Where should I start for $2k
 

Hi all,

New to the rotary world. I have a friend that has purchased an Rx8. He is looking to do some mods for some power improvment but isn't sure where to begin. Since I'm the guy with the tools, and know how I thought I would get on here, and see what you all would recommend. The following criteria apply.

1. Will spend 2k on parts. May have dealer do install if neccesary, not part of 2k.

2. Don't want to increase exhaust noise to much, car is used for bussiness clients.

3. Interested in power only for now, no chassis, or brake upgrades at this time.

4. For 2k what hp increase could I expect.

5. What rotary experts are in VA, PA area in case some ecu, or dyno tuning is needed for your recommendations.

Thats it, I think it's pretty cut, and dry.

Look forward to all your thoughts, I'v enjoyed reading the forum.

Rick

The best thing to do, if you really want POWER, then put that $2k away somewhere and let it multiply. You'll need at least $4k to get any real power--F/I, there is NO substitute. That said, I don't understand why so many buy the car then trip about its, relative, lack of power. If you want power, F/I is the only way. Bolt-ons will suck away at your money and you'll only get at most 30HP with EVERY conceivable bolt-on.

Either that or you could go back under your bridge and ask these same riddles to innocent passersby...


Bros, don't forget:

https://uplink.space.com/attachments...tFeedTroll.jpg

I agree. Save your money for real mods. I started off with about $1500 as a budget for power. But realized I won't get much back in return with bolt-ons. Took me about a year or two and now Im at 8k cash. I thought by now that I would have bought forced induction, but still haven't. Now im starting to think I should just save that money for a new and faster car down the road, instead of getting boost.

if you only have $2k be smart and invest it in an IRA or 401(k) rather than a car ...

Mom is that you???
 

Whew, for a minute there I thought I was talking to my mother.

Seriously guys, my friend would be happy with a 30 to 50 hp gain.

so lets stop babysitting and give me some serious input.

Im not trying to be smart but were grown adults.

I just want some simple input so I guide him in the right direction.

Im off work with some medical issues right now and can't do much.

He mentioned the idea, and I told him I would research it.

Now Im asking this here because I know this is a great forum with great people

who like to help the fellow rotary owner.

So how about it.

Rick

P.S. The car was bought with this whole intention.

He likes to do things in steps with good records of results.

this is gonna be fun to watch... /subscribes

OK, I'll bite.

1. Lighter flywheel, either MS (Mazdaspeed), Fidanza, ACT, or racing beat. $600
2. Cold Air Intake $300
3. Exhaust MS is not much louder than stock. $600
4. Agency Pulley $150
5. Swap out tranny and diff fluid for royal purple (more for durability) $80
6. RB flash $300 (I am personally waiting for Accesport $700)

Maybe 15-25 more HP.

That's about 2K, all can be done on your own. Thought the flywheel requires more knowledge. Good Luck

for power, the best mods are a lighter flywheel, high flow cat and the Racing Beat intake. You need to do the clutch at the same time so thats going to run about $1100 including labor. The HF cat is about $400, also should be installed at the same time. The intake is DIY and also about $400

Nitrous + Tires
Nitrous will net you more hp/$$ than basically any other mod. The nitrous resources on this forum are pretty strong if you search. If you want to find a 50 hp kick in the pants with little change at cruising performance, nitrous would do it.
The stock tires are crap. The car isn't a torque monster, so they don't hurt acceleration, but I personally find them less than desirable.

You are not getting much in the way of responses because bolt ons don't do very much for the car.

And tell your friend if he wants to go faster he needs to be able to stop faster. Upgrade the brakes and suspension first.

Now This Is What I'm Talkin About!!!
 

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input, those posts alone give me alot to go on.

If anyone wants to add their 2 cents I'm all ears.

My only question is this....

Out of everything mentioned in those posts, none of them requires remapping fuel

delivery or messing with timing?

When I ask this I'm focusing on the exhaust, and intake components.

Rick

For $2K, put it as down payment for this:

http://autos.batanga.com/mmautos/Acura/Acu_rsxs06_l.jpg

I'd have to suggest a mod I'm considering. Look around for Charles R. Hill's posts on how to install a ZEX nitrous system. It gives you the big gains of a turbo (temporarily, of course) for about 1/8th of the cost, it's there when you want it but not when you don't, it's relatively easy to install, and none of the other mods people have suggested will get you the same kind of performance boost.

A full kit with some accessories will run you about $700.

Rootski,

You're putting your car on the 'roids? :Eyecrazy:

you got the time.. here is a tip.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php

second tip. read my sig.

beers :beer:

wise up and listen to your mother ...

First step, Learn how to use the SEARCH function.

There you go, my 0.02

1. local autox school, $30
2. full season of autox events, $30 x # of events
3. evolution autox school, $300?
4. HPDE, $250
5. track days x however many dollars are left

:banghead:

the rx-8 isn't going to be a giant slayer in the straight line any time soon, and certainly not with $2k of boltons. best to make it faster in every other way by working on the driver.

Your funny.....

Not gonna get 30 to 50 Hp from that.

Best bet is get the inteceptor abd hope for 15

50hp under $2000.00 ,,,,, NITROUS.

Aero

Forget fun, this is gettin down right hysterical.

Thanks for the deposit thought, but he really wants to tinker with a rotary.
That is what this is about in the end. Doing something different, and learning something new. He actually concsidered a G35 but decided the RX8 was more his style.

Swoop

Nice referance material in the link. If only it applied to the situation. Did like the humor though. I've used this forums search alot. I found out there is alot you can do to these cars, all kinds of stuff. So my next logical step is to ask the guys doing it they're wonderfully invaluable opinions on where to start.

Now in most forums this wouldn't be a problem. But here the first thing I get is save your money. Any place else people are saying welcome to the party.

Now that aside, looking at your sig I just want to ask, what you think your gains have been, and are you happy with them. In the end thats what matters, if your happy with your result. If not what would you change.

Rick

He's not a racer or anything he just wants to feel a little more zoom when he steps on the gas. He's thinking about doing something to this thing for something to do. It wouldn't be the first time.

I have told him that most people can't feel any gains until they get a .3 sec. or more increase in the 1/4. That usually equates to approx. 30 or more hp.

how about you take the time to read around a bit. i would start with the stickys... lot of answers there.. if you had read them you post would have be a ? about one item...

i read here for 6 months before i got the car.. do your research... it is here... we are not here to be your bitch..

if you really want to know about my sig.. you can pm me..

you have 6 posts all on this thread, and are doing homework for a friend. i have wasted enough time here..

another link....

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=flywheels

i found that using the albino link from above... dont be lazy..

beers :beer:

Razz,

the interceptor looks cool, it kinda reminds me of a car a friend of mine had about 8 yrs. ago.

It was 86 Grand National. He worked for a co. that made eproms which were programable chips for computers. They also made them for some GM cars.

It just so happened his GN used this same chip. So with the chips, and some software off the internet, it may have been purchased I can't remember. He was able to make his own powerchips. He messed with every thing from the turbo, and fuel delivery to shift points, and converter lockup.

For a stock car, what he could achieve with that software, and a chip was very impressive.

22hp.

i had to dig that thread up for betsy friday night..

beers :beer:

Nitrous is something I don't think he considered. I'll pass it along, I think he may be gun shy though. He doesn't know alot about it so I'll have to educate him a little to make him feel comfortable with it.

Besides his whole point to this is to tinker, and learn about the rotary. It might be to easy an answer.

But thanks.

There seams to be some confusion. I saw that thread I know about all the fly wheels, the pipes, pulleys and everything freakin else you can do to this car.

So I ask the simple question just to get a few opinions, and this turns into me being lazy. Looking at this forum till 2am last night isn't exactly what I'd call lazy.

I've done research which I always do on any forum, on any sublject before I even decide if I'm going to join the forum, so I can post a question.

I've looked at this forum for I don't know how long, and just decided last night that it's time to get a few opinions. So I joined, asked the question, all so I could be accused of making YOU PEOPLE MY BITCH, and then be called LAZY!!!

F#@K YOU!!!

I'm the guy who's waisted his time.

I'll be sure to let my friend know, he shouldn't have bought a car that is so delicate, that the people who think so highly of them are to afraid to give any good opinions on what mods to do first.

Save for a good few.

^ i think i know who you really are.......

Good lord people, go easy on the guy. I know we've had a lot of trolls here lately but this guy doesn't seem to be looking for trouble.

Phantom Menace: I'm thinking about it. We'll see how much cash I have left after Mid-Ohio this summer.

yep,

that kinda covers it.. have a nice day.. you get out what you put in..

beers :beer:

thefourmlounge??

beers :beer:

I'm not anybody you know, can't remember the last time I was in NJ, and I've never been to FL.

Do hope to take the kids to Orlando soon.

It's interesting, that it was that post that you decide to only partially quote me.

The part that suited your means.

Why didn't you quote the whole statement?

Whats wrong truth hurt?

sorry for the delete.. but enjoy you thread..

maybe you friend will have better luck...

beers :beer:

Most bolt on stuff wont teach you a lot about the rotary or get any major power gains... the only thing I can specifically think of is that exhaust back pressure isnt an issue with the rotary. To truly learn about the engine, there's a lot of reading or doing a rebuild (or somethign similar)... but reading might be a better start. Best thing to do is to find what each mod will do on average and then fine tune your decision by personal preference... for most bolt ons such as exhaust and intake that's about all you can do. Though, with a general idea of how much hp you want, a more specific list is reasonable to ask for. Try making a small list based off what you read, then get opinions on waht to keep the same or change. People are glad to help, but they always like to see effort too. My $0.02 for now. good luck!

dude,
stop viewing this thread. go read some stickys.. that is where the info is..

beers :beer:

8man,

Thanks for the thought, already working on a list. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Rick

I was writing a reply thanks,

At the moment, I'm trying to figure out who's reading it more me or you.

I did ask the question, kinda gives me a reason for being here.

Didn't you say, "you were done here."

BYE!!

Other than nitrous, nothing will come close to netting the kind of gains you/him are looking for. At least for under 2k. Forced induction is the only other way to get big gains, but realistically you can't do it for under $6,000.00. Trust me, I've looked.

You mentioned you are interested in doing intake/exhaust mods. There isn't much improvement to be found in chainging these components. Search around and you'll see that your looking at nominal, negligible or non-existant gains. The stock components are very well sorted.

I am closing in on my 3rd month of RX8 ownership. I have a modest budget for mods. I'll list the mod and the reason(s), I'm doing them. Hopefully it will prove helpful. You'll see I'm not spending much on power mods as it takes a huge investment to get anywhere significant. Your better off investing in the suspension as you can make some worthwhile improvements there without breaking the bank. I also bought the lotek gauge pod and prosport oil temp, water temp and oil pressure gauges. The $250.00 investment is worthwhile IMO as you can keep on top of your cars health, especially at hot summer track days.



Motor/Drivetrain

1) Agency Power Underdrive Pulley: The main reason I bought this is that it helps with water pump cavitation improving cooling at high rpms and hot track days. I have yet to install, its sitting in a box next to me right now. It may also net some negligible performance gains, but I'm not anticipating much.

$100.00

2) Racing Beat Street Flash: I'm on the fence on this one as I'm awaiting the release of the Access Port. That said, the reason I was planning on the flash is the lower temperature on/off of the cooling fans along with some modest performance increases (again pretty negligible). The mazport cooling mod costs about half of the racing beat flash and improves cooling in much the same way. The flash only costs $150.00 more and offers some slight increases in performance. To me it seems worth it. Again, I'm not expect much of a noticeable difference.

$350.00 with shipping

Both of the above made sense to me because they provide a sort of double benefit: Improving cooling and modest performance gains.

Eventually, I'd like to a lightweight flywheel. The gains are probably the best for the money, but the install is difficult or costly if done by a professional.

$800.00-$1000.00 including install

Suspension:

Dampers: I'm thinking either koni's or Tokico D-specs. Either will help with the underdamped rear suspension along with generally improving the already exceptional handling of the car.

$500.00-$600.00

Springs: Still haven't picked a set, but there are some good deals to be had on either tein h-tech or s-tech springs. I don't want to go too stiff as the 8 is my daily driver and the roads in NE are terrible.

$150.00 - $200.00

I've settled on not doing threaded body (ride height adjustable) coilovers as the tein basics (the only one's in my price range) don't offer adjustable damping. It would be nice to get corner weighted perfectly though with them.

Sway Bars:

Haven't really settled on anything yet. Thinking racing beat front and rear with endlinks:

$500.00

Wheels and Tires:

I'd love to do a set of 9.5" wide Enkei RPF1s, but that will cost around $1300.00. Its not in the budget right now.

Tires:

Falken Azenis RT-615 or Kumho Ecsta MX. I have to decide how little tread life I'm willing to live with. With stock rims, I'm planning on doing 235/40/18, as its a good trade off between a slight increase in width without compromising sidewall stiffness (like some have said 245s do).

$700.00

Without the Enkei wheels, the total is under 3k for all of the above. This became a much longer post than I initially intended, but I was having fun thinking about my car/mods.

That's certainly not very adult. I'm not sure why people are helping you. I guess some people here are generous even when the poster is a waisted (sic) a-hat.

*walks into the room...looks around, gives Swoope a node*

Friend If you've done your research like you say you have why did you start a new thread to ask this question? There are about 10 others just like it. As well you could have simply posted your individual questions in the threads that were relevant. If you're not up on Forum ettiquette its not very polite to start threads like this when there are plenty of them already out there.

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...earchfirst.gif

Do me a favor read the whole thread start to finish next time, not just the last post where I let my frustation get the better of me.

Thanks

How adult and mature. Thank you for opening your mouth and proving your inmaturity rather than letting us assume it.

Thanks for the time you put into that. How long till its done, and do you plan on making any dyno runs?

The sane can only take so much insanity before going insane themselves.

Do me a favor read the whole thread start to finish, not just the last post where I let my frustation get the better of me.

Thanks

Again seriously, all this info. is out there. If you're really not a troll why don't you tell us what the answers are at this point you should know...

I've already done my baseline pulls on my car dead stock. About a month before the pull, I replaced under warranty: Cat, plugs, plug wires, coils and got the most recent flash. The car dynoed exceptionally well. You can see the results on the last page of the dyno compilations sticky. Keep in mind that the pulls were done with a DynoDynamics machine, which outputs typically a 15% lower number than a dyno jet and 7% lower than a Mustang.

My car was slow as death when I got it. After all the warranty work, it was terrific. It was nice to have a dyno pull to confirm my feeling that it was very very healthy for a stock car.

I am super busy these days as I'm moving my shop and getting some new machinery (I'm in the printing business). Hopefully I'll get around to the gauges and pulley in a week or two. I'm planning on doing the dampers, springs and tires in a couple of months. I'm waiting for news on the Access Port before I commit to the RB flash. I probably won't get to the flywheel until the fall.

I'll be dynoing the car again on the 14th of july. It will most likely be in the 80s-90s though so comparing to the recent pulls done at 75 deg will be tough.

I'll post with the results at that point. Its likely only the pulley will be installed.

I did read this entire thread. And it was sad.

Thanks