Build Thread: RX8

[AkursedX]

So, as of today, I am now the owner of this:




Specs:

-2004 Mazda RX8
-Sunlight Silver
-6MT
-Factory LSD
-76k miles
-Options include: traction control, foglights, and a BOSE sound system


This car popped up on autotrader a few days ago. I called and looked at it, threw them a lowball offer and they took it, although I'm not a fan of silver, I couldn't pass up the price for what the car was. It's not perfect, but it's solid and pulls nice and strong.

Some of the added bonuses:

-A new engine with only 1500 miles on it!
-A stack of service records (dealer maintained) and documents all the way back to the original window sticker.
-Clutch was replaced at 55k.
-Power steering unit was replaced at 74k.
-Clean undercarriage (Looks like no winters at all).

Now the car isn't without issues, but I find most of the things quite fixable:

-Tear in the driver's seat bolster.
-Dent in the d/s front fender.
-Some light scrathes and small door dings here and there.
-Wheels are all curbed and one has a slight bend and the rear tires are worn and LOUD.
-The nose has some decent chips and scrapes and some of the fasteners are missing.


I recently sold my custom 1988 Pontiac Fiero (custom 3.8 litre V6 turbo that ran 11.30;s in the 1/4 mile). I sold it for a few reasons. #1 I wasn't able to drive my 18-month old son around in it (only 2-seats). #2 Driving fast in a straight line was getting kind of boring. #3 I felt it was time to move onto something new. I decided that I wanted to replace the car with something that most importantly had 4-seats, but was still fun to drive. I also wanted something that was more auto-x friendly and track-day friendly. I had initially started out looking at the RX8, Pontiac GTO, and the Infiniti G35 coupe. I had test-driven all 3 of them back-to-back one day and it wasn't even close. I immediately fell in love with the RX8 and felt that it suited me, and my needs perfectly. After that, I had test-driven about 8 RX8's until I found this one.

So, I plan on documenting all my repairs, upgrades, and mods in this build-thread and I will be cross-posting on a few different forums. I hope this will be a continual thread with regular updates but we'll see what happens. I have a pretty set plan for what I want to do with this car and I hope I can use this to look back on what I did.

So, what are my goals for this car?? I want this car to not only handle better than stock, but I also want it to ride better than stock. I also want the car to be more reliable as the Renesis engine isn't exactly known for longevity. And of course a few extra hp should be gained along the way. So basically I want this to be a 70% street car and 30% track car.

First off, I plan on doing some basic maintenance and repairs. That includes:

-A full interior and exterior detail
-Repairing the fender ding and replacing the missing body hardware
-Oil Change
-Replacing rear-diff and trans fluid with Redline synthetics

Planned Reliability Mods

-SOHN Adapter (Allows for the injection of fresh 2-stroke oil instead of the engine oil)
-BHR ignition system (Stock coils are marginal at their best) and new plugs
-Mazmart high-flow water pump
-COBB Accessport and probably a MazdaManiac tune. Besides increasing power, the COBB AP allows for things like lowering the cooling fan temps, and increasing of the oil-metering pump flow rates

Suspension Mods

-H&R sport springs
-Bilstein B8 shocks
-Possibly some bigger swaybars, or at the least upgraded endlinks
-A more performance oriented alignment

Wheels/Tires

-17" Enkei RPF1's w/ Continental Extremecontact DW tires in 245-45-17 (I will be ordering these very soon)
-Eventually the stock wheels will get some more aggressive compounds and I will probably use those for track-days.

Engine Performance

-Some kind of catless resonated midpipe. I haven't decided on brand yet.
-K&N panel filter with airbox mod

Brakes

-I'm keeping the stock brakes for now as they are brand-new
-I plan on purchasing seperate pads and rotors for track days (eventually)
-High performance fluid

That's about as far as my planning goes. I also have some exterior mods planned, but I will up date as things go on. I really hope that I can get this car on the track at least a few times a year. It's difficult because I work most weekends. So, yeah, that's about it.

[Emc209i]

Ok, let me go ahead and apologize, because I'm about to come off as the most cynical ass hole bastard you've ever met (Kind of like the last South Park Episode). No wait... I'm just not going to say anything and see what you do with it. If it at least looks good once you finish, I suppose that's a plus. But 16-22mpg and 250hp.... Mind if I ask around about what a "lowball offer" is for one of those?

[AkursedX]

Ok, let me go ahead and apologize, because I'm about to come off as the most cynical ass hole bastard you've ever met (Kind of like the last South Park Episode). No wait... I'm just not going to say anything and see what you do with it. If it at least looks good once you finish, I suppose that's a plus. But 16-22mpg and 250hp.... Mind if I ask around about what a "lowball offer" is for one of those?

Haha, I agree that the RX8 is very much a love it/hate it car. It's an underpowered, ugly duckling, gas hog. That being said, I have had far more fun driving all the RX8's that I've driven over the past month than I had in my Fiero. It's a mid-to-high 14 second car in the 1/4 mile and short of going FI, you won't even crack into the 13's. That's not what this car is about though. This car is made for a road course. It's balance is great. It's shifting is great. The gearing is great, and I love having a 9k RPM redline. I also love the fact that it's quite a unique car, both on the road and in it's total design.

As much as I have grown to like the RX8 and how much I like my current RX8, I wouldn't recommend one to anyone I know.

As far as my build goes, I know I'll like it and that's obviously all I really care about. After owning and modding a Fiero for so many years, I'm pretty much immune to car-hating.

Oh, and I paid 9k for it.

[Atilla the Fun]

So, how many MPH is redline in first gear?

[Emc209i]

I'll sit back and see what you can do with it with your tastes. I think the thing I dislike about it most is its fuel economy. However, relatively speaking, most cars are horribly inefficient. I have no problem believing its more fun than the Fiero, I've been in several RX8's.

[AkursedX]

I think the thing I dislike about it most is its fuel economy.

Well I balance that out with the TDI I am curious to see what kind of MPG's I will get. I will be tracking this car on fuelly just like my TDI. I'm hoping with my mods and my light-footed daily-driving habits that I can crank out a few 22-23mpg tanks. I'm expecting my overall economy to be around 18mpg though....

[Unsafe At Any Speed]

Man, that is suprisingly horrible gas mileage. I get like 16/27 in my CTS-V and that has to weigh a lot more than the 8. I bet I could beat you around most tracks as well.

...maybe.

Anyway, looking forward to the build. I think it'd be cool if you dropped some weight (seats, etc).

[The Dark Side of Will]

Rotaries are *ALWAYS* going to get horrible gas mileage and be difficult to keep cool... The long, thin combustion chamber has a terrible surface area/volume ratio and a lot of heat "leaks" into the cooling system. Physics is a bitch. That's also why an optimized rotary will have a convoluted trailing plug timing curve... poor mixture motion means inconsistent combustion for the trailing plug to clean up.

If you love them, you love them. If you hate them, you hate them.

[AkursedX]

Man, that is suprisingly horrible gas mileage. I get like 16/27 in my CTS-V and that has to weigh a lot more than the 8. I bet I could beat you around most tracks as well.

...maybe.

Anyway, looking forward to the build. I think it'd be cool if you dropped some weight (seats, etc).

A CTS-V would have been awesome to buy and if I had some more cash, I would have seriously considered one. Overall, I consider the CTS-V to be an all-around superior car to the RX8 (Except handling). That being said, I feel I could hold my own on most shorter tracks. There's a youtube video I saw of an RX8 overtaking a new M5 at VIR (Both drivers were instructors). I'll see if I can find it.

I'm probably no going to drop much weight as I want to keep the car quite streetable. Most weight loss will come from my wheel/tire combo.

[AkursedX]

So a couple of things, I figured I would show the reason why I bought this car. My son fits quite nicely!




And I can even fit his big stroller in the car:





As far as mods, the only thing I've done is install Bosch Icon wiper blades. My SOHN Adapter arrived today and I purchased a universal coolant reservoir tank to hold the oil. I also picked up some Red Line 75w90 gear oil for the rear end.

[Emc209i]

I think it'd be cool if you dropped some weight (seats, etc).

MFW I read that:



First time I've seen that dude with hair, he's growing fast. If I were you, I'd have bought an LS430; more room, more power and torque, better ride, same economy, affluent look. Of course you have the handling advantage.

[AkursedX]

So I ordered my wheels/tires, springs, and shocks from the tire rack yesterday at 3:30pm. I got all of this by 12:30 today:



All I had time to do today was to install the wheel/tire setup. Getting the lugs off were near impossible as they felt like they were torqued to 300ft/lbs, and I'm not a small guy either. I had a little bit of help along the way too:



Anyways, here is the end result. Please pardon the 4x4 height. I have some H&R springs and bilstein shocks that will be going on soon. The wheels are Enkei RPF1's 17x9et35 with 245-45-17 Continental Extremecontact DW.

There is no rubbing issues, but the fitment is VERY tight on the inside. There is only a few mm's between the wheel weights and the front brake calipers. Also, the stock wheels and worns tires weighed 43.5lbs. The new wheel/tire combo weighs 39.5lbs. I'm happy with a nice 4lb savings per corner while adding another 20mm of contact patch width.



Stock side-view:


New side-view:

[AkursedX]

Also, I have been working on tracking down a repetitive chirping that I've been having. I originally thought it was a dry idler pulley, but it's coming from the clutch-area. When the car is warm and in neutral with my foot off the clutch, it has a constant but not too loud chirp. As soon as I step on the clutch, it goes away.

From what I have searched, I'm 99% certain it's the throwout bearing. I have sent an e-mail to a local rotary-specialty shop to see how much it would cost me in labor to replace it, and possibly the clutch. Depending on the price, I might have them do it or I might do it myself. I haven't decided yet.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Unusual symptoms for a throwout bearing... sounds more like the trans input bearing.

The stock wheels were 18's, right?

[Fastback86]

Ok, let me go ahead and apologize, because I'm about to come off as the most cynical ass hole bastard you've ever met (Kind of like the last South Park Episode). No wait... I'm just not going to say anything and see what you do with it. If it at least looks good once you finish, I suppose that's a plus. But 16-22mpg and 250hp.... Mind if I ask around about what a "lowball offer" is for one of those?

Haha, I agree that the RX8 is very much a love it/hate it car. It's an underpowered, ugly duckling, gas hog. That being said, I have had far more fun driving all the RX8's that I've driven over the past month than I had in my Fiero. It's a mid-to-high 14 second car in the 1/4 mile and short of going FI, you won't even crack into the 13's. That's not what this car is about though. This car is made for a road course. It's balance is great. It's shifting is great. The gearing is great, and I love having a 9k RPM redline. I also love the fact that it's quite a unique car, both on the road and in it's total design.

As much as I have grown to like the RX8 and how much I like my current RX8, I wouldn't recommend one to anyone I know.

As far as my build goes, I know I'll like it and that's obviously all I really care about. After owning and modding a Fiero for so many years, I'm pretty much immune to car-hating.

Oh, and I paid 9k for it.

You're exactly right. The RX-8 is no drag car and it was never meant to be. On a track or even the right back road, though, it's some of the most fun you can have on four wheels. Yeah, it'll suck down gas keeping the revs up, but it'll be worth it. $9000 is a steal for a car that handles that well and puts that big a smile on your face.

[Emc209i]

The car already looks 1000x's more interesting with the new wheels. Can't wait to see what the springs do.

[crzyone]

I never understood the bad reviews on the RX8. It has a near perfect recipe imo. RWD, manual gearbox, 235hp and a perfect weight distribution. I've always liked the way they looked as well.

I may pick one up as my GF's next daily. The price of used RX8s is awesome, and if rebuilding it with upgraded seals is all that is needed for a bulletproof RX8 then it's a pretty awesome choice. The real selling point to me is you can get a low mileage RX8 for such bargain prices. You get one hell of a car for the money. I have a work truck so gas mileage isn't a huge deal for me either.

Nice car!

[AkursedX]

I only get 2 Fridays off out of every 7 weeks. You would think I would take advantage of that and go out and have some fun. No, I decided to do this:



Both the transmission and rear diff now have new Red Line oil in them. I haven't noticed a huge difference in the smoothness of the drivetrain, but there was a bit of improvement. It was a pretty easy job and probably took about an hour and a half from start to finish. The hardest part was getting the damn pump primed for the oil.

On another note, I just used up my 1st tank of gas. I managed 20.2mpg. I'm pretty happy with that. The only 'engine' mod I have done so far was adding 6oz of premix to the gas. I'm hoping I can get a couple more mpgs after adding the SOHN adapter, synthetic oil, tune, and BHR ignition.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Have people actually said redline makes the car feel smoother? Sounds like placebo effect to me...

You *might* be able to see it in gas mileage, but since GM went to roller cams in the small blocks for 0.5 mpg and in the DOHC engines for 0.25 mpg, I doubt Mazda would leave measurable mileage on the table for something as simple as gear oil.

However, you *should* be able to see an improvement in the temperature of the gear oil, if you had before/after data to compare.

[AkursedX]

Have people actually said redline makes the car feel smoother? Sounds like placebo effect to me...

Eh, probably. But I'm not sure if either fluid has been changed as it was pretty dark, plus I didn't notice any tool-marks on any of the bolts prior to the ones I made. So if it was 76k miles old, I might have regained some lost smoothness.

I went with the Red Line fluids because the general consensus amongst the RX8 autocross and track guys is that it's the best performing stuff out there.