RX8 Mini Project
 

Since I'm basically locked down in the house instead of the garage for the next few weeks, you all get to suffer through my endless babble of modifications and works performed on my RX8 as well :)

This is RX8 #2 for me. The first was boosted, loads of fun, but also - loads of headache. With this car, I want simple power with the reliability to make it to the store and the weekend races. I bought it two years ago with 32k on the clock. It was a leased car prior to my ownership, so the car was mostly well cared for mechanically, but the *cough* woman *cough* driver must have some really huge assed diamond rings to scar up the shift knob and a severe lack of parallel parking skills. All four wheels were curb rashed, and the car had a few scratches, but I was able to use all of this to my advantage come negotiations.

Here she is when I got it home about a month before DGRR '08:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_new.jpg

On the day I test drove it, it tossed a CEL too, so the dealership was eager to get rid of it.


Turns out the CEL was only a misfire. Cleared it and all has been fine since. Upon further inspection, I discovered it was leaking oil at the pan, and from the rear of the trans. I wasn't able to resolve these issues prior to DGRR '08 and those around me were very aware of the smell, lol. Sorry.

Shots at DGRR '08:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/bill_dgrr.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/dgrr_2.jpg

I also managed top pop a front sway bar end link prior to the event as well which proved lots of fun on the 70-80mph sweepers leading to the gap.
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/broken_end_link.jpg

I arrived home and got the guys at my local dealership (whom I'm friends with) to remedy the oil pan leak and replace the rear trans seal. All has been good since.

why did you get rid of the boosted 8?

So DGRR '08 being the maiden voyage, got home and started to really address a few things that really bothered me.

First, flushed the coolant system and the rear diff.

Next, I had tackle the sway bar issue. I didnt' want to just put factory links back on (I had broken these in my protege as well and find them sub-par). I ordered up a new racing beat front sway and solid links. This was when I decided the car would start to serve me as the autocross ride until my FC is ready for track duty.

Got everything in, had the then puppy check it all out:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rb-fr1.jpg

Drilled out the bar to accept the larger links:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rb-fr3.jpg

Installed everything:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rb-fr5.jpg

The boosted 8 was jaded... long story short, when I got it, the original owner was running an e-manage... that got tossed for an interceptor-x which worked great, but the damage was done... it eventually had hot start issues and lower compression, a friend of mine wanted the car so he got it, I started to rebuild the engine for him at which time he fell on hard times and defaulted on his car note. I got stuck with the engine and many parts which he gave me to pay for labor, etc. I sold off almost everything I had of that car left (mostly to phil, lol) and moved on. My buddy is good now though, although he went back to the bmw world now...

After the sway bar and links were taken care of, next up were some brakes. The stock brakes are good on the rx8, but for some autocross, I wanted a bit more bite.

I installed some Hawk HP pads, Stoptech rotors, russell ss lines and speed bleeders. I had to replace my passenger rear caliper all together due to a frozen bleeder - I hate working on northern cars.

To top it off, I coated the calipers with G2 caliper paint and flushed the whole system and now run AP550 race fluids...

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/hawk_front.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/russell_bleeders.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/G2caliper_paint.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/done_front.jpg

gah... I feel the need to spend money I don't have. Darn you Bill!

To round out 2009, I added some 18x8.5 Enkei NT03M with Kumho XS rubber, just in time for DGRR09

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/dgrr_rx8.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/dgrr_rx82.jpg

I also added a k&n filter back a year ago (no pics, really... who wants pics of that) and some pillar appliques, just to clean things up - not sure when though, lol..

I made my first race with this car in May '09:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/524VMP_2fb.jpg

My bro-in-law sprayed my helmet for me :)
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/custom_helmet.jpg


Random event shots, made 4 races in '09.. looking for at least 8 this year but not off to a good start..

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_autox1.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_autox2.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/relaxed_auto.jpg

Took the car up to KDR for some dyno time and to drool over Brian's FC some more...

At this point, the only performances enhancements were the K&N, RB plug wires and new OE NGK plugs.
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8dyno1.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8dyno2.jpg

Made 180whp. That closes out '09. It was a good year, but things are changing for 2010... for the better...

So for 2010, lots of changes. I found out my wife and I will be having our first child in October this year... so why does that matter for the rx8..... well...

I'm giving up my Jeep for a more family oriented SUV, which means my wife will no longer be using the rx8 regularly... thus I will. And anybody who knows me, knows I cant drive a stock car for TOOOO long. I held off doing more work to the rx8 for many reasons, but a big one is now going away. I still plan to keep it fairly simple as my focus is to complete the FC but I do want a bit more out of the rx8 now.

I plan to compete in circuitcross events, auto-x and hopefully at least one HPDE, so more mods are coming.

First on the list is to install my new LS2 coils. I have everything I need now, just waiting for two working hands and some time...
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/ls2coil.jpg

I also picked up an AP dual resonated midpipe which will be going on shortly.
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/ap_midpipe.jpg

I want to get these on prior to DGRRX. If it all works out, these will be on, I will make it back to Dave's for some more drooling and dyno time and my new goal is 190whp, but I'm thinking I'll fall closer to 186whp, still not bad.

Also on board, just not installed are a set of JIC FLTA2 coilovers and some tint!! If I get no sleep for the days leading up to DGRR I may even have them on... it would be nice to have the setup ready.. but we'll see...

Lol... nah, you're good. You should come by some time when you're through culpeper again... I want to see how you're coming along!!

So the cast came off but the arm is still pretty useless, lol... In true fashion to other forum members, I am pushing a bunch of crap at the last minute before DGRR.

On saturday I managed to get an oil change, installed a 2007 starter (holy crap what a HUGE difference) and my AP mid pipe. Sounds simple, but that took all day really. The starter wasnt a big deal, but my lovely northern car under body and lack of strength in my left arm resulted in extra hours getting the midpipe on. My buddy came to the rescue with an o2 wrench set and a swivel sockets. The exhaust studs were so rotted on it even broke a snap on impact socket...

I ended running out and getting new grade 8 hardware which soaked up more time out of the day.


I'll get some pics up shortly...

On Sunday, my buddy and his brother and I spent the better half of the day tearing into more RX8s. I scored the set of JICs I had from my old RX8 that were then on his RX8 so we had to swap suspensions around on those cars, along with some hubs, brakes, etc. Unfortunately, I had to run out on him early and we didn't get a chance to install them on my car, yet.... Somewhat ironic that I started with this suspension on a difference RX8 almost 4 years ago and they are finding their way back to me.

The "old" RX8, now donor, future project (straight body... no poweplant/suspension... maybe a drag car??)
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/donor8.jpg

My buddy's '05 (now for sale... thats why all the goodies come off and go on my car :) )
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/jon8_1.jpg

He's not drunk, I swear:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/jon8_2.jpg


The rear of my old but soon to be new to me again suspension:
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/jic_1.jpg


Today I managed to detail the car and get it ready for the trip. If all works out I should be installing my GM coils tomorrow with new plug wires and MAYBE get the suspension on, but we'll see... even if the coilovers dont make it to DGRR this year, they'll close the 2.2 second gap in NASA-X "D" class I have right now with some M3s, lol..

thats a nice rx8, good car . i have a question for ya. i was just looking at an rx8 today for the 3 rotor motor the 20b i think, it had a nice set of webber carbs on it, it was non turbo it looks like someone put in some time and $ in this car, now the motor and tranny and the rearend were good but body was beat up pretty bad got rear ended but the motor was low mileage. they were asking like $5,000 is that a good price for the car. "i mostly want it for the motor and tranny cause ive seen some vids on what the 20b cant do, and then part out the rest???? sorry i dont have any pics of it to give ya an idea of if its worth the money

^If you don't buy it, I will.

Tell your friend I'll take the 8 for $5!

Lol, $5k is tough to say honestly - condition of motor/hours of run time (if its a drag setup).. if the body damage is cosmetic only (no frame issues) then its probably worth it. Shells sell for $2k to $7k alone depending on condition/work performed.


Sorry Tyler - that gray car isn't going anywhere. There are plans brewing :)

The motor has about 5k on it since being build. The guy said the old owner had the motor completely build up for street racing before he was rear ended and gave up on it. This motor starts and runs great sounds real mean even with a full exhaust to quiet it down. Every things there to swap it out to mine. Looks like all msd stuff the engine bay has been gutted out no ac no heat nothing but the motor with one thick a$$ alt, water pump, belt looked like 2" i want it lol going up there today try and talk him down a little on the price.

So to update.

Midpipe was installed after having to buy the front gasket, but managing to find a brand new one my gasket bin (I love having this crap laying around sometimes... that was a $32 gasket!)... and replacing ALL the hardware because it pretty much all broke. The sound is "OK" for now. Simply based on the fact that AP uses thin wall pipe I pretty much knew it would be a bit to "tin" sounding for my taste but it definitely drops some weight and has a good noticeable power gain over 7K RPM. The pipe reminds me of earlier FB cars w/ mindtrain exhausts, lol.

After a while though I was concerned about the heat shielding (lack there of) on the pipe and the sound so I wrapped the pipe about 3/4 of the way down. It has definitely helped drop the under car temps a bit and the sound is more muffled to my liking. Not sure of any performance gains but it does help to keep the car cooler underneath. I know some people have issues w/ exhaust wrap, but personally I've never had rusting/moisture problems and if the pipe DOES crack... I'll just weld it again,lol. Dyno on that to come...


Got the coilovers on about a month ago. Still need to dial everything in, especially the rear... but its a big improvement. I did however manage to break a camber bolt and proceed to cuss and scream profanities until my head turned blue because EVERY bolt on the underside of this car that I seem to touch is a time bomb.. I will NEVER buy a northern car again, lol..

The front is set at midway soft/hard and rear is at full hard right now until I get the alignment where I want it and can do some more adjustments.

Next is still finishing up the coil system. I still get a random misfire code from time to time as well that I'd like to resolve. That should be done in the next few weeks. Once those are on, I plan to join Brian (TTT) at some point at KDR for some dyno testing.

Here's a shot of the car as it sits now.

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_lowered.jpg

So feeling pretty good with the car minus the lack of suspension tuning.. I started laying out my next plans. I've got auto-x school on the 11th of July and my next race isnt until October (yea.. NASA cancelled a lot of events this year :( )

My next steps after getting the suspension setup, corner balancing and the coil/ignition squared away is going to be tint. The car is friggin HOT in the summer with black interior!

Then its an accessport. I really want to log some information on this car and get a little more out of it with that midpipe!

I've got the exedy clutch waiting to go in as well, so I'm going to source a flywheel for it and get that in sometime later this fall (if the stock clutch holds out until then). I plan to throw some synchro savers on at that time too.

So by my October race the car should have:
- Suspension done
- Ignition done
- Exedy clutch / unknown flywheel
- TINT
- Synchro saver
- Accessport

I think this will keep me "happy" for a while. I'm hoping with the ignition, clutch/flywheel, AP tuner I can get it up to the 194-196whp range (up 14-16whp from 180whp last time).

Its by no means a monster, but it should be a great cone smasher. The only mods after that might be a catback and then all the safety equip-- seats, bar, etc....

All the above mods would be starting really soon, but today... on the drive home from work.... BAM, limp mode!!!!

I'm so used to RX cars doing this crap it doesn't really phase me anymore, lol. I'm a bit bummed out that I had to limp the car home, but at least the motor survived!

Basically... on startup it seemed great, but after 2min or less the CEL starting blinking and it felt like one-rotor power. I went through $10 in gas in 10 miles!!! It was sputtering and backfiring like CRAZY.

Since I've thrown many misfire codes in the past, I was thinking for sure a coil either finally ate it OR my o2 was bad.

Ran by my buddies shop, because he has all those "fancy" tools, lol.. we pulled everything up and sure enough.. killed the o2 sensor!!

I'm not sure if the sensor just died, or if the heat/wrap from the midpipe killed it. I'd like to maybe pinpoint what may have caused the failure so I can resolve it before getting another sensor in there.

Anyways... I'm on vacation for a while, so the "prissy little bitch" as TTT would put it can sit in the garage until I get back!



Here's a shot of the greatest diagnostic tool I've ever seen a person have at HOME! My buddy runs a shop out of his home at night so he doesn't skimp on the goods. Windows based, full diagnostic tool for EVERY make/model, lol.

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/joshs_toy.jpg

Wait a minute.. you mean to tell me that mazda dynos these at 238 and you were making less than 180 to the wheels stock?:o11: that sounds like a bad power drop..........

He may have some mild compression issues. Typically they're190~200 WHP.

Nope - no compression issues at all at the time of the dyno. The only thing that may have held me back from 181-183whp was the clutch slipping in 4th gear around 7500 or so...

238 is crank power, I had 180whp which puts it closer to 213-220 which is actually ABOVE normal for most stock (at that time) rx8s in '04/'05. Many guys were dynoing in the 170s on a similar dynojet system.

190/200whp is only common on modified 8s, guys with every bolt on and great tuning usually only fall around 210/220whp max with an NA platform. You have to remember that rx8s are a bit finicky on the dyno and even using different dynometer equipment can show a difference of +/- 10whp.

The power numbers arent important, but its getting the baseline and having a healthy motor. Also important to use the same dyno each time you test.

I can post up the chart if anybody wants to see (I thought I already did somewhere...)


I

ok i was just curious. i just thought they would be a little more. but no that you mention it i do think i remember hearing that they dyno'd low.

So the problem APPEARS to be coils at this point in time.

The engine has consistent compression and the rear o2 doesn't make sense since it does nothing anyway.

I'm installing my LS2 coils now either way since if it does prove to be coils, this will solve the issue... if not, at least that is done and I can start tracing down what the issue might really be.

I should know by this weekend if the coils solve it... just ordered another set of MSD boots and terminals since I only had 4 to start with and one broke (and you have to buy sets of two with the boots, cant find just the terminal).

Bracket is built and 3 plus wires are complete. I'm taking this time to clean up the engine bay a bit as well though as it was nasty under the airbox and battery tray!

Ah - the coils fixed her right up. I'll post some pics (not that entertaining really) up. Gain about 160 to 180 whp with the LS2 coil upgrade ;)


Now its onto finishing my suspension adjustments, clutch/flywheel and tint lol.

Sounds good maybe now you can keep up with this dyno queen.

Ah... its so dirty, but affective! I realized after working on the car how much dirt gets in there from the construction around my house! I planned to clean up a bunch of things and give it a good soaking but was rushed for time. I think later on down the road, I'd like to find a new mounting location for the coils, make a straighter shot to the TB, polish the TB and add some additional heat wrap to some of the components. Thats all later, after the FC is done and I'm shifting focus to putting an REW(20B) in this car, lol....

http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_ls2coils.jpg
http://www.findtuners.com/rx8/rx8_ls2coils2.jpg

Got a race in before the winter. Everything worked out well. Took the car to full rev limit and the coils didn't miss a beat. Suspension, even with the miles, stills seems responsive and dampens correctly so thats a plus.

Things I need to now.... replace clutch, get new tires, lol... and tint. Its so bright in there!!

Got some work to do over the winter. Trying to avoid getting too crazy as the FC still needs a ton of work:

Tint
Clear corners
dyno
lower coilovers
roll fenders
** mazdaspeed cai **
CS 4pt front strut bar
install clutch
flywheel / counterweight
** recaro seat **
** harnesses **
new tires
corner balance
alignment
install rear strut adjusters
modify splash guards
spline drive lug nuts

My goal is to have this done prior to DGRR and hopefully mostly done by Jan 23 (first auto-x).

Damn bill, my car is closer than yours and its still on jackstands. I'll call you tom. I talked to the guy w/the '79 in the ad.

Yea yea... but I can drive mine while I do all this :)


On another note... I wasn't supposed to be STX on that day. Not sure how I got put there, but I have determined after reading SCCA rules for about an hour that in 2011 I SHOULD be BSP, so that's what I'm going with. Unfortunately, this keeps me with those damned M3s....

Winter projects going slow. I did manage to grab a new seat though...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7005524_n.jpg

Just need to wait for the new base and sliders to arrive, but I won't have them in time for the 1/23 race :(

Oh well. More progress to come, need to pay off christmas first!

Picked up an access port finally as well. Plan to do some minor tuning this weekend, work on the splash guards and adjust front suspension...

First event for the year is next weekend 1/23.

Uh huh.... I see a little dyno war heating up... Oh wait, no it isn't, I'm going to desimate you both! :rofl:

OK we will gang up on you. 2 on 1 I'll get my half if Bill gets his.

:rofl: Silly little n/a renni's ;)

Don't give bill any motive he will take it and run with it! I was told once he fixed a little exhaust leak in his old Protege, to my suprise it was fixed alright when I heard a turbo spool and a BOV let off pressure! Yes jack ass I remember that!!:fawk: Thats my Sparco also dont forget it lol

Hey now - that sparco will look a lot better in the rx8!!

And yes, I will be boosting the rx8 next year.. I've decided. Now, if I keep it a secret at first or not... well, I haven't decided.

We will have that dyno war.. but only MC and I competing, that Motec powered FC of yours is a bit of a ringer...

I don't know... maybe we can run him N/A like half the epic road trip.

The sad tale is that he probably could make 230 - 240 WHp on a dynojet with his RE even NA.