Is anyone thinking of lowering their RX-8? Some pics show a fairly large gap, especially in front.

Wonder if these springs and shocks from Mazdaspeed will lower the car a bit...

http://www.rx-8.mazda.co.jp/loption/MSP01.JPG

MSRP of 96,000 yen or US$820.

I'm also pretty keen on the Mazdaspeed exhaust too

http://www.rx-8.mazda.co.jp/loption/QSE140100.JPG

Abt US$800... :)

Originally posted by Fab 8
Some pics show a fairly large gap, especially in front

...the hell?? what gaps?? with the 18's, there's only like 1" of space between the wheel and fender, all the way around...

Some of the pictures posted by EAST MOON like the one below seemed toshow a fairly large gap, which got me a bit worried...

http://www.knowledgelink.jp/user/tk/option_ti_01.jpg

unless thats the camera distorting the gap...but the blue car further back in the picture also has an obvious gap.

It's probly positioned just right so you don't hit the inner part or the wheel well.

Originally posted by Renesis08
It's probly positioned just right so you don't hit the inner part or the wheel well. Exactly what I was going to say.

When you corner hard, the suspension *will* dip and there needs to be room for the wheel to travel up and down in the well.

If you want to 'slam' your car, you'll likely do more harm than good... however if you go with the Mazdaspeed stuff, you'll likely keep the gap the same, but have a better grip on the road.

if you do lower the car I highly doubt it will hit the fender well. that has to be an extreme case. with stiff suspension and quality parts you cant go wrong, but if you like lowering the car extremely low, I suggest you roll the fender wells to ensure that you do not damage the fender. or at least put protective measures on the top of the inner well

Actually, what I want to achieve is to have a consistent 1" gap all around like what wakeech mentioned. :D I'm not a "slam" fan.

Me neither, but I'm not a 4 wheeling fan either. Did you see how much body roll it had in the Laguna Seca run? Looked like it was gonna roll over. I'd lower it 3/4" to an inch.

The wheels aren't going to rub... it's all about spring rates.

just shave from body so it wont rub... rx-8 looks to high, compared to a FD. i saw pics next to each other and the 8 is up there RX8~> - _ <~RX7

Yuhki has mentioned elsewhere that the MSpeed suspension will lower the car by 20mm or abt 1 inch - that wld be a nice drop.

My dealer just told me that HKS have released their suspension for the RX-8 so will check that one out too.:)

Originally posted by wakeech
...the hell?? what gaps?? with the 18's, there's only like 1" of space between the wheel and fender, all the way around...
i beg to differ keech...the gap is considerably larger than 1" all the way around (http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4105&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)...i paid special attention to that at the rev it up in STL because i like the "semi-slammed" look and wanted your statement to be true.

but it's not.

the 8 could stand to be dropped an inch IMHO (especially in the rear).

edit: this is my opinion based on aesthetics only. i have no idea what adv./disadv. there would be handling-wise.

i will lower my rx-8 when i get it

The appearance package should give the illusion of lower ground clearance without having to lower the springs. Looking at the Laguna Seca track video it seems that Mazda dialed-in the specs well enough, lowering is not going to help with performance but looks are entirely a different story.

Sorry, don't remember who originally posted this stuff, can't find the original post. You'll need a Divx Player to view.
Laguna Seca
Movie length: 4.38 mins
File size: 32.8 MB
http://www.mymazdarotary.com/rx-8_videos/laguna-seca.avi

Time attack:
Movie length: 2.26 mins
File size: 17.2 MB
http://www.mymazdarotary.com/rx-8_videos/time-attack.avi

i wanto lower mine about 1" that way i don't have to use stupid, pointless "apparence package" stuff to make an "illution" it is all about the performance for me.. have a 2000 grand am gt to what i did all that crap to and it is more of a pain than anything else, so i won't make the same mistake twice ! if the "looks" comes with the performance, great!


I regreat spending 5K+ to just make the car look "bad ass" but when a little civic pulls over , it leaves me into smokes :mad: damn bustards.. i can't wait to get the RX-8 and turbo it !