just got a 09 rx8
 

is there anything that i should start on doing?

i want to start on the exterior stuff but i would want to do some mods that are legal. im new to cars in general

please help

First thing to do is check out black halo racing and upgrade the ignition coils, and have your clutch peddle welded up / reinforced. An upgraded battery is a good thing too. You may also want to look into the access port tuning tool from mazda maniac. $500 with tuning included, so it's a good deal.

If you have a manual, you may want to look into the syncro-saver, and oil color fan (if you're in a hot climate)

As far as power mods... don't expect much unless you want to spend a lot of money. exhaust and intake don't really add anything to the car power wise. You'll have to go FI for anything more than like 230WHP reasonably.

Maintain it well, and don't do anything until the warranty is over.

The AccessPORT is not available for the 2009+ (Series II) RX-8s. I also seem to recall that the clutch pedal issue was fixed in the Series II, but I'm not sure.

Many of the aftermarket parts for the Series I RX-8 don't work on the Series II.

lol... I wasn't paying attention.

If by legal you mean "not void warranty", then stay away from any engine modifications, including the ignition upgrade. As far as the exterior, if you got the R3, just lower it.

Wait until the warranty is up and do a 13B-REW swap with a bridgeported 13B, GT35 turbo setup, and a great tune. Wider tires in the back. Have some fun.

I disagree.
The Renesis has more potential, and it would be a lot cheaper to just port and FI the Renesis for 500+ WHP.

:scratch: How long have you been in the rotary world again? It would be cheaper to port a Renesis and turbo it, but porting the Renesis does next to nothing for power due to the port designs. Four ports will always reign supreme when it comes to gaining power out of porting. That is why a streetported 12A will make as much power as a six port 13B bridgeported (provided the streetported 12A is a good sized streetport).

The Renesis has more potential? Are you serious? I've never seen a Renesis put down 350 horsepower all motor at the wheels by doing port work. If you want to see that just take a look at Jesus Padilla's FB. 13B (started its life as a 20B, but removed rear rotor). The Renesis would be lucky to make 300 horsepower at the wheels if you did everything you can do to it. Its simply not efficient when it comes to tuning.

Then comes the turbo setup. I've owned two FB's, an FC, and currently own an Rx8. Turbocharging the Rx8, at best, I've seen 450-500 horsepower. I have seen damn near 700 horsepower out of 13B-REW's, and about the same out of 13B-RE's. Not to mention the failure rates of turbocharging the Renesis due to its fragile design when it comes to forced induction. It was built to be an all motor vehicle, and will remain just that. I'm sure there are examples out there that are "reliable" but the engines are no where near as reliable as a good build on a 13B-RE or 13B-REW just due to what the engines were designed for.

And before you go spouting out about how unreliable the FD is remember one thing - the FD failed so badly because of its complicated turbo setup and its inability to keep the engine cool. It wasn't really the engine itself as the problem as much so as it being unable to keep cool.

Well....try 400 to the wheels...and then maybe you are sorta right ;)

Four hundred horsepower on what? If you're trying to prove a point you may need to be a lot more specific about what you're saying.

id just drive the thing as is

That's how I roll since doing all the research I've done. I had a FB for a fun car and a Rx8 for my daily driver. The FB has been sold recently, however, so soon I'll need another project car and have begun debating on whether or not I want it to be the Rx8.

it seems that with an RX-8, you either go all out with a 13b-REW or 20B swap, and build yourself a fast, well handling and cool car, or leave it be and enjoy the stock product. This is like an S2000, it just doesnt respond that well to "basic" tuning like a civic.

Nutsid,
I have no interest in arguing the accomplishments of over 20 years of research and trial an error on the 13b, and over 30 years on the 12a. A few people have experimented with the Renesis stuff, but it's been nowhere near on the scale of the 13b or 12a. In fact, in basic design, they're both damn near identical in functionality, so a lot of the same porting concepts carry well between them.

So you can say what you want, but until the Renesis gets the same attention as the other two, your point is rather unproven. The design is sounds, and if you're that hung up on 4 port design, then there's a Renesis for that too.

What I think needs to happen is more investigation into the irons, and their overall use / effectiveness, and a possible standard modification / redesign. The engine is far from ineffective, and to say that you're better off swapping a 13b-anything simply because "this one guy, that time, got like... 800 HP from this motor" is a waste of money and resources. If your goal is 600+ then you need a 20b and be done. Otherwise, you cant justify the expense and time on an engine swap when you yourself said that people have gotten the Renesis engine up to 500+ HP. It's cheaper to boost and tune an already owned / installed engine that it is to start from scratch, and that's not debatable due to the fact that, not only would you still have to buy all the FI accessories for the new motor, but you'd have to buy and rebuild the new motor, fab mounting brackets, most likely a new transmission, stand alone management, etc. You could never justify the added cost to me.

rebuild kit: $1000
Bridge Port: $500
Tuning: $500

custom super charger setup: $1500

For $3500 I can make over 400 WHP in my car by doing most of the work myself, and for most people that's more than sufficient. Like I said, if you start getting into the 600 HP range in terms of goals, you're better off going 20b, so a 13b swap makes no since.