ricdanger

Has anyone else been contemplating mods for their new RX-8??

I've got the following on my list...

* intake - CAI
* exhaust - already looks great - probably just a couple of mufflers
* springs - will probably do this first - drop it an inch or so on progressive springs
* badges - remove and cover holes, spray - I don't want ANYONE to know what this exotic looking car is Plus I think the current badges are overdone.. specially the rear.
* tyres... will see if I can do this pre-delivery. Replace the RE-040 (puke) with S-03s.
* tyres... a set of Dunlop D-01's or Yokohama Advan A032R on another set of wheels - for the race track

At this stage I have no idea who'll do this for me, but I suspect the rotary shops will be lining up to tweak the engine.

Sputnik

Unless you are able to mod the engine to the point where it is pulling in alot more air than stock, I don't think it will get you anything, and you will probably hurt performance instead, considering all of the tuning and complexity in this particular intake system.
Personally, not for looks, but maybe if you were able to replace the stockers with lighter, less restrictive muffers (less restrictive will add performance at WOT in upper rpms, but might hurt mid-throttle and low rpm performance, even at WOT).
Alot of people get in trouble with this, because most people are under the impression that just because it is stiffer and lower, it will be better. If that's what one wants, then fine. But don't forget, that if you want the suspension to work well, then you have to make sure that EVERYTHING (springs, shocks, bushings, anti-rollbars, chassis stiffness, unsprung weight, tire profile, air pressure, etc. etc.) is setup to work together. Normally, when people just slap on some springs (high-quality or not), they hurt overall performance instead of helping it.

And don't forget, for the suspension to work, it has to have enough travel. That doesn't mean that it can't be lowered, but if a suspension is riding on the bump stops when cornering hard, then shock and spring rates are irrelevant.

I guess my point is, understand everything that a particular mod will do to the car. Most people don't think to look at the negatives, and don't realize what a particular mod is actually doing. They end up slapping stuff on and talking big, convinced of their car's capabilities, when things aren't as rosy as they seem.

---jps

ricdanger

Intake
I had a good look at the intake yesterday... It's certainly a cold air intake, drawing air from the high pressure region in front of the main radiator, however I was interested to find that the size of the aperture was very small... VERY small in fact and filled with foam. Probably to stop the bugs etc from bother the enclosed air filter.

Exhaust
Are we talking about exhaust velocity here? If so, I'd agree that any changes would have to be carefully planned out. No point expanding the exhaust only to find that the gases are moving too slowly.

Springs
Oh my God!!!

I just read the peice in the RX-8 book about the amount of effort Mazda went to get the multi-link rear suspension just right!!!! (100% spring/shock efficiency, automatic toe in on compression etc. etc.) No way am I going to mess with that in the near future!!!! :D


I think I'll stick to aesthetics for now...

Or maybe a unichip to change the fuel map etc and get the car back to 184kw where it belongs!

haha...