Well I'm finally back from Kuwait, and it's time to get busy!

BHR Motor Mounts
Brand new Headlights
Side Markers
B-Pillar Appliques
New DSLR :D

I also got my new tires in the mail ($800 and free shipping!? Hell yeah!), but my wheels are apparently held up in California because of the port worker strikes or something like that. They might not get here before I leave for my road trip. Sad panda.

Are those halo headlights? You will hate those corners, every set I have seen in person has leaked. Nice Camera!

Yes to Halos, brand new from Garage Evergreen. I heard about that with the corners and I was ready with some silicon to seal them, but they're already sealed up nice and tight. Did a water test. And yeah, new camera, learning how to use it!

My new wheels are apparently stuck in one of Cali's ports because of a port worker strike. Not sure if they're going to arrive before my road trip in a couple weeks.

What kind of camera? Canon t5i?

Nikon 5200

That was my second guess. They're neat little DSLRs, my personal preference is MILC/EVIL, but you can't beat a dslr for lense choice.

finally Finally FINALLY got my new wheels and tires installed and while they look great, I think the offset may have been a bit too much (18x9.5 +22 with 255/35 tires). With shorter tires the wheel gap is even worse now so I'm trying to fix that, I'm just worried about he wheel travel making the tires rub against the fender. That is the #1 issue and I'm not entirely sure how to make sure that doesn't happen.

I was talking to a friend earlier and he said I should stiffen the suspension to decrease wheel travel, though I have Tanabe Sustec Pro FIVE coilovers and I haven't been able to find any documentation on them, specifically how to stiffen them. He also said I'm going to need a lot of negative camber and Tanabe doesn't offer camber plates, and recommended I get Megan or BC coilovers.

Also, please note the rear fenders are rolled, the front fenders are not.

I also got my new headlights and side markers installed.

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^^ you just need to go an inch or two lower and they'll fit much better. car looks great though man!! :icon_tup:

edit: 9.5 isn't too aggressive. you will get enough natural camber if you go lower (definitely recommend adjustable coilovers... your tanabe's don't adjust for ride-height???). There shouldn't be a need for camber plates. just get an alignment afterwards and you should be good to go.

If you're stuck on retaining your current ride height, it would probably be better to go with a slightly narrower setup.. I understand not everybody wants to run their car super low but a 1.5 inch drop from where you're at now won't be too extreme and it should help a lot with your fitment issues.

also; you probably WILL have to roll the front fenders. better safe than sorry.

Tanabes are adjustable, I just don't know how to adjust the stiffness or preload. I don't think the rear tires will be much of a problem but the fronts seem to stick out a bit more. I'll look into it tomorrow, though the closest place to get my fenders rolled is phoenix 3 hours away, and you know mechanics. They close at 6 and aren't open on the weekends, so good luck trying to do that after work on a week day. Nearly fucking impossible.

Nice wheels man. Your friend doesn't have a clue, the stock suspension has plenty of adjustment and BC and Megan are crap. In order to make them stiffer you need to install stiffer springs, the Tanabe pro Five are 8k front and 6k rear. The tire size is also wrong, you need a 265/35-18. So stiffer springs, more low, fender roll ( I am sure someone locally has a roller), and 265/35-18 and you will be money.

FYI, my alignment specs are within factory specs with my setup on 19's.

Here is the link for the springs for the Pro five Tanabe USA Inc. - PRO210 Max Custom Springs

You just need to call and figure out the size that fit the RX-8 kit. Or you can do what I did and buy better and stiffer springs for Swift.

But really for now just lower it to your liking, get the fenders rolled, and get it aligned and see how it does. If you don't go too low you might be okay and not rub too much. If you do rub then stiffer springs will help.

That's why I went with 255s. I've had enough problems with tires already, I don't need any more of them. Let me get 255s fitted right, then maybe I'll try 265s. Maybe.

First step: Figure out how to roll those damn fenders. I'll call around tomorrow and see if anybody has one.

Yeah the tires should be fine, a 255/35-18 Pilot Sport is specified for a 8.5"-10" wheel. But fitment and how it rides is all about the details. You should be able to get it right with adjusting the height on the coil overs and getting a fender roll. Then if you have rubbing issues then think about going to a 10k spring up front and a 7k in the rear.

As it drops the tops of the wheels will tuck in and it will look way better. Take some measurements from the center of the wheel to the arch of the fenders before you adjust the coilovers.

My car rubbed with 255/35/19 so you cannot base fitting based on a tire size. There is enough variations between tire manufactures that some tires will be wider or narrower even though they are listed with the same size. This is because there is not a single standard to measure tires so the ratios will vary.

Yep some run wide, gotta look at the actual specs. But I have found most who have issues with rubbing that are not running crazy wheel sizes is due to just having lowering springs or coilovers with softer rates.

I found someone who may be willing to do it, gonna go see them after work today.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm finally gonna get this car looking like it should :)

Oh, and I bought a Mazdaspeed Catback today. The rest is stock at the moment but I plan on getting a BHR Header and midpipe eventually.

If you bought it used check for rust. We had two locals with it and both had welds fail due to rust. And we don't have rust issues here. You would think being Mazdaspeed it would be better stuff but nope. Shinkamami (local) got it replaced under warranty by the dealer and a couple of years later she had a leak due to rust again but she ended up selling the car.

I believe the guy is from Arizona, but I'll ask him

It is usually where the pipes that hold the tips are welded to the canisters where it rusts, I would ask for detailed pics if you can't see it in person.

He said 35,000 miles and it's never been outside of arizona. Should be fine. EDIT: *phoenix* arizona, I know we get that white shit too :)

Yeah well if they rust in Texas they can rest in AZ, you better check it.

Did you get the single or dual can MS exhaust? Not 100% but was thinking the dual was all stainless steel.

The ones that rusted here were the dual canister. The piping and canisters didn't rust, the welds did.

Hmm weird. I have had welds break but do not recall the failure caused by rust. Now I'm wondering if that happened and did not notice.