takahashi

Tyre Rubbing?

Revolver

Yep, never owned a camera in my life. Just never been interested.

'Er indoors has a digital though. If I remember, I'll take it on my dawn patrol tomorrow and try to click off a few shots.

Where's Eric when you need him.

Revolver

What other kind of rubbing is there Taka?

I've arranged to swing by my local smashie tomorrow morning to get his view. Apparently there's a method of rolling guards these days that doesn't require re-painting.

takahashi

Hmmmm.. I dunno

Good luck with the rolling. Actually what I did was to make it rub a touch more - then you can see where it is rubbing. My mechanic trimed the guard a bit and roll it with a wooden bar - only so slightly so the paint did not crack.

Be careful as if you crack the paint - you need to repaint it to avoid rusting. I will put on some derusting agent on this weekend after a wash (even the paint did not crack) - just on the safe side

Revolver

Yeah, I'm yet to be convinced either but we'll see.

When you say he trimmed the guard back a bit, did he actually cut back some of the rolled under edge? What did he do it with?

If worse comes to worse, I'll just get the guards repainted. Might get the nose done as well while I'm at it - lose the stone chips (temporarily ). Of course, if I can avoid that, I will.

BTW, for those late to this thread, if you have stock rims you won't have to worry about this problem when fitting the MS suspension.

Revolver

CORRECT!

takahashi

A cut saw powered by air compressor. And polish the edge with a sander powered by the compressor.

It is about 2-3mm of guard taken off.

Revolver

Thanks.

I'll do a write up with some pics shortly but the verdict is in - I will need to roll the guards .

It is not rubbing all that often but on larger potholes and ruts it is hitting and the sharp inside edge of the guard will damage the tyres over time (or perhaps very quickly if it hits hard enough ).

Took it to my local smashie today and they're going to do it on Wednesday. They still think they can do it without needing a respray but warned I might be able to detect a minimal ripple in the paint. Since it's gotta be done, I'll just have to wait and see if I can live with the finish or go to the extra expense of repainting.

xxup

Is this because your new wheels and tyres are wider than normal or are you suggesting that the problem would be there even with the standard wheels and tyres?

I am keen on these springs and shocks, but I am not interested in modifying bodywork

Revolver

As stated earlier, you won't need to worry about it Adrian.

My rims are 8.5 with a 35 offset. OEM rims will not cause the same problem.

I will do a longer report in a sec but the short answer is that for $1,500 odd, this is the best mod you can do on the car IMHO. I'm stoked.

Revolver

Well, had a chance for a longer drive this morning and I'm happy to report that these new shocks and springs are simply awesome.

Got up too late to make an Old Pac Hwy run worthwhile, so just had a lash up McCarr's Creek Road instead. Actually, this proved to be the better option anyway because in sections the road is pretty bumpy, which allowed me to get a decent idea of ride comfort, etc. It also has plenty of corners marked 25-45km/h, if you know what I mean .

Handling: I'm no motoring journo, so I'm not sure what to say except that there is a much greater feeling of confidence when attacking the twisties. The car is flatter, with minimal body roll. Turn-in feels even sharper. Corner speeds are definitely higher (I know this road reasonably well, and I've never gotten through some corners as fast as I did this morning). Much harder to shake the rear loose when getting the power down on exit - it just seems to grip and go. Really, the best way to describe it is that this is how the car should be built - it just seems to fit the car's character much better.

Ride: This was perhaps the greatest surprise. Given that I'm running the Whiteline sways (which are stiffer than just about anything else available - as I understand it - and certainly stiffer than the MS sways) and the MS springs and shocks are also generally regarded as one of the stiffer aftermarket suspension upgrades, I was just about ready to don a kidney belt before my first hard thrash. However, the ride is more than tolerable. Yes, it's a bit firmer and surface irregularities are more noticeable, but it's by no means crashy. It maintains decent contact with the road even when hitting ruts and doesn't feel skittish in any way. It may be a bit different when fully loaded but for now I find it no problem at all. Nowhere near as bad as the 350Z (before they sorted the ride problem in later versions).

This sounds like a ramble and I'm sure there's some subjective feel good factor creeping in but I think this was the biggest improvement I've had from any mod so far. And for $1,500 odd, I think it's not that expensive for the gains available. These parts have clearly been developed properly for the RX8. It is not a crude 'drop and stiff' mod but instead simply enhances what we already love about the car's handling.

If you're considering it, all I can say is go for it. I'm stoked!!!!!

Here's some pics (remember, I'm a crap photographer so no critics please). BTW, the car is probably still settling onto the new springs so it may drop a little lower over the coming weeks.

DAMN, pics are too large . Will post them when I can get 'er indoors to resize them for me.

xxup

Thanks for the report Dave... I am keen to try this, but it looks like it will have to wait until after Xmas..

boofhead

Excellent report - You have convinced me to invest in the same. I will be interested in the guard modes as well. I suspected it would be necessary. Best to be prepared.

yellowrx8inoz

Hey Dave, re the rubbing tyres - if you haven't sorted it yet, find a wheel place that can roll the fender as per the procedure described HERE (or hire/borrow/steal the tool and do it yourself). Note the use of a heatgun (a hairdryer works better) to warm the paint to prevent it cracking.

I had this done on my other car a few years ago and it was very successful.

Will

Revolver

Thanks Kall.

I'll give that a try.

Revolver

I've responded to your PM boofhead.

Revolver

Thanks Will - that is a great DIY link.

I think this is exactly what my local smashie is going to do but I'll check. He's Italian and his description of the process was a tad difficult to follow .

If he's on the wrong track and plans to pull out a wooden stick ( ), I'll go elsewhere. Anyone aware of a wheel place in Sydney that does this work?

Grizzly8

Will

Maybe you could do a show and tell at the Nationals on Daves car , great DIY link , may get around to doing it myself if i upgrade wheels and suspension .


Michael

Revolver

Okay, here's my first go at linking to pics in my new PhotoBucket account










Woohoo! It worked!

I'm not usually this successful with technology...

Revolver

Michael,

There's too much riding on this getting sorted to leave it till when I get there. I also want to get it done asap before any damage is done to my (very bloody exxy) tyres.

Besides, too much pressure on Will when he no doubt wants to come and have fun rather than work on my car.

I would have been up for this at a cruise or something like that if there was more time available.

Grizzly8

Dave

Your ride is looking , give up your day job and take pics of cars and , sexy women heard Hugh hefner is looking for new talent from Dowunder

Michael

boofhead

Excellent pics and thanks answering the PM.
Time to order the gear and get the guards done.

BTW: I have a Titanium as well . Very neat setup.