2006 RX-8 featured in Jan 2009 Modified Magazine
great article BTW...i'm definately gonna pick this issue up on the way home...
Thanks for the compliments, guys! I appreciate the fact that you enjoy my writing and my sense of style.
I did feel that the original design of the RX-8 did need a little "polish" but couldn't go the full bling-bling route as I'm too much of a "corner and speed" guy at heart.
Actually, the best handling performance did not come with the "heavy sway bars and sticky tires" but rather with the stock bars, and the K-Sport coil-overs and sticky tires. I learned after the fact that I had a problem with my aftermarket swaybar bushing binding up front and rear, and, though my road here in my town really does SUCK ***, the K-Sport setup could be softened up enough to handle it well. It could NOT be softened up enough to compensate for the locked-up swaybar bushings, something I should have caught much earlier.
Controlling body lean with the proper spring rates at all four corners is far more efficient than bolting on heavier sways, which do tend to make the car skittish over street bumps. At a track, like I pointed out in the story, these issues go away, as the bumps are relatively nonexistent.
I'm using the Mazda OEM iPod adapter, which also sucks ***, and was not a sponsorship deal in any way. I did, however, install it myself!
It works, and that's enough for me. I build 99 song playlists in iTunes, load them up to my 4GB iPod, and away I go!
I'm in the process of changing how the car looks right now... Probably going back to more of a stockish appearance for a while. I simply don't want to be car-jacked in LA when I'm out shooting photos one night by some out-of-work crack-head who needs cash for a fix. I'm gonna lay low and keep my nose to the grindstone.
BTW-Anyone else in LA got a hot RX-8 with forced induction I could do a story on? Send me a PM on here please!
I did feel that the original design of the RX-8 did need a little "polish" but couldn't go the full bling-bling route as I'm too much of a "corner and speed" guy at heart.
Actually, the best handling performance did not come with the "heavy sway bars and sticky tires" but rather with the stock bars, and the K-Sport coil-overs and sticky tires. I learned after the fact that I had a problem with my aftermarket swaybar bushing binding up front and rear, and, though my road here in my town really does SUCK ***, the K-Sport setup could be softened up enough to handle it well. It could NOT be softened up enough to compensate for the locked-up swaybar bushings, something I should have caught much earlier.
Controlling body lean with the proper spring rates at all four corners is far more efficient than bolting on heavier sways, which do tend to make the car skittish over street bumps. At a track, like I pointed out in the story, these issues go away, as the bumps are relatively nonexistent.
I'm using the Mazda OEM iPod adapter, which also sucks ***, and was not a sponsorship deal in any way. I did, however, install it myself!
It works, and that's enough for me. I build 99 song playlists in iTunes, load them up to my 4GB iPod, and away I go!I'm in the process of changing how the car looks right now... Probably going back to more of a stockish appearance for a while. I simply don't want to be car-jacked in LA when I'm out shooting photos one night by some out-of-work crack-head who needs cash for a fix. I'm gonna lay low and keep my nose to the grindstone.
BTW-Anyone else in LA got a hot RX-8 with forced induction I could do a story on? Send me a PM on here please!
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I haven't heard of one yet. I'd love to see song info displayed on the screen. But the Mazda iPod adapter does work.
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Todd Cook of TCE Performance Products took it upon himself to make a set using the SL-4 calipers (on radial mounts) with slightly undersized pistons (overall volume). This makes the pedal effort slightly higher, but preserves feel when the fluid gets hot at the track.
I'd update that thread with performance data if I had any, but I haven't been to a track event in months, so I don't really have any new info yet. They feel good, and the car does stop hard with the upgraded rears installed too (larger rotor increases leverage with the stock rear calipers). You've got to have sticky tires though.
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I'd always wanted the car to stay naturally aspirated so saving weight was the prime concern. With an aggressive 245/35-19 tire on all four corners the grip is truthfully more than what I can safely use as a driver. Translation: the car is better than I am in the corners!
If I'd gone with the 18x9.5" wheels I could have saved more weight, but going to the SEMA show was a secondary goal, and 18" wheels simply do not garner much attention there. Ideally, I'd have liked a 19x9.0" at all for corners, fully-forged aluminum with roll-forged lips. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
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