Unfortunately John... I just woke up from my power nap (my sleep schedule is all types of messed-up).
Thanks for letting me know about the meet... too bad its over with now.

 

Stage 1 - Brake Fluid Replacement appears to have been a success. I'm able to brake, I don't feel any more/less softness/hesitation than before the swap and by the end of the bleeding everything was blue. Only a moderate improvement if any at all so my brakes must have been pretty free of air.

VERY easy to do as long as you have a partner in crime. Tho it does take some patience to run through the whole thing as it turns very boring very fast. Also used a lot less fluid (about half-a-liter) than I expected so there is plenty of bonus brake fluid. I may actually bleed it again (and bleed the clutch this time - shoulda figured out how to do that before today) next time my car is off the ground. I think it's fine to keep the leftover fluid for a little in the can it came in but apparantly keeping it out too long risks moisture getting in.

Stage 2 - Tranny/Diff will hopefully occur in a couple weekends. Definitely less intimidated by that change now that I've had my car up in the air and changed some fluids. Should be relatively easy to level the car as well.

Mark - I think I'm free most of Saturday if you want to give it a shot. After today you might be needing new pads anyway so we can always try those as well.

 

Well guys, i got it! Picked up my Shinka Thursday night!

Orgasm on wheels... all i can say.

Now, short of F/I, what mods would you recommend? Don't care to replace the rims right now though.

 

In the end it all depends on your budget and what you are looking to do with your car. What I may do...may not be what you want to do. If you give us an idea of where you are looking to go with your car, we might be able to give you some opinions though. Congrats on the purchase though!

BTW...I know this is out of nowhere...but has anyone thought about what we are doing for this month yet?

 

Thanks! Love the car. Burned a full tank already and half way through the next! Woohoo!

Thinking some basics to start: intake and exhaust. Recommendations on brands? Read a little about ingition system upgades but not so sure about it... wanted feedback on that.

Looks: definitely clear the side markers... that orange is awful. replace the rest of the amber bulbs as well with some silverstars instead. different shifter ****. Prob the black voodoo ****. had something very similar in my tibby.

I know there isn't a whole lot to be done to the car outside of F/I to give large performance gains. that's fine. Not ready to go that route anyway.

 

Obsidian... congrats on your purchase.
Don't bother with the intake and cat-back unless you are looking for sound (or have money to blow).
Only proven performance (HP) mods that are noticeable is a mid-pipe, Cobb AccessPORT, and POSSIBLY ignition coil upgrade which we should see soon (though this may only "regain" what is lost through the stock coils that are known to be weak).
That being said about the ignition coils... since we have BHR's new ignition coils being shipped VERY soon (and hopefully I'm not too far down the list), I would wait on this to see how things go.

Once you consider FI, the kits will supply you with the correct intake, so don't waste your money now (unless you don't plan on going FI for awhile and want a louder sound).
Also, when you go FI, that would be the time to upgrade the cat-back to a full 3" pipe (again, unless you want to just do it now, just don't expect to notice any gains).

As you can tell by my signature below, I've been down that path of experimenting with different mods (and I also had an AP mid-pipe and AEM intake that I sold later on).
Once I get the Cobb AccessPORT, I think my car will be as far to performance (HP) gain than I can get without FI.
You would then need to start losing weight (ex: lighter flywheel) to get any "gain".

I posted this earlier, but I made a video that will give you an idea on the sound an intake & cat-back with give you with a stock cat and then with a dual resonated mid-pipe: http://www.vimeo.com/1326237

Also Obsidian... since I see you're from Akron, you can always stop by if you want to discuss this in person and/or see what I have.
I live a few blocks south of Chapel Hill mall just off of Tallmadge Ave (so north-eastern corner of Akron).

 

How about Friday AUGUST 22 back at Boneyard! Sorry Jon, no XTC.

BTW- did the Wilson Circuit at BeaveRun yesterday. I was treated exceptionally well by the Steele-Cities guys and had a great time. I HIGHLY recommend doing this. It's a lot of fun!

 

That's OK Doc... I wouldn't trust our 8s in that parking lot anyway!
And I'm assuming you meant AUGUST 22... not SEPT 22!

 

Yeah, I meant August. Dohhhhh

Alternatively, we could Go to Quaker Steak and Lube. Anybody have a preference?

 

Anyone been to Johnny Malloys?
If we decided on a meet in northern Akron, that might be a nice place.
http://www.johnnymalloys.com/ourlocations/akron.aspx

Its a couple blocks from me.
So if it sucks, we can go back to my place and play some pool.
I've never been there... maybe I'll stop by this weekend.
And its not downtown (which I wanted to avoid taking our 8s) so the location and the parking lot would be perfect.

 

I'm OK with that. So let's go with it. 7pm Aug 22.

"behrmersz for everybody!"

 

Im in...might even make it on time this time.

 

Thanks for your input Jon! I knew that N/A mods wouldn't do a whole lot but it seems just not worth the effort at all. May do the exhaust as prep for future F/I. Watched your video. Your dual reso pipe seems louder. was under the impression they were quieter or am i misinformed?

Definitely have to get together sometime. Very familiar with the area you live. Buddy of mine lives over at the Alphada Place Apts. I'm down near the Portage Lakes about 1/4 mile from Firestone Golf Course.

Count me in for the meet as well on the 22nd.

 

Cool! New guy's buying!!!!! Welcome to the club. And thanks....................LOL

Hey, how about some of you guys we haven't seen in a while - Dr Rob, Tony, John Boy, Bobby Sue............

 

The MazSport Dual Resonated mid-pipe is louder than the stock cat, but WAY quieter than the single resonated mid-pipe I used to have.
Also, this mid-pipe has a nice deep tone, while my other mid-pipe was a high raspy sound that was so loud that I had to blast my radio up while driving... even cruising in 6th gear on RT8.

I live on Jeanie J Ave... right around the corner from the Alphada Apts.

 

Well, if you're around this evening i may stop buy if you're up for it. I am headin over to his house i think for a bit. See what happens.

As for "New guy buying", that's fine. Don't mind pickin up the first round. heh.

btw, name's Mat. Nice to join you guys "officially" finally.

 

Was comin home from the dentist today and what do I see pulling out of my condo complex...another Galaxy Gray 8. Female driver...cute little brunette...caught me completely off guard.

 

You should have turned around and followed her home. Would have been totally appropriate.

As far as meets go I'm fine with just about anything. No idea if I'll be free that night but I'm not sure I'll be free for much after that anyway so plan away. Boneyard or Quaker Steak work but it'd be a lot better to get outdoor seating. Same with the Lizard in Independence tho parking there on a Friday night is rough.

If we're trying to keep in between Akron/Cleveland I think Johnny Malloys is a little far for most tho I'd be there. There's also a Winking Lizard in Macedonia that could work even though it doesn't have outdoor seating. Not too far south of Northfield park and right where 271 meets rt 8. Whitey's in Richfield might not be a bad option (just off 271 and 77). They have some phenominal chili, an outdoor volleyball court that usually attracts women, and cheap beer but on off nights it might not be so hot. Small parking lot too.

Seems like there are a lot more sports bars along 71 then along 77. That kinda blows.

 

Unfortunately I work 6pm to 6am... so weekdays are the worst for me.

 

Jon is a good person to listen too and I'll chime in if I think he's a little low on sleep or something.

Clear corners is all I'd get for now if I were you. You really can't go wrong. FWIW I ordered mine from rx8strakes.com (with the amber bulbs) and they got them to me in a couple days. Price was almost as good as people sell 'em used.

Get to know the car a bit before you go for anything more expensive. HP is always what people want because on paper it seems like it needs it... the reality is once you get to know your car you realize that suspension is what improves it the most. The minor HP gains I've gotten from my exhaust/intake have improved my driving experience but I went 2 years w/o them so subtle changes are picked up from my butt dyno.

Also since you bought yours used you may want to check the wear & tear to make sure the previous owner wasn't putting crap parts/fluids in. If you got the 40k mile one you were looking at that's generally where you're going to need to review general maint. (coils/fluids/pads/tires). Hopefully they jacked down the price a bit or gave you a certified warranty extension.

EDIT: Don't forget to redline it once a day!

 

Low on sleep... you better stick around more often to "keep an eye on me" then.

Good advise.
And also check with a dealer to ensure that you have all the recalls performed.

 

Since Ryan doesn't like driving more than 15 minutes for a meet...
what is the final word on where we are meeting?
I don't care if you guys want to meet around the Macedonia area, just let me know.
I was just throwing ideas out.

 

Came out to my car tonight and found this:



My car was leaning up against a cement post in front of where I parked. Lot points downhill and of course I parked fairly far away from the pole / guard rail. But when I got in the car (after shitting myself) I realized my eBrake was only about 3/4 cranked. I must have gotten out and at some point during the day the car started to roll.

It's only the bumper. Very little paint chipped (there's a lot of white plaster from the post) and the 'bump' should be easy enough to knock back. Looks like it created a gap between the corners and the bumper tho. Must have been a slow roll. I double checked the rear to make sure no one gave it a love tap or something to push it forward but there's nada so it musta just rolled.

I always go back and forth between leaving it in gear and just using the eBrake. Leaving it in gear AND using the brake from this point forward.

So annoyed.

 

Damn Ryan... that sucks.
I usually don't leave my car in gear either... but now I might reconsider.
On the bright side, each pic shows a different color on your car (and now white).

 

bastard.

I think it's mostly due to being overly tired on a Monday am. I'll get over it. Buy there's no logical reason to not leave it in gear and use the ebrake.