I returned from the VIP day at the Houston Rev-it-Up yesterday with a concern I had not heard mentioned before on the forum.

I took note of the "blocked off" part of the radiator inlet (as has been mentioned), but I noticed that the opening below the grill (containing the rotor shape) was the main source of air for the radiator, and the radiator is HUGE!

I have attached a photo of the grill from a low angle, and will post the radiator picture immediately following.

Also, the fog light openings have "baby" coolers filling the entire opening behind the fog light (oil coolers?). This entire thing is begging for someone (any fabricators out there?) to create protection for those (presumably) expensive and unwarrantied parts.

Here in Houston, I have replaced fog lights and a headlight on my wifes Volvo S60 at great expense, until I installed the headlight protectors on the foglights and the headlights. No problem since - almost two years.

I am always pulling "trash" from the grill I have on the Miata.

BUT - that's a BIG radiator on the 8!

ANY ideas?

Radiator Pic.

Sorry, I didn't take any of the oil coolers, I'll get them on Sunday when I go back for the driving competition.

tpryor,
Looks like your on to something there. Surely there will something aftermarket made available, and soon I hope.

When you go back on Sunday, would you take a measurement of the truck opening width & length? It would give a lot of us a better idea of what would fit into the trunk.

Originally posted by rxeightr
tpryor,
When you go back on Sunday, would you take a measurement of the truck opening width & length? It would give a lot of us a better idea of what would fit into the trunk.

Done.

I WAS surprised at how deep the trunk was, and how narrow the opening was (see attached).

I will post the measurements Sunday afternoon when I return.

How did the Winning Blue look like in person? It looks a little light in the pict but it could be my screen.

Originally posted by mac
How did the Winning Blue look like in person? It looks a little light in the pict but it could be my screen.

The closest thing I can tell you is the color was most represented by the color in the bottom center of the "grill" picture, the left side of the "radiator" picture , and the rear bumper color in the "trunk" picture.

It wasn't as dark as I thought (not anywhere close to my 10AE Miata). It wasn't as "sporty" looking as I thought it should be. My own opinion.

Anyway, I ordered Yellow, so what do I know about Blue being pretty or sporty???

One last note - it was considerably lighter than the photo at the top of this page...

Crap! I was really hoping that it would be close to the Mutant blue of the Xmen car. I was going to get the Titanium Grey but there are just too many cars on the road today with that colour (is grey a colour?:confused: My neighboor's RX7 GLS-SE is Tit Grey, looks great but then keep walking down the street and half the cars are grey too :(

At least it looks like those of us who will have to affix a license plate up front won't be blocking too much air going to the radiator.

---jps

Originally posted by mac
My neighboor's RX7 GLS-SE is Tit Grey, looks great but then keep walking down the street and half the cars are grey too :(

Maybe half the cars down the street are grey BECAUSE it looks great? Winning Blue will surely look great too when seen on a real car.

At least it looks like those of us who will have to affix a license plate up front won't be blocking too much air going to the radiator.

Yeah, but I wish our plates were more like Europe's, that way it would look like my baby has a set of perly whites to go with that big grin (edit: look at Lensman's avatar, looks really great) instead of the Bugs Bunny buck tooth look we're going to get:(. I'm trying to convince my cousin to let me plate my car to her address so I won't have to put a plate in the front (Quebec doesn't require one).

Originally posted by mac


Yeah, but I wish our plates were more like Europe's, that way it would look like my baby has a set of perly whites to go with that big grin (edit: look at Lensman's avatar, looks really great) instead of the Bugs Bunny buck tooth look we're going to get:(. I'm trying to convince my cousin to let me plate my car to her address so I won't have to put a plate in the front (Quebec doesn't require one).

Thanks for the appreciation. I should point out that I've got a private number waiting to go on the car 'R8 PEW' which is two characters narrower than the standard UK plate. Most plates here will be wider than that on my avatar.

I'm glad Florida doesn't require front plates!

Originally posted by rxeightr
tpryor,
Looks like your on to something there. Surely there will something aftermarket made available, and soon I hope.

When you go back on Sunday, would you take a measurement of the truck opening width & length? It would give a lot of us a better idea of what would fit into the trunk.

OK - here we go - a series of posts that show the trunk opening from several angles - last shot will be the oil cooler(s) behind the fog lights that I think need protected.

First pic - middle of opening - 11.5"

Second angle - from the short side - 9.5"

Width - at widest point - 43.25"

Depth - to "normal" floor - 17"

Depth - into package tray floor - 21.5"

Finally - the coolers (oil?) behind each foglight. I would suspect that they should have a protective grill made for them too (any aftermarket fabricators listening?).

Thanks to the wonderful Mazda folks for helping out (No, those were NOT my hands in those shots).

Hope these help, guys.

Hmmm, large areas of expensive water and oil cooling radiators exposed to the pebbles of the world... Am I the only person who thinks this part of the car has been left unfinished? Perhaps the low price of the RX-8 is offset by the phenomenal cost of constantly replacing radiators thereby filling the coffers of the Mazda parts department. :(

This is still a pre-prod car, is it not?

Did you measure how long is the trunk (distance to the backseat)? With the opening only 11.5" long and only 17" tall, I'll probably won't be able to fit my business suit suitcase (10"long and 24" tall) :( I guess it will have to go in the back seat on my drives to Toronto.

Originally posted by RotorMotor
This is still a pre-prod car, is it not?

It's the same on a post production car. (http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4147)
(Top left)

Originally posted by Lensman


It's the same on a post production car. (http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4147)
(Top left)

"POST PRODUCTION"?..we mean "production" car

Originally posted by gettingan8


"POST PRODUCTION"?..we mean "production" car

It has been produced. It has completed its production process therefore it is post production...

Oh alright then, I give in, consider it a typo. (I'll be watching your posts VERY carefully for errors from now on gettingan8! ;) )

With the opening only 11.5" long and only 17" tall, I'll probably won't be able to fit my business suit suitcase (10"long and 24" tall) I guess it will have to go in the back seat on my drives

That's the same dissappointment I will share, unless I can find a thinner suitcase for my travels.

tpryor -- thanks loads for the measurements. That'll help with my planning big time!!

Hey thanks for the measurements

Having spoken to an engineer today I feel a lot happier about this issue. Radiators grilles are tough. Basic road detritus such as small stones might bend or (very occasionally) break a fin or two but the radiator will still happily function with a 10% fin loss. Something like a nut or bolt might crack the radiator enough to make it leak but then it would probably take out a headlight and/or the windscreen too so it is really an extreme case. Take a look at the Mitsubishi Evo VII or VIII and notice the very open radiator on that car. Now remember that the Evo is essentially a rally (autocross) car and designed to cope with dirt tracks and rocky roads. No problem.