Hi Everyone!

I've been on the forums here for a few years, but wanted to reintroduce myself and to say hello again!

I bought an '04 Velocity Red RX-8 in 2014 and had a lot of fun with the car until about 8 months after the purchase. Unfortunately, I had to sell it due to a lot of mechanical issues and neglect from the previous owner of the car and from the slow loss of compression.

Ever since the day I sold it, I've always been on the lookout for an RX-8 in mint condition and came upon an '09 RX-8 in a much better state that I decided to buy last week. It only has 23,500 miles on it and runs really smooth and I will definitely continue to take care of it every day.

When I bought the car, I noticed these black debris deflectors on both sides of the car (not sure the exact name of them) and the dealership that I bought it from (non-Mazda) said that I could take it to a local body shop to get them removed. I brought it to one of the body shops that I've used for repair work in the past and they said I could use a heat gun or hair dryer to slowly peel it away. They also recommended using Goo Be Gone afterwards to remove the remaining stickiness. I just want to get some more thoughts from other owners on here to make sure I don't damage the 8's paint as I take it off.

Thanks so much for your help in advance and I look forward to many happy drive's in the new 8, learning a lot, and being back here in the community!

 

Subbed for an answer as well. Mine are in just as awful shape and I'm ready to remove them.

 

Combination of Goo Gone and a heat gun on low along with some elbow grease should be sufficient. Afterwards I would also use rubbing compound to blend the area thats been protected underneath so long.