Hey you should send this to some car magazine, car racing site or something. It's great!
All falkens we get here in Greece now are made in Turkey. Don't know if yours are made somewhere else but what we get is no longer made in Japan.
Wish the best for next season. And keep those posts coming!

As always a great write up. Love Gingerman. By far the track I’m best at. Hope to catch you at one of the last events this year. I probably have one more in me this fall.
Trying to save money for a gt500 while trying to track down a dealer that will sell it msrp.

Hah! I don't think my writing is worthy of a magazine. Just a way I find comfortable for myself to reflect, but I appreciate the kind words.

Someone else had mentioned where the Falkens were made. I'd need to check the date codes. According to some other guys, when I bought them they shouldn't have had some quality issues. But like I said, I think the chunkage was all driver error here. I definitely ranked on the wheel with hot tires and understeer. BAD!

I want to try to get out to Gingerman before the end of the season. We will see how I am feeling, because right now I am TIRED haha. Definitely planning to get Waterford Hills in October for their last OTD though. Hoping to bring some coworkers with, too.

S2 4.77 Rear End

So.. I had this thing delivered about 5 hours before we had to have the car on the trailer for Midwest. Thought about putting it on.. but I didn't want to risk it. Glad I didn't, just for my own sanity.

But hey, as soon as I got back I tossed the car in the air and got to work. Slowly working on it and 3 days later it's in. The bolts for the mounting bushings didn't seize! Yay!

Some photos:


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...da9e8b4505.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...b70d1d891c.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...0762fbad94.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...b4fdac7f6a.jpg


Initial impressions: Heck yeah son! Definitely an upgrade on a budget, and the car has a lot more response. 4th gear shift from redline in 3rd is WAY less boggy, but definitely could be a bit shorter yet. Hard to say for sure from a single highway run at night.. but I'm definitely happy with the upgrade so far. Shifting feels like it can be faster too with less RPM drop. 10/10 would recommend.

I think over the winter I may use the other axle to build up a 5.12 + Cusco/OS Giken/etc unit and see how that does. Until then, I'm super stoked to race this thing.

do not put a pos Cusco etc. in there, get a proper OSG

you'll need an oil cooler setup for tracking on a 5.125 R&P too

Coincidentally I asked through email that Aussie dude who makes 5.12 r&p for rx8/7s and he told me he won't be making another batch.
On the diff, I 've read on the internets that Cuscos are just rebranded Kaaz?

Open to options, but the Cusco 1.5 way seems to be the goto for all the Subaru guys. My buddy who works in the automotive tier 1 axle supplier industry is rocking a Cusco and has nothing but good to say. He's benchmarked a lot of stuff too, so I value his opinion highly. I'll have to drive his car and see if it's proper.

Other friend is rocking an OS Giken too and is doing some serious damage on the track... so... tl;dr I am open to options and haven't looked into it past just knowing on a high level what's out there.

Good call on an upgraded oil cooler though, didn't think of that immediately as a need, but makes sense.

Whelp. Shit. Maybe there goes that plan all together. Seemed to be the only guy making em. I'll have to check out Mazdaspeed Racing.. I thought I saw a few ring gear options on their site... $$$$ but what else are ya gonna do?

Maybe he'll reconsider? Or find a used one?
osg diffs can take a beating. Don't know if those made now are made with the same resources as the older ones but maybe I'm just the "they made it better back in the day" dude. They surely seem more robust than competition with a 40% premium on price.

Pad slapped some XP12 yesterday, actually thought the pads were lower than they were. Ah well, good backups! This is 1.5 seasons of use, VERY mild street use.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a4f5caa027.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...5f1d174628.jpg

Some other fun notes on inspection of the car:

At Gingerman last time I was there I had this odd grinding noise ONLY when hitting the brakes in reverse.. never was a problem on track so I just said whatever and kept going. Came to find the top caliper bolt was not existent anymore. WHOOPS. But that allowed the caliper to rotate when reverse. Real sketchy, let's try to not do that again.

Trying to get to at least one more event before the snow starts blowing in... looks like it's either next weekend or that's it... we will see.

Don't really want to self promote too much, but figured I'd leave it here for anyone reading this, or stumbling upon it with a google search.

I developed a controller that you can use to plug into the OEM Mazda RX-8 EPS controller that allows the EPS to act standalone from the rest of the system. 4 wires, and you're done. I like making boards, so here's one that looks cool and does a job!


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...47016d7610.png

If anyone wants more details, just let me direct you away from this website.. which is exactly what websites hate haha: www.facebook.com/GROMElectronics

Is this a good thing ? Please explain why you would want to do that.

Not me, specifically, but anyone without a factory ECM, or a different manufacturers ECM would require something like this

If you could make a board that eliminates the pwr stg , abs, , imobiliser , dash and anything else that stops you from exchanging ecus ........ I know numerous race car drivers that would be all over it !

This is definitely up the my alley, but it's tricky:

Power steering: Solved, haha.

ECMs: I can program ECUs to work with the immobilizer your car is tethered too.. however it's basically just a hardware clone, not a full disable. Just need a copy of 1 of the ECUs and then you can program as many other ECUs as you'd like.

Dash/clusters aren't tethered to the vehicle, but are driven by factory CAN signals. I have reversed engineered most of the cluster functionality and can drive it.. however getting those actual inputs from people's vehicles is different since every engine/controller has a different way of broadcasting metrics. Creating something that caters to everyone is hard, and creating something that caters to the exact 3 people with an engine/chassis combo is expensive

ABS: Just unplug the unit, haha!

It's out there.

https://www.chamberofunderstanding.c...-working-code/

Season Wrap-up Post + Winter Plans

Figured I'd make a post about the season since it's getting cold here in Michigan, which means tires comes inside and soul crushing depression sim racing season is here. Always good to reflect on the good and the bad, but first we can reflect on the objective:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...29cdede807.png

Ended up 16/37 and managed to scrape up a decent amount of points at each event. Seeing as points are based off the time of the winner, being in 16th with the rest of the pack almost half of my point behind feels like it was an all around good drive, and not a single track ringer. Solid mid pack, and I'm happy with it.

On to the good and bad.

The good:

• The car didn't break very much! I clocked ~3000 miles this summer between racing, driving to tracks, and the small amount of street driving the car, for the most part it only took gas and oil. That's pretty damn alright, but perhaps fairly expected for a low strung car?
• Car improvement over the course of the season was fantastic. Suspension, tires, aero, everything.. all amazing upgrades and didn't kill the bank. The car is so much more fun to drive, and has more grip than one (me) knows what to do with. I learned a ton trying to keep the car on the track, and also trying to make it go faster.
• Raced at two new tracks, that's pretty sick. Told myself I wouldn't have a problem skipping out on some events and selling off the tickets.. but ended up doing them all with a smile on my face. Definitely want to go back to them too, venturing out of your SUPER local neighborhood is always fun. Did 5 tracks this summer, 12 year old me probably wouldn't have managed that in Gran Turismo.
• I love the car and will continue to race it

The meh:

• Car kept blowing through rear caliper piston seals, found another one last week. Not sure if this is an effect of shitty auto parts store calipers, but something needs to be done about it. I have low expectation for shims helping block heat, so I may just need to start rebuilding them myself and just guess and check who makes the more durable seals. Haven't found much on this matter from searching, and it looks like rear BBKs with good pad selection don't really exist without a decent amount of modification. Will be keeping my eyes open...
• SSV solenoid is still re-plumbed as the secondary air.. I should probably fix that.. damn permanently temporary fixes
• Driver's side control arm. It's still fucked, and you can feel it in the car. Will address.
• I still want more rear camber

The bad:

• Power output for being competitive in class I don't think will ever be there, which is fine. We will see where the rules move to, and keep trying to gear it better. We have revs, not torque.. let's just gear it short and get a slamming shifter (I hear CAE is making something for the 6 speed.. wink wink nudge nude)

I think that's all of the bad, really. I love this car in a way I never thought I could.

On to winter work:

• Sunroof Delete - It's going. I'm going to try to make my own carbon fiber plug... we will see how that goes. Sounds like another $1000 Garrett endeavor with results that don't matter
• Dataloggers - I need something to capture all of the potential data I know is readily available from the car. I want to go faster, and push limits a bit. I need to know how close I am getting.
• Oil Coolers - Upgraded cores is the desire, upgraded (read: not rusty OEM) lines are a need. Will be going through that as it gets colder out
• More weight reduction. Let's get more serious than we were before. It matters. BBK for weight?? At least two piece rotors I think.. wheels, could they be lighter?? I dunno!
• Suspension tuning - I've got more bushings to press into things. Hiem everything and more camber... maybe drop the car a tad lower? I know I need to re corner balance.
• Brake Ducting - I think I finally want to add this in, I did manage a LITTLE bit of reduced braking on some hot runs towards the end of the season adding more speed in. Let's get that sorted before it becomes an actual issue
• Clutch Pedal - Reinforcement time, can't wait for it to break when I'm not thinking of it
• CAE shifter. If they make it, I am buying it. I saw they were looking for a vehicle for an RX-8 6 speed kit fitment testing
• Semi related but kinda note: More work on the reflash kernel for the OEM ECMs. Open source stuff is just fun.
• Driver's side control arm. It's time. I have my angle grinder and a can-do attitude
• Probably should get into the dealership for that fuel pump gasket recal, eh?
• Fuel surge tank?? I was getting REAL bad fuel cut while running the car to what I thought wasn't crazy low on gas.. not sure if that's worth investing time into, or just take the couple gallon weight hit and keep it mostly full. Not a huge priority but I need to write it down or it'll get forgotten

There's probably more I am forgetting... but that'll suffice for now. Nothing too wild, and if I only spend a few grand this winter I'll have called it a budget winter.

Super exciting to dig more into this thing and get back on the track soon. Until then, it's time to throw snow tires on my STi hatch and practice my Scandinavian flicks while bitching about traffic until spring when I can only bitch about traffic.

No issues with OEM rear calipers for me even with ST43s so I assume it's the parts store calipers at fault. New OEM are kinda pricey but at least the OEM seals are cheap and readily available and no heat issues.

Agreed, the RX-8 will never make enough power to be competitive in Club TR. Sucks, but it is what it is.

Series 2 fuel pump/surge tank thingy is a pretty easy upgrade and I can run mine down until the light comes on.


I'm hoping to do Pocono & NJMP next year but we'll see :)

There was a guy here who replaced the roof panel with a dry cc one. If you're thinking of 1k, might worth checking out if they still produce.
Mazda RX-8 dry carbon roof / Marsh Composites

​​​​​​​Hope everything goes smoothly during winter.
​​​​​

I may try to grab some OEM seals and rebuild my set. I think that'll yield nicer results.

Will also looking into that S2 fuel surge thing.. sounds interesting.


There's a couple of full roofs I was looking at, however unfortunately due to rule classing, alternative materials cannot be used for a full roof, but the sunroof isn't considered part of the roof, so a delete panel can be carbon. I found a couple examples of plugs, but they all either didn't exist anymore (Sneed4Speed), or they are shitty (LRB). I've always wanted to mess around with carbon fiber stuff, and this is a good excuse to give it a shot. I've got some good tips from my brother (Aero engineer who's hand laid carbon for airfoils before), so I think I can manage a roof plug :shrug:. Always willing to waste money if I learn something, even if the end product sucks a bit.

​​​​​​​Oh, that's definitely more exciting and rewarding as an experience. I am sure you will work it out.

Great job! Any tips + tricks on the diff install? I'm hoping to do the 4.77 swap sooner than later but don't want to pay shop prices on that work when its more or less a bolt-on affair.

Pretty simple take old off and put new in. If you rear end bushings are in bad shape and seized up so you can loosen stuff up, it'll be a huuuuge pain to get the rear axles in/out. Best advice I've got.

Agency Power Midpipe

Nothing too wild here, found a midpipe that seemed like it made more sense to have so I slapped it in. Honestly, the best part about it was just having new hardware and gaskets that aren't rusted. More powah to be had? Probably not.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...42f504d8c8.jpg

While I was under the car, I also did see one of the trans sensors leaking from the interface to the case. Gave it a nice jerk to see if compressing the crush washer more fixes it.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...25b2921673.jpg

Unrelated sidenote: Winter has finally come. The weather is cold, but the shop is warm. Subaru with snow tires is essential for keeping moral up. Gonna be a dark few months boys and girls.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a0ef4c4947.jpg

might look closer next time to make sure it’s not leaking from the potting at the wiring end and drizzling to the case; common issue with that sensor.

Was browsing ebay and saw that the Aussie dude who made 5.1, 5.3 r&p for RX8s has stock up for sale.