Edge

I had a friend who got an alignment and new tires at the same time. He drove for a week and wound up with 2 bald tires on the front due to them screwing up the alignment. He did not get 2 new tires until he actually climbed up on the managers desk and made a very loud scene in front of all the other customers. Not sure this would work in a dealership, especially since most of their furniture is pretty flimsy, but . . .

Charleston

No, you don't go postal on the dude unless you want to end up in the back seat of a police cruiser. He is guilty of being stupid and not much more unless he was stupid enough to put it in writing. In that case pass go and collect the 6 CD player :D :D OTOH, more than likely the best you can hope for is getting it at dealer cost which only a manager can take care of for you. So do your heart and mind a favor and approach it that way. We have all screwed something up or down in our lives

Charleston

Sorry, I posted the same thing twice. Dang lag.

BillK

You're kidding, right?

Anyone that wants your side strakes and has a screwdriver will probably put it behind the strakes and will pry until something gives - likely the plastic vent piece they screw to. I doubt any thief would spend the time to unscrew them.

(This is based on the fact that thieves slash the plastic rear windows on Jeep Wrangler soft tops despite the fact they're held on with zippers and Velcro® fasteners, allowing them to easily be removed from the outside of the vehicle...)

ReX-8

Thanks for all the pics Fab 8.. Can you post some pics of your car after you got all the accessories installed? I am really interested in the side fender strakes, but don't know whether to get the polished ones or the matte aluminum ones. So I wanna see how they look on the car before making the decision.

Fab 8

You're right, my bad. I meant to say that anyone with a screwdriver will be able to pry them off, not unscrew them.

Fab 8

No problems, will definitely post pictures, both before and after installation of accessories! Shld be able to get mine next week. :D

Mazda Monkey

Watch out for the "hidden" 10mm bolt that secures the faceplate. If not removed, the facepalte will break. If you remove the plastic panel beneath the steering column the access is easier. Look for a gold anodized 10mm bolt that screws into the side of the audio unit.

Racer X-8

Thanks! I'll be doing that work, so I'm sure glad for your tip! I'm getting no extras besides the GT group stuff. Gonna add this kinda stuff later, you know, when the $ funds / deal is right. Again, thanks!!!

B-Nez

Is it only on the driver's side, or is there one on the passenger side, as well? I wondered this when looking at Yukhi's photos depicting the screw on the driver side (right-drive car).

Mazda Monkey

Driver's side only. (Left hand drive)

Ahura

I received my accessories with my car at wholesale cost To my surprise, instructions for installation of the MP3 player came with the MP3 front panel. The installation looks pretty straightforward. I haven't done it yet, but I plan to when I get back in town.

Here are the prices I paid:

MP3 Player -- 243.75
Car Cover -- 187.50
Cover Cable -- 7.50
MP3 Panel -- 15.00

Racer X-8

Where from? Your Mazda dealer? "With your car" - I guess so. Please confirm that...thanx

Ahura

Yep, that was part of the deal my salesman gave me on the car. It was Rider Mazda in State College, PA. I think they're only giving wholesale prices to people who buy their car there.

Turbosmoke

i wanna see some pics of the 8 with your stuff on it

RX-Nut

Cool Ahura.. be sure to share info.. I'm looking to get that MP3 soon but wanna hear how the install goes and how good the deck is..

BTW, how is the car cover? It is good? What kind of material is it? Is it pretty tough? It is non scratching.. Is it of that synthetic chamois feeling material? Sorry for all the questions..

:D

Ahura

I can't really compare it to other covers since I've never really looked at one up close. But to my eye, the cover is a quality piece. The car is just as flashy with the cover on (I got the yellow/black cover). It has foil shielding where it covers the exhausts, and a clear plastic window where the license plate is. It feels totally synthetic, but not chamois-like. The outside feels like a Gor-Tex coat. I'm not sure whether it's breathable, though. It also looks to be very tough and resistant to any damage to it. The inside of the cover doesn't look like it could scratch the paint.

A car cover was totally necessary for me since I don't have a garage, and oak trees cover my entire driveway. Oh yeah, I'll post when I install my MP3 player, but don't expect that for another 2 weeks since I'm out of town. I'm dying right now... 1 1/2 days with my RX-8 then nothing for 2 weeks.

jdl

Anyone know if the mp3 player has an aux in? or one of the other audio modules? I'm thinking of how to plug in my iPod. Option of last resort is inserting anything into the cassette player, but I'd rather not even get the cassette player.

Cheers,
-jd.

Ahura

The MP3 player doesn't have an aux in. An input from an external device has been discussed before. One easy option would be to purchase a FM transmitter for your iPod. The harder option would be to splice an input into the tape/MD output wires in the back of the audio unit. To me, this sounds much harder, and you would need access to the wiring diagram (shop manual). On the other hand, you wouldn't have to burn several MP3 CD's and you could easily sync your car audio with your computer audio.

Sputnik

It's harder than you think. There are no external connections between the tape/MD unit and the main unit. All of those connections are internal, and proprietary.

---jps

Racer X-8

I'm looking at getting the MP3 and the cassette deck. Not only do we have many cassettes, we also have an iRiver iFP-380T MP3/WMA Flash Player. I'm planning on getting a cassette adaptor that plugs into the iRiver headphones jack. It goes into the cassette deck like a regular cassette.
Haven't you come up with that alternative before? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm thinking you already knew about these and don't want to do it that way for some reason that I am not aware of. If so, what's wrong with that aproach? Is it that you don't have the massive accumulation of cassettes like we have?

jtimbck2

I think jdl said he doesn't even want to consider getting the cassette player for his RX-8. I concur, I would have no use for a cassette player either, since I completely stopped using cassettes at least 6 years ago.