Ozimandious

Modding my car for fun driving not track...
Which would give me the best bang for my buck in initial modding? (already picked up 17x8 35mm rpf1's)

Option 1: BHR midpipe, BHR ignition, VoltPhreaks battery

Option 2: 4.77 final gearing and lightweight flywheel

Option 3: Lightweight brake kit

All of these will be done eventually along with an engine rebuild (maybe porting) and a MM tune on the accessport but which would you recommend I do first for sheer fun?

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

None of the above. But of those 3, Option 2. You'll love the acceleration.

Ozimandious

Uhm none?? It is my money... and as far as I can tell those are some of the better mods to get the most out of your rx8. (most fun being the operative word)

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Lightweight brake kit won't make a noticeable difference if you're just streeting around.
4.77 final = sure why not
BHR ignition is a good choice, since not worrying about coils increases the fun. Battery? I don't see you feeling the difference. Also they're like $1000.. you can spend that money on more meaningful things. Midpipe? That one we can't decide for you.

How about... tires?
How about .. better brake pads?
How about .. sway bars?
But I don't understand, if you want to have fun with your car, why not actually go to a few HDPE/autox/track days? You'll quickly see where you or the car need improvement and can spend your money there.

Ozimandious

Basically I just want to take off around 150 lbs , boost the horsepower as much as I can NA while still being streetable, and improve performance in general. I really enjoyed the Rpf1s (by buttdyno they made a difference anyways) and want to continue the mod plan... Strictly for the street... I have no experience racing though I would love to try it sometime but (I know I'm gonna get roasted for this) I assume I would not be able to afford it. Yes I can swing some mods here and there over the course of a couple of years but racing is damn expensive and I can't afford to do it in my daily driver. NO I'm not going to be street racing in the thing either (no F&F here). Sounds like the flywheel and 4.77 final drive will have the biggest smile factor. Which is all I want anyways.

Ozimandious

Tires will come in spring. I'm running blizzaks right now due to MN in winter. First time iv driven the car in winter rather then my beater which is now defunct.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

How about a Cobb AccessPort first?
But HDPE events, even track days are not that expensive.. I don't know about MN, around here you can get a day under 200. Autocross is even less, like $60/event. Anyway.

Unoriginalusername

My plan is similar. Super sport tires to remove 5lbs per tire of unsprung mass per wheel, bhr mid pipe, MS lightweight flywheel and an intake. For an R3, keep daily drivability while eeking out a bit more performance without spending a fortune

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

yes option 2 will give you the best result.

Ozimandious

Cobb will come last with a MM tune after I have rebuilt the engine and have the rest of the hp type mods done.

and autocross seems cheap but what do I have to do to qualify for it... that and if I bin it then my DD is gone. (I will look into it cuz racing looks like the most fun you can have with your pants on!!)

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

What I mean is, BHR midpipe will give a performance boost. But, it will throw a CEL. BHR ignition will not improve performance. It is being marketed as a reliability upgrade. The battery will give you starting problems in the cold weather. There isn't enough CCA capacity.
The change in gearing and light weight flywheel you will feel the acceleration.
Light weight brake kit you won't notice driving every day. The brakes on the car are already great. I would put this much farther down on the mod list.

What I meant by none is none of the above. You have other options. If your car is older and still on oem shocks, they likely need to be replaced. Upgraded sway bars would also be a great addition. These with the addition of the new tires and rims will make the car handle nice.

Richard Paul

iTrader: (5)

What? You guys think I don't make shifters anymore.
Shocks are needed, at least rears.
Cobb will help.
Flywheel is fun but expensive.

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

Hey Richard! I thought you had forgotten how to post or something.

jamesf

iTrader: (1)

BHR ignition is so sexy... cant wait till i can afford it. Not needing to worry about buying these cheap coils where sometimes the tops actually break off.

Richard Paul

iTrader: (5)

I still know how it's just that I'm not loved like I used to be. All the S1 cars already have my shifter and the S2 there aren't that many of. After the first batch of S2 guys got theirs it sort of droped off.
I don't play with the rotory anymore, it bit me once to many times.
Still seems to be alot of interest from Australia on S1's.
The south eastern US is alive with Rx8 owners but that's it.
Good to hear from you, some things are still constant.

Ozimandious

@alnielsen--
Ok I see where your coming from with stating non of the above... I am going to do the shocks at somepoint relatively soon. Going with Mazdaspeed shocks and stock height. I live in MN and can't afford to lower it as I now drive my 8 during winter as well. Hadn't really thought about the swaybars as I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference if I wasn't racing. (I want to do the battery and the brakes strictly for weight savings).
As for the BHR mid pipe... if I remember right it WILL throw a CEL but once the access port is used that will be turned off by the tune correct?

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I lowered my car. Last winter, my son got stuck in a storm and I couldn't get out to help him out. I now have a lifted Cherokee for the winter.
I'm going back to the stock springs.

mrl84

your options listed here cost more than a season of autox entry fees. and to qualify you need to show up, pay your fee, pass a tech inspection maybe (some clubs do self inspections), and then work your assigned corner at the assigned time. then your good to go. unless the people laying out the autox course are stupid they will lay it out so there really is nothing to run into except cones so you wont bin your car. autox is pretty much set up to do in your DD street car.

Ozimandious

Yeah a similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago... my wife (eight months pregnant) got stuck in downtown Mpls in a blizzard while at work. I wasn't able to go pick her up and had to beg a friend with a pickup to go get her. I swore I was going to get a Tacoma or a Wrangler so that would never happen again. After i test drove both of em, realized the price of the Tacoma and how I didn't like the jeep as a daily driver... Here I am in my RX8 instead. Shows where my priorities are. (my wife is rolling her eye's now)

Ozimandious

OOOOh that sound fun... so it's basically just a course set up in a large enough space made out of cones... YUMMM!!

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

Understand Richard--it is good to know that you are still around. You understand air a little better than I do
True us southeastern guys are still into the RX8....

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Personally, the battery and lightweight calipers make so little real-world difference, I wouldn't worry about them. Weight savings of 15-20 lbs aren't something you'll notice without a timeslip... you can do a lot more with the 1500 that would cost you.

After you run at a track or autox a few times, you'll have a better idea of what the car actually needs. On the street it's.. you're not really driving at the limit of what the car can do.

Unoriginalusername

How costly and or complicated is the flywheel to install?

BRODA

iTrader: (7)

As others have suggested, you'll have more fun spending that ~$2,000 on a couple years of autocross. This site isn't perfect, but it does have some good info:
Autocross

There are probably lots of clubs in your area which host autocross events. If you're not sure where to start, find your local SCCA region:
The Sports Car Club of America - About

Your local SCCA region website probably has a forum full of people who would love to bench race during the off-season.

You might also find that if you really enjoy autocross, you might want to hold off on haphazardly modifying your car and build the car for a particular class. The RX-8 is a popular car for autocross, and there are a few classes where it could do well, but you will need to carefully read and understand the rules. Stock class is always a good place to start.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

that will require a much bigger list and cost about $20k ... lol, sort of