Any FI guys/gals regret their install?
 

Has anyone found that FI has affected the overall balance of the car. I'm looking more to road race/autocross fans rather than the street racer. If you had it to do again, would you put the money elsewhere in improving the car?

Most track addicts will spend money in the places it needs it first...FI is usually last on the agenda as most of the time, the car is faster than you as a driver can get it...by the time FI is added, the owner should know a thing or two about how it all works...

So 99% of FI track duty 8's will generally have competent drivers who have added FI for that added juice on those long straights that kills us...

That said...I doubt any of them regret it...

You trying to say I don't know how to drive? Hehe. If you are, that's okay, cause I don't. In fact I kinda suck (3rd to last in Autox 1 last year in my SRT-4, and dead last the second time). I'm working on that...

It just seems like the suspension, which gets so many raves, is just about perfect right out of the box. I don't really want to mess with it's balance between comfort and performance. Bigger and better tires, that's a given. But other than that... I don't know where else to go except FI. I'm not talking about next week, I'm just thinking for the future. No point in spending the next 6 months learning all I need to know for the Pettit SC if it turns out it's not a great idea for the track.

well, spend any time on a track and your going to need a new radiator and the mazmart water pump.

+1 :)

So I take it cooling is an issue in the RX-8?

Uhhhhh Yea! Plus i had rust on the Mazmart water pump impeller.
I fi'ed and no regrets---you can never go back.
oldscdragger

The only time you regret fi is if your engine blows. Otherwise you are in nirvana.

Yeah..basically...heh

I added the MS suspension, PT sways, RPF1's, Toyo R888's...

And it was like night and day...

The car is way faster than I am capable of now...still...and even more so...

Learning to watch what the car is doing is vital...get yourself some good gauges...when you begin to bump into the limitations of the car, you will know your ready for the next step...

The first indicator...temp...when you need better cooling...you have graduated preschool...heh

Technically...yes and no...

If your fast enough on the track...yes

For daily driving, or new to the track...probably not*

*Climate is a variable...

Definitely climate has a lot to do with it. I've done one track weekend with my 4AT. I've got the scangauge, and my water temps never got above 212. That was before the mazmart water pump was installed. But this was in Michigan in September. The highs were in the uppers 70s F.

olddragger,

What kind of coolant mix ratio were you running with this?

Where I'd like FI for the track is for passing power. At the end of my track weekend, when I started passing other cars, I noticed that some more power would be nice to be able to finish the pass quicker. I am thinking this way because most of the tracks I will go to have very short straightaways, and I plan on staying in the lower run groups for a long time where passing is allowed only in the straights.

As far as suspension mods, after one track weekend I'd definitely recommend sway bars. I think it will make it more comfortable to drive on the track with less body roll. I was getting aggressive enough by the end of the weekend that I was really getting a lot of body roll, really pushing me into the door.

I'd also like it for passing power on two lane country roads when I've got other people/dogs in the car. But that is off topic for this thread.

I regret not doing it sooner...I waited until my warranty was up........:)

Well, I'm convinced. The RX-8 just isn't the car for FI. It would cost a good 10k to do it right, and now you're talking about a car that has near as much money in it as a Porsche Boxster or Corvette.

I think my first mod will be the Skip Barber mod. Second mod, track day mod. Third mod, second-job mod...

Heh...you have much to learn...

The times they change and the wind whispers of RX-8 FI glory...

The single largest hurdle has been engine manglement...and that hurdle is about to disappear...

Spend your time becoming a better driver...

When you are ready for FI...~$4-5k will be all that is required...

Oh...and as long as you are reasonable and take your time...it should not cost an arm and a leg...

^^^ he's telling the truth!
With the help of some people in this community, FI is becoming a much more viable option in the near future. Development and advancement is happening faster then ever with this car and $4-$5k should be very reasonable soon.

The increased power and torque does change the way you drive the car on the track. before Fi you could get on the throttle very early and you could brake later(not carrying as much speed), the rear end can now brake away MUCH more easily. You will find yourself having to take the "muscle car line" after FI and you will understand what it really means to have a cool down lap.
oldscdragger

Pussy:icon_no2: :icon_no2: :icon_no2:

+1

When I drove it FI for the first time with the traction control off, I wanted to bring the back end around a little bit so I gave it some juice and...

...it broke loose all right: I let off the gas and turned the wheels in the direction of the spin but still wound up doing a 360 degree spin. It was like driving on ice once the back tires lit up.

Whoops!

Momentum...gets you in the end...heh

I only regret it when it's time for new tires......

I imagine you also regret it slightly when you get your Gas card bill but then again...who gives a crap about mpg! :)

even though my car is not runnin perfect right now (which has nothin to do with the turbo), I don't regret it at all. it was the best thing I did to my car and it transformed it and it's like having a totally different car. As a daily driver you cruise around at lower rpm's and it's much more comfortable and relaxing and now i can blast up hills without needing to redline it to pass people.

you can get a greddy kit, bov and cobb accessport and be done with it, all brand new for about the 4k mark and for less than a few grand more mods you can have a killer kit

I only regret the gas bill...



but who notices it :D: