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Soooo.... getting ready for the first autox of the season tomorrow and I'm under the car just checking things over, changing oil, etc... and I see what I thought was a pool of brake fluid under the driver side front suspension... Traced it back up the suspension and looked at the speed bleeders, brake line, brake line connections, etc... all dry.
Keep tracing it and its all down the backside of the JIC strut. Bad timing! Looks like my driver side strut is on its way out. I cycled the suspension after cleaning everything and dont see any more leaks so I'm not sure of the severity.. I plan to make the event tomorrow either way (its january and about 15 degrees, so I'm not worried all that much about having a stellar day.. just want to get the car shaken out from being in storage). After the event, I guess I'm pulling the front struts and sending them off to get a rebuild. Should be good though since it gives me a chance to have them revalved specifically for my type of driving. We shall see... Dont worry, I will still make the dyno day next weekend! |
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Then I was like :squint: Then I was :69::7::44::banghead::icon_no2: Now I'm like :party::cheers2: |
Yea.. I'm not thrilled about it.. but the suspension has over 60k on it, DGRR trips and about 8 auto-x events on top of daily driving for about 6 months so it was time.
Not sure which seal is leaking though... will probably pull them off after our dyno day and check 'em out in more detail... |
Quickie update here too.
Talked to JIC, got my cust# to send the struts back and get rebuilt. Hopefully that will happen in the next few weeks (needs to so I can make DGRR). Dyno day was "interesting" - learned a lot, and will be making a dedicated thread, perhaps an entire site, dedicated to the cobb and maps for the RX8. Latest HP numbers are now 182whp / 141tq. Only about 1.3hp gained, but a decent 4-7tq. I was honestly expecting a bit more HP, but oh well. I've acquired all the parts for my next upgrade. Driveline! Mazdaspeed flywheel, counterweight and an EXEDY stage 2 clutch that's been on the shelf since April of last year,lol. I need to get a rear trans seal from mazda (mines leaking...again... this RX8 leaks more than any rotary I've owned). http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/msfw_clutch.JPG After the install, its back to a dyno to see if I can't catch 2gsl-se's 194whp pull!! |
OK its installed... its been 2 hours now where is the dyno runs?
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You guys gonna bring a 3rd renni to see if you can top me with the BNR stg 3's singing @ 17-19lbs :rofl::)
Looks good Bill! You didn't happen to get a chance to call a certain someone that shares the same awesome first name as me regarding stopping things? We still gotta figure out meetup times/place and dyno get togethers.... sorry for the jack, just got back from a place called burgers and beer..... they had they plurul/singular reversed in my case :rofl: |
Oh, and when I see RX8 mini project, I keep waiting to see some little british thing rocking a renni
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Ha.. it's not so 'mini' I guess. Maybe I should call it "My RX8 dirty build" since a certain somebody says I need a "dirty" built car and this is the closest thing to it.
And no - I didn't get a chance to call him.. I got to MC's later than I expected and by the time I got home it was too late. I got 3 calls from clients though so the rx7 money train may be coming back around for a little while, lol... |
Ok, here's the "official" update.
Installed the resurfaced MS flywheel, counterweight and a stage II Exedy 3 puck clutch. Also wrapped the midpipe again since I wasn't happy with the original wrap job. Pics: Look TTT, it's a lift... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_rackedclutch.jpg Counterweight in... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/msclutch_flywheel.jpg Mmm, freshly resurfaced flywheel and 3 puck disc... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/msclutch_flywheel1.jpg All buttoned up with a super secret custom alignment tool, lol... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/msclutch_flywheel2.jpg Also re-wrapped the midpipe as my first midpipe wrap job was sub-par... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/wrapped_midpipe.jpg Impressions thus far... 7/10. I've put about 100 miles on it now and its getting better but its a bit noisier than I remember the ACT puck clutches being but Exedy says 1500 miles and it should be good. I'm still fine tuning the engagement point as the initial pedal feel was terrible and I wasn't getting full disengagement. Apparently during that whole process my neutral switch took a shit (or maybe its not plugged in, need to crawl underneath again and find out) so I've got a searching idle. Not a big deal, more of just an inconvenience. Other than all that, its a great feel. The car definitely pulls through the gears quicker, my rear tires are really feeling the difference :) This should put me a bit closer to that 190whp goal now, lol. Something else that was interesting... my rear pinion seal has leaked since I bought the car at 32k miles. Took it to Mazda to get them to replace under warranty and that stated they did, however, its still leaking. We expected the seal and MC noted an "up" and a "down" fitment on the seal, and well.. mine is upside down. So, either the car came from the factory with an upside down seal, thus the leak... or the Mazda dealership installed a new seal upside down... thus still leaking. I wasn't able to source a new one quickly enough for this job, so I'll order one up here and when I fix the neutral switch, I'll put the seal in too.. |
hrm..... from what I remember in my barely standing sleep deprived state... that's not your garage :suspect:
Either way, looks good man, I'm interested to see what she puts down with a little freed up unsprung weight. I still think one of us needs to do a back to back with the kickass QuickSilver coils that MC's rocking and the tiny little LS2 coils that you've got. I wouldn't be surprised if the coils were what put MC over the top. He was running the stock tune to give him the highest hp right? |
Yep stock ecu I still have my extra set of coils ready to run on that pesky FC if you want I'll bring them back to dave's just say the word. It is my dads shop but I use it whenever I need to use the lift, its nice to have a fully equipped shop at your disposal I need to learn how to weld since everything I would need is there except a tig and plasma cutter.
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I dunno know if the pesky FC will allow us the time to tune and then swap coils. I have a bad feeling that we'll be mucking around with the tranny/driveshaft all day on the 16th, maybe get a little tuning in the low boost ranges but I doubt we'll be able to dial her in like I want to. I may have to head back the wednesday before we leave to get everything dialed in but we'll see. Worse comes to worst, oh no, we'll set up a seperate day to go play, maybe bring Rays up there as well.
That's badass that you have an entire lift at your disposal.... TIG and plasma are musts though! I think Bill needs to build an adapter harness for his 8 so he can swap coils out and test the QuickSilvers, who knows, it might be enough to put him over the 194 mark |
Yup - MC was also running stock values. From what I can tell though, those quicksilver coils use very close to stock dwell values, whereas my LS coils dont. I left a lot on the table as far as potential for power out of those coils. I wont make that mistake the next time.
I'm not sure I'll dyno on the 15th honestly... may not have the clutch broken in yet. We'll see.. also want to make sure my neutral switch is fixed, etc before getting up there... |
I think someone is SCARED
lol... a good shop is great to have but its always a loaner so I don't want to do major drawn out things there so I reserve it for engine/trans swaps and then drag them back to my little garage with the bobcat |
I agree, how hard is it to break a clutch in? Not to mention, leaving power on the table? The coils need to make power in order to leave some laying around, it is afterall a gm product....
And the real zinger... you are making the same mistake twice, you're bringing a renni to a hp/dyno fight :rofl: |
I agree, how hard is it to break a clutch in? Not to mention, leaving power on the table? The coils need to make power in order to leave some laying around, it is afterall a gm product....
And the real zinger... you are making the same mistake twice, you're bringing a renni to a hp/dyno fight :rofl: |
How hard is it to post only once? lol...
Yea, I'll make an effort to actually drive the car some more between now and the 15th. I've only got 100 miles on the clutch, I'd like to get at least 250 before dyno runs, lol. Need to get a new rear seal and neutral switch too. I'm half tempted to take it to work and drop it off at mazda and get them to replace it for free since its obviously a mess up on their end and should be warrantied. To top it off, its SNOWING right now... really? Snow... |
Its not me, its my phone! The seal I can understand and a puck clutch is kinda tough. From what I hear jersey got almost a foot of snow a few days ago.... looks like I picked a good time to come out here :rofl:
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Bill, its almost racing season for the 8 but I would like to see you do this http://www.dump.com/2011/02/24/unrea...-cbr600-video/:bowdown::bowdown:
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That's pretty damn awesome. I would've laid her down at least half a dozen times!
Update: Rear tires mounted/balanced. I got R-A-P-E-D on the mount/balance though. $85 for two wheels!! It used to be like $18/each but "prices have gone up". I could have taken it to the Ferrari dealership and paid less! Either way, they're on and look great. Its funny how much meat you don't notice has gone missing until you put new one on! Rear brakes are bled too... tomorrow its the front tires, front calipers and oil change. Then pack and sleep to ready for DGRRXI at 6am Thursday morning!! |
Cool my alignment is done but roller will not be here on time so I'll be rolling on my BBS wheels and my old Falken 451's for the last time. See you tomorrow.
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Another small update, just because it burns me. So my wife called around to a few other tire shops to get a comparison price (just to make sure i'm not insane to think $40/tire is too high)...
So, yea... pretty much everybody was cheaper. The highest was $25. For shits and grins, she called the same chain in the next town over, they quoted $25. So she called the store I went to last night and asked them for a quote.. they quoted $50 a tire!!! When she told them that she just got off the phone with their other store for $25, they said they could "honor that price" but gave her a hard time and said they couldn't do it today because "their tire guy has gone home for the day..." ITS A TIRE SHOP!!!! So long story short, they're fucked up. I called corporate, filed my complaint.. I'm sure they'll send me some kind of discount/coupon or something which I will gladly take back to the store with a big fuck you... now mount the tires for a NORMAL price and I promise I will never return :) Down side is, I now only have two new tires on the car for DGRR.... oh well... Rant over... |
Just giving a quick update since I was reading this and found my older post about mods I wanted before DGRR11. Considering the event was in April and its now May, lets see where I stand:
Tint (nope) Clear corners (nope) dyno (yup... dissappointed at 182whp, but picked up 4ft-lbs) lower coilovers (nope... working on other adjustments at the moment) roll fenders (nope, goes with the lower coilovers) ** mazdaspeed cai ** (still on the fence here) CS 4pt front strut bar (nope) install clutch (yup) flywheel / counterweight (yup, mazdaspeed) ** recaro seat ** (nope, ended up w/ a Sparco) ** harnesses ** (not yet) new tires (yup) corner balance (nope, working on my own jig) alignment (nope, working on my jig) install rear strut adjusters (nope) modify splash guards (nope) spline drive lug nuts (nope) Lol... that's a lot of "nope's". Its all good though, need to leave some things on the table so I have things to look forward to. Lets see 6 out of 17 completed! That would be a 35 "F". Good thing its not a class :) On another note, got my alignment setup roughly done in my garage. Took some initial measurements and as I expected, the car is way out of balance. I haven't done an alignment since all the suspension work so its not all that surprising. Current specs are: FL = 1/8" Toe in, 1.6~ negative camber FR = 0" Toe, 2.3~ negative camber RL = 1/8" Toe in, 2.3~ negative camber RR = 1/8" Toe out, 1.5~ negative camber As you can tell, the car is a bit out wack, lol. I could really tell with the new tires driving around the dragon! I'm working on some new tools and polishing my measurements before making any adjustments. I want to read caster and corner weights as well, so I've got a few more things to do. Once its all done, its off to the professional laser machine to see how accurate my at-home setup is. Then its time to play with a few different setups... |
Judging by your current trend.... I'll just go ahead and say I don't think your FC will be done by DGRR '12 either :rofl:
On that note..... gimme a call when you get a chance about the brakes for the rear of said never to be finished FC.... and on that FC note.... maybe your FC can be done by the time your FC is ready to drive? :smilielol5: |
Lol - I'm actually happy the RX8's list is so small. There really isn't much left I CAN do to the car minus FI or crazy body kits, etc. I'm going to finish up what I have on my list with maybe a few small items here and there and just enjoy beating it up on the track.
The FC project is definitely slow but I wouldn't say there isn't progress. I'll give you a call after this upcoming weekend. I may or may not have car funds left for this week, lol... |
:rofl: Oh jeez..... more toys I presume?
Speaking of beating it up at the track.... I think you nee to get yer ass, and anyone with a black RX8, or a quickspooling FD :suspect: up to CT on Wednesday June 22nd for a little.... excuse me... ALOT of track fun @ Limerock on the 23rd :icon_tup: |
Just dropped an axial short shifter in. Feels much tighter. 5th gear is far easier to find than before although I feel 6th and 4th are closer now in exchange, so we'll see how it goes. Whatever cuts .01 seconds off my lap times, lol...
Also should have a new ram air duct, reflect-a-gold wrapped modified airbox soon... trying to keep consistent air temps (or at least more consistent) during track days. Some new suspension parts coming soon too... |
Soooo.... just a quickie update here. First off, wanted to thank Danny at Assaultech for the new parts.... a great guy to buy from!!
As many of you who know me are aware, I've been limping around on some fairly weak dampers lately. The driver's side front went limp about 6-8 months ago, but still seemed driveable for the time being, even had some race days on it... then, I lowered the car a bit more, increased damping and had a track day at VIR... well, the passenger side was apparently doing all the front end's heavy lifting and this is what I had to show for it: http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/blown_jic.jpg Didn't have time prior to DGRR2012, so I took down the road anyways. On the trip, the rx8 achieved the loving nickname "cadillac". It was all I could do to maintain some driveability, although the oil was apparently hitting the tire on some left handed sweapers which made life a bit exciting... SOOOO... being that I hope to be piloting the RX3 in most of the races next year, I decided it was time to step the RX8 down from "hardcore" racing setup to something a bit more refined for street driving and occasional HPDEs and Hyperdrives. http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/koni_vs_oem.jpg Went with the traditional Koni Yellow and TEIN S-Tech. The springs rates are much more tolerable on broken roadways and expansion joints than the JIC and the Koni damper, IMHO is a better damper than most anything else... especially worn out old JICS!! http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/new_konis2.jpg All done and ready for the car.... And done... http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/new_konis.jpg Overall I'm very happy. This setup will still let me finish out my NASA-X NXC run for this season and prove useful on future track days, but also give me the opportunity to enjoy the car more on my daily driving and potholes, lol... Now, back to work on the RX3 and FC... hopefully some good headway on both in the next few months... |
Giving this thread a little update...
I finished the 2012 NASA-X Championships back in October. Received 1st in NXC and 3rd in Overall season points. http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont...final_rx81.jpg Then, I partook in a "end of year send-off" hyperdrive at VIR... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIC0yq87pTw So after a pretty full year (full for me) of track events and performance driving, my now aging RX8 is at 94K miles and its fair share of rash. I wanted to go through and do some upgrades and maintenance over the winter time. Here's the winter list: - Install new KOYO radiator - Install new Samco coolant hoses - Replace drive belts - Rebuild and relocate coils (LS2 bracket I used before is breaking apart...) - New plug wires and spark plugs - New oil cooler lines (had to replace one already towards the end of the season) - Relocate oil filter - New front bumper - "LeMans" styled headlight covers - Fuel pump (2009 upgrade) - Fuel filter - Any vac hoses I find will be replaced with silicon - New OEM rad fan I'm currently swapping in the radiator now and discovered my rad fan is in the process of quitting on me, so I'm on hold until I locate a suitable replacement. In general I want to clean up the engine bay as much as possible. Its pretty filthy in there now and I figure after all the maintenance this winter, I'm not going back in until the engine gives up which may be within the next 12-24 months knowing my luck, lol... |
Looks like some more repairs are in order. Have to replace my reinforcement bar now as well. In this process, I plan to repaint some of the under hood areas and rust-proof brackets, etc.
As its looking now, it'll be Feb before this car is on the road again! As it sits now... http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont...8_repairs4.jpg I did find a good deal on new radiator fans (OEM) so those should be here soon so I can at least complete the radiator swap portion of this winter project. Next up is to get the new tie rods in, install new oil lines and coolers (OEM parts, no rust and coolers are in far better shape). Then modify the liners for the oil coolers and build a new undertray since mine has seen better days: http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont...bustedtray.jpg Thinking of building a new one using ABS plastic for more strength (don't care for the aluminum versions out there). Might try and build a splitter into the mix as well, we'll see... |
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excuse me.... AL ones.... please point me in that direction via a link of some sorts :D |
hmmmmmmmmmmmm..... I'll have to do a pre and post dyno with the 3" exhasut I plan on building in the next few weeks... what are your thoughts on power gain? Last time I dyno'ed the 8 it was @ 185 with some weak ass plugs and aging wires.... the makeshift replacement ones we threw on in June are still on there..... I think I'll swap plugs, rebuild the wires, I want to rewire the coils anyway, then I'll hit the dyno.... then I'll do the exhaust, then I'll dyno again.... what do you expect to gain going from a 2.5 to a 3"?
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I think its funny you are willing to build plug wires again :)
With the "fixes" you will hopefully be back at 194whp (I think thats right) although that busted cat may explain another reason you were down on the power last pull... Going to larger 3" exhuast I'd expect to see you right at 198-200. That engine is still fresh and with the better exhaust it should make a few more.. that last RX8 made 198 or so up there with similar mods and weaker exhaust. Side note... if I can get all these repairs done to the 8 in time, I'll jump up there about the time you're done with the new exhaust. I'd like to redyno and see if my engine is still healthy like before, lol. If it is, you'll be duplicating that 3" exhaust. You putting any resonators in? |
The AL undertray:
http://www.rx8performance.com/produc...inum-undertray I plan on basically building this same part, but still just using ABS plastic because its a ton cheaper and lighter (yes, I know.. I'm a racer and weight matters, lol)... the ABS version will probably cost about $30, lol... |
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And it's still all stock.... I still have the unmarried Cobb sitting in the glovebox.... The cobblers son goes barefoot. Quote:
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Ah - f that schedule, lol.. being the holidays most of the parts I ordered are on hold / in transit still... it'll be Feb before I get the car off jackstands at this rate..
I dont think my FC is making DGRR either, lol. There has been good progress but parts are becoming difficult to find! |
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Just updating this thread. Most of the winter projects went well. Car has been running good all season with a few events already under it's belt. I do need to replace the coolant overflow res though as the sensor has gone bad (a common issue for the early RX8s.. throws the radiator/coolant light intermittently).
Here's a list of what's been completed recently: - Installed new KOYO radiator - Installed new Samco coolant hoses - Replace drive belts with Gates Racing belts - Rebuilt and relocated coils (I may do a small write-up regarding this as there are some simple things you can do to make life easier if you use LS2 coils or any aftermarket coil). - New plug wires and spark plugs - Replaced both oil coolers and all oil lines with OEM units - Installed a new OEM radiator fan and shroud as my original one was failing - Installed TEIN hood struts - Started on a new crash bar - Installed new inner and outer tie rods Basically it was a cooling system overhaul and few maintenance items I wanted to attend to. The car runs really well right now. Right now I'm playing with some alignment settings trying to dial the car in a bit more but so far it's been a blast. The R1Rs from Toyo are holding up extremely well and will probably make it through the season and some of next without issue. My next plans are to finish my new crash bar, install the new front bumper and undertray, add more ducting, modify a factory hood to assist in heat extraction and get a new fuel pump/filter assembly installed. I also have new exhaust to include a speedsource header that needs to get installed. Once this is ALL done, I'll probably begin sourcing a fresh engine to begin a new build with it as I want to give porting a renesis a try.... Here are some photos of the car from over the last few months. http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont.../WP_000801.jpg http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont.../WP_000850.jpg http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont.../WP_000859.jpg http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont.../WP_000799.jpg Here's one from an event last March. I was giving a ride to a member of a BRZ club that had come out to learn about auto-xing their cars, it was pretty fun. In this shot, I demonstrate how to clip the last cone coming through a Chicago box. http://www.twitchyracing.com/wp-cont...onesmash_1.png Side note, only one BRZ bested my runs that day and it was piloted by another long time auto-xer and good guy so I wasn't too upset :) |
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