Taken on March 19, 2006. It was very wet out there.

As you can see, the stock suspension allows for quite a bit of body roll when turning hard under speed. That is the first thing I plan to remedy as soon as possible - before anything else.

I'll start with shocks. But I'm still not decided on whether to go with the Tokico D-Spec or Koni yellows. Next event is April 2nd. I'll have more pictures the following week - I hope. Maybe even a video if all goes well.

Enjoy.

 

whoever powdercoated your stock rims did a really good job.
you're going to need to send me their info.

-hS

 

Thanks. glad you like them. They actually turned out real nice. You'll be surprised to know that they aren't powdercoated - they're painted.

You'll probably be even more surprised to know that I did it myself with a can of spray paint.

Check out the pictures.. you'll see no drips, runs or bubbles. Smooth and shiny. I'm actually quite shocked as I expected it to look a little crappy. This paint was excellent and did exactly what it was supposed to. That and I do have a few years of spray paint experience.

Picture 1 is the angle view so you can see the smooth surface and shine.
Picture 2 is the detail close up of the spoke - it's a bit dirty.
Pitcure 3 is the can of paint I used - incase anyone wants to know. One can did all four wheels and had some left over.

 

that does look pretty cool

 

yeah I'm diggin it. Great job!

 

Latest picture of my 8.

 

with those rims painted like that, it kinda reminds me of the old school porsche rims...VR Represent!

 

Looks nice...do you plan on maybe putting the lip chrom or polishing it? Your 8 looks nice as is...

 

i like what you did with your rims, very orginal, good job.

 

Well that settles it, you just won the priveledge of spray painting my track wheels bronze

 

If I had a bigger oven I could powdercoat em www.realcoatings.com

Glad to see some pics of RX8s autoxin already this year... still a few weeks before our season starts... gonna run a shifter kart this year and see how it works out... tho I still see an RX8 daily driver and occasional racer in my future.

 

The powdercoating looks great. Get some swaybars and coilovers, and you'll love the way it handles.

 

Thanks! I've already got the ride height where I want it with the springs. My next step will be adjustable shocks. I'm leaning towards Tokico D-Specs as they can be easily adjusted with the quick turn of a **** inside the trunk.

More info: http://www.racingbeat.com/resultset....rtnumber=14369

After that, I may or may not go with sways. If I do, adjustable would likely be optimal as I have heard that the racingbeat is a bit too stiff. However, "too stiff" is subjective (though it did cause understeer). Also, this was also said by someone who replaced just the front bar only which would explain why. Perhaps the addition of the rear bar may balance it out better.

This being said, with my current springs and (soon to be) stiffer shocks - stiffer sway bars may be overkill. I'll take it one step at a time until I either get it just right (or go too far then have to undo it).

Then there's wheels and tires and that's a whole other thread all together. But, I know exactly what I want to do there. 285/30 V710s on 18X9.5 lightweights. But considering the cost for that setup, it may have to wait until next season.

Anyway - thanks for the positive comments everyone.

 

you can put me on that list, I need to paint my track wheels next time there are no tires on them. I like this look, wonder how it would look on Ti.

 

I respect the originality. one of those things that you're def committed to, even if it turns out looking like crap. you've gat ***** mang.

 

A picture of yesterdays (April 2) event with my new magnetic numbers on. Racing pictures coming soon.. Takes a few days to get those.

 

the more i look at those wheels, the more i like them. Another project the next time I have the time.

 

A few pictures taken on the April 2nd event.

Coming down a long fast slalom into a hard right-hander.


Final sprint to the finish line. Had to brake hard at the finish to make the 90 degree turn after the timer light.. strange I know.


This aerial sketch may make more sense as to why you have to brake so hard right at the finish. A couple of drivers hit 4, 5, and even 6 cones here.

 

You should of just drifted through the finish.
DRIFTO!!!

TMR, have you given thought go going black on the roof? It'll probably look good...


-hS

 

^^yes

 

Wow, that really changes the look. Looks pretty good too but I'm not sure if that's something I want to do. Would rather put the paint money into performance parts.

Instead, I plan to carry the black hood stripe up and over the top, across the trunk and end at the line right about where the 3rd brake light is. It's not as ugly as you might think. Besides, it will be done in vinyl so if I change my mind I can just peel it off.

 

You should make a poll. Black Stripe in Vinyl or Black Roof.
This should be intereseting.

Also... i agree about the performance. I did most of my performance work before i started on project bling.
LOL!

-hS

 

looks very, very good. like l8apex, im a tigrey owner, & i will be looking into such a paintjob sometime soon... maybe my next adventure to home depot. congrats on the car & any success you may have had at autox... by the way, did the wheels make you faster?

 

Thanks. I didn't have much success though. I did, however, learn where I need to improve - so I guess that's success in itself.

As for the wheels.. hahah. I'm not sure if you realized (and was just making a joke) that these are OEM wheels painted black. I have a set of Enkei RPF1 18X9.5 on my wish list. Only 17.5 pounds each!

 

And thats a lot more important than any single win.



-hS