Depending on how much life is left on your current pads, you might want to try and replace before your track day. The general recommendation (and tech requirement) is that you have >50% pad thickness left to help manage the heat. You should also have brake fluid that is <1 year old.

At the very least, take some fluid with you so you can bleed the brakes at the track if needed and take care to cool them before parking the car as that is quite often when fluid boils and boots melt. Either a cool down lap barely touching the brakes (shift early and lift off halfway down the straight, but keep your corner speeds up), or take a drive out of the paddock after you come off track.

Similarly, I'd recommend doing coils before a track day. The reason is that if they are on their way out it will put more wear on the cat.

 

So, have we concluded that the revision C coils are actually improved over the Bs?? Im looking at purchasing a complete tune up package from mazmart soon so i'm curious. Theyre only ten dollars more than the Bs anyway so might as well eh? Or are the BHRs still superior?

Edit: I'm applying to an S1 but im pretty sure theyre interchangable, save for downgrading from newer to older.

 

In my opinion (as an owner, not as a moderator) the latest coils don't have enough of an improvement to justify the cost. They are 100%-130% more expensive for no more than 50% more lifespan. Cs are still failing 30-40k.

If you want to extend coil life, change plugs regularly. Like ... 8-10k ... to keep down the resistance load on the coils.

Just my opinion. Others will probably differ.

 

^^ The way Mazmart has 'em listed in their bundle it's only 10 total extra for all 4 otherwise I wouldn't really be that concerned about staying with B's. I sort of assumed they wouldn't offer much more longevity. I'm not too offended by a 30k lifespan on them, it's a relatively small price to pay for keeping the 8 running so I can't wait to get it done regardless of what I go with.

I just don't know if the BHR upgrade is necessary right now and wondering if the C's actually ended up being a slight improvement.

Has there been any noticable performance increase in the C's that anyone can report? I'm sure the answer is again more or less moot because if you're replacing bad ignition to healthy OE spec stuff of any revision it would be noticably better.

edit: and thanks for the reply

 

In my opinion, if you can afford them, go with the BHR coils and wires,along with new plugs. They are super sturdy and made to last the lifetime of your car and do offer a slight bump in performance. They have been extensively tested and used by countless RX8 owners, and overall reports have them performing better and lasting longer than any other present coils made for your Renesis engine.

 

^^ definitely. I've seen and heard some good things from them. I do plan on getting them, just maybe not this first time around. I bought my car with just under 90k, it's in really good shape and had decent service history, but there is no way of knowing when, if ever, the ignition has been replaced. it does have some minor hesitation on occasional starts so im going to start with doing the ignition components as part of preventative maintenance and to hopefully help get rid of those as well. I'm pretty confident that's all she will need.

Right now i don't really have 600+ to drop on the BHR upgrade. My priority is to first and foremost be a good owner, and I think we can all agree an OE coil replacement isn't a bad thing to do in my situation

I wish I had a couple hundred extra kickin' around but I want to cover all my bases first. (also need to drop 100 or so on a stinkin' solenoid to get rid of the infamous p2259 code ugh) next time around, i will upgrade for sure.

 

I would not expect a big difference between B and C, but $10 is not much extra. Having said that, the last two sets I bought from a dealer via amazon were "C", even though they said "B" on the box ;-)

I also went with NGK plugs and leads, rather than Mazda plugs and leads, since I believe they are the same.

I would definitely avoid any aftermarket coils, but the oem ones are a good choice, and I would expect 2yrs, 30k out of them (with a plug change at 15k, 1yr).

 

^^ the plugs are for sure the same. I'm not sure about the leads though. they are listed at a $50 price difference, but I think I will just get the NGK wires as well.

 

At your 98.000 mileage, here are the maintenance items recommended for you to address or check if they were already done. Best to you with your car !

RX8 Club’s recommended maintenance schedule, more comprehensive and proactive than Mazda’s schedule.
30,000 miles:
- Replace Ignition coils
- Replace Plug wires
- Replace Spark plugs
- Clean MAF (mass air flow sensor)
- Clean ESS (e-shaft sensor)
- Reset ESS profile
- Clean power steering connections
- Clean battery terminals and clamps
- Replace transmission fluid
- Replace coolant (Mazda FL-22 is highly recommended)
- Replace air filter
- Replace brake fluid (fluid in the brake lines AND the clutch line)
~$300 USD in parts if you shop smartly.


every 60,000:
...all 30,000, plus...
- Clean all chassis electrical grounding points
- Replace accessory belts
- Clean OMP lines
- Replace rear differential fluid
- Replace thermostat
- Clean / Straighten AC condenser fins
- Clean / Straighten oil cooler fins
- Inspect catalytic converter
- Clean / Inspect intake valving
- Consider / inspect all points in 90,000+ as well, many items fail early
~$130 USD in parts if you shop smartly.

90,000:
...all 30,000, plus any 60,000 not yet done, plus...
- Replace coolant bottle
- Replace radiator hoses
- Replace radiator
- Replace front O2 sensor
- Replace motor mounts
- Inspect clutch pedal assembly for flex / weld breaks
~$900 USD in parts if you shop smartly.

 

Lol yeah im familiar with the list but thank you sir ;P

 

you are welcome

 

Really?
Well lets see your data.

 

The data is all over this forum from countless RX8 owners with years of running BHR coils. I don't need to repost any of this for you. Get serious here and pick another debate wcs.

 

I'm completely serious.
And it's not all over the forum.
And very little if any has any substantial facts.
And there is debate/discussion going on about them.
https://www.rx8club.com/canada-forum...n-rant-257492/

I don't think it's fair to say that the BHR are better than the C's
I don't know how many C's are out there, that have failed or still in use.
How many BHR unit's are still being used or failed or in use.
We really don't know. Or I don't anyway.

I will say the same thing about the performance as well ...

edit:
Oh and it's a pretty bold statement saying they will last the life of the car, there is no way you would know this.

About the plug wires, yes BHR has done a great job on the newer ones. The coils plugs weren't so good when the BHR coils first started shipping. The would break pretty easily.
I still have a set. I should take a photo comparison.

 

I'm not qualified to make a determination on the true performance of BHR coils over stock. My car gained some power when I installed my kit, but I had a bad trailing coil, so of course it did. I have no idea if they offer any performance at all over healthy stock coils. After 10K HARD miles, they are still going strong. I just did my yearly plug swap, and the plugs look exactly like they should. I am naturally skeptical of any real power gains. I bought them for their supposed reliability aspects. So far, I am satisfied with my purchase.

As an aside: amusingly, they are showing white spots in places.

 

It's always amusing when people claim they 'gained power' from switching to GM coils. Butt dynos have become ever so popular on these forums across the generation of new and old 8 owners.

Until someone actually grabs a brand new set of OE coils, OE plugs, and runs back to back runs, same day, same dyno, against GM coils, the argument is moot.

Factor in that from a technical aspect GM coils would in theory underperform at the lower end of the RPM band due to the OE dwell settings you start to question the integrity of such individuals.

 

Physical data please documenting brand new OE coils and fresh plugs compared to brand new GM coils, else carry on.

 

Would love to see dyno results.

 

The problem is getting the C coils, I know a local guy who was trying to get them and couldn't. Although, it makes sense that Mazda would want to get rid of old stock first. But I always tell new guys to stick with stock coils until they know they plan on keeping the RX-8 for a while. Even though you typically get a lot of your money back on resale with the BHR kit.

For me the BHR kit was purchased for reliability and I have had my kit since 2009 and never had a problem. And the same can be said for a few of the other locals here who all bought their kits years ago.

 

I just bought a set of OEM coils from a dealership (Arlington Mazda online store), and even though they were sold with the B coil p/n, they actual parts are stamped C. Looks like for some reason Mazda NA just didn't bother changing the Part number in their parts lists. Others have bought Bs but received Cs as well.

Paimon, at some point I thought you had to tune your ignition dwell to work better with the BHR coils?

 

Paimon can answer for his car and its setup, but if your RX8 is stock NA there is no need to tune the ignition dwell to work properly with the BHR coils.

 

.... dwell timing benefits are not just for FI / non-stock

but i agree that they are not _necessary_ for GM coils to work _properly_

 

'C' iteration of OEM Coils were not made or available in 2009 or 2010...they made it on production line late 2011 (Spirit R), available in US late 2012 in 'B' # branded OE parts boxes.

 

Mazda in US are selling 'C' coils, they are using B part number branded Coil Boxes , but inside are the physically 'C' branded Coils, the C is stamped into the black coil body, was reported by a number of members here some time ago.

I just changed my almost 7 year old original B coils for new set of B coils I bought for $33 each years ago, my originals were OK, just did it as I changed plugs too.

I have nothing against BHR or their Coils, but this thread is about OEM's.

Edit: As it was pointed out a few posts up.....about the C in B boxes.

 

From a parts interpretation point of view Mazda Japan in EPC are saying that as new replacements the new iteration of coils are an improvement as they note NOT to install old iteration of coils into a car which has previously used the latest version(s) from factory install, new parts interchange-ability is one way ONLY , new for old, but not old part for a new install.

Conclusions can only mean there are 'some' improvements, IF there were NO improvements then the parts interchange code would be both ways, not a one way.

99% (roughly) of all OE Mazda parts updated during 'a' Series cycle in 'a' model are interchangeable both ways (new for old or old for new), it is the other 1% (like Coils, ECU's) which are parts that technically either wont physically install or should not technically be installed, only new for old.

So far I have heard of no 'C' coils fail, they are only roughly 3.5 Model Years old (Spirit R was the first model to use them).