Hello all,

I might be close to buying a 2010 RX8 R3 with 50,000 kms and wanted to get your advice on first maintenance and mods. I will be getting an extensive pre-purchase inspection at a Mazda dealer incl. compression test.

I plan on weekend driving during summer only. I am located in Toronto, Canada.

Maintenance:

1. New battery, Starter, and Alternator (as needed based on condition)
2. Oil and Filter change
3. Air Filter
4. Drive belts (as needed)
5. Coolant flush
6. Diff oil
7. Brake flush
8. Transmission oil (manual)
9. Suspension bushings (as needed)

After doing some research and reading on these forums, I am considering the following mods on a completely stock R3. Please let me know if you feel there are better options.

1. BHR midpipe
2. BHR ignition kit
3. RX8 Performance Motor Mounts
4. RB SS Brake line and Clutch line
5. ECU (?) - can't seem to find an answer as options are very limited for S2, what would you suggest?
6. Coolant temp guage - any recommendations

Optional:

1. RB Catback
2. RB Headers
3. RX8 performance Cooling fan control kit
4. AEM CAI or RB REVi

Thank you all for the help! These forums have been a great resource.

 

if the car has aftermarket struts or is lowered I really recommend agency rear end links
they are on sale right now
https://www.agencypower.com/agency-p...11-p-6067.html

 

If you don't have emissions testing I'd suggest doing the midpipe ASAP before you do any ignition or engine mods on the off chance you get misfires.

Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.

 

I'd add brake fluid to the maintenance list.
What are your goals for this car? Aftermarket motor mounts will increase cabin noise and vibration, but if you're going to track the car they help quite a bit. Depending on your goals you may or may not want that mod. The 2010 mounts are a lot better than the early ones. I'm not sure RB makes any though, did you mean BHR?
Brake and clutch lines I'd leave alone as well unless you're tracking. Stock brakes on these cars are really good.
ECU: these cars are tuned by reprogramming the stock ECU with something like MazdaEdit. Depending on your goals, there may not be any point in it on a stock car.

 

I am guessing most wear items will need replacing on a 10 year old car.

It's completely stock now - would you still recommend this upgrade?

Right - no more emissions testing in Ontario. The midpipe will throw a CEL - right? and which ECU flash should hide i?

My bad - I meant RX8 performance mounts
I was planning to do brake fluid when I install the new lines. My intent is to weekend drive and only summer driven.

 

Wouldn't you want adjustable end links on a lowered car?

 

Saw you added some optional mods. I would drive the car and see what you actually need.
You may want to invest in suspension work if you're tracking. The R3 stuff is good for a stock car, but you may decide to need better.

You don't need a CAI, there is nothing to be gained from it. Certainly not for the price they go for.
I'd recommend a CSF 3164 rad over Koyo. At 50,000km and Ontario weather, this isn't urgent.
You don't need a higher capacity oil pan.
You don't really need the cooling kit in Ontario weather, but I guess it doesn't hurt either.

Other stuff to think about:
- brake rotors and pads?
- track wheels?
- gauge of some sort to accurately read coolant temp

 

no, do not install these unless your car makes alot of clunk clunk noises going over bumps
the rear stock height of the RX8 is quite high and the stock end links are taller

although they don't advertise it, the Agency Power rear end links are about 3/4" shorter than the stock ones which makes the suspension far more neutral and takes off some load
I have used adjustable parts on my Rx7 in the past and it is more pain than they are worth but agency power does sell adjustable front end links if you want a more track oriented setup

 

Cool, thanks for the info.

 

Re: CSF radiator - it may not be compatible with the S2 - https://black-halo-racing.myshopify....mance-radiator

Re: ECU flash - I will get a CEL with midpipe, do I just get a OBD reader and clear it myself? Would it need to be tuned differently with midpipe?

Re: Coolant guage - can you please recommend one? Any other cooling mods?

Thanks!

 

Ecu flash: needed to permanently block certain CEL's. An obd2 reader can only clear them and they will come back now or later.
Coolant gauge = use your phone and a obd2 app. Will display the coolant from the OEM sensor.
Other cooling mods: get the cooling fan temp down by that ecu flash you get to delete cel's. Also bump up the oil injection by 100% in the low load areas while you're at it.

 

I just clear my occasional CEL with my Android phone, a Bluetooth dongle, and the Torque app.
One time $5 charge for the app, dongle's around $30.

 

Thanks guys. Also found a great thread here detailing a R3 build.

I hear a lot about cooling and lubrication which are key to rotaries - in your opinion, how would you priortize these mods?

- Coolant hose and oil lines
- Cooling fan control kit
- Radiator
- Mishimoto dual fans
- Aluminium coolant tank
- Aluminium Air Separator Tank

 

For the described usecase, maybe the radiator, way down the line when the plastic end tanks on yours start be a risk.

The other stuff has no effect / not needed. Mishimoto fans flow less air than stock. Hoses are a matter of age and you're not at age limit yet. Oil lines don't need to be changed if they're not damaged. Aluminum coolant tank / air separator are not necessary, stock is fine.

The fan control kit could go either way. I've never felt the need for it, the stock cooling system is plenty for Ontario/Quebec weather. If you were in Florida that's another story.

I understand you want to make all these changes, but you're getting a low mileage, presumably good condition car. It will work fine for a long time. Conversely making all kinds of changes introduces risk that it won't work fine. I'm not saying don't mod because it's not worth the money, I'm saying don't mod because you probably won't do better than original components for a long time.

Source: raced/daily/winter driven 2004 (the dreaded early model). Only mod in the year of purchase was BHR ignition. Still original engine, still passing compression.

Regarding which gauge to get: the phone suggestion is good. You can also get an ultragauge if you want something semi-permanent without messing up the interior. http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/ The best option IMO, if you're lucky to find it and it works with series 2's, is a GoodBox. It puts OBD info in your center display.

 

None. Get a ECU tune and fix the fan turn on temperature to the 190F area and thats it.
The rest don't need any upgrading unless they are simply broken or leak. I only upgraded my fans because of a turbo build and because one of the OEM fans burned out.
Don't forget the premix.

 

Brilliant! I was being paranoid, looking at all these mods out there. Haha.

 

I'm down in Chatham and got an RX8 also this year!

 

Nice! I am waiting for an inspection to seal the deal. Keeping my fingers crossed

 

As long as you get compression numbers. Also make sure crank pulley isn't wobbling. I had near perfect compression but a wobbly crank pulley. Looking to have to rebuild to solve that issue.

 

Yes - I will post the numbers here to get a second opinion.

 

More than happy to help. Just post what info you get from the inspection and I for sure will let you know. Make sure you get a readout from the compression test or photo proof of the tester numbers. Ensure they are using a rotary specific tester.

 

Cooling is #1. Followed closely by ignition system (coils, plugs, wires and starter). After a new radiator, the rest isn't necessary. Mishimoto is not recommended. Try to stick with stock cooling components. Radiator upgrade is more important, would only recommend a 2 row racing aluminum radiator. Stock systems are good enough from there including the fan.

You should only need to track temperatures. I live in a tropical climate and see no more than 93 degrees Celsius. If you have more than that, your cooling fans are likely the issue. Hope this helps.

 

So, today was inspection day at a Mazda dealer but the car didn't start because the battery was dead (according to the Ford dealer selling the car). I had test driven the car back in October and it ran fine. It had been sitting in the lot since then - one of the reasons I was able to negotiate a good deal on it.

Could it be something other than a battery? Anything in specific I should get the Mazda dealer to inspect closely beyond compression? (starter motor, alternator, etc.?)

 

Definitely put a new battery in and start it. I've left mine for almost a year and it started right up like I just left it. Compression test is good but if it was running fine when you left it, it should still be fine now. Would just replace the fuel. If it doesn't start, do the deflood procedure as shown in this very helpful video that scored me 2 cheap 8's. Possible tried to start with a low battery and flooded it.

https://youtu.be/jen70zeNMPU

 

They put a new battery in it and dropped it off at Mazda. Should get results in a day or two.