BearTrap

I just don't want it to have a sceen-door rice look. Yours looks decent, so I'm reconsidering. Thanks.

I got the A/C screen too for that same reason, but it isn't seen so I'm not concerned with painting it.

So true. I'll probably put them in as is for now and take them out later for painting if I don't like it after living with them for a while. I just don't want to paint them and have the paint start flaking.

demob05

Going thru all the forums here, i went to the Racing Beat website to look into their Oil Coolers screen and other products. Looks like they sell a protective Screen for just about every component under the hood.
Want real professional advice on how neccessary an Oil Cooler Screen and all the other screens (i.e. Radiator) really are. For normal driving on roads with no intent to go off-roading like a 4x4, are these screens helpful in the long run???

MI_FamilyMan

Funny you mention that Charles, because I prefer the steel look too. However, I just purchased some clear corners thinking they would "match" the oil screens better than the yellows. I'll be putting the screens and the corners in the next week or so as well.

MI_FamilyMan

Demob05,
You must live somewhere nice where the roads are clean and smooth. In places like Detroit where there is constant semi-truck traffic, giant-sized potholes and a lot of debris on the road after the spring thaw, these screens end up being a very affordable way of buying yourself insurance against damage which apparently is not covered under warranty.

Hou-TX-RX-8

See my earlier post on what happened to Brillo.. He was driving on the highway when it happened.

Go48

If you have several thousand miles on the car, check out the fins on the oil coolers. You may be surprised at the number of bent fins. These fins are a very soft material and a large bug can easily bend them. After just a few hundred miles I had a large grass hopper embedded in the fins and a bunch of the fins were flattened (see the attached images).

The screens are like preventive medicines, you really can't judge their effectiveness after you use them because there has been no visible change to your condition (or that of the oil cooler fins). But the screens are, as demo says, inexpensive insurance.

Preacher

I have all three screens installed and they are MINT.
Now a bug in the s/s mesh at 135 isn't a death-knell for the fins

09Factor

Dumb question. Is it possible that the screens could block some of the air flow and not provide the fully desired effect?
I'm talking clean, not full of bugs and such

bureau13

I'm sure they do offer some small restriction in airflow, but I'd be willing to bet that that restriction is much less than that of all the bent fins you'll get after say a year or so of normal driving. I got my screens within a few months of having the car and even so there was already damage to the coolers.

jds

Go48

The screens do, indeed, restrict airflow to the coolers. There is a lengthy discussion about this in the original DIY (link below) on the topic. But here's a quote related to the RB screens:

"The RB grids are stainless steel wire mesh, and I believe that RB states 63% air passage. I did the research on the dimensions of this mesh myself and it is, indeed, 63%."

There are screens that will pass a higher percentage of air, but the tradeoff is between opening size (read protection) and air passage. Is the restriction a problem? Maybe if you run the car very hard for extended periods in high ambient temperature conditions. For "normal" driving I don't think it would be a problem.

DIY: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-oil-cooler-opening-mesh-grille-replacement-8147/

Preacher

I've noticed zero operating temperature changes since installation,and all my fins are still intact.
Monday I'm off to have the new K&N Typhoon intake system installed,along with Goodrige stainless,braided front brake lines.
(The dealer wouldn't install the intake or brake lines.Some nonsense about warranties..wussies!) :D

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

because the RB screens are attached directly to the oil coolers there will be little restriction of the flow and probably will actually increase heat disappation through some conduction.

You could potentially run into problems when you put the screens a few inches out in front of the oil coolers because of the airflow choking on the screens... not sure how fast you would need to go before thats a problem

Go48

You might want to do a search of the forum for owners experience with the K&N intake, since as I recall, there is a problem with engine idle after the install.

Preacher

Thanks for the tip,I read up good,I got the new model K&N Typhoon,freshly redesigned for the 8,so I'm hoping I won't have any problems.
Hell,my 2004 8's got enough first-year snafus,I could (and have) filled a book with service trips.
iSadly,it's a huge list;multiple reflashes,a bad t/o bearing at 500 miles,the fr. brakes replaced at 1100 miles (bad rotors)and the a/c's still half-assed,if I lived in Florida I would have shoved this car backwards up the dealer's hind end within a week.
Happily for them,I live in the northeast,so it's really not that big a deal.
It's still a blast to drive,the build quality is great,but the design snafus suck.
I'm dying for the engine warranty to be done with (I have 6500 miles,total,on the car,lol!) so I can feel good about adding forced air induction in one form or another-and when it's paid for in another year I won't feel so bad about ripping off most of the body panels and replacing them with carbon fiber.
It's not a bad place to start,the RX-8,but they could,and can,do a hell of a lot better in the future.
If they release a new 7 Series my 8 will hit the trade-in floor the day the second-year 7's arrive at the dealership,as I will have pre-ordered a second year model,hoping Mazda doesn't screw the pooch the same way they've done us this time.
Shades of Ford?
Probably.

If no 7's forthcoming,I'll likely just gut the 8 and do all the wacky aftermarket mods,if for no other reason than to make it more solid and reliable.
LOL!