Wow! I just received my exhaust finsishers from Trussville and I looked at the instructions and thought holy crap! It looks like a major project for the average guy. Has anyone installed these themselves or would anyone have any advice or tips on the installation?

Hello, some shortcuts have been discussed about installing the exhaust finishers. Try to search and find that old thread. It is exactly what you are looking for. Somebody actually documented and photographed the procedure.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqrx8/exhfinish.htm

-- Should help a lot --

Yes, there are alternate ways to install them and install them correctly.

It took me about 30 mins total to get mine on.

You should have purchased from www.mazdatrix.com

They are the ones I purchased through and they gave me the shortcut instructions.

Hmmm....Live and Learn, I guess. Thanks alot for all the help!

I just checked out the site and dang, that is a whole lot easier compared to the instructions that came with them. Thanks again!

Finally got mine installed using the Mazdatrix short cut. This was my third attempt -- I had one of the fastener clips that would just not release. Well I "lost" that clip :( but then everything went smoothly. Doesn't appear any worst for the loss of one of the fasteners -- lets hope it stays that way! Glad to have my final accessory install completed. Still think the strakes were by far the best accessory purchase :D

pics please

I bought the exhaust finishers, but sent them back after looking at them, they are cheap bits of tin and make very little difference to the appearance. The strakes are very cool and are the Alu thresholds.

Joe.

I didn't get exhaust finishers because I know if changing the exhaust and I wanna make sure my exhaust fits first

so after say a weak, can you actually see them or are they covered in exhaust soot?

I hope that was a joke

The finishers look good -- just not as good as the strakes. Really can't see them when looking straight from the back. From the side angles ou get a good view of the metal. They stay clean -- no soot -- I usually just wipe them out when I am drying the car after a wash. I don't think they would hamper an exhaust mod. They don't really take any room or affect the opening by the exhaust pipe.

I, too, bought a set of exhaust finishers from Trussville. They really don't stand out well at all, but are easy to keep clean. They were easy to install by using the following trick.
The only problem encountered with the "official"instructions dealt with the need to drill a hole thru the black plastic imediately above the tailpipes. Since a drill won't fit there, Mazda tells you to dismantle the whole back end! All you really have to do is use a small electrical soldering iron or gun to melt a hole right thru! Laying on my back in the garage, I was able to melt a hole , place the finisher in position, and reach around the bumper to secure the nut. It didn't take an hour! No extra fasteners or special clips were needed.

Ta-Dah!!

post pics please

I, too, bought a set of exhaust finishers from Trussville. They really don't stand out well at all, but are easy to keep clean. They were easy to install by using the following trick.

Excellant idea, using a soldering iron! I wish I would have thought of that. All you need to install them is a hole in the right place. I used the MazdaTrix shortcut and had difficulty at first. Besides depressing the center portions of the tabs, you need to pull really hard to get the black plastic pieces off.

Is Mazdatrix faster than the dealer? I've been waiting on rotary accents for weeks. They say Mazda keeps pushing back the delivery for the dealers. I got the bra pretty quick but the stuff I really wanted is taking forever!!!!:D

mazdatrix is awesome
they are good people

Originally posted by hogleg.45
All you really have to do is use a small electrical soldering iron or gun to melt a hole right thru! Laying on my back in the garage, I was able to melt a hole , place the finisher in position, and reach around the bumper to secure the nut.

Thanks for posting this trick, hogleg.45. Prior to seeing it, I had attempted installation using the Mazdatrix method a couple of times but wasn't comfortable with the amount of force required to release the tabs on the plastic cowling. (I know a couple of other posters have broken these tabs during the process; and I can't bring myself to hurt this car!)

Using a soldering gun, I was able to cautiously melt holes for the fastening screws. I'd melt a little at a time, with the finisher pressed firmly in place as a guide. Then remove the finisher and clean away the plastic "flash" from both sides of the hole. Repeat. Eventually the hole was large enough to accomodate the bolt and I fastened the finishers permanently. The whole job took me about half an hour and looks subtle but great.

Great tip for using the soldering iron. Only took me about 10 minutes to install both and they look great.

Thanks.

... at risk of sounding like mikeb's echo, but....

PICS PLEEEEEEZ!

Make sure you clean the area...

Insert finisher & find where your hole is going to be.

Use soldering iron to go through hole & mark spot where you're screw-sized hole will be. Remove finisher.

Use soldering iron to make hole bigger until screw fits. Also, remove lip using selected tool (in my case, it was a lexan cutter used for R/C bodies). A reaming tool for lexan may also work to make the hole larger (I do not have one, so I didn't try it).

Insert finisher, insert screw, use 10mm wrench & socket to tighten.

And you're done! Repeat for the other side.

at first I thought the finishers were the coolest accessory- then I saw posts here frpm people saying you can barely see them from behind the car at some distance.

That's the verdict?

That was the most unimpressive thing I ever did with my RX-8...however, when you look at them from the side you can see them much better. I installed mine the traditional way with removing the side pieces and drilling the holes...it wasn't REALLY that hard to do at all. They come off real easy. Oh well.

For almost $200 it's one factory 'mod I'll take a pass on.
I think I'll enlarge the exhaust tips about 1 1/2" or so,but other than the black pearl-plated emblems,rotary accent,stealth and LED bulbs,I think I'll leave well enough alone for now.

I did it for 2 reasons:
1) I believe that they will act as a heat shield for when my aftermarket exhaust gets put on (no, I haven't decided which one yet). I've seen pics of cars w/ melted bumpers...
2) I think it looks good & an angle. I agree that it's a little difficult to see from directly behind the car, but that's ok.

Just installed my exhaust finishers using the soldering iron method....Talk about easy! I, too, agree that they are a subtle touch...They look nice from the side. Also, I am getting my exhaust put in shortly and I will feel more at ease with these "heat shields" in place........although most people don't seem to have trouble with aftermarket exhaust and melting. I think the manufacturers take precautions nowadays.

Just installed mine using Mazdatrix's method. I didn't find Mazdatrix's instructions detailed enough, which is probably why some folks broke tabs during the exhaust shroud removal.

So I'd like to pay forward with a detailed addendum to Mazdatrix's instructions.

To install the exhaust finishers, you'll deal with two types of fasteners (in order of removal):
1. round pull-out fasteners (2 of them)
2. wedge tabs (8 of them)

How to deal with round pull-out fasteners:
A novice can easily mangle the release pin flanges using a flat screwdriver or knife as Mazdatrix says. These have quite a bit of grit embedded in them that pulling out the release pin is not so easy. My advice is to go pick up an upholstery removal tool from AutoZone or Pep Boys. They look somewhat like a prybar with forked ends. Slip these on and carefully lever on side, go around a little, lever, go around a little, lever, until the pin is reasonably released. Once it's about 1/4" out, then you can pry it lose. If you wanna know how these fasteners (pins) look like, check out Mazdatrix's instructions: http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqrx8/exhfinish.htm

How to deal with the wedge tabs:
Make sure you have removed the two pull-out fasteners first.
The wedge tabs anchor (lock) toward the outside periphery. In other words, a wedge tab on top of the shroud will be clipped on top, not the bottom. Too see how a wedge tab looks like, see Mazdatrix's instructions (http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqrx8/exhfinish.htm). To release a wedge tab, gently pry the shroud with your hand starting at point 3 in the attached photo. You'll get a glimpse of the tab between the crack. Insert a flat screwdriver to push down on the wedge anchor while simultaneously pulling on the shroud. The tab will release almost effortlessly. Continue in the number order shown on the photo. The last tab is a bit tricky. Whatever you do, don't force it. Gently jiggle around and pull the shroud while pushing the wedge with a screwdriver until you get it to release.

Continue with exhaust finisher install as outlined in Mazdatrix's instructions.

Hope this helps the newbies.