This was also included in the latest Fastrack:
Looks like I'll be removing the fog lamps from my front bumper this Winter (which will help get more weight off the nose).

 

I might just co drive a S2000 next year in BS... or STR..

 

If I go RX8 again, I'm sticking with my original plan to go to SP. :D

 

I may actually give the RX-8 a break next year and run in another class, then come back to ST* in 2011 after the ST re-org. Before slapping r-comps on my car and optimizing my set-up to run in SP, I want to win a trophy or two at solo Nats. I still feel that the RX-8 belongs in DSP...

 

that decision really sucks, I think the wings and such add nothing but a coolness factor to the category, but whatever ... stored & saved for another day

I would prefer to go to SP, but if it's not classed in DSP then I'd rather go to SM


.

 

Wow, lots of long faces here suddenly, are you all just too embarrassed to get beat by a civic?

What a bunch of whiners, are you under some sort of illusion that your cars are prepped to the level of Hollis'? Well they're not. The 2nd place 325 has a ton of development work yet to do, my 330 has a ton still left on the table, and I'm sure ALL the RX-8s do as well.

I have over 300 TnT runs in my car over the past two seasons, ~130 of them in Lincoln. I guarantee Hollis has that many in Lincoln alone. The RX-8 is going to be the ST civic of STX, you guys just need to get out there and drive! And test, and change stuff, and keep testing some more, and really learning your cars well.

I want to see a healthy STX with a lot of different cars, and I'm personally really happy about the wing ruling, and I'm looking forward to kicking a bunch of RX-8 butt next year. :P

 

LOL Matt. FWIW, I'm glad aero & body work were removed. People were abusing the allowance in a way that was not originally intended (c/f front bumpers, swiss-cheesed rear bumper covers, etc).

The only reason I don't want to run my STX car next year at Nats is b/c I wouldn't have the 5-6K available to finish prepping it to a level I deem acceptable for the class. As I might have the opportunity to run a more prepped car in a stock class -- that's my #1 choice for next season.

Also, after Brian Peters' performance in DSP at Nats (on the one day they ran in the dry), the RX-8 belongs there. No question in my mind now...

 

This was from Nick over on the sandbox...

If that is the case, you can order the Mazdaspeed bumper from the factory...Think theres anway I can protest mine?

 

The E36 M-Technic had the bumper, and other stuff, but it was not dealer installed like your Mazdaspeed parts. So no, you are out of luck. I wonder how many people with Mazdaspeed bumpers wrote a letter when the SEB first proposed this... I would guess zero.

 

Mike,

The difference is BMW sold the M-Technic as a complete car with the M3 front bumper and a bunch of other things. Mazda did not sell a RX-8 model in the US with the Mazdaspeed body kit.

FWIW, even if someone had a BMW from the right year that could do the conversion -- it will cost a pretty penny.

 

^Iain from SCCAForums

I'm sorry that my car looks like a reject from the Fast & Furious movie...



Now lets just look at a bunch of boring RX8's in STX...

 

^ Mike, I wouldn't take it personally. It's just that the way the rules were being exploited, was not good for the ST category long-term. I'm sure you saw the one-off c/f front bumper on a certain black ST civic. And then there was the swiss-cheesed rear bumper on another ST civic. Who knows how deep the ST aero "rabbit hole" would have gone in the coming years? 10K+ spoilers and splitters anyone?

 

Just figured that out?

What is funny is that is the exact group that Howard and the boys had in mind when the original ST ground work was laid out... They never showed.

 

Its not that i'm taking it personally...It's that my sideskirts won't come off...They are pretty much permanent. So if that will make me illegal in STX next year...Then I guess i'll just start running Spec Miata instead..

 

Did a body shop bond your side skirts to the lower rocker panel of the car? I thought the MS sideskirts were held on by a couple bolts/screws at the front and back along with some 3M tape in the middle?

 

^I put the sideskirts on myself, they were replica skirts so I had to drill some holes and etc..

 

So true. I certainly resemble that remark. I was constantly behind the curve last year and had a hard time learning anything of value. I hope to get all the major work done in December this year, allowing me to actually learn how to make the car faster as opposed to just being there.

Too bad about the wings, like Mark, I like them. They certainly provoke interesting and distinct public reactions. From blatant ridicule (very infrequent) to scorn from soccer-moms, to thumbs-up (most common) from all sorts of folks, to, well, I'm married so I won't talk about that particular reaction.

As Mark said, I'll store mine for now. I still make the jump to SM some day. In fact, I struggle with this a bit - my compression is off, and I need a rebuild to bring the motor back to 100%. So do I rebuild it to stock specs or build it for a turbo?

Guess it depends on if I want to be competitive or just try to maximize the thrill. One way or another I'll just work on optimizing the chassis in 2011.

 

Intellect. You haz none ....

 

Ooh, I finally earned a bitchy post from Mark, I must be doing something right!

I wouldn't worry about your sideskirts, as long as the wing is gone I'm sure you'll be fine. This isn't ST, nobody protests anything in STX, even things that actually matter! Our cars are all different, and we're all a bunch of hack drivers, so nobody's winning by thousandths of a second, and everyone knows those sideskirts aren't the reason they lost. That said, I'd take them off for national competition if it was my car, but I wouldn't have useless junk like that on my car to begin with.

 

Matt, maybe you should worry less about why or why not my car has side skirts..and more about how to not hit so many cones next year...

 

Yes, that may help. =]

I've been to Nats four times now, and actually done worse than the year before every year! It's amazing.

 

^In that case, keep on doing those Test-n-Tunes!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STeVTzWelns

 

Things are looking more and more promising that I'll be in a different car next season. Still a Mazda, but in a stock class. If things go according to plan, I'll bring the RX-8 out to play again in 2012.

George, you mentioned your engine compression was "off". How bad is it? Any idea what lead to it? Any chance you can get a reman from Mazda?

 

Not sure, but the Surgeline guys think it's off 10% or so. My dyno pull this summer had the same peak #s as my tuning session in 2009, but they had the dyno reconditioned over the winter, and most cars were pulling stronger this year as compared to last year. They showed me the coast-down curves and it was apparent - they dyno had less friction this year. Again, they were estimating 10-15% less power/tq this year.

Also getting the onset of hard hot-starts. I'm sure a new starter will help there, and will get me though the 2011 season, but it would seem the engine is beginning to loose power.

As for a reman, I made the mistake of bringing my car in with the stickers on it (was told a particular dealer was cool with it) but the regional rep happened by, and he put the kibosh on a rebuild, regardless of numbers (at that point the engine squeaked by from a compression standpoint).

So, I may be contacting Pineapple Racing for a blueprinted motor some time, but don't have the $$$ for it now.