Today was a RX-8 maintenance day! I installed the winter wheels/tires that arrived yesterday, and while I had the wheels off and the car up on jack stands, I installed the side strakes that arrived 2 weeks ago, the front and rear splash guards that I've had since July, and changed the differential and transmission fluids (Redline 75W90 in diff, Redline MT90 in trans).

One note - the OEM wheels are heavy slugs! I weighed the 18" wheel with Bridgestone RE-040 tire at 41.2 lbs; the winter wheels I bought are Konig 17" Holes with Toyo Garit HT 215/55-17. That combination weighed only 35.2 lbs - 6 lbs lighter!! That's a huge unsprung weight reduction, which should definitely be noticeable in a smoother ride and better responsiveness.

Pictures will follow of the wheels, splash guards, and strakes! (maybe tomorrow)

Regards,
Gordon

 

Gordon, I was thinking it would be best to remove the strakes in the winter so that salt would not get caught up between the strakes and the body.

Although you guys don't use salt in Calgary just sand right?

 

Calgary uses mostly sand (gravel! ), but also a chemical to melt the ice - I don't know if it's a salt solution rather than salt crumbs, but it still turns the cars white! I don't think the strakes will be a problem - after looking at the nooks and crannies behind the side vents, I'd be more concerned about salt in there!

Here's a profile pic showing the winter wheels, side strakes, front splash guards, and rear splash guards:

 

Front pic - strakes, splash guard, winter wheels:

 

Rear splash guard:

 

Hello Gord:

Funny meeting you here - we just took delivery of a TI-Grey earlier this evening.

Best regards,
F & W

 

Fraser!!! Welcome!:D Congrats on your new car! (got winter tires lined up yet? ) Yeah, I've been hanging around here since January, I think. Making a pest of myself occasionally - I don't have to behave as much here as I do at the Miata.net forums. :p I don't recall if I saw you at the one or two Cdn Rockies events that I brought the 8 to. We've been awfully busy... (usual excuses), and haven't made it out much.

How do you like the 8 so far? It's a dream, isn't it? I put on the clear bra the week after we picked ours up, then left the next week for a 6400 km road trip to Monterey for the Historic Races at Laguna Seca, so I've got just over 10K km on it now. We should chat sometime - feel free to call me if you have any questions about the 8 or want to compare notes!

Regards,
Gordon

PS - Do you guys have Rocky again? His coat will match the inserts in the seats if you have the GT! (did you get the GT or GS?)

 

I'm surprized you picked such an "open" rim like that for the winter. There is going to be more salt and sand that is going to get to tthe rotors and calipers faster rather then a "closed" type rim.

 

Hi Gordon,
I am putting on my front splash guards and strakes tomorrow, any suggestions that might me helpful? Is the bottom trim piece hard to cut, and what with?

Thanks,
Dean

 

Now there's a look at how friggin big the brakes are on the RX-8. Those wheels look like they barely fit over those monsters! Do you autocross regularly Gord? If so, you should make the trek down to SKOON next summer for Super Slalom. We usualy have a big contingent from Calgary and Edmonton.

 

I like the look and the weight savings. Good job!

 

Hi Dean, sorry for not replying earlier.

The strakes aren't too bad to install - the instructions are a bit confusing, and the template that you're supposed to tape on the fender wasn't that helpful - on the second side, I just lined up the straked with the horizontal part of the fender vent grille (that the strakes mount to). Take time to make sure you get the screws for the strakes going through the right hole in the grille!

The splash guards went on very easily - cutting the bottom trip piece is the toughest part, and isn't tough at all. IIRC, I used a Dremel with a cutoff wheel, but a heavy duty Stanley utility knife should do it without much trouble. Again, the instructions aren't clear - I found that if you cut at the spot they recommend, there's a gap of about 1" between the back of the splash guard and the new front of the trim piece. Best to hold the splash guard in place, then scribe or mark where the trim piece should be cut, so you end up with a much smaller gap.

That's it! Let me know if you have any more questions, or how it turns out!

Regards,
Gordon

 

The above picture in this thread showing the wheel best, is actually over the rear brakes! Here's one that shows the front brakes with the wheel - no kidding about barely fitting! The brakes are huge, and this wheel clears the caliper by only about 4 mm at the closest spot!

I was planning to do the Calgary Sports Car Club autocross series this past summer, even took their Solo school in April. However, building a new deck ended up taking almost all my spare time all summer, so next spring I'll give it another shot. Of course, my Miata will be my weapon of choice...

Regards,
Gordon

 

Hey Gordon,
Thanks for the info. I did get them on today and your right, the instructions are OK but not great. I almost cut the first stone guard too short but double checked and added. They came out about 1/8" short. The strakes went fine after trial and error. Check out my pics under "My velocity Red/orange RX"

Thanks,
Dean

 

Hi Gord:

Think the 8 is better than I expected, and that's with the summer tires. I'll line up better ones (I'm going to see if I can get a Hakka to fit).

As for Rocky - We had trouble keeping up with his demands for Ritalin and Lagavulin, so we put him into foster care. He didn't much appreciate the Skinner Box we kept him in in the back yard, so he wasn't too choked about it.

Cheers, F&W

 

Hey guys, after a couple of winters, how are the original strakes holding up?

I was curious about this British guy's rendition of strakes as well
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...93996&tc=photo