Doc - sorry...I'm at work and don't have access to my email from here. Damn firewalls! I will look at it as soon as I get home and let you know.

Vyndictive - I actually bought my Voodoo **** with my SS. Once I used the **** I had no desire to install the SS. Although...maybe at some point when I find some spare cash I will see if Ryan would let me drive his car for a minute to see what it is like.

 

so. . . you want to sell me the short shifter is what I'm hearing?

"I give you good price"

 

I sold mine to Ryan at the BoneYard.

 

Oh yes. I think we've been through this before. I have to cut down on drinking at the meets. . . or drink more. What I'm doing now isn't working.

New Mid-Pipe arrived yesterday! I'm thinking about, before I install it, bringing it here to work and cutting off the cat housing and replacing it with a resonator.

Any thoughts?
I was going to try searching around too. They say when you mess with the midpipe you have to re-tune your car... I have no idea what this entails or even if I need to do anything.

 

The gutted cat was intended for you to pass the visual inspection during e-check without having a fully functional cat.
You could always install a resonator and then have the cat housing re-welded on.
Some shops may not want to do this because its illegal to run catless.
Not to mention you have a 2.5" pipe, while "true" mid-pipes are usually 3" so something to be aware of if you intend to go FI.
No tuning is necessary because you're not changing anything with the engine.
You have a front O2 sensor that measures the amount of the oxygen in the exhaust gases and tells the PCM if the engine is too lean or rich.
This is before your cat so nothing has changed.
Now your rear O2 sensor is AFTER the cat (which is now gutted), but this is only used to monitor the efficiency of the catalytic converter.
This is why you'll have a constant CEL and why getting the AP is nice because it'll turn that bit off and you won't see a CEL for that particular sensor.

 

You don't have to but it is the only way you're going to get the most out of your midpipe. Until you tune it you will get less efficiency which generates more waste in terms of smell and soot. Once the car is tuned using an engine management device (ie. the COBB AP) to deliver a leaner mixture it will generate more power and waste less fuel. Plus you lose your CEL.

 

Less efficient.... more like not utilizing every bit you can potentially get with a tune.
This also won't "generate" more smell, just makes it noticeable because you no longer have a cat.
Gas mileage will NOT change because your front O2 sensor is still reading the same oxygen levels as it would with a cat.
I've been running with and without a cat for many years and have yet to notice any changes in my MPG.

 

That's a pretty funny line. If you can't smell something is it really smelly? I was just helping him understand the difference between the untuned car with a midpipe and a tuned car with a midpipe. Not car w/Cat vs. car w/o cat. But I can see the confusion.

I think MM's tunes, at least, tend to lean out the fuel mixture. Less fuel + more air = more efficient and less crap coming out of the back end in waste - both soot and smell.

EDIT: Worth noting that mods like exhaust/intake/midpipe help you untuned NA but tuning the car after these mods increases the gain from each mod. IE. adding a midpipe alone will probably net ~10 HP. Adding a midpipe to a tuned car and then adjusting the tune should net you ever more gains.

Just adding a midpipe will give you more ponies but won't change anything. Do you know if resetting his KAM or NVRAM is recommended? The system might respond a little to the increased air flow front-to-back. And I thought there were two 02 sensors - front and middle of midpipe - that help it determine trim.

Anyway you haven't seen any imrpovements because you haven't tuned your car yet. Get that freakin' AP already.

 

Your response was just a little misleading... made it sound like removing a cat was telling the PCM to add more "smelly stuff" into the air.
I just wanted to clarify what you were saying by adding that removing the cat only allows you to notice the "smelly stuff" generated by the engine.
Remember... if the engine is running too rich or too lean, the front O2 sensor will still pick it up (but without the AP, you won't notice the additional CEL).

Won't matter. The PCM will relearn its trim anyway.
Remember, the importance of the tune is to change the trim's target points.

No... only one which is mounted to the header.
The WBO2 sensor is an additional sensor that can be added.
Most mid-pipes come with the dongle already welded or you can have a shop weld one on for you.

I've seen improvements performance wise, just not MPG (under "normal" driving conditions).
And trust me... I'm saving up for that AP.

 

Yea, Jon - after speaking with you about this at the last meet. I'll bolt it up there. See if I like it and give it a try.

It looks like there was a lot that could be affected by this. The CEL won't bother me too much. . . it'll compliment my headlight alignment light and TPMS light when I put the winter tires on. . .

I just wanted to make sure not tuning something wouldn't adversely affect the car's drivetrain in anyway, fuel economy, and hopefully add a little more performance... or create the illusion of performance through sheer volume.

Its like on top gear when they drive a really fast car, but it doesn't "feel" fast. I mean, 0-60 in under 6 isn't good by today's standards, but it still feels very fast when you do it in an older car with a screaming V8.
Most of the performance mods are to make the car "feel" significantly better and more fun.
You're really limited by the 8 as to how much you can really gain through modifications. But... its fun, it my hobby, and I don't want to get a new car that would have more substantial gains through mods.

However, I'm not ruling out getting the B&B after awhile.

 

Common issue is that the increased sound makes the performance increase more than it really is.

 

Try it out... not gonna hurt a thing.
I always encourage others to try different mods and judge for themselves instead of only going by what they read.

 

while we're on the topic:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-sale-wanted-44/resonated-midpipe-154862/

Thoughts on that little guy? It looks basically like a straight pipe... I can't imagine that little resonator does very much.

 

Trying all these mid-pipes will eventually total what I paid for my MazSport pipe.
Once you install the gutted cat mid-pipe and hear how it sounds, THEN you can judge how this pipe will likely sound (far as loudness).

 

yes... my course of action is this...

Try out the pipe I bought from swoope. If I don't like it, I will try changing a few things here at the shop.

If that doesn't work or suite my needs and desires, I will probably put the stock cat back on and polish Swoope's pipe up and sell it to another stupid person such as myself.

From there I will buy something new like the B&B or the Mazsport pipe. something more expensive, but a better product.

Then I'll be done messing with it... probably.

 

Everyone who keeps messing with the midpipes for a daily driver eventually arrives at Mazsport's site...

 

well. . . your car is green. Thats stupid.








I'm just mad because you're probably right. . . .

 

Heh. You think you're dropping an insult but I'm always happy when people realize it's green. That's a big improvement...

Now if you want to tick me off just call it Black.

Anyone else going up to Northfield on Sunday? Looks like Beth, Brian, and Doc are signed up for BS. I just signed up for STU. Looks like it's just me and some Subaru that will probably crush me like a little girl. Wish I could have my damn tires on the wheels sitting in my garage so I at least stand some semblance of a chance. Tony? You up for some autox? We can let people judge which sounds better - your intake or my exhaust. Plus at least I'll know our cars are pretty close so I can see how bad I'm doing.

And anyone who isn't running feel free to stop up. Gonna be going on for most of the day since they're running 2 courses (morning then afternoon).

http://noraracing.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1902

 

BTW - There's a lot more shift ***** here:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ght=shift+****

Red ones that match the interior too.

 

Yea, i went through that entire thread - some were just bad. . .

I found some full red leather shift boots for sale. . . in a word:

Might order a black suede boot with red stitching and silver voodoo ****. similar to this little guy:

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...0&d=1181673396

I don't need the shift pattern on the ****. . . or the rotary powered text with the rotor symbol... or the navigation for that matter.

I think either the piano black voodoo **** or the aluminum one would be good. What is everyone else's thoughts?

 

in my ebay browsing I found this.

Now, I'm not an expert - but I'm pretty sure that this isn't a Mazda RX-8.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda...spagenameZWDVW

I've seen people make mistakes in ads before... a saab 'vert as an rx8?

 

Somebody will buy it and think they got a deal.

I like the red stitching on the boot.

Not a fan of that **** though.

 

VIN is an RX8. Probably pictures of an 8 labeled for sale as a SAAB on fleabay right now. This is what happens when a dealership lets a non-car person run their internet sales. They can't tell one car from the other.

 

stuff happens

 

i think the black voodoo would work better for your car than any other color.