Option Questions (exhaust finishers, alarm upgrade, etc.)
 

Hey everyone,

For those of you who have taken some of the additional options, I was wondering if you feel they're worth the price. I bought my 8 about 2 weeks ago. I decided on a few options myself (appearance package, rotary accents, tinted windows, cd changer), but I declined on a couple that I'm still interested in. More specifically, what do you guys (or gals) think about the exhaust finishers and fender strakes? For $250 each, it seems pricey, but I like the way they look. My 8 is Sunlight Silver, and I've read mixed reviews about the strakes on that color.

Also, I was originally going to get the alarm upgrade, but the dealer talked me out of it by saying that it is too sensitive and may go off unnecessarily a lot of times. For those who have taken the upgrade, do you have these problems? Thanks for the input!

The strakes look awesome. You can get them online from mazda dealerships at $195 shipped.

The exhaust finisher.... it looks alright, but I don't think it's anywhere close to being worth $200. It doesn't have as much impact as the strakes IMHO.

The alarm upgrade, I have one in the mail coming to me, so I can't tell you how well it works yet, but for the cost, I don't see why not. If someone's shaking your car, trying to rip off your strakes or break your windows, the alarm will sound.

Click my sig to see photos of my silver with strakes.

Go to Trussville Mazda and you can get each for $186. Trussville is where I buy all my products. I have spent over $1k there and I am very happy with my products that I bought.

TroyJ.

I did not only buy the exhaust finishers for show, I bought them for long term protection. If you have a CZ unit then they are a reccomended must, because the hotter exhaust can melt the plastic trim around the exhaust. I am concerned that the same thing can happen over an extended period of time (a year or two) on a stock rx8 and so one reason I bought them is to protect the trim.

the alarm is great... if someone hits ur car with their door or a shopping cart... you'll know. its loud and not very sensitive but sensitive enough. a great buy and no regrets

i had the exhaust finishers installed to mainly for protection
i'm right with you rotairain

For those with the shock sensor upgrade, was it an easy self install. I have a two way Viper alarm on my car right now and I love it, but I'm thinking of adding the shock sensor so that I'll have two shock sensors installed. Double protection in a sense, and this way the horn would go off in addition to the Viper siren.

The install wasn't too bad, although I'm sure I looked funny with my head on the floor board and feet waving in the air near the top of the reclined passenger seat. Just follow the article in the DIY section and you should be fine. I'd also recommend double and triple checking before you install the wire section with the diode as the instructions clearly state that if you install this backwards you will ruin the shock sensor.

I didn't get the 6 disc in dash cd changer, and wish I had. Anyone know where to get this cheap online possibly?

Get the aluminum fender strakes they definitely add to the appearance of the car and are worth it. I have the shock sensor upgrade, you can adjust the sensitivity of the unit. I would skip the exhaust finishers altogether, and just get an aftermarket exhaust. The tips on the aftermarket units are bigger and nicer. Go for a Racing Beat or Borla.

I bought the 6 disc changer at Trussville Mazda and had it shipped to my house for about $425. Not too bad to install.

jfyi, the exhaust finishers are the metal part that goes around the exhaust tips within the bumper, it isn't part of the catback itself.

Sorry, I missed that. I got some factory chrome exhaust tips for my brother's Honda Accord. I personally don't think the exhaust finishers are particularly attractive, but if you feel you need them knock yourself out. But I would buy from Rosenthal or Trussville Mazda, like some of the posters said their prices are much better than most of your neighborhood Mazda dealerships.

Shock sensor
 

There is some truth to that, but it's not the complete story . Mine was a dealer install freebie, set at factory default.. .for three -fours days after I took delivery it was super sensitive to low frequency vibrations:
1. Thunder.. even moderate rumbling.
2. Ricer exhausts..true :)
3. Everything.. my neighbours at first thought it was funny ha ha, but that paled after the second or third night time incident. Vewey vewey embarrasing :eek:

Very simple to dial back the sensitivity..so don't be deterred by the dealer's half-baked 'advice'.

Re: Shock Sensor: If I already had an aftermarket alarm, I'm not entirely sure I would have put it in. It wasn't too hard, but I had a lot of internal trauma about cutting a wire that was already really tight, hard to see, and even harder to reach. I probably ended up taking twice as much time as necessary to install it. :) But to some extent my caution was warranted, as stated previously if you install certain parts incorrectly it will ruin the sensor. I probably never would have attempted it except for the excellent DIY on installation. The pictures while not perfect (it's a tight squeeze and getting a camera in there would be difficult), made it MUCH easier to figure out where and what wires to connect to.

The shock sensor used to be too sensitive, but Mazda has modified it with a diode that makes it less sensitive. You can still adjust sensitivity to reasonable levels. I'm glad I have it - just an extra sense of security. If you get the sensor, take the advice in the DIY and remove the horn relay while adjusting sensitivity.

If you decide on it, get it from Trussville, they have the best prices, and they will ship the new upgraded version.

I've seen the exhaust tips and to me they don't add that much.

The Strakes are hot, they really make the car stand out. I don't have them, but this weekend I saw some on an 8 and they are now on my wanted list. (There's a good DIY on their installation as well.)

Good luck,
-Dennis

I was disappointed in the exhaust finishers at first as there wasn't that much bang for the buck viewing from the straight rear,like at stop light.
However off to the rear sides view there is alot of bling bling and when I see other 8's now it's the first thing I look for and I am the only one locally I've seen so far with them.
It eliminates the dark sooty holes and the chrome was good quality from local M dealer (250.00)

The biggest bang I've seen is definitely the fender strakes!
I got the polished aluminum ones from local M dealer (250.00) and would look awesome on the silver--better than chrome I think.
Night and day difference to me........must have.

I just have the stock gt security and cd player and currently saving for front/rear accessory.
Gary