RX-8 Shops in San Jose area?
 

I have to admit, most of the people on this forum are pretty smart, in terms of engines and things surrouding "a car". Speaking as a person who wants to have more on-hands mechanics on their RX-8, are there any people who are planning on working their cars themselves? From my daze w/ the 300ZX club, there were people who had air tools, lifts, etc. to work on their cars. I tried to learn from these guys but, as usual, they were pretty busy doing their own thing; no time to help explain things.

So, come of us plan on upgrading the RX-8 to be a bit faster, lighter, etc. than other RX-8s on the road, is anyone planning on having "days at the garage" to assist those who want to learn and install their upgrades?

If not, does anyone recommend a performance shop for Mazda RX-x upgrades/maintenance?

Alex

Thing with the rotary is there's not much room for improvement unless you actually take the engine apart and increase the port size... and that's something I wouldn't do even if I knew how, just due to what can happen if you mess it up :)

I think things like intakes, changing the exhaust, etc.. probably can be learned easily enough, as much of the knowledge is swappable with a regular engine...

But let's wait and see :) I personally will be leasing my car so I'm not worried about maintenence at all; however there are lots of people on this forum that would be happy to lend a hand in the goings-on with a rotary engine (Buger?) :)

Thanks Herc for the response. I ask mainly because when I paid to have "things" installed into my car, it looked really easy. I was thinking if people in the SJ area do it themselves, if so, I just wanted to watch closely. As for rebuilding motors, there was a guy that posted and said he was able to rebuild his rotor motor in 3 hours (the first time around).

Do people on this forum normally do their upgrades themselves? and just rent time in a car garage somewhere?

alex <-- (definitely jr. member)

It all depends on the nature of the upgrade and your own comfort level. I've done simple bolt-on upgrades (brake calipers, rotors, sway bars) and maintainence (oil and brake fluid). Opening up the engine (any engine) is uncharted territory for me so I probably won't go there.
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I've got an uncle that specializes in Rx7s, and I work at a Mazda dealer, so I've always had access to lifts, air, specialized tools, etc. I've always done my own maintence/performance mods. with the exception of paint and body.

right now, I'm not really comfortable doing much, except changing oil. As for bolt-on performance, I would probably not trust myself, I'd rather watch and learn from someone and then do it on mine. How did many of you learn how to work on your own cars? And for those who don't have access to air tools and lifts, where do you go to get your parts put if you do it yourself? I feel like I'm the minority who actually pays someone to put on bolt on stuff.

Alex

not many people of general car owners do a lot of their own work... this board is basically brimming with car crazy nut jobs who dream about changing fuel filters (yummy :p)...

anyways, you don't need airtools, especially since you're only doing one car (your own), and like once every couple of weeks at most (at least, i think that'd be a lot)... air tools are for pro's who're working on things day in day out, all week long.
a regular floor jack and some cheapie jackstands on a flat driveway is more than adequate for nearly any installation you'd want to do yourself: lifts aren't necessary as again, it's only your car specifically you're working on.

as for learning about how to do it, well, i have a job at a shop (albeit a boat shop: still do most of the same stuff) as "the kid", and can pick up a thing or two from time to time (if only i had a car to work on ;))...
uh, i'm pretty sure that most guys are just associated with professionals, or have friends who are shadetree mechanics, or are just brave enough to buy a shop manual and learn the hard way...

Doing the bolt on stuff is really pretty easy. Really all you need is a basic understanding of how a car works, and a basic set of tools. (a 3/8ths drive ratchet, a seletion of sockets, and wrenches ranging from 8mm to 21mm, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a couple of screwdrivers will cover almost anything you would ever want to do) Most people make it out to be harder than it is. "Most" of the stuff you would buy comes with pretty comprehensive installation guides. It's not until you get into diagnosing problems that it becomes tricky.

do you think a mechanics class at a community college would help us a lot?