snowflake8888

Hi all,

I just collected my 8 after an agonising wait that seemed forever. It is truly a beautiful car. I am not sure how to start describing it but i think you guys know the feeling as well. It's three days old and i sayang it a lot.

I last had a car 6 years ago. It was my grandfather's 1978 panda honda accord 3 door that i maintained for 6 months before it had to be scrapped. Very heart pain and wish i could have kept it. Have driven a van ever since until I saved up enough to pick the car i really liked. I'd considered the Integra Type R DC5 and the WRX but when the RX-8 came out in 2004, it just stood out. For me, looks matter and i didnt want a ride that i could see all over the place. Dun have to scare people, i will let the INGS, RE and KS kitted 8s do that I've been waiting and now i own a car bought with my own money that i am really proud of.

I picked a V-Red 4AT due to cost constraints but in a perfect world, I'd get a shinka II in the dark purple colour. MTs are really fun to drive and the scope for control to play is limited by the limits of the car itself. But reality is reality and an RX-8 is better than no RX-8 at all! Must have stressed the PI out by moaning abt car delivery constantly but he did deliver within the contract time so at least no late delivery horror story lah

I have a few questions (which may sound silly but i haven't driven a car in 5 years so bear with me) about the RX-8 that i hope S'pore forum members may be able to help out with:

1. I notice that the 8 runs really hot. By that I mean the center console that runs down the middle of the car body emits (what seems to me) like a lot of heat. The car radiates heat. And when i park the car and get out, i can smell something. Is this normal? I've read that RX-8 cupholders include an auto "drinks warmer" as well I know that the transmisson generates heat but i've never had a car so low and sat so close to the transmission before so i dunno what its like. I've driven the Noble M12, 360 Modena, Elise, Maserati and XKR at Silverstone in UK before and never felt it (though being a temperate country i may have believed the warmth to be part of the heating system). Am just worried that the car is overheating and will burst into flames. Then the Velocity Red will turn to Flaming Red and then Scorched Black and finally Ash Grey.

2. LED lights. I'm really tempted to change the yellow headlights for something white or blue-ish. Does the RX-8 need some special bulb or sth and will coupe07 have those (or the contacts for those)? Also, what will it cost?

3. What does grounding do for the car? What does it involve and what does it normally cost?

4. Will i muck up the electronic transmission by switching from the "manual" paddle shifters to the automatic mode constantly? I don't mean i'll be doing it every 10 seconds but for example, driving in auto in city traffic but switching to paddle-shifters on expressway and back to auto again when i come off the expressway. I think the paddle-shifter thingee's kind of fun but dont want to screw up the electronics too much. because I'm worried it will "hang" or something.

I must confess i succumbed to poison + hyper rev 96 and changed my 16" rims immediately for 18". Next up is the F1 brake light when i cannot resist anymore this week...then black leather seats with red trim (any contacts for this?)...then KS gauge pod with defi gauges ...and more to come...

I'd love to come down to the gatherings and see other 8s, but i often work late until 10pm so end up missing. But will come when i can and will definitely drop by a certain garage in ubi.

Thanks for taking the time to read (and reply)!

BlackEight

congrats on yr ride and i have to admit u are quite ballsy to poke fun at the
INGS, RE and KS kitted 8s which takes up like MAYBE 80% of the 8s. but then again i'm pretty lousy at guessing

u're jking rite.... u have to be

to answer all yr questions....DON"T WORRY.
and come down for the meets.

sqflyer

snowflake, welcome to the club! Congrats on getting your dream car, I'm sure you'll love it more and more everyday. You'll find a lot of info here on the forum. If you want instant answers, give the search button a shot and you'll discover that a lot of the questions have already been asked and answered. However, if you can't find the answer to your questions, just post it and I'm sure many of the helpful members will post some answers or point you in the right direction.

Kinda busy now, but I'll post some really quick answers to your questions.

1. Normal.
2. LED lights are nothing special. coupe07 should have some, if not, blackeight can point you where to get some too. Usually if our meet-ups coincide with Mazda Club SG meets, there will be someone there selling the LED lights. Bear in mind, I am refering to small position lights and interior lights. If you are talking about headlights, I don't think there are such things as LED headlights. You would have to change to Xenon lightbulbs to get the white/bluish headlights which are considerably more expensive.
3. Grounding is subjective. Some say good, some say no difference, but I haven't heard of anyone saying it's bad. So up to you to decide if you want to do it. Cost dependd on who or where you go to get it done and if you want to include a voltage stabiliser. Cabling itself maybe $50-80. Include V.S. for another $100?
4. Sorry, mine is MT so I leave this Q to the AT owners. I doubt anything bad will happen though. It's pretty reliable and if even if it's not, I think you'd rather find out while the car is still under warranty.

coupe07

flyer has answered some of ur questions. I do have some led bulbs with me. So if u need, can look for me.

as for grounding.... shld be pretty much more effective on the auto than the manuals......

meetup wise... leave ur contacts with me..... and u shall be contacted for meetups. Alternatively do check out the forum from time to time... this friday shld have a meet.

As for timing wise dun worry... taking into considerations of the work hours of many hardworking rx8 owners, our meetup will occur only after 10pm onwards..... its always a friday, every fortnight.

snowflake8888

I shall continue on this thread as a diary/blog on the life of my RX-8.

My 8 is now 1 week old. Bearing in mind the 1000km run in period, the 8 has been operating at engine revs of up to 3k rpm max. Lots of cruising. It is hard to resist being naughty especially with a rev counter that goes to9k rpm and i have played with it once or twice.

Fuel consumption: I should have made the PI give me a full tank of gas. =p The first 61 litres was filled with Caltex 98 (because I found the Caltex petrol station first) and cost $95. Petrol is really a lot more expensive than diesel. I have travelled about 310km and have slightly under 3/8 of my tank to go. I recall reading that Caltex gives a better (though mildly insignificant?) mileage. Perhaps I will try Shell or SPC (Singapore Petrol Cheaper) the next time round.

Zhng My Car: Based on my one mod per month rule, i should not mod / zhng for the next 3 weeks as I have changed the rims already. I decide to revise that rule to mod only on the next salary week. and that's...this week. How coincidental. Perhaps I should look into that F1 brake light. And a sticker shop for some stuff.

CoupeM

Use 95 can liao no need 98....save some money to let us poison you leh.

slimer

Hi SnowFlake,

I fully agree that it is hard to resist being naughty and not to rev the engine. That cost me $170 and 8 demerit points, sob. Lesson learn and I shall do that only in malaysia, at least money will settle the problem. Just get ready some RM50 notes. Happy zooming.

BlackEight

coupem bro,

yr avatar picture naughty naughty! so u are "the woman in control" kind huh?!

whose tammy? share leh?

snowflake8888,

I've seen an RX8 with licence no. 8888, is that u?
1 mod a month har, can be veri agonising u noe.
It's like an itch that needs to be scratched, 1 month is a damn long time!

CoupeM

you dunno who is TAMMY???????????? I thot she is like world famous now or something. :P
lolx

lowrider

Tammy Faye Baker? Wife of a famous fire-brand christian preacher who ripped off the public way before it was fashionable to do so. Lots of teh susu, heavy mascara make-up.

CoupeM

who is dat?

c h o x

Hi snowflake8888 and all RX-8 owners,

I'm another proud RX-8 owner since yesterday. Compared to snowflake8888, I'm not that fortunate to own a brand new RX-8, but then again a RX-8 is beta than no RX-8 right? Mine's 2.5 yrs old 5 speed MT. Some might know the previous owner if he happens to be a member before he sells his ride to the dealer 6768Y.

I totally agree with snowflake8888 theory of zhnging the car once a month...but after the down payment, it'll take me another 2 more months to start the zhnging...sigh

INXS

Truly agree... 'tears were trickling down my cheeks' trying to look remorseful when I was at the Sub Court on Weds...

Verdict: Fine $800 default 8 days.

Dont think i have any more points left to play around this year, have to bear for the remaining 6 months or so. Progress Package --> back to Govt funds..

mkl22

oh, yours is the black 5MT at cartimes? quite low mileage.

lowrider

I had an even less impressive reason for going to court -- years ago, when Maxwell was still open, I had to pay the fine for late payment for speeding there. It was also the last day of the late payment period. All for a little shitty 105km/hr on ECP drive to the airport.

Makes you wonder Went ther to pay but the NETS machine dint work! Told them that... had to send a cheque in but it didn't matter -- had to go to sub courts.
To cut the long story shorter... had exhibits A, B and C for the judge to see and enter into his records... no diff... I was still fined $1000 cash (allong with 90% of people there)...

Makes you wonder why you even need judges in S'pore when the assumption was that you are guilty until proven innocent and that any given a packet of peanuts, any monkey or judge could have done the case... only decision to make was to fine either $900 or $1000. Need to go to Law school for this? I want his job.

c h o x

Yup...thats the one. managed to collect it only on friday, quite a few items need to be done up . The heat shield on the centre console is of most concern. Luckily it came with new tyres, AD07. Btw, anyone here can introduce good and reliable workshop for servicing? might need to visit one soon.

Is the previous owner a RX-8 club member?

CruiseGuy

Go for it, give discount for those driving mazda cars



....

snowflake8888

My 8 has a SGH plate (but i am not a doctor, i am a sexologist just like every normal guy =p) but doesnt have the 8888 number. I find it a bit of a wannabe overkill (no offence to the relevant 8, just my personal preference)...one 8 on the licence plate is enough...heheheh

Anyway, I zhng once a month cos I fund my own mods and dont have indulgent parents. So i must be disciplined. My 8 is like a secret mistress and no one in at home knows i have it. I do recall being threatened with being thrown out of the house if i ever bought any car, but the 8 is worth it. Well, we only live once.

So if your parents dote on you and fund your ride, be very grateful that you are so lucky.

Rei

Oh my...sorry to hear abt that...

Rei

Hahaha...given the amount of money they bring home per mth...i also want
his job...

coupe07

SERIOUS???????? no one in ur family knows abt it?? then how u drive home everyday??

snowflake8888

heh in my job, driving to CBD is madness. PAP - pay and pay only. ERP and season parking is a killer. And my working hours are nuts. I just finished work for the day and 1030 is considered quite good. So the 8 stays in a hdb carpark in east coast monday to thursday. Then friday to sunday it comes out to cheong.

RX8ster

No wonder you have a season parking disc. Coz last I remembered, you stayed in a landed property rite?

Rainne

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxF0fVNRLw4&search=rx8

look at all the beauties (the 8s..) nice nice

Detrich

re: heat down the center console... i guess u've never driven a bmw 3-series or m3, eh? LOL both those cars are like driving w/ the heater on low... i don't think the 8's heat is abnormal by comparison...

congrats on the new car...