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Hi all and Happy New Year!
I am the newly proud owner of a white 2005 RX-8! All stock parts, so it's a clean slate for me to personalize to my liking. Body has 100k miles, but with a 30k mile motor. The car spent most of its life in AZ, so you could eat off the chassis it's so clean (trials pending)!
Anyway, I thought it would be nice and neighborly to introduce myself to the community, since we all share a common passion. My name is Matt, and I'm a Mech Eng grad student at a small university in northern NY. I think I'm the only RX8 in the region, but I may be moving to Denver this fall, so I look forward to the potential increase in local car community there.
I've done some HW and picked a few mods that I feel are the best fit for me, but I'm always interested in learning from those with more experience, so please add your input. This is a long-term list, as I've got more mods picked out than cash (but don't we all?).
Reliability (highest priority):
R1) OMP Sohn adapter and external tank (purchased)
R2) BHR ignition and NGK plugs
R3) Mishimoto Catch Can
Maintenance (fix it as it goes):
M1) Michelin Pilot Super Sports 225/45 R18
M2) Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 225/45 R18
M3) Excedy racing OEM replacement clutch MZK1002
M4) *ACT Street flywheel 13 lbs + counterweight (install while the clutch is off)
M5) Delrin bushings (if available) or poly
*I know there are lighter flywheels, but I don't want to sacrifice too much drivability as a DD. I've heard that the street flywheel for some is the goldilocks region.
Power (just a bit, and keeping it NA)
P1) Mazdaspeed or AEM intake
P2) Racing Beat header
P3) BHR midpipe with cat
P4) *Racing beat catback
* This is after I fully explore the stock setup, of course. May not ever happen, but I figure the Mazdaspeed would be a nice balance between aggressive track and plush daily driver.
Cosmetic (clean and classy)
C1) *TSW Interlagos rotary forged wheels 18x8 (black)
C2) Mazdaspeed painted front bumper (looks sharp, but low priority)
C3) BHR undertray (when I get the intake)
C4) Clear side markers
* I'll probably purchase these when it's time to buy winter tires next season. Winters will go on OEM wheels and summer tires on the TSWs. I've toyed with the idea of increasing width to 8.5 or 9, but that forces me to 245 or greater tires. It may seem silly, but sometimes I just want the ability to spin the rears. I'm afraid with 245 PSS, I'd lose that fun factor.
Well there you have it, my plans over the next few years! Again, any input or suggestions of mod pairings or preferences are greatly appreciated. Like I mentioned earlier, I tried to do my HW before posting blindly for suggestions, but of course, there are always things I may miss or not consider that someone here would pick up. I look forward to learning from you all and also making some contributions of my own to the community.
welcome ! Do you know the compression numbers on that second motor, not all remans are created equal ?
Your highest priority mods seem right.
But first ,you can't neglect the maintenance history of the rest of the car:
RX8 Club’s recommended maintenance schedule, more comprehensive and proactive than Mazda’s schedule.
30,000 miles:
- Replace Ignition coils
- Replace Plug wires
- Replace Spark plugs
- Clean MAF (mass air flow sensor)
- Clean ESS (e-shaft sensor)
- Reset ESS profile
- Clean power steering connections
- Clean battery terminals and clamps
- Replace transmission fluid
- Replace coolant (Mazda FL-22 is highly recommended)
- Replace air filter
- Replace brake fluid (fluid in the brake lines AND the clutch line)
~$300 USD in parts if you shop smartly.
every 60,000:
...all 30,000, plus...
- Clean all chassis electrical grounding points
- Replace accessory belts
- Clean OMP lines
- Replace rear differential fluid
- Replace thermostat
- Clean / Straighten AC condenser fins
- Clean / Straighten oil cooler fins
- Inspect catalytic converter
- Clean / Inspect intake valving
- Consider / inspect all points in 90,000+ as well, many items fail early
~$130 USD in parts if you shop smartly.
90,000:
...all 30,000, plus any 60,000 not yet done, plus...
- Replace coolant bottle
- Replace radiator hoses
- Replace radiator
- Replace front O2 sensor
- Replace motor mounts
- Inspect clutch pedal assembly for flex / weld breaks
~$900 USD in parts if you shop smartly.
At 100k, anything original in the cooling system is really suspect and failure prone. It represents the biggest threat to your engine.
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What G Said. Personally I'd do coils over oiling. But that's me. As far as intakes go - No real reason to get an aftermarket intake. Stock does a perfect job of keeping things cool. If you DO go for an aftermarket intake, make sure to keep the lower shroud in for ducting (I thought it was silly at first then I thought about it and was like... No, that needs to stay. ) As far as tires go, no real need to spend that much money on them (Personally, I don't think so.) I've got some really nice Falkens, and am at the moment looking for smaller, wider rims so I can get a larger contact patch with less rotational mass.
If you move to Denver you'll be in dgiron's neck of the woods and mine. I'm moving to Colorado Springs, but I've got friends in Denver and there's lots of fun road in-between. I advise against driving it in CO snow, however... because the snow in CO likes to sublimate - Turn straight from liquid to gas - so it tends to be less like driving on snow and more like driving on gravel filled sand. I mean, it's doable in RWD, just not as much fun.
Unfortunately, CO's rotary/rx community is sparse at best. I DO have a guy in Penrose where my 8 is stored with an RCTV05, so he can get you a compression test for a little bit of $ if you want to make sure your engine is still healthy. I'm willing to do anything I can to help you out if you end up moving here, and take you on some twisties. The stock suspension handles excellently, if you are going into an aftermarket make sure it's something adjustable and not crap. Mazdaspeed is great if you can still find them, I wasn't sure you could. I've got some STANCE bits which are decent (Blown suspension and I got a deal on them) a little hoppy sometimes but pretty solid in corners. Also, let it be said that there is ALWAYS some form of grit, dust, gravel on the roads in CO. Always. We grit the roads in the winter, so there's rock chips and bits. Beyond that, it's a pretty cool place to live with lots of mountains and fun roads.
The history on the car was a little sparse because the guy I bought it from did all the work himself. He's the son of a mechanic, so he knew his stuff. Regarding the engine, I don't think it was a reman, but he replaced it with a used engine from a totaled car through some salvage company. I don't have the compression numbers but they tested last August before they put it in (I bought in late October). They have a 1 year warranty so I was going to get compression tested in the spring to make sure it's still good before the warranty is up.
Regarding maintenance:
The minute I bought it, I took it to the Mazda dealer to swap out all fluids and filters that existed on the car (cost me a pretty penny). But it's a clean slate now where I know the age of everything. Right now, I don't have a garage to work out of, so anything that requires lifting the car, I usually take it somewhere.
Ignition is the first thing I'll do once the glaciers recede. I think that's something I can do myself in my apt parking lot.
I'm also getting the BHR midpipe w/ cat (and replacing O2 sensors) as soon as possible just because of the age of the vehicle. I have no info on if it's the original cat or not.
As far as cleaning and greasing everything, I still need to do that. And clean/replace a few sensors (thermostat, MAF, ESS). Thanks for the checklist!
@CelestialGryphon
Re intake: I've always been skeptical of the whole CAI premise. I think the reason I took it seriously this time was that the MazdaSpeed intake was the AEM. But I am pretty happy with the OEM system. All of my money in the near future is going to go strictly into reliability mods and some upgraded parts when maintenance is due. I could definitely trim the list a bit.
Re tires: I've been back and forth with these tires. I need to stop reading great reviews on them. Honestly, with my performance driving skill level, I don't know if I could tell you that the sidewall is too soft on X tires and the maximum grip on Y tires is more apparent. I'm coming from driving a Silverado, so I have a lot to learn on driving near the limit. I'm currently leaning toward Hankook V12s. I think those will do fine.
EDIT: Falkens Azenis FK453 look great too. I'll have to compare them.
Re CO: I'm looking to move by September, but this is all pending if this job offer plays out nicely. That's really interesting about the snow there. Must be the lower vapor pressure at the surface. I guess the best plan is to save on winter tires and just drive my truck in the winter. I appreciate the help and I'll definitely hit you up when I'm in town.
Drive the truck, you'll be just like all the other Coloradans. My DD is a Saab with Snows that I'm too lazy to take off. The 8 comes out from April to November right before the first snow. If you do make it out here, good call on the catted mid. CO has pretty stringent regulations on air quality... I passed the second time around by doing a little slightly dangerous finangling, but the BHR cat WILL pass, it's what I have on my car as well. Except for my car is fuckoff loud thanks to the HKS Pipe. I THINK FK453's are what I have on my car. As long as you keep an eye on your tire pressure on them, you'll be fine. I fill 2-4lbs over and the car handles better. TP are weird here in CO as well, couldn't tell you why but a slight overfill from stock pressure makes them handle all the better. My only thought might be because of the lower atmospheric pressure from being higher has something to do with it? Beyond that, obviously make sure all your cooling is in place, because it does tend to reach 100+ here at least 15 days out of the year.
Hi Colo folks, did the trail ridge road in Estes Park all the way to the top 12,000 ft. plus or so, one summer on my BMW motorcycle with a bunch of riders, great fun. Certainly would have been fun in an RX8 before the winter closes the upper reaches of the road. Beautiful country ! Like John Denver sang, "Rocky Mountain High" !
Not trying to one-up you or anything, but I've experienced the Estes Park area in a rental Nissan Versa. The car starts off gasping at sea-level, nevermind in the Rockies.
Not trying to one-up you or anything, but I've experienced the Estes Park area in a rental Nissan Versa. The car starts off gasping at sea-level, nevermind in the Rockies.
I'm sorry. The 8 does fairly well, but I tend to keep it at high revs on 36 when I can.
01-02-2017, 09:48 AM
Hello world
