Dairokkan

whats up everyone new to the forum but i just bought a 2005 winning blue shinka rx8 (6-speed) 4 months ago and i had a few questions

1. to anyone who has the mazdaspeed intake or the aem (since their basically the same design) do you have any problems with sucking up water cuz i know it sits in the mid/lower part of the front bumper.

2. i was thinking of getting the mazdaspeed exhaust and i was wondering how well its made like quality wise because its cheaper then most of the other exhausts i was looking at and wanted to know if it was cheaper because the quality was lower.

3. when i bought the car it came with this weird looking wing its the same color as the car so i thought it was the stock wing but after doing research iv seen no other rx8 with it or even found something close to it on line i would show you guys but i kinda dont know how to post pictures lol

4. i live in NJ and was wondering if there are any meets in the morris county area:D

thanks for the help

Slidin8

Not a Shinka

Dairokkan

how is it not a shinka?from what iv been told by other rx8 owners in my area itis and it says shinka on my registration. if im wrong i dont care but dont just flat out say im wrong and not explain why.i wasnt even really sure till i checked the thread about trim models and i have everything that the shinka has so im a little confused right now.

Eldragon0

Welcome to the club. Remember a simple search can go a long ways:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...-vin-s-166370/ There's a PDF list of all the 05 shinka's made. You can also google your VIN and if it's a shinka the first few results will give you a web list of all the Vin's. Also the main reason Slidin said that it's not a shinka is because shinka's didn't come in winning blue as far as I know.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

All 2005 Shinka's were Black Cherry Mica:


2006 Shinka's were many different colors, but Winning Blue was only available in 2004 and 2005.


Yes, the AEM/Mazdaspeed intake can cause problems at drive-through car washes and deeper puddles (along with any other intake that has a low mount pickup point). Deep enough and the water ingestion can destroy your engine. Avoid them at all costs if you have a low mount intake pickup point.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

And have Parchment (tan) leather interior. There are several other trim details, but those are the two biggest.

Yours is (by far) not the only registration to describe "Shinka" on it... I'm not sure why that is, though.

Oh, and, the proper way to announce your presence (present?) with authority is to include pics of your new ride. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I believe you at all!

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

I believe the reason to be related to what happens if you look up an RX-8 in KBB. They tend to list "Base/Shinka" because those were the only two trims. All other "trims" were just option packages for 2004-2005. Many dealers don't know any better, so they think that they are selling a "Base Shinka" and put it on all the documentation.

Dairokkan

i dont know how to post pictures

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Don't feel bad.
Me neither.

Dairokkan

lol

Coldwound

iTrader: (1)

Gentlemen let the hazing begin!!!

Sway

Use a hosting site like Imgur.com then post it....

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Sway!

monchie

Waiting for pics...

gwilliams6

Hey I respect your knowledge but don't set him wrong about the Mazdaspeed CAI. I have had one on my 2008 40th Anniversary Edition for five years and I have had NO problems. And that means no problems even though I use car washes and have driven through water and puddles for over 40,000 miles with it. (It does come with an effective sock) I also live in New Jersey like him which has its share of rain year round. Don't knock the product till you have driven it for years. I may not have as many posts here on this forum as you but I do have 40 years of driving rotary cars in all conditions and the Mazdaspeed CAI has proven reliable and trouble free for me in all weather. And I just spent a wet week up in the Poconos in Pa. (around Lake Harmony area-ring a bell ?) and had no problem with my RX8 and its Mazdaspeed CAI.

Cornbred

Riwwp isn't sayin all have problems or will have problems. but I've seen two in the last week on this forum that have had that problem. some are lucky... some .. not so much..

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gwilliams6

on most forums you will hear more about those having problems, but don't forget about the hundreds that have bought and used the Mazdaspeed and AEM CAI with NO problems. I drive through puddles and use car washes and any water issues get taken care of by the sock and its dries out long before any moisture gets into the engine. In street and track driving in the rain I have had no issues and I am not just lucky. Don't knock it unless you have driven with it for years in all conditions.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

gwilliams, there are several threads around here from people that have driven into deeper puddles with low mounted intakes and have cracked the engine block and/or seals when the ingested water couldn't be compressed. I'm not talking about tiny 1" deep puddles or anything either. Each of them was deep enough to actually get the water up to the level of the intake pickup.

Does this mean that it's a huge widespread problem? Nope. I even recommend that intake in my newbie's guide to modding. I am simply giving the new owner some valuable information to help him avoid a huge headache and possibly costly repairs from a moment of inattention.

Believe it or not, many of us have actually owned rotaries too, even if we don't mention it in every post.

Carbon8

iTrader: (4)

I don't believe anyone that doesn't reiterate themselves at least 7 times.

yankeepicker

RIWWP, I have read your newb modding sticky thread, and after reading this one as well, I'm a wee bit nervous. I bought the car with an AEM CAI already on it. The CAI has a prefilter on it as well. It's mounted per the instructions with the filter running transverse behind the grille. Underneath it is the plastic plate that spans the front end of the car. Before I bought the car, I was worried about water getting into the CAI, but then I read about the prefilter, so I figured that unless I was in water deep enough to submerge that lower plate (or have a fire hose or the like sprayed onto the prefilter), the CAI wouldn't suck much water into the engine.

That being said, even if water DID get into the engine, it would be atomized as it passes through the filter and then essentially turn to steam as it enters the rotor? I thought I read somewhere about steam cleaning a rotary engine to de-carbon it, though I could be wrong. But unless you're sucking in so much water that:
1. the immediate cooling effect of the water cracks something via thermal stress
2. the engine can't compress it at all and dies (but if so, wouldn't it flush out the water through the exhaust ports as the remaining rotational inertia keeps the rotor spinning for that brief moment?

Unless one of those two things happen... unless you are driving in water deep enough to get over the lip of the air intake in the front bumper (in which case you'd be rather insane)... the CAI should be okay, wouldn't it? Or am I totally wrong about the steam cleaning bit?

I got the car on Saturday. It's been raining every day since Sunday lol. I don't plan on driving through massive standing puddles, but as it's my new daily driver, there is always the potential, I guess. In the past 10 years of driving, I think I drove through exactly one puddle that was about 4 inches deep that I couldn't avoid.

Carbon8

iTrader: (4)

Some drastic over thinking seems to be present.

One can argue any intake can soak up water into the engine it all depends on the conditions in which you are driving and yes all intakes have different chances. That being said there are a couple documented cases where this intake in particular soaked water into the engine and cause catastrophic failures, seeing as we are unable to determine the true conditions at when these incidents took place coupled with that fact that this is the most popular intake for the 8 and for every incident there are hundreds if not thousands without incidents the risk in minutiae at best.



The better question would be, are you aware of what conditions you should not take your care through?

yankeepicker

It's easy to get caught up in the worry when the car is new to you (me). I wouldn't have opted to put the CAI on, but as it's already there, I don't really plan to revert to stock either (considering I'd have to purchase the parts to do it). You're right; I can't imagine that AEM/Mazdaspeed would design a CAI that would result in a vehicle impossible to drive through the rain or take through a carwash without all sorts of disclaimers. I certainly don't have buyer's remorse... I just want to ensure that I do what I can to make this car last. And that being said, I don't see any reason to intentionally take it through standing water. I was thinking more of ("oh $hit, that's a big puddle coming up... don't hydroplane...don't hydroplane...don't hydroplane... just get through it..." WHOOSH... and then back onto pavement. Talking like 1 second through a big splashy puddle. Worst case scenario I can logically envision (if the filter isn't submerged) is maybe a little backfire and then back to normal?

I tried looking for the documented cases, but I must be searching for the wrong thing. Can you point me in the right (general) direction? I'd be interested to see the descriptions of the failure events. Regardless, I'm not really concerned, which is why I said, "I'm a wee bit nervous" as opposed to "I'm $hitting my pants right now"

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, small amounts of water entering the engine can assist with cleaning it actually. This is a side effect of water injection systems. Take a look at my decarb pics thread where I show what the impact is of various common decarb methods.

That's not what I'm referring to.

I'm referring to when a large amount of water gets ingested that can't be atomized, and since water is a liquid and liquids can't be compressed, then the compression stroke of the engine can lead to excessive pressure with no where to go until something breaks.

I am NOT speaking against the intake, it's a great intake.

I'm just putting out the caution that these intakes leave you prone to a problem that the stock intake doesn't, and you should obey your common sense and avoid deep puddles of water. You should avoid them on a stock intake too of course There is just 1 more thing to be aware of in relation to them with an intake with a low pickup point.

Here are two of the threads of what can happen when you get careless about deep water:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-s...e-asap-196770/
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tro...ed-8-a-222466/

yankeepicker

Wow, I've never driven through that kind of water (even in my truck). Never intend to either.
Thanks RIWWP.

gwilliams6

Unless you plan on going swimming with the car, you will be fine with your AEM/Mazdaspeed CAI. You should never go swimming with a sports car unless it is that Lotus from James Bond or one of those old aqua cars. Seriously, where some of the few reported problems I heard about came from were early CAI that didn't have the water sock, and from drivers that additionally had their cars lowered from stock ride height . These cars driving through deep and almost flood like conditions could ingest more water than could be atomized. Any intake can ingest water under extreme conditions . But remember there are socks, filters etc. for that water to get through, and higher temps along your intake that can dry out any moisture long before it gets into your engine. And also there are many other RX8 modifications that potentially could cause far more harm to your engine than a properly designed CAI. Only you can decide if you wish to remove it and replace it with the stock intake. Just be careful making your decision based solely on advice from anyone who has not had first-hand experience with the part/parts in question. Advice is easy to come by, but first-hand experience is a little more work, but more valuable in the long run.