, was excited and wanted to get the new bov installed before I have to go to work. Thanks for answering so quickly though! :lol:

Be sure to use the set screws correctly; ie mark once your BOV is clocked; take the flange off and drill a small indent where the set screw will go.

Be sure to use the set screws correctly; ie mark once your BOV is clocked; take the flange off and drill a small indent where the set screw will go.
I'm not sure what you mean by this, Kane. I don't think I have to drill any holes. The welded on GReddy flange stays on the pipe. Synapse was thoughtful enough to make adapter mounts for their Synchronic to fit on flanges that have already been welded on. All I have to do is unbolt the RS and bolt on the Synchronic.... right?
I wasn't able to find a filter to go on the recirc fitting today anyway. I went to 4 parts stores and nobody had one. I had to get one off eBay so it will be another few days before it gets here and I get to do the install.
Hey, mysql, what do I do with nipple "c" on the synchronic? I know I tee "a" and "b" together, but what's up with "c?" The instructions don't say anything about it... cap it?... hook it up to boost only source? thanks

C is boost only.

The set screws are the little allen screws that hold the BOV to the Greddy adapter flange. Those need to "bite" better by having an indent (thus the drilling).

Check the Synapse forums (on their site) for better info as well.

As for filter - for the FD; we used some foam cut from an air-int filter (like the one that comes stock in the greddy kit) and sandwiched it in between the BOV and the recric fitting.

Hey, mysql, what do I do with nipple "c" on the synchronic? I know I tee "a" and "b" together, but what's up with "c?" The instructions don't say anything about it... cap it?... hook it up to boost only source? thanks

Boost only C nipple would take a vacuum tube from your compressor side of the turbo (like your wastegate gets, but before any boost controller). Supposedly this is required once you're going over 8-10 psi to make sure there is no compressor surge ... but I would recommend doing this only if you are recirculating, as the end result of this is that the BOV will not clamp shut till -10 inHg instead of the normal -15 inHg. On the reverse side, when you're coming out of boost, the bov will vent sooner than later, so I can see why it works better with this mode in tact. With boost only hooked up and if you vent to atmosphere, until you reach -10 inHg, the air is venting out and you do not get much gains in power even though your turbo is starting to compress air.

You do not NEED to use any nipple. You can go with A, B, OR C, or A + C, B + C, A + B, etc. Mess with it and see what responds best for you.

easiest is to hook up the A + B, and if you hear compressor surge immediately after getting out of boost, then worry about using C to prevent it.

So if I'm starting with A+B, just leave C open, or cap it? thanks.

uncapped. You don't need to seal any of the nipples on the bov.

Today I got my K&N filter for the Synapse BOV. I think the part # is RU0220. Anyway, so I was ready to install the Synapse Engineering Synchronic BOV to replace the GReddy Type RS.
Removing the GReddy was simple... disconnected the vacuum line, and unbolted the BOV from the flange.
Installing the Synchronic was a bit more challenging. I had pre-mounted the bov onto the GReddy flange adapter. When I set this into place I soon found out that the allen-head bolts wouldn't fit with the bov attached to the adapter. So I had to remove the bov from the adapter, and mount the adapter to the flange first. Here's a pic of the adapter installed on the flange.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010253.jpg
After the adapter was securely mounted to the flange, I mounted the Synchronic. Last thing to do was make all the new vacuum line connections. The Synchronic has 3 nipples: 2 on the back for vacuum source, and 1 on the side for boost only source. I used the original hose that was attached to the GReddy and t'd it to connect to the vacuum ports on the back of the bov. I used a nipple located on the charge pipe about 18" from the turbo for my boost only source.
I checked everything for kinks and zipties, then took it out for a test drive. WOW, the Synchronic is awesome! Completely eliminated my compressor surge at any PSI. I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but it seems so much easier to hit 9PSI with this bov than with the GReddy. Throttle response is also better.
The Synchronic is a whole lot quieter than the GReddy though. Even with the windows down I could only hear it above 3PSI.
I'll be taking apart the Type RS soon to see why I was getting surge. Maybe it was sticking and needs to be lubed?
Oh well, pic of final install :Eyecrazy: And yes, those are green zipties... it's all I have at the moment so just pretend they're black.
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o113/nitrous351/P1010255.jpg

The synchronic is really great if you value performance above all else.

If you're using MAF, then you really need to recirculate as I couldn't get the anti stall stuff to function properly on my car.

I recently tried out a friend's type-s bov on my car, and while I was initially happy to hear the bov sound again, the drivability went way down. Popping noises on decel could be fixed by clamping down the bov, but then it's not opening up in the lower psi ranges where there would still be surge.

Tonight I'll be reinstalling the synchronic.

Int-X = maps = I don't need to recirc. I might try it though just to see if there's any performance difference.

Int-X = maps

yeah, no shit. I mentioned it because people read a small snippet of text then base everything on that without further investigating. So I always qualify what I say.

I don't think you'll see any improvement with recirculating on the int-x. You will of course see an improvement going to the accessport, but that's another matter.

yeah, no shit. I mentioned it because people read a small snippet of text then base everything on that without further investigating. So I always qualify what I say.

I don't think you'll see any improvement with recirculating on the int-x. You will of course see an improvement going to the accessport, but that's another matter.

I know that you know that Int-X is map-based, but maybe others reading don't.
So now my next step is deciding what route to go to get more power. My end goal is over 300whp without replacing the entire drivetrain. Logical options are: 3071 turbo, mazsport midpipe with aftermarket exhaust, mazsport fuel pump upgrade, mazsport intercooler upgrade, or ignition upgrade.
All of these options are fairly expensive, and there's no way the wife will let me get away with doing them all at the same time.
I think I can narrow it down to exhaust and fuel being the most logical to do first. Any suggestions?:dunno:

one gets an inkling that you're not a big Mazsport fan .....

^elaborate, or point me to the thread that does

I have the popping noises on decel, but am using the HKS ssqv. damn, I don't think I can adjust anything on mine. Does that mean poppin noises are here to stay? Mine is recirculated. Thanks.

The synchronic is really great if you value performance above all else.

If you're using MAF, then you really need to recirculate as I couldn't get the anti stall stuff to function properly on my car.

I recently tried out a friend's type-s bov on my car, and while I was initially happy to hear the bov sound again, the drivability went way down. Popping noises on decel could be fixed by clamping down the bov, but then it's not opening up in the lower psi ranges where there would still be surge.

Tonight I'll be reinstalling the synchronic.