Hey Dude:

If you speak like you write, this is your problem. Use a spell check and speak/write English.

No kidding. Your obviously a Moron. :)

Hmm if am a MoRON what are you then LOL :D ??

if you have Nothing good to Post/say/type then dont do it Please :cool: and yeah you are so cool man your just perfect right On brotha LMAO !!

whats your problem with young people abbid? seems like your always complaining about teenagers having 8s. GET OVER IT! geez u really like to beat this topic

im young. and abbid hates me. he sends hate letters to me hahahaha jk.

abbid is sexy

yeah mine was hit my a stone too. my a/c doesnt work and theres a hole in it. they should pay for your first repair on it i think, if this many people have the same problems.

File complaint to NHTSA
 

This is my first post…to bad it’s about something I dislike about the car.

It frustrates the hell out of me that a piece of “road debris” hit my condenser, after only one week of purchase. I wrote a snail-mail letter to Mazda corporate about a month ago and haven’t heard anything. I complained to the dealership as well but they won’t fix it. I don’t think we should have to pay out of our pocket for this, whether it’s just a 500$ deductible or not. I was thinking we as Rx8 owners should post a complaint here http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/ and maybe if they get enough complaints it may spark a recall. This site is mainly for safety concerns but I know people who live in those hotter states, who have kids, this could be a potential health risk. It may be wishful thinking but at least I will feel like I did all I could do to try to get the problem solved.

I live in San Antonio, TX where in the summer temps climb well over 100 degrees inside the car. I bought this car for the practicality purposes of being able to accommodate my 3yr old son in the backseat and without AC the practicality of this car gets thrown out the (always rolled down) window. Just my 2cents let me know what you guys and gals think.

im can totaly understand everyone being upset with this issue, esp when its something you had no control over.

with my miata, I have no AC so no condenser, anything that made its way thru the opening, would hit the radiator, that is part of the reason I went thru 7 radiators in 3 years. lol, no in the miata I could change them out in about 30 mins and the radiators were only 120 bucks each, but it was still a lot of money to spend on something I had no control over.

some might try to say that you were following to close, or going to fast is there is gravel and stuff on the road, but those people dont live in the REAL WORLD.

I do think mazda needs to address the opening int he bottom of the bumper that feeds the radiator/condenser, with some kind of grill or shield....but for now, racing beat or homedepot are you sources for protection

long live gutter gaurd!

Curious about the designs on the previous gen RX-7's and if they were also prone to debris damage to AC compressors. Also, I'm not sure if the 7's have/had engine oil coolers, probably not, right??

So do you expect a free new headlight if one gets smashed by a rock?

I guess that is where they are heading with this. I went through the same agony.

And if they provided a screen, and it got "damaged" by a rock, would you think it should be replaced under warranty as well? Yeah - I know that sounds silly, but that is the same sort of reasoning.

Hey - don't forget the original!!!

Cheers,
Hymee.
Father of the RX-8 A/C Grill

That is a good point and I have since installed the DIY screen. However if this is such a common problem I wish the salesman/dealership would have said somthing so that I could have taken the extra precautions to prevent this from happening. I thought I had done the apporpriate amount of research but I guess next time I buy a car I'll hit up the forums first. You live you learn.

Sued Mazda, they settled
 

When I discovered from the dealer service department that Mazda would not cover the stone damaged condenser I sued them in small claims court. I first had asked the service department manager to contact the Mazda rep to ask them to consider courtesy coverage, but he refused. He said it was environmental damage and was not covered. I then contacted Mazda North America and the customer satisfaction department said they couldn't do anything until the dealer put in a request. This put me between a rock and a hard place so I sued the dealership and Mazda North America in the local small claims court. I sued for not only the repair, but also for the cost of the racing beat protective screen and the cost for it's installation. The dealer GM called and said he would take care of it, but I never heard from him again. Mazda NA called a week before the court date, and said they never heard from the dealer GM, but that they would send a check for the whole amount ($800). The check arrived via fedex the next day. The customer satisfaction manager said that they are considering design changes for the next year. it's probably cheaper for them to pay out cases on an individual basis than to do a recall. E-mail me if you want the exact wording of the lawsuit that I filed. (medman6@comcast.net) It cost me $29 to file and serve them and they paid for that too. I also then bought a new tribute but from a different dealership.

Nice update. Thanks Medman!

Cheers,
Hymee.

I cant believe some of you whingers here.

ALL car air conitioners have their condensers in front of the radiator....

There is NO design fault with the 8, the large opening is to cool your radiator/condenser/engine.

Yes you could install a mesh grille to help protect these cooling devices, but, be aware,
restricting the air flow could, I repeat could, create problems with any warranty claims associated with engine failure due to heat.

I would make sure any grille is cleaned regularly of insects, etc,etc.

I believe the biggest restriction to flow is the radiator cores themselves, therefore the grill is not causing a bottleneck. I have had no problems in over 50,000 km (since I installed). The only problem I has was before I installed the mesh grills, and a stone did puncture my A/C condensor. :(

The worst problem I have seen is the locusts that some reported. They would clog up something regardless of weather a grill was there or not!

I get a couple of leaves, but nothing to cause any dramas.

That opening is not the only way air gets in. It also comes in via the bottom half of the main grill.

Cheers,
Hymee.

All we Or let me say (ME) wanted is something to Reduce the Impact from any thing to DO some Damage in their is that whining?? Or am i asking to much Protection??

Lol that is cold-blooded. :D

HYMEE..

It is obvious you are going to support a product that you sell or represent if I am correct...
the add on grille mesh.

Has your/this product been factory (Mazda) approved? NO?

Where I have a problem is when as you said the added grille mesh becomes blocked by any means...lets say insects, and the owner of the RX-8 fails to regularly clean their grille, then there is overheating/thermal damage to the engine, Mazda could void your warranty.

A Non Mazda approved mesh grille is at the start of an air flow "bottleneck", the radiator is at the end, any air flow restrictions that you believe exists at the radiator are the same as any car with their air conditioner condenser in front of the radiator.

I understand you also manufacture an after market exhaust system, is this also factory approved?, again I doubt it.

I would stress to any RX-8 owner with a Mazda Factory Warranty to take care in what you renew on your vehicle with NON approved equipment.

Out of Warranty....do as you wish.

Ash,

Believe me, I know where you are coming from, and I regard myself as conservative. With all due respect, I think you are being over cautious. Yes - we are all entitled to our opinons, and I respect yours. There have been numerous discussions about "non-factory" approved modifications. In fact, my car has non-factory approved window tinting. The dealer even fitted it.

It is all about assessing the risks. In my case, the risk of damage to the a/c condensor was proven in practice (within 2 weeks of ownership), and I didn't want to have to risk forking out $700 or $800 again. Or $1200 for the oil cooler (I was told). To me, the practical risk of damage was high, as it was to the many others who have fitted my grill, or fabricated their own, or indeed fitted Racing Beats grills. Others opinion, such as RotoryEnvy, is that such risk is low.

There has been postings on here about people gotten there grills/radiators full of bugs during locust plauges, here in Australia. No reported problems, except for the PIA of having to clear them out, and the smell of dehydrated insect juice. In fact, if a locust plague blocked you radiator and you did have o'heating problems, I'm sure Mazda would still claim it wasn't their fault, as it was a maintenance problem. Grill or no grill, it wouldn't matter. I don't think you could drive far enough to have problems anyway, as you wouldn't be able to see through the windscreen safely, without stopping for a clean up.

I have Mazda dealers fit my grills and exhausts to new cars prior to customers taking delivery.

In fact, it is common for dealers to fit "aftermarket sports exhausts" to new cars. The practical risk is low.

Cheers,
Hymee.

I am very sure that Mazda Australia would be interested to know of the Mazda Dealers
who are selling/installing your grilles.
Particularly where I hear a possibility of Technical Bulletins from MC Japan in
regards to thermal damage to the RENISIS engine, particularly in the US.
It is actually a breach of the Mazda Dealer Agreement to sell/install any product that has
not been tested by Mazda Melbourne/Japan and approved.

Thats if they get caught!

What concerns me about these grilles (particularly this website ad grille)shown
in the "diamond" patterns are the small holes that actually allow air through, you
can visually see that it reduces flow by at least 50%!, so if you think permanently
halving the size of your RX-8s main grille opening is a good idea...then go ahead
...you would not catch me using one that restricts flow by that extent.

I have worked as retail Mazda Parts Manager in Adelaide for many years,
and in wholesale (Mazda South OZ)when there was as distribution centre.
Since the mid 80s all parts now come overnight from Melbourne.

BTW when I was in retail our Service department never installed any sports
exhausts to new Mazda's, also there would be no benefit in changing the
original RX-8 exhaust for HP gain, or any gain for that matter.
you are just wasting your money. Hymee would disagree of course.

BTW
I suggest that the Mazda dealer subleted the installation of your window tint, I know of no dealer that actually applies the film themselves, and I don't think that window film has any causal effect to components that will void a warranty.

An $800.oo repair bill to a condenser I suggest is far cheaper than an engine rebuild.

Over cautious maybe, but, I have first hand experience how State Service Managers and their field reps think at Mazda.

With respect Hymee

Cheers
Ash

Yeah but come on. You're saying Mazda may void a warranty IF you have the grill in and IF you let a lot of crap accumulate in it without cleaning it out. Just having the grills installed (clean) can't possibly hurt airflow enough to cause overheating.

If an rx8 owner lets insects/leaves/rocks accumulate in the RB or Hymee grills then he/she needs to take better care of his/her car. I wouldn't go so far as saying they deserve an overheated engine but....

I agree... I've had no problem with overheating this summer with grills in place... and unless you drove through a biblical-sized swarm of locusts I can't imagine they would get clogged up without you noticing. I wash my car about once a week or so, and usually find one or two dead bugs at the most between the three grills.

I never stated that Mazda would "Void" your warranty completely, they may void a particular claim that has an association with any add on accessory that Mazda determines is the cause to the original defect/problem.

If you are unsure about the outcome of installing anything that is not "original" equipment, and you are concerned about the warranty implications, I suggest you call Mazda HQ in the US (they must have a free call 1800 number) and ask about the grill (grilles) for the 8 that are in the market place.

I am almost certain that the reply would be if it is not Factory ...that is Mazda Motor Corporation approved, you install at you own risk...that's all..

NO one can stop you from altering your own car, just be aware of the implications,
a non genuine parts manufacturer, retailer, shop, wants to sell their products to you, and many will say anything for a sale.

If you believe that these grilles are benificial to your car then why are they not installed as original equipment or available as a genuine accessory.

Heat is the worst enemy of the Rotary Engine, an additional grille will reduce the air flow through the condenser/radiator and this will complicate the cars ability to cool air conditioner gas, and engine coolant, which can also add to poor air conditioning performance.

YEAH and thats how you ENDUP with a HOLE in the A/C condenser and maybe a HOLE in ur Radiator if the IMpact was strong enugh.