does the cover over the engine serve any useful purpose?

since you have to take it off anyway to check the oil...

is there any reason why it couldn't just be removed once & for all, and be stowed permanently in some dusty corner of the garage?

do you have to take it off to check the oil? I can get at mine from the side without taking the cover off. Granted it's not the easiest dipstick to get at especially for a car the burns oil by design.

I believe the engine cover is there to direct airflow properly for cooling, I wouldn't drive without it. Besides, it looks cool.

Dump it. Its there to scare backyard mechanics.

I doubt that hood paint life will be shortened with the cover off.
I bet that engine noises might be a little better with the cover off since it is for soundproofing also.

With/without cover shouldn't negatively affect airflow through engine and might actually improve it.

I took mine off the day I got it home, haven't put it back on.

I popped my hood yesterday and noticed that my dealer forgot to put it back on after my last service... :(

you better get that cover back, from what I read on another thread, those covers are expensive.

I would keep it on.

Originally posted by winter
I took mine off the day I got it home, haven't put it back on.

Why don't you give it someone who lost theirs in the RX8 forum pass it forward.

hmm it does look cool ,every time i pop the hood everyone says "damn thats tight"

Mazda must not think it's too important, otherwise why would MS make a strut brace requiring the removal of the cover if it was so critical for performance ???

http://www.rotaryextreme.com/msrx8/msrx8strutbar.jpg

Keep it on if you plan on inviting people 'in' to look under the hood. It makes the engine compartment look much nicer. Let's face it, rotary engines are not good-looking on the outside. They look like some sort of industrial pump. Their beauty lies within.

Take it off if you would like things to look really good under the hood when you sell the car.

I'm contemplating removing mine tonight when I check the oil.

Originally posted by thered1996
Keep it on if you plan on inviting people 'in' to look under the hood. It makes the engine compartment look much nicer. Let's face it, rotary engines are not good-looking on the outside. They look like some sort of industrial pump. Their beauty lies within.

Take it off if you would like things to look really good under the hood when you sell the car.

I'm contemplating removing mine tonight when I check the oil.

Exactly.

I don't even bother opening the hood for anyone. There are no big cam or valve covers to chrome so there's nothing impressive to see. I take them for a drive or let them drive. The sensory effect of the rotary is aural and tactile, not visual.

I took my cover off for the first time tonight to check the oil. What a pain to get to that dipstick without taking the cover off - even with it off it's still a hassle. Geez - they should have had a woman design that engine .... we would've made sure to put the dipstick where we would break our nails to get to it - lol - I put the cover back on - not a biggie. I might try it off tho for a trip here and there - see if the noise level goes down. I find it hard to hear on my cell phone sometimes. Could be my hearing too from volume 25 on the sound system.

Originally posted by flatso
Why don't you give it someone who lost theirs in the RX8 forum pass it forward.

Thought about it, gonna wait 'til I get a strut tower brace.

i like to pop the hood and say "so where is the engine?" :)

i am all for getting rid of extra weight, but i am concerned about air flow as well.

james

I'm thinking it's gotta go, though I'll probably wait for cutesy CF strut tower brace before it goes for good. The very first time I took it off to show of the engine (to a rotary knowledgeable onlooker ;) ), I ripped open the bottom of my middle finger on a particularly sharp part of the cover.

Hopefully that meets my first years installment of blood under the hood, now with some sweat and grease we can get some business done in there.

Cover is purely cosmetic. I like it, though. If you don't want it, I'm pretty sure you can make (at least) a few bucks on eBay with it. Very easy to lose.

i leave mine on....looks good and tells the newbs what kind of motor it is.

I found something really cool on ebay..
A CF engine cover!

http://www.teamprototype.com/cfparts/rx8/rx8_engine_01.jpg

Here's the link to it on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46098&item=2460804677

Originally posted by zyran
I found something really cool on ebay..
A CF engine cover!

http://www.teamprototype.com/cfparts/rx8/rx8_engine_01.jpg

Here's the link to it on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46098&item=2460804677

Check your link, that's a rotary engine display... I did a quick search, can't find it.. Who makes it?

OverLOAD

Here's the correct link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3661438333&category=13563

I'm not a carbon fiber fan even when it's done right, but this thing is above-and-beyond the usual ugly. Is that just a bad photo, or is the cover actually mottled that way? (I'm talking about the gold blotches and the weird white spots at the top, not the moiré pattern from the cf.) At the "buy it now" price of $400.00, I think I'll pass.

Upon closer reading of the auction, it looks as though you have to finish the thing yourself -you're supposed to pry the Mazda logo off your stock cover and apply it to theirs.

i think the blotches are reflections. i have done some product photography, and it is hard to photograph anything reflective.

its still ugly though. :P

james

Once You get ALL the plastic off the 13B looks awesome, better then any other motor out there in My opinion. I have never seen a striped down engine from the RX-8?

Here is a shot of My 13B in My 3rd gen.

I leave it on for daily commuting just because I went through the trouble of painting them so pretty and everyone always asks to pop the hood. And yeah, it looks cool.

Though on a track day- that sucker gets taken off and stays off. When the engine gets real hot that thing is more like a blanket.

Damn, Sub. That's tight.

I keep mine on just because it looks nicer. Plus it only takes labout 10 seconds to remove it.

Go to the vendor's forum and look under IPT. They're in the middle of a group buy pre-order for a high-quality CF engine cover that will I believe fit with the Mazdaspeed strut brace...and the pre-order price is less than $300!

jds

Originally posted by zyran
I found something really cool on ebay..
A CF engine cover!

http://www.teamprototype.com/cfparts/rx8/rx8_engine_01.jpg

Here's the link to it on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46098&item=2460804677

Is it just me or is that one broken? I didn't think you could chip carbon fiber like that...

It's a reflection...