SEMA Synopsis - MazdaManiac
11-01-2006, 06:07 AM
#1
SEMA Synopsis - MazdaManiac
Day 1
I'll post photos and other fluff later in the thread.
The show is WAY better than last year. Far more densely packed with show cars and some are outrageous. You can hardly get in and out of the building.
Organization and flow is really good too, but it was super crowded all day. I might need to stay on Friday (the short show day) to pick up the pieces.
HKS - I now understand their ignition amplifier and how it works on our car. It is a truly plug-n-play setup, but it is not a capacitive amplifier like other devices on the market. It is basically a signal filter and a current limiter and is designed to "condition" the signal from the PCM so that it provides the most current and longest duration as possible in all RPM ranges. I should have one in the next couple of weeks for testing, but it looks nice and if it does what it is supposed to do (Scott at MazSport seems to like it), it should be a good solution for those that have spark issues at higher RPM. Whether or not it saves the coils from stress remains to be seen.
HKS has dumped their plans to make a Rotrex-based supercharging system entirely. They are working on their own centrifugal design, but it will be incorporated in their VQ kits first, so the RX will be a few years down the line if ever.
Their new EVC boost controller is beautiful and compact. Should be available in a few months. No more screwing around with gain and duty cycle - just put in a target boost number and it does the rest.
They have a Garrett-based, ball-bearing turbo that has the same footprint as the GReddy T618Z, though HKS (as is typical for them) won't give their sales people flow maps or even technical info and at $4k, it is a bit pricy.
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
GReddy - Met with Benny and Kenjii for quite a while and got the low-down on the turbo kit and the Ultimate.
Benny explained exactly what he did to the tuning and why as well as showing me what the ignition chip does and how he is utilizing the O2 dongle. I can truly say that any questions I had were answered. I will finally be able to complete the video now.
Benny indicated that he is now turning his attention to upgrades for the kit like a better downpipe for an external wastegate and a bigger intercooler that would be sold seperately.
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
I'll post photos and other fluff later in the thread.
The show is WAY better than last year. Far more densely packed with show cars and some are outrageous. You can hardly get in and out of the building.
Organization and flow is really good too, but it was super crowded all day. I might need to stay on Friday (the short show day) to pick up the pieces.
HKS - I now understand their ignition amplifier and how it works on our car. It is a truly plug-n-play setup, but it is not a capacitive amplifier like other devices on the market. It is basically a signal filter and a current limiter and is designed to "condition" the signal from the PCM so that it provides the most current and longest duration as possible in all RPM ranges. I should have one in the next couple of weeks for testing, but it looks nice and if it does what it is supposed to do (Scott at MazSport seems to like it), it should be a good solution for those that have spark issues at higher RPM. Whether or not it saves the coils from stress remains to be seen.
HKS has dumped their plans to make a Rotrex-based supercharging system entirely. They are working on their own centrifugal design, but it will be incorporated in their VQ kits first, so the RX will be a few years down the line if ever.
Their new EVC boost controller is beautiful and compact. Should be available in a few months. No more screwing around with gain and duty cycle - just put in a target boost number and it does the rest.
They have a Garrett-based, ball-bearing turbo that has the same footprint as the GReddy T618Z, though HKS (as is typical for them) won't give their sales people flow maps or even technical info and at $4k, it is a bit pricy.
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
GReddy - Met with Benny and Kenjii for quite a while and got the low-down on the turbo kit and the Ultimate.
Benny explained exactly what he did to the tuning and why as well as showing me what the ignition chip does and how he is utilizing the O2 dongle. I can truly say that any questions I had were answered. I will finally be able to complete the video now.
Benny indicated that he is now turning his attention to upgrades for the kit like a better downpipe for an external wastegate and a bigger intercooler that would be sold seperately.
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
Last edited by MazdaManiac; 11-01-2006 at 06:26 AM.
11-01-2006, 09:54 AM
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Originally Posted by MazdaManiac
Day 1
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
11-01-2006, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by MazdaManiac
Day 1
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
11-01-2006, 11:07 AM
#11
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Stay out of trouble MM and keep sending us pics...
Stay out of trouble MM and keep sending us pics...
11-01-2006, 05:21 PM
#13
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Might look a little like this??
11-01-2006, 05:56 PM
#15
Day 2
Went back to the Mazda booth to get pictures of the MS CX-7. You can find them in the parallel photo thread at: https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=102434
AEM - Went to AEM to find out why my capacitive discharge ignition blows fuses. The product manager said he would give me my money back. Not quite the answer I was looking for, but it says a lot, unfortunately.
They have no plans on making a stand-alone for the RX-8 and their fuel/spark box is no more advanced than the Blue E-Manage. I was disappointed. They even went so far as to suggest that the universal version of their EMS was "not worth the effort" as an RX-8 application!
Royal Purple - The RP guy would not speculate on why Mazda specifies no synth oil. He indicated that they did, in fact, find some fuel savings going from 5-30 to 5-20 on the RX-8. When I suggested that there might be a specific oil on the market that might have "guided" Mazda to their decision, he wouldn't comment one way or the other. They have over 60k miles on their "test-bed" RX-8. The rep also said that going to a heavier oil for engine temp reasons is not necessary. Suggested that an ideal replacement for the specified 75/90 gear oil in both the tranny and rear diff is actually 10w40 motor oil!
Garrett - they offer a ball-bearing turbo that will (most likely) bolt up in place of the Greddy. It is the GT2871 and retails for $1399. It will require a water line, but you can use the line that goes to the throttle body.
It flows much more air and is at its efficiency peak right around 14 PSI on the Renesis (around 28 lbs of air at that PR).
Vibrant - Makes a series of reinforced couplers along with T-bolt clamps that are aggressively priced and would make a good replacement for the GReddy pieces. They come in all sizes (including all kinds of "in-between" sizes and every crazy bend and step-down you can imagine) and in a variety of colors.
They also offer universal aluminum bends for much less than the prices I've been paying to ATP.
MDS - You have never heard of this company from Brandon, Florida, but they make a borescope that is better than most that I have tried and for 20% the price of their competitors. It is a modular system that can adapt to a camera flange and can use a variety of light sources besides the removable, lithium-powered flashlight that it comes with. I bought one right on the spot and should have it in two weeks. This will give me a chance to visually dismantle my old motor without having to turn a single wrench.
AEM - Went to AEM to find out why my capacitive discharge ignition blows fuses. The product manager said he would give me my money back. Not quite the answer I was looking for, but it says a lot, unfortunately.
They have no plans on making a stand-alone for the RX-8 and their fuel/spark box is no more advanced than the Blue E-Manage. I was disappointed. They even went so far as to suggest that the universal version of their EMS was "not worth the effort" as an RX-8 application!
Royal Purple - The RP guy would not speculate on why Mazda specifies no synth oil. He indicated that they did, in fact, find some fuel savings going from 5-30 to 5-20 on the RX-8. When I suggested that there might be a specific oil on the market that might have "guided" Mazda to their decision, he wouldn't comment one way or the other. They have over 60k miles on their "test-bed" RX-8. The rep also said that going to a heavier oil for engine temp reasons is not necessary. Suggested that an ideal replacement for the specified 75/90 gear oil in both the tranny and rear diff is actually 10w40 motor oil!
Garrett - they offer a ball-bearing turbo that will (most likely) bolt up in place of the Greddy. It is the GT2871 and retails for $1399. It will require a water line, but you can use the line that goes to the throttle body.
It flows much more air and is at its efficiency peak right around 14 PSI on the Renesis (around 28 lbs of air at that PR).
Vibrant - Makes a series of reinforced couplers along with T-bolt clamps that are aggressively priced and would make a good replacement for the GReddy pieces. They come in all sizes (including all kinds of "in-between" sizes and every crazy bend and step-down you can imagine) and in a variety of colors.
They also offer universal aluminum bends for much less than the prices I've been paying to ATP.
MDS - You have never heard of this company from Brandon, Florida, but they make a borescope that is better than most that I have tried and for 20% the price of their competitors. It is a modular system that can adapt to a camera flange and can use a variety of light sources besides the removable, lithium-powered flashlight that it comes with. I bought one right on the spot and should have it in two weeks. This will give me a chance to visually dismantle my old motor without having to turn a single wrench.
11-01-2006, 08:26 PM
#18
Originally Posted by MazdaManiac
Royal Purple - The RP guy would not speculate on why Mazda specifies no synth oil. He indicated that they did, in fact, find some fuel savings going from 5-30 to 5-20 on the RX-8. When I suggested that there might be a specific oil on the market that might have "guided" Mazda to their decision, he wouldn't comment one way or the other. They have over 60k miles on their "test-bed" RX-8. The rep also said that going to a heavier oil for engine temp reasons is not necessary. Suggested that an ideal replacement for the specified 75/90 gear oil in both the tranny and rear diff is actually 10w40 motor oil!
That might work in a general street application, but no way in h-ll for racing given my experience ...
11-01-2006, 08:39 PM
#19
Registered
I bought a spun magnum shifter **** for my car. In the summer the things gets too hot to use. It is not from the sun or air temps, but from the tranny.
Now with that in mind, think about using 10w40 in the tranny instead on the heavy weight stuff.
I don't like it. Maybe if I lived up north... I wonder what he was thinking.
Cobb Tuning box sounds interesting.
Now with that in mind, think about using 10w40 in the tranny instead on the heavy weight stuff.
I don't like it. Maybe if I lived up north... I wonder what he was thinking.
Cobb Tuning box sounds interesting.
11-01-2006, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by MazdaManiac
Day 1
I'll post photos and other fluff later in the thread.
The show is WAY better than last year. Far more densely packed with show cars and some are outrageous. You can hardly get in and out of the building.
Organization and flow is really good too, but it was super crowded all day. I might need to stay on Friday (the short show day) to pick up the pieces.
HKS - I now understand their ignition amplifier and how it works on our car. It is a truly plug-n-play setup, but it is not a capacitive amplifier like other devices on the market. It is basically a signal filter and a current limiter and is designed to "condition" the signal from the PCM so that it provides the most current and longest duration as possible in all RPM ranges. I should have one in the next couple of weeks for testing, but it looks nice and if it does what it is supposed to do (Scott at MazSport seems to like it), it should be a good solution for those that have spark issues at higher RPM. Whether or not it saves the coils from stress remains to be seen.
HKS has dumped their plans to make a Rotrex-based supercharging system entirely. They are working on their own centrifugal design, but it will be incorporated in their VQ kits first, so the RX will be a few years down the line if ever.
Their new EVC boost controller is beautiful and compact. Should be available in a few months. No more screwing around with gain and duty cycle - just put in a target boost number and it does the rest.
They have a Garrett-based, ball-bearing turbo that has the same footprint as the GReddy T618Z, though HKS (as is typical for them) won't give their sales people flow maps or even technical info and at $4k, it is a bit pricy.
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
GReddy - Met with Benny and Kenjii for quite a while and got the low-down on the turbo kit and the Ultimate.
Benny explained exactly what he did to the tuning and why as well as showing me what the ignition chip does and how he is utilizing the O2 dongle. I can truly say that any questions I had were answered. I will finally be able to complete the video now.
Benny indicated that he is now turning his attention to upgrades for the kit like a better downpipe for an external wastegate and a bigger intercooler that would be sold seperately.
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
I'll post photos and other fluff later in the thread.
The show is WAY better than last year. Far more densely packed with show cars and some are outrageous. You can hardly get in and out of the building.
Organization and flow is really good too, but it was super crowded all day. I might need to stay on Friday (the short show day) to pick up the pieces.
HKS - I now understand their ignition amplifier and how it works on our car. It is a truly plug-n-play setup, but it is not a capacitive amplifier like other devices on the market. It is basically a signal filter and a current limiter and is designed to "condition" the signal from the PCM so that it provides the most current and longest duration as possible in all RPM ranges. I should have one in the next couple of weeks for testing, but it looks nice and if it does what it is supposed to do (Scott at MazSport seems to like it), it should be a good solution for those that have spark issues at higher RPM. Whether or not it saves the coils from stress remains to be seen.
HKS has dumped their plans to make a Rotrex-based supercharging system entirely. They are working on their own centrifugal design, but it will be incorporated in their VQ kits first, so the RX will be a few years down the line if ever.
Their new EVC boost controller is beautiful and compact. Should be available in a few months. No more screwing around with gain and duty cycle - just put in a target boost number and it does the rest.
They have a Garrett-based, ball-bearing turbo that has the same footprint as the GReddy T618Z, though HKS (as is typical for them) won't give their sales people flow maps or even technical info and at $4k, it is a bit pricy.
MazdaSpeed - No one in the booth had any awareness of an impending announcement about a new 'Speed model. However, the MS package for the MX-5 was on display. It is typical MS - smooth, mildly agressive and well integrated aero parts in urethane ("Metton") - and included an intake, exhuast and suspension components. It should be available as a dealer package like the way it is marketed in Japan. No FI, though.
They have a pretty wild-looking CX-7 on display too dubbed "Adrenaline". I'll go back tomorrow and lean on them (the sales staff, not the cars!). I guess this would be an appropriate time to say "Told you so"! However, it is not badged as "MazdaSpeed".
GReddy - Met with Benny and Kenjii for quite a while and got the low-down on the turbo kit and the Ultimate.
Benny explained exactly what he did to the tuning and why as well as showing me what the ignition chip does and how he is utilizing the O2 dongle. I can truly say that any questions I had were answered. I will finally be able to complete the video now.
Benny indicated that he is now turning his attention to upgrades for the kit like a better downpipe for an external wastegate and a bigger intercooler that would be sold seperately.
CobbTuning - this is the one you have been waiting for. The AccessPORT for the RX-8 is still under development and will be released in the first quarter of next year. It will be the end-all solution for tuning the '8, provided you know what you are doing. This is NOT the solution for folks who are struggling with the Ultimate. It allows you to change absolutely EVERY parameter tha Mazda designed into the PCM. Every one, including the ability to turn on and off DTC notifications and other minutae.
Because of the way that the PCM tables are designed, it will be a whole new learning curve for even experienced tuners, but the AccesPORT and StreetTUNE software are top notch and extremely functional. They had the actual RX-8 software there and I played with it for about an hour. I'm going to put in a bid to distribute the thing for the southwest when it is available, but there will be some competition. Should be fun.
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11-01-2006, 11:40 PM
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The Accessport for the RX-8 has been "in development" for almost 3 years... Also, I find it kind of funny that you/they are touting it as something that only experienced people should use. The Accessport is all about user friendly, and Subaru people buy it because it's much more plug and play compared to the Utec. I don't see how that'll change with the RX-8 if they ever actually release it. Of course that will change if Cobb doesn't bother developing maps for various mods on the RX-8, which maybe they have no intentions of doing.
11-01-2006, 11:59 PM
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I agree with Ike, maybe some are overwhelmed by the capabilites of it. Unlike most aftermarket ECU or tuning devices out there, COBB releases many reflashes for different levels of gas, mods you have on their website. You dont really have to tune it yourself. even the map that comes with Int-X can get you going, with many different flashes to choose from COBB, I am sure there is one that suits each car, although it might not be as good as a dyno tuned tune, it is good enough for most!
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11-03-2006, 01:55 PM
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They've said on their forums that they can already control everything in the ECU. I guess they're going to use the next couple of months to perfect the maps it will ship with.
11-03-2006, 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by mikeschaefer
They've said on their forums that they can already control everything in the ECU. I guess they're going to use the next couple of months to perfect the maps it will ship with.