Swedishmax

This thread is in regard to Speed magazines Jul/Aug issue special on the Rx-8 greddy turbo kit. with the Turbo Kit and exhaust + new spark plugs in only made 224 bhp , 172 lb.-ft . of torque. the 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times were pretty much the same as stock. 5.8 secs... and 14.4 secs.... it's too bad , i was expecting more out of this upgrade. here's the site

http://www.spdmag.com/

of course this is only at 5-6 psi of boost. you can always up it a few more if you get a good boost controller.

what do you guys think?

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

it has been discussed on this forum that the Greddy Turbo kit is not proven for huge improvements over stock. the turbo is very small, and most members have shown very similar numbers, both in HP and 1/4 mile times.

bottom line? not worth $3000+

cas2themoe

^ Yeah, what he says!

Ike

I was just thinking that we needed two more threads on this subject

pritch

just bad testing

Michael

yup.

jaguargod

Think of all the other mods you could do with $3,000!!

Silverarrow

All of the other "same numbers" mods...

Swedishmax

hey guys ...after researching this test car a little further i found the guys car on car domain. he's got about 250- 400 lbs of extra stereo equipt. in his trunk. im sure this weight would easily throw off 0-60 and 1/4 mile numbers by a few tenths. so it would probably be more like 0-60 in 5.6 1/4 mile ~ 14.2/ 14.1.. here's his page...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/817250

look at he interior and sound system pics....

TALAN7

Even with all the extra stereo equipment I doubt it was over 200 lbs more. That's 1 full grown man. Save's about a 10th maybe 2 10ths. So what, still slow compared to the other 2 cars. I gotta have my tunes when I'm driving. No compromises there. I need enough power to have my stereo and still tear up the road. Even if he took out the stereo, WHERE'S THE POWER! I don't think there's much to be had (safely) out of the Renesis. I believe he had almost twice the amount of mods as the others but made only 224 to the wheels. That's less than a base Z. Sad. Mazda needs a larger Renesis or something. I remember almost 2 years ago when I bought mine. Everyone on here was saying "wait till a turbo comes out... It will make this car fly" or something like that. Well, it's out and it aint reaching cruising altitude. This is not the performance car it's made out to be.

DreRX8

You really missed the point here. Look at his trunk--he's got so much extra stuff its rediculous. His suspension and brake setup is actually poorer than stock--Also the Greddy kit is conservative--There are Greddy turbos on this board in the 13s-so something has to be going on with his car. Complaining about the RX8s power is like those people complaining about noise that live near the airport.

shawrf1

Since Swedishmax posted twice, I'll reply twice:

Time for me to weigh in (I've been at JRTC and on leave...) When the photo shoot took place, I was on TDY at Fort Gordon, GA and could not make it back to remove all the stereo equipment (though the subs were removed at the time). SPEED Mag knew that the equipment in the back would affect their results and we all concurred to go ahead with the shoot/comparo anyways, knowing that the '8's performance would be compromised. It's still my daily driver & wasn't built for land-speed records; the testers left the boost at what I had it set at. I agree that the article was not pretty, but there's plenty of room for improvement.

As for the stereo equipment weighing things down, you should then also take into account the weight of the harnesses, strut tower bars, add'l electronics, wing, body kit, etc. I don't know how much the driver weighed, so I can't comment on that nor his level of driving experience.

Also check out the latest Import Tuner, Summer Edition for a girl/car feature.

Pkskull77

I saw the article, and read the numbers, and thought to myself, "Why in God's name would they compare the 8 against those two monsters?" I know the 8 is a great car, but as tuned, there is no comparision to those street monsters. Mark this down as yet another blow to the 8's reputation.

Hellbreed

I don't see it as a blow to the 8's reputation, 2 out of the 3 editors liked the RX-8 and the other editor said it ruled the canyons which makes 3 positive comments. The first editor picked it as the his number one choice, the second picked it 3rd in comparison to the other 2 but said if HE had a choice of which he would take to modify he would choose the RX-8.

Pkskull77

I admit that I did not fully read the article, my judgements were based on the numbers, which don't really go in the 8's favor.

CERAMICSEAL

Embarassing! Terrible Comparison. I know it wasn't Mazda's intention to make the RX-8 a replacement for the 7 but this modded one is still a good deal slower.
Maybe I'm showing my impatience but when will an eight at least run verifiable mid to high 13 second quarter mile times with it's renesis. I am not ignorant of the fact that it's motor is stetching the envelope for a naturally aspirated production 13b and that the aftermarket companies have to make 'safe' mods. I'm aware that the car weighs 200 pounds more than a third gen (Although they had a target at one point of 2660 if I recall correctly). It's just so unimpressive thus far.
Maybe this is apples vs oranges but there are RX-7s with factory turbos producing over 400 to the wheels, there are 13b engines creating in the 1000 hp neighborhood albeit on exotic fuels and with very limited lifespan. There are probably already Scions and definitely Hyundais that are more impressive. I'm probably amongst the most intense rotor-heads on this forum! 224 whp? Everyone associated should be embarassed.

Pkskull77

I agree 100%! Without serious engine modification (which means bye-bye warranty) and a new ecu, the car is not going to put up RX-7 numbers. If the 8 wasn't released in a time where HP and 0-60 means everything it would go down as a classic, but thats not the case.

shelleys_man_06

Didn't read the article since I've known of Shaw's car for about a year. IMO, I think GReddy's ultimate aim was to set a precedent by having a turbo kit available for the RX-8. I remember I guess last year when we were rejoicing that Trust was building a turbo kit for the RX-8. Now that the numbers are out on paper, we're all disappointed again. 224 whp isn't anything special. I slightly modified WRX can make that much power. At least we know this car can be turbocharged. I'll side with Shaw on this one in saying there is much room for improvement. Even though the RX-8 is getting bad exposure, at least it's exposure. Remember the RX-8 is a hard nut to crack. I don't know why Mazda had to design such a complex system of components to only muster up 238 hp in the high-power 13B-MSP in the first place. Is this what they were planning since the death of the RX-7? I believe they should've increased the displacement of the motor. I'll bitch about this idea until the day I die. The article is a disappointment for rotorheads everywhere, but that doesn't mean it's time to throw in the towel.

CERAMICSEAL

If Mazda gives us a turboed version (Factory low compression renesis rotors) the fun will begin.

Preacher

If Toyota gives us a new 350hp Supra,
or Mazda spits out a defect-free,well-thought out New RX-7 (unlikely)
then the fun will REALLY begin.

The RX-8,while fun,can certainly be improved upon DRAMATICALLY.

(And 230+ rwhp after adding the turbo is,well,pathetic. Considering that Mazda hyped this car at an original (and wrong) 238hp,to get essentially the same readout after installing a turbo is really a sad state of affairs.)

Geesh,$3000+ install,for WHAT?
Oh,wait,I know the answer:
You void your motor's warranty,but on the "cool gadgets to impress your friends" end,you get to have a few new digital readouts screwed to the dash to tell you if your engine's about to fry....and,as a bonus,you get some pretty stickers for your windshield,that say "Foolish Americans Pay GReddy Thousands for Minimal Horsepower Improvements,But Cool Stickers" in Asian script.

What FUN! :D

LOL!

subduedracer

If Gm puts out a new Camaro in 2007 with the LS6 I'm outta here!

MTLbroker

I think the 8's reputation is intact. What you really meant was that it was a blow to Greddy's reputation as an rx-8 tuner.

kenotic

I do not think Greddy is a good tuner of the RX-8. You also have to remember that this car is young. I personally feel there is A LOT of power to be gained in ECU tunning.

DreRX8

Ok--flag on the play. You are comparing wheel horsepower to crank horsepower. 10 yard penalty.

Preacher

I'll take the 'penalty',but Mazda REALLY screwed the pooch on the whole HP deal.
Everyone's putting out 300hp+ cars,even Shitsubishi's getting close with the Eclipse,at 268,and thiese 8s won't come CLOSE to 300 unless you completely GUT IT and re-do it as a race car,at a probable cost of the equal retail value of the 8,in the first place.
Yeah,the car's 'young',and Greddy's tuning seems to be a big waste,but Mazda's made so many ECU mistakes and released the car to clueless dealerships,that they've seriously f'd themselves,where I'm concerned,when it comes time to get another sportscar.
Nissan's build quality is improving,though still not up to the 8s,and the rumored Supra with 350+HP will be leaving the 8 eating asbestos brake dust,make no bones about that.
Oh,and I'd bet dollars to donuts that Toyota won't release a car that needs a dozen ECU reflashes its first year,with half-assed a/c and lots of nasty quirks....unlike the 8.
I love driving my 8,but the 'first model year blues' on this car (almost) make it unredeemable as a daily driver..I always wonder what's going to f*ck up,next,and how the dealership will try to f*ck around when I go for the (un) fix..
I won't ever buy under 300HP,ever again,and if Mazda doesn't smarten up,I certainly won't entertain buying another car from them.
Consumer Reports just rated the RX-8 as "not holding up as well as expected,lots of owner-reported defects".
I,unfortunately,am one of those owners.
That's how it is.