Starting an RX-8 Tuning Firm in 7 years or so...
 

I've been thinking of starting a tuning company for a while now. It's not going to happen until at least 6-7 years from now. I will be very busy these 6-7 years working for someone and may very well end up taking over that company.

However, 6-7 years later, I know I'll be starting a tuning company. The platform? The Mazda RX-8. Sure, it's not the best selling vehicle ever (I would even call it a commercial flop), but I feel that there exists a brotherhood among rotorheads. I am a rotorhead. Forever will be, even though I own a piston driven car now.

Question is, what do you, fellow rotorhead, feel about a new company 6-7 years from now coming out with products for the RX-8?

The focus will be different from most other tuning companies. I don't wish to build street-legal race cars. Nor do I wish to build drag/dyno queens.

I wish to take what the RX-8 already does very well, and improve on them. The focus will be on increasing power, aerodynamic efficiency (fuel efficiency without increasing lift), and handling without sacrificing day-to-day convenience and comfort (so no rock hard suspension).

I have always believed that street-legal racecars are fun, but they're a total pain to live with, and drag/dyno queens defeat the purpose of the RX-8. I feel that there's a balance between power, handling and comfort.

So maybe we'll come up with a suspension kit with a very mild drop. Or maybe even a magnetic suspension setup, so you get the best of both worlds. A supercharger kit maybe. And to top it off, a subtle body kit that is wind tunnel tested (or at least wave pool tested). All without increasing weight (I am a material science engineer, so I should be able to pull it off).

What do you guys think? Do you think it'd be cool? Or do you think the market is already over-saturated?

material science engineer?

Sounds like you have a good vision for what you want to accomplish.

Here's some feedback.

The biggest challenge would be for you end up offering something that other companies have been offering for the RX-8 for many years now.

Why should I buy products/services from you when "company X" has been working with rotaries - including the RX-8 - for decades now?

Having said that, if Mazda really comes up with a new generation of rotary engines, I would strongly encourage you to perhaps wait developing tuning options for whatever comes up next.

I know nobody really knows what it is yet, but since your goal is 6-7 years in the future, that should give you enough time to start researching for potential ideas.

Just my two cents :)

what he said /\
and offer services for the other rotary series also.

In 6 or 7 years, the RX-8 market will probably be close to dead.
You will be mostly dealing with 3rd, 4th and 5th owners, who will be low-dollar and possess cars that will be pretty beat-up and Mazda new-old parts resources will be already drying up.

That said, your main focus will have to be actually achieving something first.

Your "goals" are excellent, but are totally meaningless until you actually design and build several iterations of your ideas and prove them in the environments that you envision your target audience occupying.

If your target business commencement is in 6 - 7 years, you will need to start on these projects and accumulate the required resources and knowledge in the next 2 or 3 years at most.
When you hit, your stuff will already need to be a field-topper or you will just be another bit of static in an already noisy field.

If you do diversify beyond the RX-8 (which I recommend) don't bother being a rotary-specific shop. There are already a ton of those and they all have a dubious reputation because the clientele is inherently dubious. Also, you will be limited to your own back yard, which is not where the money is.

Good luck whatever happens.

What MazdaManiac said. Also take into consideration that there are many other (big and renown) companies out there dedicating themselves to not only the RX-8 but other Mazdas. Companies that have been around for decades and has already developed a solid customer base. I don't even have to bother saying the names.

I do agree that proving my products will be the biggest challenge of all. Not to mention there's Racing Beat, Corksport, Mazdatrix....and even MazdaSpeed themselves.

Well, thanks for the advice guys. I'll take them into consideration. If anyone else has more feedback or comments, feel free to keep posting. I'll be reading them!

MM summarized pretty much everything that can be said...