Federighi

iTrader: (7)

Hey 8Club!

In a bit of a conundrum atm. Seeking the advice of the community regarding whether I should keep my current daily driver vehicle or pick up something close to stock and more or less leave it that way. I'm currently letting go lots of collectable and sentimental items for personal reasons. Moving soon, looking to purchase a home, getting a truck, etc.

option 1.) 2012 Speed3 w/ tech package; push start ignition, bluetooth, blind spot monitors, keyless entry, 30+ mpg's, etc. Owned outright since '13, easily invested 20k in upgrades; Wilwood front BBK + rear bbk, Recaro sr5 seats, upgraded turbo, many AutoExe parts, FBO, custom AP tune(s), etc. I'm sitting on like $5k in parts for this next 'stage' and will need to add at least another $10k to get it where I'd like. So it's either keep it and spend another $10-15k or buy a cheapie daily with that money and sell the Speed for peanuts.

option 2.) picking up another r3 to drive around town. Add very basic mods and keep it on the street. Plus I'll get to use my other trunk with the ACE spoiler risers again.

or ??? Maybe a Honda. But definitely not looking for another project / build.

Thanks for looking and to all who left input!

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

I personally would hold onto the speed3 and continue to daily it. Wear and tear parts more readily available, more space, better mpg's, will hold its value as mileage increases better.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

you’ve got enough cash for both, not really sure why you don’t just have a Porsche instead

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

Yes the Speed3 is entirely practical and arguably more reliable but it's heavily modified as it sits and I was thinking it might be time for something more 'tame' to drive on the streets. It'd be a great candidate for a full race conversion but I'll still be without a daily. I suppose getting a stock Speed3 for cheap and just driving it is a decent idea but I definitely have more of a connection with Rx vehicles and they are hands down a much more rewarding and enjoyable driving experience. Also heavily considering a hybrid / electric jdm vehicle like a Prius or something.

Regarding Porsche, I've been mulling that over recently but to me (to use StarWars as a reference) it'll be like turning to the dark-side. I've been trying to uplift the Mazda brand to German car status for so many years by building the finest jdm examples I can and praising their merits but the times have definitely changed and I believe my time as a purist has unfortunately come to its' end.

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

And so, the Speed3 will be exiting my life with a whimper. It was something I originally planned to keep 'forever' (as it was such a good and practical car to me) but the times have changed and it's best to let it go. I could go on forever spending money for mods, etc so I think it's in my personal best interest to just move on at this time. We had many great memories / adventures and I'll be selling for a very reasonable price.

Decided to move forward with the r3 'build' and order a dry carbon trunk (this time) and the dry carbon Voltex 1600mm Type-7 swan neck. My shop will be doing a custom chassis mount for me. My hopes are to run this new aero set-up (with 2-4" alumilite front splitter), the R6's with 295/30's A052's on jdm 5spd / Tilton 5.5 with 5.8 R&P + pump / cooler next year. Car will be at a 'stage' where it should receive full gut and cage at that point imo. Looking to order a prepped engine from Pettit soon to have on deck and talking with my tech about finally adding the MoTec + c125 digital dash, etc. I'm also seriously considering the Recaro RMS pair as well. Figure I've easily got another $30 or so to get it where I want it.

Then picking up another Rx8 to daily in near future.

Thanks to those who chimed in. Have a great day

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

like I said ...
.

UnknownJinX

They probably aren't gonna make another rotary sports car anymore, at least not as an ICE-only car.

Plenty of hot hatches nowadays if you aren't stubborn about it having to be a Mazda. Civic Type R, Golf R, Veloster N are just a few I can think off the top of my head. Turbocharged I4 isn't rare at all.

IMO JDM nowadays is mostly about emotions rather than reasons. Yep Germans are doing really well nowadays. Even the domestics have stepped up their games. They have effectively replaced JDM as the German-battling machines on a budget.

Keep in mind that I think brand loyalty is stupid unless you work for the said brand. YMMV.

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

JDM is more about emotions rather than reasons. Mind-blown! Wow what a quote. You should run with that idea and create some shirt graphics and make some money. You couldn't be more on point imo!

And yes, I put Porsche money into my Mazda. I stated in another thread that there were many things I didn't get to experience in my life, so I don't view building of this project to live out my own 'boy racer dreams' as not being that big of a deal. It's basically what every Spec Miata / NASA driver is doing imo. As so me and my builds, they have always come from a place of adoration and I wish we all appreciated Mazda way I did. I truly believe the brand would be in a much better place if more 'enthusiasts' had. I suppose it ultimately boils down to what we 'value' in respect to our time, money, energy, resources, etc and I personally value things which are entirely unique, if not a one of a kind works of art. Imo anyone can buy a GT3 or GT4 (if you're willing to work for it) and while a cool vehicle, by my standards they're mass produced and overpriced. Plus I'm not a dentist or engineer so I don't feel I'd fit in very well. Ha.

There is literally nothing serious about cars in any way imo and at the end of the day to each their own

Snox801

I totally get it for what I have into my rs I could have bought some amazing cars. 40 k for the car then 33k for the full build but I love the car and it was the first to do many things and still the only one to run true flex fuel and to run full e85 with no rail fueling. Car looks all stock but puts down 523awhp simply amazing to drive.
I also did what you did the rs was getting costly to drive how I wanted so I bought a 10 rx8 with 13k on it and it’s a blast to drive. It’s the slowest car I own but boy is it fun. When I drive a lot for work so fun cars are a must. My work truck is a 3.5 ecoboost that pulls a 12:6 1/4 and is super durable. That said on nice days I love to daily my rx. Even to the point I’m looking for another to daily and let my wife drive.

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

Quick update. After some careful consideration, I've decided against the RMS in dry carbon and the FRP will be just fine. Much lower price point and there's only approx >8lbs difference of combined total weight so that's negligible imo. Plus they'll still be exceptionally nice and rare to be found stateside. I learned that even the Porsche guys won't drop the coin for some reason. Beats me why? What a whacky world this has turned into.

https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4/1213...t-install.html

Snox801- I know there are lots of issues running the RS on track, primary cooling. How's your system handling all that additional power? From what I've gathered, a very helpful diy mod is to use an Escape oil filter housing to bypass the coolant from the stock RS design. And I'm sure your work truck is awesome, looking for a nice truck myself.

UnknownJinX

I think it depends on how you want to interpret JDM. The JDM that battles Porsche's and Corvettes is on life support(only GT-R remains and it's an aging platform), but if you want something small and light you can toss around, then that JDM is thriving. BR-Z is getting an upgrade, Miata is still here, and Toyota is actually shaking up their toaster lineup with Yaris GR. While it won't make it to North America, rumours have it that they might make a Corolla GR to make up for it.

And heh, you can't blame the enthusiasts if the brand itself isn't bloody trying. Mazda themself stated that Mazdaspeed is childish and now they killed it off altogether.

Porsche's are expensive but I don't think they are overpriced. They are expensive because they aren't produced on the same scale as most other cars so the economies of scale don't apply. Besides, Porsche actually listens to their customers, unlike GM or Toyota. You want a manual trans in a certain model? You got it, meanwhile C8 and Zupr4 killed them off because "aUtOmAtIcS aRe FaStEr."

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

Jinx- You're seriously funny dude, literally smiling over here reading your comments.

And I totally agree with many of the points made from your perspective. Yep, only the GTR remains and you're spot-on that the jdm lightweight sports car market is still reasonably healthy. Boy do I wish the Yaris was coming to America; I've been geeking hard over that thing for a while now (there's a vid with *** driving that I'll attach). I owned the famed 323 GT-X for years (later model '88 or '89 but I can't recall, had a few bolt-ons, sold because there is ZERO parts support available). Was a hoot taking it on trails with my friends 4runner. We'd return to the city covered in mud and people would honk grinning ear to ear giving thumbs up all the time and interesting to hear there's the possibly for a true 'sports' Corolla model to be introduced, I have not heard that.

Yes it is special to have your car assembled in their lab in Stuttgart but totally agree they're overpriced for what they are.