New Yorker

As most of you know, Mazda quietly added an A/C condensor screen to the RX-8, starting with cars built some time after 6/05. (I don't know when exactly - I've heard anywhere from 6/05 to 8/05. Apparently all 8's after 8/05 have 'em, so that's the last few '05's and all '06's.)

Anyway, I spoke with the parts guy at Rosenthal Mazda, and apparently the screen is now—just now—available. (Sorry, I forget the price he quoted, maybe $76?? Don't quote me on that.) He said he didn't know, for sure, if the part would fit an '05, but that he didn't see any reason why not, as the condensor is exactly the same.

So here's my question—should I order the Mazda screen, or order the Racing Beat screen "set" (condensor + 2 oil cooler screens)? Obviously the RB set is a better deal—you get the oil cooler screens, too—and the condensor screen covers the entire condensor; the Mazda screen appears to cover just the lower third.

On the other hand, I always wonder if aftermarket parts will work/fit as well as OEM stuff, without little unintended consequences. (Examples: I bought an aftermarket "lighted rear view mirror" for my Miata. It worked fine—except it was heavy and would slowly droop down over time. Or there were the Italian air horns. Loved 'em, would buy 'em again—though they had to be cleaned out with WD-40 every year or so. Not big things—but examples of what I'm talking about.) So I wonder if there's any little "downside" to the RB parts.

Any thoughts? (And sorry about the length. I really do have to get a life.)

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

I'd just buy the RB set - as you said, much better deal and more coverage, extra oil cooler screens. I'm actually surprised that Mazda would not add the oil cooler screens too - since that's even more dangerous if you get a rock smashing those, and lose the oil. Especially since the bumper does have mounting holes on the inside around those exact openings - what might have been the purpose of them if not this?

Besides, RB parts have the reputation of excellent fit - I only know that my RB intake / air duct combo fits like a glove. I wouldn't hesitate to buy their screen set if I'd not have all the screens already (different ones though).

jaguargod

At this point, I think I would consider the Mazda screen to be an aftermarket part as well, at least for an '05. I think the RB condenser cover costs about $56 and a set of the oil cooler screens are about another $40. So for about another $20 on top of the price of the Mazda condenser screen, you can get the oil cooler screens and a condenser screen that covers the entire unit, like you said. I have all of the RB screens and I don't know how any thing else could fit any better.

stickman

Keep in mind that any screen, no matter how well designed, will cut down on cooling efficiency to some degree. Depending on the climate where you live it may make the difference between acceptable and unacceptable air conditioning performance.

mikeschaefer

I've noticed no downsides whatsoever on my RB screens. They installed easily and fit nicely.

KYLiquid

if you take out the total surface area the screen takes up, and condese it down, its about 1/2" square on each oil cooler and a 1" square on the radiator. You could easily lose that much or more if stuff flys up, hits the fins and bends them down. Hardly noticable IMO.

also, I think mazda should issue a recal, or service bulliten to have the screens put on all previous RX8s that didnt come with them. They should also look into reimbusment, at least for labor, for anyone that had to replace parts cause of rock damage.

Mazda adding the screens shows they knew there was a problem that needed enough attention to design and fit a screen to the car. I think they should do something to the owners that didnt get the screens, Especialy if they had damage because of it.

I have the RB screens so I dont really care, but im sure some people out there would.

New Yorker

That would be nice, but it poses an interesting question (not to hijack my own thread): if you manufactured cars, would you be reluctant to make small improvements to a model knowing that, in effect, you would then be "admitting" your car had a problem? (Obviously if the improvement addresses a safety issue, that's a different story. But in this case, there's no safety issue—having no A/C would be a costly inconvenience—not a safety issue. Losing oil, on the other hand, could clearly affect safety—but Mazda has not added screens to protect the oil coolers. Are there instances where 8 owners have lost oil because of a rock hitting an oil cooler?) Anyway, as I said, would the fact that making an improvement to your car be tantamount to "admitting" the car had a problem deter you from making that improvement??

KYLiquid

anytime a recall is done, a manufacture will do whatever is cheaper, even in a saftey issue (unless the goverment requires them to make a change)

Since the damage done by rocks/debris to the radiator/ac condensor is not covered by mazda, it doesnt cost them anything to fix the damage. They are pretty well legaly covered by the statments in the owners manual that they dont cover damage to the vehicle under warranty, and most people would go thru their insurance or pay out of pocket. I have any not heard of anyone sueing a dealer/mazda over the damage.

If the damage done by rocks/debris WAS covered by mazda, lt would come down to cost. What is cheaper making/putting screens on the new cars and giving them to people who alraedy have the car? Or just eating the cost of the few that have damage from rocks/debris.

The even do this with saftey issues, whats cheaper, getting sued by the family and settling out of court for each case of death, or fixing all the cars on the road....?

It reminds me of the exploding fuel tank issue with the ford crown vic. They learned that there was a problem with the fuel tank in the crown vic, when hit at high speed from behind (dont remeber the exact speed, but it was fast, like 50/60+ mph) the force of the crash would rupture the fuel tanks, and that could result in a fire/explosion.

Even after Ford found this out, they issued a recal, but only for police/service vehicles, not ALL crown vics.......why? Cause police cars are most likely to be hit from behind at high speed (pulling people over on the highway, ect) while civilians were less likely to be stopped on the side of a high-speed road.

Does that mean that a civilian in a crown vic couldnt/hasnt died from this problem? No, it just means the cheapest fix for ford was to fix JUST police cars, the people most likly to sue ford after a crash, vs all the crown vic, where its unlikely that the civilans will be killed.