What to do with $1500?
 

Hypothetically speaking, if you had $1500 to spend what would you do with your 8?

Depends completely on what you already have done to your 8

Sorry, Completely stock...

Clear corners, short shifter, catback, springs and use the rest on a nice book to read.

The two most universally acclaimed products for the RX-8 are;

1) The BHR Ignition System.
2) Cobb AccessPort from MazdaManiac.

After that, stiffer swaybars and a lightweight flywheel rarely have people regretting getting them, as well as actual track time.

Performance midpipes are popular.
Intakes have little value to them, per dollar.
245/40-18 tires are also popular.
Axial Flow Short Shifter is a favorite.
Better brake pads are good if you track the car.
Dampers and springs can be pretty cool, too.

The MOST important element is to fully understand why you are swapping things and what the expected outcome will be. The RX-8 is about as "factory tuned" as you can get so modding with value is difficult.

It all depends on what you want to do with the car. Just street, show, track, ........

Just street for now...I live in SE Missouri and all we have here are Drag Strips :(

Thanks for your input...I can't decide if I actually want to put the money into it or save it...seems like unless your going FI you might as well save your money...

The RX8 isn't a good car for the drag strip. It's a handling car. You could find a group to autocross with locally or Memphis isn't to far away.
http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Memphis_Motorsport_Park
In Iowa
http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Mid_America_Motorplex
http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Iowa_Speedway
Too bad Gateway closed.

The two first products I mentioned are not simply because I have a fiduciary interest; it is because they provide benefits/gains to performance/driveability/reliability and every RX-8 can benefit from using them.

After that, we can whittle your list down a bit to suit your particular uses.

One thing Al was not specific about was that the RX-8 is a complete driving experience and once you track the car you will fully understand it's nuances and everything it has to offer. Then you will be addicted and arguing with your friends about drag-racing versus road-racing. :lol2:

In any event, you have a pretty decent group of people here to help you from spending your money on stuff that does not work, and to help you diagnose any problems you may have.

And a belated "Welcome ta da Cluuuub......"

are you looking for asthetics, performance, realiability...
overall i would say BHR ignition, Cobb AP, and midpipe but it all depends what you are looking for
these are good mods for realiability and performance though
really you won't boost performance enough to worry about without going FI :)

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=sneaky

If you plan on keeping it a while, the BHR ignition and fuel pump will probably pay for themselves as will the Mazmart water pump. Make sure you have the MSP-16 reflash (the dealer should know, and provide it for free if it's not been done). Racing Beat springs will give a modest drop and still keep it very streetable. D-Spec shocks are adjustable enough to be 'ok' for track days, yet can be set for comfy highway cruising. There's your $1500!

Don't be too shy though, to just leave it alone. It's a great car right out of the box.

Aside from a coupla things, maybe parts should not be swapped until the driver perceives an actual NEED for it (?). For example, unless a given driver can point to the ocurrence of brake fade, said driver may not be driving to the point of actually experiencing it with OEM pads. In this case, better pads may not be necessary.

Braking, suspension, steering, and shifting are all "driver feel" elements.

Then this is what I would spent it on and is the order I went with myself when I got mine 2 years back..

- BHR ignition: Better spark, better combustion, will help pro-long engine life not to mention put off future troubles
- AFE short shifter: Majority tends to list this as their hands down best investment in the car including myself. The difference is astounding

At this point you will already be pretty much halfway or over halfway to your $1,500 limit

- SOHN adapter: I suggest reading heavily to understand what this is what how our engines use engine oil to lubricate the apex seals during the combustion process. If you want proper, clean, 2 stroke oil that's meant for burning to lubricate them and not your engine oil which is dirty and not meant for burning I would pick this up. It can help assist with extending your apex seal lives (which tend to attribute many rotary failures).
- Reservoir to hold oil for the SOHN adapter: Again read up about this and different places to mount this in your car

Those are basics I would recommend to anyone. The Cobb is well recommended as well but I still haven't gotten it myself due to never ending changes I add to the engine performance (intake, exhaust, etc) that would change the tuning and just my own preference to what I view as higher priorities listed above.

Other considerations that may take higher priority depending on condition

- New spark plugs (if your car is used)
- Good set of tires (if you get this, you'll be over the $1,500 limit slightly) This is one area you do not want to skimp and you get what you pay for. The stockies are not known for good performers all around.
- Brake pads and rotors: depends on if they need to be replaced on your car or not (again based on if the car is used or new)

Some of my earlier mods were Tein S tech springs with Koni Yellow shocks and an Agency Power exhaust. I've been very happy with the setup. I tried getting a used BHR ignition, but the deal fell through. It's still on my list.

401(k)

gold, and silver

You could give it to me :)

But seriously, I'd go for the BHR Ignition, as many others have suggested. It was an incredible investment for myself, I would highly recommend it.

Invest it somewhere else, not on your 8...lol, jk

401k

4 shares of Apple :D

maintenance.
savings the rest.

Well I come back home to check the thread and I have quite a few different suggestions...Now I'm not even sure I should put it in my car :/ Ah well...I guess I'll look into the BHR Ignition since that seems to be what the majority would do...and possibly save the rest since that's what the other half said to do haha.

Thanks for your input anyways guys.