Well I went thru crutchfield on cyber monday. I got the 3300BT for 339.00 They had it advertised as streaming a2DP music thru bluetooth and when i got it installed, it didn't do as it stated. After a bit of emailing and a bit more of threatening, I actually got the 4200DVD+BT module for exchange of the 3300BT. It now works as it is supposed to... Now I just have to send back in the 3300BT.

 

If i were going to switch out my head lights which brand would u guys suggest? i'm not a huge fan of the blue but more along the lines of a hyper white.

 

phillips makes great bulbs...

 

Right on but from what I've heard it's not as easy as just changing out the bulbs correct?

 

do you have stock HIDs?

 

yes.

 

If you remove the wheel and the wheel well liner you can access them pretty easily. The really hard ones are the parking lights on the inside corners. Those were def designed to be changed by japanese hands. As for the turn signals and HID bulbs you can get to them through the cutout under the wheel well liners. Remove the wheels and its even easier. Unless you think you have a balast problem?

Low-beam
Halogen type
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.

2. Remove the fasteners, then slightly bend back the mudguard.

3. Disconnect the connector.

Caution
• A halogen bulb generates extremely high heat when it is illuminated. If the surface of the bulb is soiled, excessive heat will build up and the life of the bulb will be shortened. When replacing the bulb, hold the metal flange, not the glass.
4. Remove the cover.

5. Remove the socket, then remove the headlight bulb.

6. Install in the reverse order of removal.

 

Yeah i knew about the parking lights being a bitch. I'll have to figure out something with that. Any idea what kinda bulbs are needed for those?

And with the headlights your sayin i can just change the bulbs and that's it? Cuzz I was looking at the Phillips ones and the way they make it look, you have to actually change the ballasts for the headlights with a $300 kit.

 

You say "halogen type". Does this mean i cant use HID type bulbs? Sry im asking so many questions i just dont wanna **** something up.

 

I used the V-LEDS bulb in the headlights at 5K. Really its preference, what you have is a peanut bulb(194) right now. I used the 20 dollar bulb. Here is the link: http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/C...orLanding/true

Now this is just my experience and others may have been different. But they do match the stock headlight color pretty well. Also the 4300 K headlight bulb thats stock offers the most usable light. Heres a quick reference guide for you: http://www.mobilehid.com/4300k.htm

By going to 5K you loose 200 lumens, which is not bad. But if you goto 6 K you loose almost 400 Lumens of light. But other than that as long as its a DS2 bulb you are ok. I saw you wanted the whiter color so I am guessing the 5K bulb. You should try swapping out your corner and front parking lights with 5K led bulbs and see if that changes the perspective on the way you see your headlights.

The phillips crystal 5000K DS2 bulb is the purest white you can get from a halogen bulb(or so they claim). They have an even newer bulb but they don't say it comes in DS2 format?? I also didn't find one of the new crystal vision ultras on a general search for D2S. This is just the bulbs, I wouldn't change a working ballast. But for 300 dollars you are probably looking at just the bulbs after shipping. : http://www.topbulb.com/find/Product_...roductID=54616

Its 85 dollars for a ballast and about 200 dollars for the two bulbs(online) or its 260 for the upgraded bulbs. You can find them cheaper by shopping around but those are the prices I found with a quick search. But you don't need the ballast yet if yours are still working so as long as you bought the correct socket type you are fine. Here are your part numbers for stock.

D2S Philips Xenon 85122 Bulb
Denso D2S Xenon Ballast Wiring Harness Power Plug 9005 9006
Mazda RX8 D2S Ballast Part number :KDLT002

 

I actually just copied and pasted the shop manual there when I thought you were going to reply that you had halogen and not HID bulbs. Here is what the shop manual says for HID bulbs. I jumped the gun on that one and I am sorry.

Discharge type

Warning
• Incorrect servicing of the discharge headlights could result in electrical shock. Before servicing the discharge headlights, always refer to the discharge headlight service warnings. (See DISCHARGE HEADLIGHT SERVICE WARNINGS.) 1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Remove the fasteners, then slightly bend back the mudguard.
3. Remove the cover.


Caution • The bulb generates extremely high heat when it is illuminated. If the surface of the bulb is soiled, excessive heat will build up and the life of the bulb will be shortened. When replacing the bulb, hold the metal flange, not the glass. 4. Remove the connector, then remove the discharge headlight bulb.
5. Install in the reverse order of removal.

DISCHARGE HEADLIGHT BULB SERVICE WARNINGS

• To prevent electrical shock when replacing the discharge headlight bulb, dry hands thoroughly, and carry out work in an area out of rain.
• When the light switch is on, approx. 25,000 V of high voltage passes through the discharge headlight bulb socket. Because of the danger of electrical shock, do not insert fingers or a tester.


• When the headlights are on, high voltage flows around the socket and bulb. When turning on the discharge headlights while working, always leave the headlights in the vehicle-installed condition to prevent electrical shock.
DISCHARGE HEADLIGHT CONTROL UNIT SERVICE WARNINGS

• Because of the danger of electrical shock, when inspecting with a tester, do not inspect the discharge headlight control unit as a single unit or disassemble it.


DISCHARGE HEADLIGHT CONTROL UNIT REUSE

• If the discharge headlight control unit is dented or damaged in any way, replace the unit with a new one to prevent electrical shock and improper operation.
• Although the unit may temporarily operate normally even though it has received an impact, it is possible that the interior may have been damaged. When reusing the unit, inspect the following items regarding discharge headlight illumination to verify that there are no malfunctions.
– Verify that the discharge headlights illuminate normally by testing them several times under cold illumination (headlights off for approx. 10 min or more and then turned on) and hot illumination (headlights on for approx. 15 min or more, turned off for approx. 1 min, and then turned on again) conditions. – Inspect the headlight illumination in the period from directly after cold illumination until they are uniformly illuminated (approx. 5 min) and verify that there is no flickering or inconsistent brightness. – Turn on the headlights for approx. 30 min with normal condition bulbs and verify that there is no brightness difference between the right and left, and that illumination is consistent.

 

I know it sounds like a PITA, but I think the easiest thing is to just pull the front bumper off. Then you can unbolt the headlight assembly and have all the room in the world.

While you may be able to fit your hand down in there, it's really hard to get the parking lights to snap back into place. I think it's so much easier to just pull the headlight assembly out and go from there.

Plus, doing it that means you only do it once instead of pulling out the wheel well covers, which you have to do twice.

Here's a good video on how to remove the bumper if you're concerned about it.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-video-front-bumper-removal-164596/

 

I had to remove my headlights to get the parking lights fully seated. However, we did Steve's headlights last weekend and it's really very easy. Take wheels off, undo like 6 clips in the wheel wells, unscrew the lowbeam cover and twist/pull the wiring out. Unclip the bulb and it just comes right out. Repeat in reverse.

 

Yeah all of these diagrams are making the project seem as hard as cleaning the SSV on our cars. Headlight bulbs are easy just reach twist etc. Get new HID Bulbs from Vleds. Our ballast supports 35W...

Its really not hard at all...

 

I can change out the parking bulbs at a meet sometime. Just bring them.

I have small hands. Perfect for working on the 8. Lucky me

 

yeah. head light bulbs dont require bending over for 12 hours

 

HAHA Very funny Nick...

 

On the way to the DFW mazda meet I saw a black on black RX8. No spoiler, black rims polished lip and thier passenger side tail light was out. Who was it? You followed me from Frisco to addison while I was learning how to drive in ice and snow in a sandstone metallic trailblazer.... Sorry!!!!

 

Whats up guys, when I start my car it makes a whistle like noise I have to push on the clutch and it stops but when I release it it starts again it takes a minute for it to go away after the car warms up, any ideas on whats causing it?

 

/\air pump?

 

Id have to hear your car buddy, sorry im not familiar with a Whistling sound... hmm

 

Mine does something simliar. I've seen a bunch of people post that this is somewhat normal. Did it just start doing it?

 

It sounds like you have a "whistle tip"! Does it go WHOO WHOO?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnzw_i4YmKk

 

Hahahahaha.... WHOO WHOO!!! "You know what im saying mane...its that WHOO WHOO"

 

Yeah it just started. it does it for a little while its just irritating.