Mafia

I tried to do a search on this but i havent found anything, has anyone considered putting air ride on their 8? I dont know why I feel the need to do this but i guess i find cars a little more appealing if they sit lower, yes i know about lower springs but its cool to see a car slammed to the ground while its parked and then a stock or an inch lower while driving.. any comments or suggestions?

huhsler

I don't think anyone's done this yet, but I've considered it. This company said that they have a system that can do it: http://www.ridetech.com/

One of the problems with this is that the area where the springs sit doesn't have a lot of width-wise room for the air bladder and reservoir. Then, the trunk doesn't have a whole lot of extra room for the tank and charger.

If you find out additional details, let me know. Hey, I may win the lottery sometime and be able to afford this!

th1rd3y3

i realize that everyone has their own opinion but i think it would be completely stupid. it would completely destroy the one thing that the 8 does exceptionally well. handling would suffer severely not too mention ride quality.

huhsler

Just wondering why you think that the handling would suffer?

Many "e-ride" type systems have the capability for active pressure changes in the bags to mimic the profile of regular springs (or even performance springs).

Also, quite a few RX-8 owners have replaced their's with performance springs, with hangers for adjustable ride height. I believe MazdaSpeed even has a set in the works (or out).

I haven't profiled a whole lot of air ride systems, but they look pretty solid to me (aside from the dependence on technology and too many moving parts) as far as capability.

Thoughts?

th1rd3y3

I don't think the handling would suffer as bad (if at all) with a good e-ride setup (which i'm assuming is something similar to the Praxis stuff for the WRX). Those Air ride systems are made for different levels of performance/comfort -- not to give you the ability to "slam" your car to the ground as Mafia is referring to.

If I recall correctly you'll have to have airbags in order to "slam" the car, which do pretty much nothing but ruin a car as far as handling goes. They are good for show and that's pretty much it.

Just my .02 and I may be misunderstanding what is being asked but those are the reasons for my statement.

huhsler

Ah. Got it. I agree. Even Praxis, on their website, SPECIFICALLY says NOT to drive a car slammed.

On the other hand, Praxis does claim performance benefits from their systems. I can immediately see the benefits in rally racing (matched handling for all road conditions). I wonder if there would be any other marked benefits in road driving, however.

Praxis did send me an e-mail stating that they are developing systems for the RX-8, though. ETA...unknown.

th1rd3y3

That's very good info to know. I've been quite interested in the Praxis system since they announced it. It would be cool to see it come to the 8 as well.

mikeb

I had air ride on my last car for 3 years
it was fun but repairs can be expensive
and it drove really bad when the car was up all the way or down on the floor. But when I adjusted it to normal height it was alright. But still I would never do this to the rx8--- it's a SPORTS car

Mafia

I dont intend on driving the car slammed, the only time it will be slammed is when im parked for show purposes, for ride quality it matters to me but I don't feel it will effect me all that much yet, im 16 years old and i dont intend to race my 8 i fell i dont have enough driving experience yet and i love the car too much to put it through an accident, all i want to do is make my 8 stand out, be unique, go to some car shows win some money, medals and get some publicity.. besides if i dont like the air ride i can just switch over to the lower springs :D

mikeb

is this your first car???
you are a lucky guy

Mafia

Yup, my first car, my parents were thinking of importing a 3000GT VR-4 or something along those lines but they found out it was too much hassle to import with the duties etc. then we went to newer cars such as the eclipse or RSX type-s, mom saw the 8 and put it up for offer, the car is going to be part of my graduating present, its a bribe in a sense :D

Xyntax

You want your car to grab attention while parking right? Well, get an RX-8. It pretty much provides that.

Mafia

Haha I already own one, I just want the car to sit lower, and I want to know if theres any benifits to air ride over lower springs and if its even worth to install an air ride system to get the car to sit on the ground while parked and have a 1.5 drop while driving

dcfc3s

Really, just springs that drop it down and some good-looking wheels will really make the car look good. To drop it bigtime will cost QUITE a bit of money - is it really worth it?

For me, I'd rather spend the money on something I'd get more satisfaction from - a good exhaust, an E-manage or the Canzoomer setup, coilovers or shocks/springs - that will make the driving experience much more satisfying.

Dale

Mafia

Well I don't have like $500 american to spend on a borla exhaust as of yet and i wanted to get a canzoomer but i havent read up on it yet and how much they run so i guess im kind of starting off small