Toadman

I trimmed the interior pic from the other thread so we can pic at it's features. Thanks to the mazdarotaryclub.com guys across the pond.



Looks like a compass/temp/auto dimming mirror. Also the sunroof open and tilt buttons between the map lights.

evel333

With the display above the center vents, and the radio and a/c controls mixed together in the middle console, I wonder how difficult installing an aftermarket stereo would be. I would think it's even worse than the NSX in the amount of fabrication required. That B(l)ose system better do a good job. (^_^)

cueball

There have been pointed out in other pics, but we get a nice clear shot of what appears to be a tweeter on the door by the mirror.

jmanolov

Who cares about the audio in a sports car
Let Mazda put in the cheapest thing no matter whose logo it carries ...

The best anyway soundtrack is the sound of the engine and the tailpipes

cueball

This is not just strictly sports car. The 4 seats atest to that. This will function as many people's daily driver. This being the case, it is rather important that mazda put a sound system of decent quality in the RX8.

bwayout

In an earlier thread there was some talk about the mazda 6's radio

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?threadid=1359

I just test drove the 6 and it wasn't bad ...

Quick_lude

Don't get me started again ... Does NOBODY at Mazda have aftermarket stereos in their cars? Why would they choose such a proprietory design.. Imo this is probably the only glaring mistake on this car.

I wonder if we'll get the two part passenger side mirror?

Quick_lude

Which for most people will be ok.. but what about people like me?
To put it in perspective, imagine you had to buy this car and keep the wheels/tires as is. No aftermarket tires/wheels would fit unless you chose to go through expensive customization to make them fit. Or any other part of the car that you might like to customize, brakes, suspension, etc. Would you still want the car?

zoom44

QL you lost me there. what about the mirror?

jmanolov

Just my opinion

Even not classified as a pure hardcore sports car (like Elise, Miata or MR2) it is still a performance oriented machine. So changing wheels tires and everything in relation with speed and handling is another story - let Mazda pour lots of money into it since it is the goal and make it easy for the enthusiasts to easy upgrade the stock stuff.

But it is not an audio car nor home theater on wheels, nor meeting goals like some riceboy to put a huge boombox in his trunk. So the audio is last in the list IMHO. Properietary stereo is nice - and it even not something great it should be of somewhat decent quality Better drive the car in some twisties instead spending time on the stereo

Thumbs up to Mazda for their latest lineup! Lets hope the stock soundtrack from the tail-pipes is nice.



:D

Jud

I'm from Florida, we don't have twisties. The only thing we have is "cruizin" some strip blasting our system(preferably one that we built ourselves).

Plus, I like car stereos. Much like some people like sway bars and turbo chargers. I like to play with the buttons and *****. I like to change the equalizers and crossover points until I get the sound I want. Then when the next song comes on, I do it again. Some people check the balance in their tires, I prefer to check the balance from left to right. It's just me.

Toadman

It's adjusted to see the door seams I think

BryanH

Some of us are sports car enthusiasts *and* audiophiles. So I think giving us the option to improve the stereo without making it exceedingly difficult to do so would be in Mazda's best interests. The RX-8 will be a freaking luxury car compared to what I'm used to (cheap plastics, manual everything), and for it to have a substandard stereo that presents roadblocks to upgrading it would be a big turn-off to me.

It's like the MR2 Spyder engine. Its systems are so proprietary and uncooperative that putting a turbo kit on the car has proven to be extremely difficult/expensive to get it running right. The stock ECU is too smart to be fooled by any of the usual tricks. Lots of turbo kit projects for this car have failed because of the difficulties involved. And it's a damn shame, because the car really comes alive with a turbo (even low boost).

P00Man

Even if the headunit IS that hard to replace, you can always upgrade the speakers mids woofers and tweats. But still, it shouldnt be THAT hard, hopefully... If you take it out, you should just be left with the double-din (probably) slot and 2 quarter circles above and below.
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DIRECT HEAT VAPORIZER

Quick_lude

You're right, my mistake.
Re: the stereo, I'm not a "boomer" with 6 18" woofers in my car.. I'm an audiophile and definitely into Sound Quality. So if you are like me, 99% of stock factory stereos will not do. Not clear enough, not enough clean power, not enough clear, quality bass. So in any car that I own/lease the stock stereo goes. This is why I'm so dissappointed that Mazda chose to incorporate the stereo so heavily into the dash without thinking about the aftermarket stereo consumer.

9000RPMan

Does anybody else see anything in the trim rings surounding the gauges? Are they markings? If they are markings, are they lit at night? Or am I just seeing reflections?

B-Nez

I've seen them close up in another pic, and you can also see them here:

.

I think they are just "notches" cut into the ring for styling. I will look for that other pic.

9000RPMan

Oh, I see. Thanks.

Grimace

Well, I'm not so sure. On the tach, notice how the notches start at 0 RPM and end where the 9000 or 10000 RPM mark should be. Maybe they are functional? It'd be really cool if they lit up as the revs built, rally/touring race car style.

m477

Proprietary head units are retarded.

Even if you don't care about listening to the radio, it's still a good thing to have a radio that you can customize if you want to. What if the radio breaks after the warranty expires? Instead of getting a cheaper, better aftermarket one, you'd have to pay more for the crappy factory one.

Hopefully Mazda will realize their mistake and make a dash kit that converts it to standard size, or just change it on future models...

Rokk

First off, I'm new to this forum. So far i've found this place to be a great source of info from all you guys. Anyway, I do love how the interior of the RX-8 looks. But, I also agree with a lot of you fellow audiophiles that a more freindly designed head unit would have been appreciated. However, the interior look so nice that I can live with just changing the speakers and popping in an amp and living with the original head unit.

Quick_lude

Welcome. The problem is as far as I understand, the Bose stereo will NOT let you do that. So it's either stock Bose or customer aftermarket.

Rokk

Ouch! Ok, that does stink.

P00Man

Bose systems will let you do that, thing is, its just a ***** to take the things apart.
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AIRSOFT M58A ACTION STYLE SHOTGUN

9000RPMan

Is that rectangular area next to the sunroof controls a "sunglass holder"? How are those sunglass holders anyway? Do they scratch the glasses? Any comments?