msrecant

Again, this thread is about the REAR bumper. I've seen the page in the tech manual and from the parts catalog and both show it as one piece and one part number. r0tor has first hand experience removing the part from the car and confirms it's one piece.

K1nG

again my mistake i meant rear bumper... i just missed the parts department and my mazda techs hours and i will have to call before 130pm tomorrow which i will do since you guys are so set on proving me wroing, im sure he has more first hand experience removing the front bumper than a mazda tech that handles rx8's everyday and a parts department that orders parts for rx8's everyday. but in the end i think i will trust the mazda techs, mazda parts dept, and mazda general managers that all assure me its a seperate peice over someone i dont even know on this forum...in the end ill pay for the little peice to replace and you guys can all spend 500+ on a new rear bumper, ill set my alarm to wake me up tomorrow to call them, especially for you.

edit: you can even see inmove_zig's pictures, the peice is connected via five(5x) 50-20B clips, it comes in a nice package right to mazda as maybe apart of the rear bumper package, but it is a part made on the rx8 that is detachable that is able of being ordered right from your parts department. i just havent been set on ordering this because mine only got melted in a little spot and ive been busy the past couple of days to actually get this done, but now my sources and credibility are being questioned so i will now handle the matter.

truemagellen

woah chillout

they may have been two pieces at one point in time but, they are welded with plastic glue or they were heat fused (very common) at the factory...the picture move_zig posted is from the OFFICIAL mazda parts guide that every dealership orders their parts from...I know I sent it to him and I got it from a Mazda dealership

sure you can get that piece but you're going to have to find a f-ed up rear bumper with that piece intact...cut off the bottom (just like you do for the MS speed rear install) and then figure out some crackpot way to glue it to the bottom of the bumper (cost much less to find a rear bumper in decent shape and replace the current one, virtually bolt on)

so in the end everyone is right...you can only order the rear bumper...but on the other hand at one point it was two pieces...so there no need to puff your chest out and proof something to anyone...we don't care really we know what we know and after years of mazda ownership there is one thing I definitely don't trust a service rep/service manager actually ANYONE who works at a dealership

K1nG

ou can even see inmove_zig's pictures, the peice is connected via five(5x) 50-022B clips, it comes in a nice package right to mazda as maybe apart of the rear bumper package, but it is a part made on the rx8 that is detachable that is able of being ordered right from your parts department. i just havent been set on ordering this because mine only got melted in a little spot and ive been busy the past couple of days to actually get this done, but now my sources and credibility are being questioned so i will now handle the matter.

so what you are talking about heat whatevered on is a myth or who knows, and dont ever question this mazda tech...this guy has had years of experience with the rx7 and now hes been working on various and multiple rx8's since its release, he knows. i will trust him over someone named r0t0r on this forum, and it is not "just some tech" ive heard from everyone at the dealership everyone of them confirming they have ordered the rear bumper package and it is not attached

truemagellen

those clips are for the plastic exhaust shrouds...now why on earth would the center piece of the lower grey part of your bumper be melted?

probably because you don't understand what we are talking about, it is ok though it is hard to describe these pieces I should have taken a picture and made an arrow

K1nG

Red - 5x clips connecting it in - we are talking about this part that these clips are holding in
blue- the exhaust shrounds whcih we are not talking about but i put for reference.

edit: it really isnt melted it was bumped into by a bmw m3 and it looks like the exhaust of the m3 melted the peice, only a tiny part of it, nothing screaming fix me.

truemagellen

ok I just got under my car cause you've made me so curious

yes you are correct there are clips just like that there and it almost seems at they are clips that held it at the factory as some sort of epoxy or something is holding the thing together

so we are both right :D

now do I think the bumper can be pulled apart? well I can't determine the strenth of the bond but it looks like cutting is the way to go...I tried sticking a knife in there but it wouldn't budge...man there is some nasty stuff down there :D

K1nG

well i wouldnt be installing it myself i would bring it into mazda im sure they know how to get it off and put the new one back on but i need to wake up tomorrow to get a $ and # from them after that i will arrange for them to do the rest, i need to find a decent mazda in the DC area - what is the policy with starting with a new mazda service dept? because for most of the year my car is going to be out here now and i would like them to do oil changes / tsbs / flashes and what not

New Yorker

So, a year later… can you buy just the lower black unpainted portion of the rear bumper—or not?

msrecant

I believe the answer is that you can't. When you buy a "bumper" it comes as one piece ... upper painted, lower black.

New Yorker

Thanks for the info—that's the answer I didn't want to hear. (And I think if you buy a new rear bumper, the whole thing comes unpainted, so that you then have to paint the part that gets painted.)

msrecant

I believe what you say is the case. However, there is also a texture difference between the black and the part to be painted, so it is not just how you paint the bumper.

New Yorker

Damn! So either I have to live with the gouge—or get a whole new bumper. I just wish there was some way to repair it. You'd think the fact that it's not the painted part of the bumper would be a good thing but noooo! A gouge in the painted part is fixable; in the lower unpainted part, it's not. Amazing. So my 8 can no longer be "perfect" unless I want to spend hundreds of dollars on a new bumper, and hundreds more to have it painted and installed. That so sucks. (Actually I'm not a perfectionist. The 8 is—or should I say was—the one perfect thing in my life, which is fine—one perfect thing is all I need. Oh well. Owning an RX-8 is still cheaper than therapy.)

mkztg

I just found this thread and I would like to tell about the gouges I had in my bumper and how it was fixed.

I am military and just moved to Germany, I shipped my 8 here and the shipper put two gouges in my rear bumper, the black part, similar to how you describe yours.

The shipping company said they would reimburse me for the replacement cost to get a new bumper but they barely paid enough to get it repaired.

The German body shop I took it to said they could fix it no problem, texture and all.

When I called to make sure it was ready to be picked up, the owner said he would need a few more days because he thought it would look better painted.

I was a little pissed that he didn't ask me first but he assured me this would look much better and the price is the same. He even said if I didn't like it he would paint it back to black and texture it like OEM for free.

I just got it back tonight and I can tell you this looks great. This weekend I will take a few pics if you are curious. The only part that is still black is the 'fake grill' texture on either side of where the rotary accent goes. It cost about $450 to get this done. and the color match of the paint is great.

I know you aren't in Germany (duh) but I'm sure there is a shop there can do this too if you wanted to consider it.

I'll post pics when I can.

overdrive

My car is currently getting painted. I am having the plastic part painted a second color. 2 toned style. Post pics so I can get an idea of how it'll look!

dgrx8

i would like to see the pics as soon as u have them...