Build Thread: RX8
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:17 pm
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.
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.