Ok, I installed the midpipe, but the 2 braces that cover up the OEM cat do not fit on.. Is that normal?

 

You have them swapped or backwards. The front won't go on the back, or back on the front, and the won't fit upside down or reversed.

 

I did not take one off all the way so I could not possibly have done it wrong. The back one went on, but was SO tight against the pip the rattling was outrageous. I didn't even try to put the other on on because it was also about 1/2 inch too far on each side. cant even touch the car with it. I will try again tomorrow to see if for some reason they were on wrong before I started this. Thanks as always for the replies. I will post tomorrow night with my findings.
Edit: its a mazsport mid pipe btw.

 

Oh, it shouldn't be against the pipe at all. Are the rubber exhaust hangers re-installed? Just 1 for the midpipe, and 1 more for the catback that shouldn't have needed to come off, but if it failed, the combined missing hangers could make the whole pipe sag enough.

My BHR pipe clears the braces by easily 1.5-2 inches, if not more.


Moderator note to anyone else reading: Leave the comments regarding Mazsport Scott out of this unless there is a specific known fitment problem.

 

Yea I only took the 1 hanger off. I did the cat back a few weeks ago, the hangers were all re installed properly. Maybe they are just not good enough or something now. I will fiddle with the cat back and see if raising it will fix the problem. If it does, I don't know where to go from there. new hangers? smaller hangers? I didn't even consider that as a cause. will check it all out tomorrow.

 

The pipe sagging is the only reason I can think of for why it would be touching the braces. The header is fixed in orientation due to being bolted to the engine, the cat-back is ONLY hung by rubber hangers, 5 of them, 2 at the back on each side and 1 holding up the forward pipe. The cat/midpipe is held up by 1 hanger at the rear, plus the 2 bolts to the catback and 3 bolts to the header.

 

Upon further research and reading, I found that the design of the mazsport indeed needs spacers on the cross members if you want to put them back on. found it here: https://www.rx8club.com/aftermarket-...-164164/page4/
then kept reading to see what people did about it.

 

where can I find a good rebuild kit for my greddy turbo?

tip: make sure you do an engine cool down after you take your car for a joyride

 

Would my 8 be too stiff if I got a rear mazdaspeed strut bar?

 

Thanks for sharing the post filled up with so much knowledge.sorry but ive only driven a SUV, Benz and Jag and they were all AT so i didnt know much about revving.

 

"too" is a word that implies a severity beyond a limit. Are you asking about your limit? the cars limit? Our limit? Many people don't believe there is ever "too stiff", and for racing, that is accurate. However, most of the stiffening methods for our car have very minor effects. Our car is quite stiff to begin with.



I'm not sure who you are responding to, or if you have an actual question here?

 

So I have been doing research, but I want some personal experience input. Have been looking at the AEM, Injen, and RB Revi cold air intakes. What intake should I buy? is there another brand I have not considered? I didn't include Takeda and K&N on there because I know if the issue with them. OR do you think just a drop in filter would suffice? And yes I read your post about it. Im leaning towards the AEM.

 

Many people here will tell you that an intake isnt' "worth it", I disagree as long as it's a well engineered and properly installed intake.

I've run both the Racing Beat (with ram air duct) and now the AEM on my car and those are the only two intakes I would recommend.
Both will do a better job of flowing cold air to the engine over OEM.

For me, it comes down to what 'look' are you going for?
The Racing beat intake is very 'stock looking' and aside from the RB decal on the air box you really can't tell it's been altered.

the AEM is a bit more of an aggressive look seeing as how it removes the air box.

I prefer the AEM but only if paired with some form of metal intake tray (BHR makes a good one) otherwise that plastic intake tray is quite the eye sore.

 

Is the tray needed? I figure it should be removed to improve airflow out of the radiator...

 

Wouldn't you want to keep the tray with an open cone filter to reduce the possibility of water spraying up during rain storms?

 

pretty sure riwwp is talking about the tray the airbox sits on not the under tray that attaches to the bumper

 

Theres a large plastic shield that attaches to both sides splash guards and to the bumper up front. That would block the water. Tray would only be on left half anyway.

 

Dumb Question: Does any1 have a specific tool (and if a ratchet, what length extension they used) to get the bolt for the ESS off?

I tried EVERY extension I have, and they are either too short which means the oil pan is in the way, or too long and the front axle is in the way.


I do want to take it off because (and I do appreciate the suggestion to clean it while on their RIWWP) cleaning it while on their did not work. ESS probably isnt the issue at this point because it doesnt look too dirty and I did clean it a bit, but I wanna take every precaution I can before towing it to the dealer.

 

Thats the other thing i'm concerned about, Heavy rain while using the AEM or RB with the Ram Air. will it screw me over?

 

keeps intake temps down at idle, but apparently it goes back to normal after driving it.

I wanted the "look" of no tray, so i made one out of polycarb. Just a prototype, the final version will feature only 2, maybe less brackets. Everything will be bent using a plastic bending tool.

 

It would have to cover the filter or air duct to be a real problem.

 

I've ingested water before through my (modified) AEM one crazy rain/monsoon laden morning.

Threw a MAF code and bogged for a couple seconds was the extent of it.

 

Alright I have a dumb question.
I've swapped all my interior and exterior lights to LEDs, excluding turn signals cause I didn't feel like messing with load resistors.

I rewired my side markers to work as turn signals, and I installed footwell lights that are wired into the ashtray light circuit.

If I turn on my turn signal, or hazard lights, while:
my running lights and head lights are OFF, and
I dim the dashboard lights down about half way

everything starts to flash. The running light dashboard icon flashes. The display on the HU flashes. The volume ****, the footwell lights. Everything flashes with the turn signals.
If I dim the lights back up it stops.

I basically never dim the interior lights when the headlights are off cause I typically want it as bright as possible in the daytime so it's not really a huge inconvenience. I just found it really odd.
Also, since I never dim the lights, I can't pinpoint what exactly I changed or installed that made this start happening. My first thought was because I put LED bulbs in the side marker lights, cause a lot of people say they only work in one polarity, but they work just fine.

Any ideas?

 

I rewired my side markers to work as turn signals,

Pretty obvious where the link between the turn signals and the rest of the lighting system occured. Try disconnecting those and see if it 'fixes'.

The interior light circuit monitors the headlight/running light current to decide on bright or dim, so your mods have put it right on it's trip point.

No load resistors needed if you go to an electronic/trailer type flasher.

 

Invest in a 25 cent diode my friend