Anyone interested in getting some cars together for a run when the weather clears up? Hocking hills? I know some other cars that are interested and figured why not get some 8s and show them why we are better....haha

 

Let me know if you can get some other people together for some fun in an empty parking lot when the snow is on the ground! There are tons of fun places around here.

 

I didn't buy snow tires since I hardly never really have to drive, and now I can't get my car out of the driveway lol. I went out after the first snowstorm we had one night and made it around the block and said screw that.

I just screw around in the company van instead =D

 

My 8's my DD so I'm out every day in it. I've got Blizzak LM-25s on it and they work great. I've had ZERO problems save for a couple starts from a dead stop, but that's to be expected. Driving a RWD in the snow is always a blast. West Campus lots, anyone?

Depending on my schedule, I'm always up for a GTG. Unfortunately with job, wife, kids and really life in general finding free time is difficult.

 

I got some Blizzaks on my wheels for the winter and I love them. I haven't had any problems in the snow or ice...and that's a lot coming from me b/c I'm an idiot on the roads.

However, this winter, for some reason, has taken a HUGE toll on my Mazda Rx8. I found some rust forming on my trunk beneath the middle tail light and more rust under my driver side fender and door. Also, my master clutch cylinder is going crazy. When Spring rolls around I have some serious work to do.

Does anyone know anybody that's good with body work (i.e. rust, sand, mold, and paint)? I also would like to glance at someone's master clutch cylinder because I have a feeling Ricart Mazda is lying to me about something.

Hocking Hills when it warms up? I'm down. I'm new to the area so I've never been down that way.

 

I live in the Columbus area...if anyone has any interest in buying 4 2004 rx8 rims...or a VR stock front bumper...email me.
thanks guys.

 

I've got a guy north of Columbus in Marion who does an AWESOME job with body work. PM me for his info.

Also - OMFGLOLWTFTTIWWOP MORE SNOW!!!!!! Seriously, though, I'm tired of snow. I just got a new (to me) set of wheels for my non-winter tires and I want to put them on soooo bad.

 

i got a guy who does all my body work and yes i have 2 rust spots but they are like smaller than a spot but i am gonna ge them fixed asap if you need info he is located in newark ohio and been racing rotarys for years and has a rx8 road race car so he knows his stuff.

 

and i am up for a get together i feel all alone in my rx8 lol no one in the newark area?

 

I'm originally from pataskala, tho the side closer to columbus. Live by osu now however.

I'm up for whatever whenever really, i have hardly driven at all this winter, can't wait for spring.

And buckeye007, did you happen to be headed out east on 670 last night? I followed a WB pretty much all the way out from campus, which was good cause until they passed me i was half asleep which is obviously bad on a freeway. Wasn't driving my 8 tho, was actually on my way to pick it up from my dads =/ (i need a garage). It was dark but the rims kinda looked like the ones you linked before.

 

Hey, first post, either way. But yeah, just got my 8 about a month ago and I'd be down for a little get together action for sure. Btw anyone in the Canal Winchester or Pickerington area?

 

hey t rx8 are u travis? if so i am jeremy.

 

Lancaster here. I have a black '04.

 

haha, whats cracking jeremy? And yeah, pming you my number text me sometime. But this sat. is looking pretttty nice. calling for 48 degrees, a killer day to do something.

 

finally had to replace the rotors, had just under 100k on them. went with slotted ones from the rx7 store complimented by hawk hps pads. they feel pretty damn good, with no squeek and very little brake dust compared to the axxis ultimates i was coming from

 

also, i wanted to wait on telling this story to give them a chance to make it right, but 7 months later and my issues are not addressed. i will never recommend true performance again. back in july i finally took the car in to have the body work i needed done, and was quoted $4k. ive got a friend who is in the industry who told me they are seriously hurting for business (mag no longer sends their cars there, so you can imagine what a dropoff that is) so i had originally thought about seeing if they could do it at a good price and not file a claim, but in the end decided to let insurance pay for it. randall had said that they could cover the deductible since they wouldnt be trying to play it tight and that the car should be done in about two weeks.

two weeks come and go and no word from them, so i call. still working on it, should be ready in a few days. a few days later theyre still waiting on some parts. to spare you the details this goes on for nearly a month. now, to be fair, i told them i wasnt in a big hurry b/c farmers reimburses me $50/day when im without the car, but that i only get 15 days or 20 days of this and at this point theyre well past that. there were also several items that i had to call and make sure were being taken care of throughout the repair. towards the end the receptionist stopped giving me updated and my calls were being diverted to randall and eds voicemail, which wouldnt be returned for days.

five weeks later and the car is finally done and i go to pick it up. what immediately stands out is the chip paint they used along the running boards looks like ****. the stock paint is a bit thicker and rougher, but whatever they used looks awful and is so thick and rough that it looks like there is standing water drops on it. they also did not paint the bottom part black like the original, so the lip at the very bottom now stands out and looks bad. i address this issue with randall and he tells me that is the paint they use, and that it is much more resistant to chips. mind you, ive got 98k miles on my car at this point and there were no chips. he says they will repaint the bottom piece black, but this has still not happened.

so im about to leave, excited to finally drive her after more than a month without her and the receptionist comes running out telling me that i need to pay the deductible. i ask what deductible, since i was under the impression it was being covered. randalls compromise was that i pay $300 and they give me $200 in gift certificates. i was not pleased, but at this point just wanted my car back.

when i get home that night i inspect the repair list and it turns out everything cost $5k, not the quoted $4k, and this includes a used door that was $300 less than the new one from the estimate (they did consult me about this) and that my taillight which had a broken seal was not replaced. there were no addendums to the original estimate except for those two things being cheaper/not done. the final straw was that THEY STOLE CHANGE OUT OF MY ASHTRAY. honestly, this is a shop that is dealing with some of the finest cars in columbus and they steal $4 in quarters?!?

i think i mentioned back then that right after picking it up i hit a dog, and i gave them a chance to make things right by fixing that. i supplied a few parts and gave them the $200 in gift cards back, but they did take care of it for me. however, i am still waiting on my taillight, and honestly dont have any hope it will ever be replaced, or that the paint on my running boards will be fixed. i have contacted randall several times, but at this point hes playing dumb and saying he doesnt understand what im asking for. ive been email him, so it couldnt be more black and white that i want my taillight replaced.

in short, true performance is not what they used to be and i strongly recommend avoiding them. in a down economy and in a situation where something like 60% of their business just up and vanished thanks to mag they were about as unhelpful, unhurried and unprofessional as they could be, all while coming in at 25% over the original estimate and missing their time frame by 100% without EVER contacting me about it.

 

If anyone ever needs someone to do bodywork I've got a guy up between Waldo and Marion who does great work. He'll make it as expensive or as inexpensive as you want. If you want new parts - he'll use new parts; if you want used parts - he'll find used parts. And his paint jobs are top notch. I had him repair and repaint a damaged quarterpanel on my 1998 Passat way back when. The paint color was this creamy satin silver and he matched it so well that the people at MAG couldn't tell work had been done.

I took the weekend to do the diff and transmission oil changes. Could the 75W90 oil smell any worse? OMFG that stuff smelled horrible. I think the shifting is smoother but it could just be my mind playing tricks on me. I'd hate to think I did it all for nothing.

I also changed out the spark plugs. I'm at 31,3xx miles so I figured it was time. At the moment I'm not getting any (nor was I getting) any ignition issues so I'm holding back on changing out the coils. My old plugs didn't look terrible (see below) and I'm not sure I notice a difference with the new plugs but better safe than sorry.

 

From my experience (twice now) those plugs look normal. I did my coils & wires as well as plugs last fall at about 75k. Made a huge difference, but it was breaking up under acceleration before I did that.

Brian,

Sorry to hear of your problems with True Performance. My experiences (all good) were well before the economy collapsed. I guess it's another case of a company ready to go under. Too bad - when they were good, they were really good.

 

the thing that really gets me about it is that he knew i was coming in off the referral of my friend, who happens to be a world-class detailer and so may have a few connections with every single premium car in the area! sigh...

 

man i went for a drive today, saw 5-6 cops. apparently they felt the same way about the weather as i did.

 

That sounds like Todd at Esoteric.

 

For those of you with winter/snow tires - when do you usually switch back to summer tires? As the weather warms I'm really wanting to put the summer rubber on but having lived in Central Ohio my entire life I know that the minute I do we'll get hit with a major winter storm. When do you guys usually make the switch?

 

Generally I do it the last weekend of MArch, depending on the forecast and my travel plans.

I hope to head to Barber for the Grand Am race April 9, so I'll definitely do it by then.

I'm in for new summer rubber this season, as I'm down to about 1/16th now! I'll probably order the Hankooks from Tire Rack next week and have my local guy mount and balance them.

If we get an April snow, I stay home!

 

finally got some pics of my 8 up and ready to enjoy :D

 

i wana call a 8 cruise this weekend with it being nice anyone down?