What are some mods that add a night and day difference besides FI?

 

Nitrous (if you don't consider that an FI mod). That's about it. Not lighter flywheel, not hi-flow cat, no piggyback ECU, etc. Gains are at best slightly noticeable.

 

for me a short shifter from RP was day and night....

but i dont know if you mean just in power terms.....

 

My ACT flywheel made a much bigger difference than I thought it would. Acceleration is noticibly better in first and second gear, and also the rpm's shoot up much faster in neutral (good for rev matching / down-shifting).

 

id say just give our 8s another year or 2 for performance... there arent much stuff out in the market that makes it a day and night different yet for our 8 yet...

 

Synthetic transmission fluid.

 

I agree with Fanman and disagree with him at the same time. If you are looking for only one mod that will have the most impact on power upgrades, nitrous is it. However, without going F/I the only things left are the other things he listed. It should be noted, though, that your own end objective is what really makes the difference. If you are more of a track racer than drag racer swaybars/springs and brakes may have a bigger impact than the other stuff. Or, you can be like me and get all of it!!

 

My interpretation of the question is night & day "power" mods. I can honestly say the other posters are right. The best bang for the buck mod was the Racing Beat suspension, the Richard Paul short shifter was an awesome upgrade as well. For power mods, the hi-flow cat, the lightweightflywheel, the pullies all made little to no difference "feel" acceleration wise. I'm sure if you get a CAI, tuned piggyback ECU, hi-flow cat, cat back exhaust, maybe even pullies you might feel a slight difference. I had a hose pop off on my car this past weekend, so I was just running regular non-boosted power on my car for a little while, the difference between an FI'ed RX8, & NA RX8 is night & day.

 

Manual recommends 90 weight gear oil - the right Redline oil would be MT90.
I found a huge difference in the shifting when I used 1/3rd Redline MTL, which is a bit thinner.

S

 

The best, most cost-efficient night and day mod is yourself!!

 

i will agree with the rp shifter. The first week you will feel a slight difference, but hop in another rx8 with the stock shifter on, and whaam! world of a difference!

 

Is the shifter swap a matter of throw distance or is there also a smoother feel to it, or what? Fanman, all that hassle you went through to get your 8 turbo'd and then you have a hose pop off. Bummer. I felt, and measured, a big difference with the flywheel swap and a catless midpipe. The power increase with either turbos or nitrous is roughly the same, a few operational differences aside. In the long run I plan on going F/I with a little nitrous cherry on top.

 

I think replacing the greddy emanage with an interceptor x with the greddy turbo is like night and day....dynos on the forum have supported this....whp's of 300 and more have been seen....

 

shifter diference is MUCH tighter and secure shifting as well as shorter and snickier.

You can slam it into 3rd from 2nd without worrying about bashing it into the 1st/3rd gate for example. (which I used to experience a few times when hard accelerating)

 

Final Drive.

 

Assume you meant 'night and day' on performance but my first thought on your thread title was

PAINT

 

I'm sure you mean performance wise, but I couldn't imagine going back to a stock exhaust. As far as pure driving enjoyment, the Racing Beat exhaust was and still is night & day for me.

 

Can anyone here comment on putting some light 17's on? Something I'll always be considering but I'd love to know if someone can actually feel the difference in acceleration or maybe even unsprung weight?

 

i have light 17s (15.6 lbs. 17x8.5 ET40 5zigen fn-01r's) and the difference in steering feel and responsiveness from the unsprung weight reduction (7.15 lbs./corner including rays lugs) was pretty dramatic i thought. i autox a ton and i've been very happy with just wheels and tires so far (255/40-17 advan neova's). re: acceleration, i don't know that my butt dyno is that sensitive

 

coilovers

 

snow tires/wheels for winter...night and day difference from stock. (only applicable if you live in these harsh conditions) ;-)