Just got my Midpipe welded together. It weighs in at 13 lbs.

 

So what is better for autocross using stock suspension?

A) Dunlop Direzzas in 225/45/R18's
B) Falken Azenis in 245/40/R18's?

The Falken are cheaper than the Direzzas and should last longer. Are the Dunlops worth the extra cash?

 

^The Dunlops have MUCH more grip than the Azenis do. And they do not overheat after every run like the Azenis.

 

Definitely the Dunlops based on those choices...

 

Just got the midpipe installed last night, but it's leaking where it meats the exhaust...Picking up a new gasket in an hour so hopefully that will seal it all up for me.

 

Thanks guys.

Actually, I ended up buying some closeout Tokohama Neova Advan's AD07's. They were $99 from tirerack in 225/45/R18 size... That's a pretty good deal.
Hopefully they are as good as the Dunlops.

 

How loud is it?

 

Huh? What did you say? I can't hear you over this ringIng noise in my ears ...

 

You for sure should know how hard it is to tame this exhaust.

I was thinking the connecting pipe behind the midpipe is uncharted territory, or did I read that Chris placed a muffler there...

 

Oh it's loud.

I need a higher jack so I can actually get some leverage on it. Going to pull it halfway on the trailer in a few to see if that'll work.

 

I just spoke to my exhaust guy. Dropped off the parts at his place 1 week ago and he finally had the time to get everything welded up. He mentioned that the finished midpipe weighs a hair under 13lbs on his digital scale. From the Weight of Stock RX-8 Parts thread, the stock midpipe weighs 23.2lbs. So a 10lbs weight savings isn't too bad... I hope to have my car in fighting form by the end of this weekend!

P.S. Good luck @ the Dixie NT Mike!

 

Good to see you guys putting those mid-pipes together. That plus a good tune and you will see the power.

On to tires...

Looks like we are going to go with RE11s. The big "C" has a great price (sorry Tirerack, but you got me for my Goodyear Asymmetrics) and this week they have a $70 coupon to boot. With the logic that any of the top performers can be tuned to win, we decided to go with the tire that has the best contingency. Also wanted a tire that was good in both hot and cool conditions, and was easy to drive (ref Andy's comments on SCCAForums). The C price made it a no-brainer.

Doesn't hurt that the Bstone was on the winning STX cat at nats last year, but I'm not sure how much that really means yet.

So, off with the Toyo decals and on with the Bridgestones.

 

Just picked up a new Kaufman trailer today. 18' Now all I need to do is stack up enough wood to get the car on it!

Midpipe is still a no go as of now.

 

^Nice. I'm looking forward to being able to trailer my car to nats this year, since my co-driver has a truck & trailer.

 

The midpipe I bought from chickenwaffer won't seal...Bought a new gasket from mazda...still wont seal. Taking it off and putting stock cat back on for this weekend..

Great.

 

^Have you put a straightedge against the flange? It is probably warped. If it's not too bad, you may be able to flatten it with some patience & a flat file. Otherwise, a quick trip to a local machine shop might be required.

 

+1 On giving the local machine/exhaust shop a try. If you can find one that can mandrel bend pipes, you get a cookie!

 

I'm thinking the problem is the donut seal. Both the used and brand new one fit very tightly on the OEM cat. On this midpipe it is so loose that if you turn it upside down it'll just fall right out. Any chance we can weld the gasket to the end of the flange...Or do something to fill up the space.

 

Sorry - big "C" is Costco.

 

Oooooooo ....

no shaving service though

 

^True. But triple drivers will take care of any excess tread depth soon enough. For a fresh set at nats, we'll need to look elsewhere.

 

Going to run an OS Giken?

 

 

That's an autocross car???

Just kidding, looks good!

 

Looks slow. :x