Buying an RX-8 in 2 weeks - couple questions (B-stock related)
 

I'll be picking up a new 2007 Mazda RX-8 Sport w/ the Performance Package to run in B-Stock next season along with a dedicated co-driver. We plan on attending a few National Tours/ Pro Solos and making the trip to Topeka in September.

I've been searching these forums high and low, and have a few lingering questions:

1) How good are the factory brake pads? If they need to be replaced, what are you guys getting?

2) Aftermarket "stock legal" light weight wheels for this car are pretty costly. What wheel offers the best bang-for-your-buck in terms of light weight and reasonable price?

Thanks in advance folks. I'm sure I'll have more questions in the coming weeks/months. My co-driver (moxnix) may also chime in with a few.

-Chike

1) No need to change your brake pads....No Need.

2) OZ ultralegerra wheels are probably the best right now, as for pricing and performance gains. Check Tirerack, they have them available in silver, black and gold.
...too bad you guys weren't considering BSP....as I have two sets of Enkei RPF1's with 285 Kuhmos to get rid of shortly. Good luck with your build and competitions...you've entered one of the most competitive classes with some very good drivers with well prepped cars.

^actually, that should be "Ultraleggera", the other ones are $$$

The Ultraleggera's are about $1300/set.

thank you...editted.

Stock brake pads are excellent.
I think the Enkei RPF1 are of better value than the OZ's

The RPF1 does not come in a stock legal offset.

Like the others have said, OZ is the way to go.

We got about 30k miles out of our stock pads, they are great. We tried some race pads, like we used on our Vette, but they just made the ABS go into ice-mode so we went back to stock for autox.

Checked tirerack and Enkei and the only 18x8 5x114.3 RPF1 is a 35 offset. Are they available in higher offsets that would be stock legal?

Edit - Beaten by ULLLOSE by 1 min I hope this is not the same way my autox season will go.

I can give you tips all year long on how to cone 5 runs and dnf a sixth in Topeka...

With deals like that how can I lose?

Think of the RX-8 as a big fat Miata, once you get over the underwhelming torque you will see why the brakes are not important. :lol:

Hey, that's not fair...to the Miata. :lol:

LOL! Looking forward to co-driving with you in '08.
Thanks Jason. I'll be driving moxnix's STS2 miata at a couple winter events, so hopefully I'll be able to make a smooth transition to the RX-8 in the Spring.

I went through the dilemma of getting lightweight wheels for my car in B-Stock as well. If I recall, there are 3 wheels from The TireRack available;

SSR Comp-H - $469 -> $1876 @ 17.5 lbs.
OZ Ultraleggera - $325 -> $1300 @ 18.4 lbs.
OZ Chrono HT - $325 -> $1300 @ 19.0 lbs.

I splurged and went with the SSRs myself. I was new to autocross, so I don't think I noticed a performance difference so much with the lighter wheels. I decided on aesthetics and getting the lightest ones after limiting my choices to those 3 wheels. Based on what you're going for, I would have to agree on the Ultraleggeras.

Good list - thanks! I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything.

We'll be starting out with a set of stock RX-8 wheels, but I'm hoping we'll be able to get a set of lighter wheels before Nats.

I thought I would jump in with one additional option that will become available late spring 08'. The SSR Type F-RS is the first new SSF hybrid wheel style that has been developed since Tanabe purchased the company in 2006.

The new wheel will be offered in a B-stock legal, 18"x8", et44 size. Bright Silver and Black will be available.

While we do not have an official weight for the wheel I would estimate it will be very comparable to the SSR Comp-H/ Type C RS weight (+/- .5 lbs). $447 ea.

A photo of the black wheel can be found here.

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...f_blk_1000.jpg

Chris Harvey
Trent@TireRack.com

06 RX8 Base
B-stock Prepped

Thanks Chris! Nice driving in Topeka!

Thanks- John and I will be back in B-stock next year. I can't wait for the Nat'l Tour and ProSolo schedules to be announced so we can start planning for 2008 :)

Chris

Shawn and I are also waiting for the NT & Pro Solo schedule as well to begin planning for 2008. If I see your red RX-8 at an event, I'll be sure to come over and introduce myself. We'll be in a Galaxy Grey RX-8 (#70/170).

Chike

I was going to say that I heard Chris Harvey had a set of wheels for sale (OZ's) for a discount, but I think he might have brought that up if it were the case...

Great - It was fun meeting a number of the B-stock guys at the Finale & Championships this year for the first time. I have a feeling we are going to see some nice growth in the B-stock numbers this year which should make for some great competition across the country.

Chris

One more question...
 

My co-driver and I probably won't have the funds in '08 to get a dedicated autocross rain tire (W710) and will probably use a good Kumho summer tire (SPT's) as a dual street/autocross wet tire.

What size would you guys recommend for the SPT's - 245/40/18 or 225/45/18?

There is one bargain wheel available. Rota F45's 18x8 5x144.3 e 48 73 hb $187.50. They are between the ultraleggers and stocks for weight IIRC ~19#. There is a thread on the BS wheel options.

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-25/bs-wheel-options-103241/

Do you mean the Rota P-45F's? If so thanks, I'll add it to our list of possible wheels.

Yes. Comes in lots of colors if you can find someone that stocks or will order the exact one. Watch the hub center dimenstions they come in a 56mm and 73mm. The 56 is too small.

what do you think you're doin chike?!?! looks like me you and Deady will have some fun next season.

SHHH, don't tell!

No they are not... I have a set, and if you read the thread you will see where they are 21 lbs. Still a good deal price wise, and I like how they look like the Mazdaspeed wheel, but not worth it to save a 1/2 lb over stock.

There is a new wheel from Rota that "should be" 19 lbs, the P1.

Right now you have to get the P1 bored out to fit the RX-8 because it is only available in the 56.1 hb. Subydude will sell a set bored out for the RX-8 for $850. They are listing them as 19.2 lbs.

Hey Brandon. No more 2.5L WRX for this lad.

I'm definitely looking forward to running against Deady next season - he's a solid driver for me and my co-driver to run against locally. He consistently PAXes up there with Jinx, Feinburg, and company.
21lbs?! Scratch that wheel off our list! :lol:
For the $$$, the Prodrive P1 definitely looks like the wheel we'll use in '08.

i'll be there with you guys too. just pick up 04 rx-8 yesterday. only a few people locally know about it so keep it quiet. :)

now all i have to do is figure out how i'm going to afford tires......:banghead:

You don't necessarly have to get them bored out. They also some in 73hb. SubyDude is showing gunmettal ones with the 73hb. The availabilty seem to vary by either rota's whims or what the vendors whim.

I think you are looking at the Rota P45f's not the Rota P1's. If you are looking at the Rota P1's can you show me where they are listing the 73hb ones? When I PMed subydude yesterday they said all the P1's currently needed to be bored out for mazda fittment.

I'll keep it quiet. Very cool to see a bunch of people moving into the B-stock class locally.

Tires definitely are expensive. My co-driver (Shawn) and I will be waiting until the new V710 is out before buying a set. We want to set the car up for that tire rather than the old V710 which is on closeout right now at TireRack.

Chike

Stock brake pads and SSR/OZ/Kodiak wheels. I have a set of Koni OTS shocks I'm taking out of my car this weekend, PM me if you're interested. They only have about 7000 miles on them. I sold the car and am putting it back to stock but I will be co-driving a BS RX-8 at national tours/nationals next season as well.

Heck, I'll sell you a turn key car...won the Pro Finale, 2nd at Nats and also has allowed a mid pack driver to go faster than the National champ, on occasion ;)

I will definitely be getting a new RX-8 - not looking at used cars this time around (want something with a warranty).

CosmosMpower, I'm still a few weeks away from buying the konis, but I'll talk to my co-driver about whether he'd consider used shocks. While it may save us $$$ in the short term, if they start to leak it would require paying a small fee to have koni rebuild them (plus the extra down-time of not being able to drive the car when the strut is removed). If we buy new, then we'll have the koni warranty and they send you out a replacement first and you later return the leaky shock. Doesn't seem like a huge deal, but if you're 1 week away from heading out for Topeka, that slight difference could be crucial. :)

Yeah, much better to take the 50% hit on resale as soon as you drive it out the door...:banghead:

JK...besides, new cars smell better :lol2:

LOL. Very true. My Subaru WRX has actually kept it's value very well after 2 yrs - I should get about 18K for trade in, and I bought it new for 23K.

In another 'lifetime' I owned a '00 Ford SVT Lightning. Let's not talk about the resale on that truck that cost 32K brand new! I took close to a 50% hit on trade in after 2 years... :uhh:

New car for the warranty...new shocks for the same reason. :)

Hey, my car is an '06 with only 10k miles...plenty of warranty left...plus, someone could actually assume the lease, use it for a year and then give Mazda the keys, if they wanted to...or buy it out for the residual, which is too low to disclose ;)

If we were next door neighbors, I'd consider it. :)

Any answers to my question from this morning folks???

I chose the 225/40 SPT's to keep the same gearing as the 245/35. When I run in the rain (Idaho) it's usually accompanied by very cold temps, and less width heats up better. I have had some very good results (locally) with this setup.

You will see very little performance difference between the two sizes in full wet conditions. My preference would be the 245 only because it "looks" better on the car.

Chris
aka Trent@Tirerack.com

I was thinking about that, but these tires would also be my daily drivers. I wouldn't won't my speedo to be off 24/7. The 225/45 or 245/40 keeps the same gearing as stock.
Thanks Chris.

Originally Posted by StrokerAce View Post
There is one bargain wheel available. Rota F45's 18x8 5x144.3 e 48 73 hb $187.50. They are between the ultraleggers and stocks for weight IIRC ~19#. There is a thread on the BS wheel options.

Now where did I say anything about P1's?

On the SPT VS W710, good thing you don't have that money burning a hole in your pocket... I doubt we will see anything near an RX-8 size in 2008.

I had the 245-40-18 SPT on our car, got 30k miles out of them, could have been more but we did some drift work last weekend. :sadwavey:

See Jason's post (#26). Those wheels weigh 21lbs each.
Interesting. So you chose an SPT in a 245 size over a 225. Have you done any rain events with them? Any thoughts/comments on how they performed in the wet in that size?

Look at your reply in post #30. I was talking about the P1's and you replied.

I chose the 245 because imho 225 is a Miata size tire. I got these as street tires and wanted a tire size that should have been on the car. To buy any street tire with the idea of using it as a rain is a waste of money. If you do not have a full "race rain" you will lose.

Well the SPT's will be better than nothing. Thanks.

Had the Mazda dealer in Richmond, VA dick around with me for 6 hours on Saturday with my trade-in value and the interest rate on the loan.

Ended up walking out, calling my Credit Union and getting a low 5% interest rate (for any car new/used '06 or newer) and going to Carmax and getting 1K more for my trade. While there, I checked their database and found a 2006 Galaxy Grey 6MT RX-8 with only 13K miles on the odometer, with the sport package (HID's, DSC and fog lamps) and a rear spoiler for 20K. She also has 2.5 years/37K miles left on the factory warranty. Put down a deposit today (yes, Carmax is open on Sunday) and she'll be transferred from Raleigh, NC to C-ville in 7-14 days. :)

P.S. New koni SA shocks will be ordered in 1-2 weeks.

I wound up selling my RX-8 to Carmax...and it was was pretty low miles fo rbeing 3 years old... :eeps: