Thanks for the info. I'll check out the Hampton one. But I have no idea where I'm going to live. I'll probably shoot for semi close to base to rent, then play it by ear when I look to buy. I'm pretty familiar with the area by map. I haven't been there since like '94 for vacation, but I grew up in Va Beach until I moved to Jersey for most of High School. Lived in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Charlotsville...it'll be nice to be back home, haha. --Mark

 

well guys i think im getting the urethane ms style kit....Ill keep you guys posted. Wish me luck, i hope it goes well with this bodyshop .
art

 

I'm going to order the Apexi Super Ground Kit. It showed like 8 or 9 Horse on a STI, and shows that it works, for some reason, even better on Mazda's. I'm going to order it and get it shipped to the folks house in Ohio. When I stop there on my route from AK to VA I'll put it on. I'll let you guys know how the trip and the mods go. Late --Mark

 

WAKE UP HAMPTON ROADS! heheh still waiting on my ms style bodykit...how is everyone still doing with their 8?

 

I C&P this post i did in another Va Bch/Richmond thread...

So uh...let's get a roll call. Va Bch, Norfolk, Hampton, NN and so on, over to Richmond. who would be interested in meeting up? lets look at a few weekends in advance so everybody can plan a head and all. Oct 2nd? I'll be at NOPI the weekend before (thats right, touch me!), then its Streamline Showoff in Hampton. then there's something the 9th. would love to do an 8 thing, but if this second one is a bust also...i'm going mixed car club searching! don't push me...i'll do it!!! heh.
so lets get a roll call, and then we'll choose a place to go.

just an idea...i wouldn't mind meeting at one place, find some good driving roads, and caravan to lunch.

 

im here

 

I'd be up for something in October, though definately not the weekend of Oct 15th/16th....so far.

 

I'm adding everybody who's replying to the 'list' and when we figure something out I'll repost on this thread and PM everybody. So keep em coming!

 

I want to take a road trip from Houston to Hampton Roads, VA to visit my fiance. I heard Buckroe Beach is polluted, not to mention every time I've been there, jellyfish a-poppin'. Any truth to this? Also, are there any good driving roads in Virginia?

 

I just got back in the area myself, and haven't been here since I was a kid, but I haven't found any. But if you plan on doing a drive...when I came down from Alaska I went through West Va...I could look it up and give you the bit of Highway. But it was about 30 miles or so, between two toll booths...nothing but 3 lanes of twists and turns and perfect road. It was one of my favorite stretches, by far. I wish it wasn't so far of a drive just for a little stretch, but at least I get to drive thru it when I visit the folks. Msg me if you really want the stretch. Somebody who's been here for a while...hook him up with what he needs to know! --Mark

 

Hey it's been quiet here in hampton roads...are we planning anything?
art

 

I was trying to get some people together, but there's only been a handful of people interested. Since then, i've found a car club and am meeting up with them this Sat to check them out. then next weekend its over to Petersburg for a show. i think the weekend after there's another show in NC I might go to.
If anybody around here starts getting mod crazy and throws a CEL...i got the CanScan cable! so feel free to PM or e-mail for a reset.

 

so what have you done to yours so far?

 

Do you guys know when y'all are going to meet up in November and December? I would love to hang out with y'all, RX-8 or none.

 

umpuck,
notta so far, except small stuff. upgraded my lites to LEDs and Stealth Bulbs, clear corners. parts for the ground kit are on the way, couldn't find yellow wire locally, and i went with Stinger's doubleground posts to make a pretty daisy chain. about to get my fiberglass box made as soon as the guy building it is done the project he's on. it's getting paint matched to the car. the ECU upgrade is on hold because i might be prototyping one. i put in a high flow intake because there's no reason to drop the money for a regular intake due to lack of gains. i will be getting the HKS when i start showing though, just for the looks. waiting for cortc to put out his titanium light weight pulleys. want to order the MS flywheel, but my clutch is giving me problems at the moment so i may just do a SR swap with fly wheel and ACT Extreme clutch, if it goes out. since i just got down from AK i've been waiting to get here to start upgrades. but now it's on like Donkey Kong!

 

Are you close to virginia beach? ill like to meet up...so far i got the ms urethane kit my bodyshop did a great job and some other stuff im thinkin about
art

 

yeah, i'm over in Newport News. Nobody has really responded about meeting up, just a few. And since then i've been in contact with a car club here in the area and they seem just like what i'm wanting from a club. if somebody wants to put together a meet, and my schedule permits...i'm all for it. but i'm not going to put anything together, not enough interest in the area it seems.
DarwinThorne
Hammer
umpuck (hey that's u!!!)
Markris77 (and that's me!!!)
This was the only people interested list. anyway...next weekend is the Petersburg show, then the weekend after is a show in northern NC. i'm rolling to both with this car club, but if anybody is going and is interested in caravaning, pm me. after that, i'll be free to meet up. i'll give u a holler when it comes to kit putting on time though!

 

Gad! CASEY MAZDA repair really is bad! And 'bad' is NOT the word I would normally use. Watch them when you go in for your 15K check up...they gouge you and do stuff not required by Mazda even though they say Mazda recommends it. I have filed a complaint with Mazda USA on this. The 15K is nothing more than a glorified oil change really...but CASEY adds on tons of stuff under the lie that those actions are in Mazda's 15K plan. I came away with a $247.28 bill.

The add-ons included an interior filter change (part $69.85 (normal list is $43.20 at an on-line Mazda place) - which is not called for until 25K miles per Mazda, rotate tires, clean fuel injectors (they couldn't actually do thus because they didn't have the adaptors) but they didn't charge me for this - but they wanted to. Adjust brakes - no, not part of the Mazda 15K. Adjust headlights - again, not part of the 15K

The MAZDA USA guy was laughing because it was funny that they were doing this. He agreed and helped file the complaint. These guys are crooks.

The whole 15K really should have cost about $50.00 for what they did...maybe $50, all they really should have done was the oil change and a few inspections.

Last one: They put 5W30 in the car...and then denied it even after the mechanic worte down that he put in 5W30. Incredible. When will people take responsibility for their actions?

 

Yeah, i took the car to them twice...no more my friend. the car is now sitting over at Hampton Mazda on Mercury. take u'r car over there and the service is litteraly the difference between nite and day. i got a call two or three times the first day it was in for updates. they didn't give me any warranty crap like Casey Mazda did. and i'm talking crap, not like i put on nitrous and expect my engine to get covered, example...i wanted to add in Red Line Water Wetter...they were telling me it might void my warranty because it's not Mazda Genuine...u gotta be f&*king kidding me...Water Wetter! anyway, these guys over at Mercury are the heat to work with, and it's pretty bad when i live 2mins from Casey and I go somewhere else. but i did here that f&*k Lenny got fired, and he was my main problem. i wonder if that pissy lil b!tch at the service desk got canned too. if you want any fire power against those guys give me a holler...and don't worry, i'll be more courteous and proffesional when dealing with Mazda, i just vent here, haha.

 

Well, I've been taking mine to Hall Mazda. The Service Dept guys are pretty cool. However, when I picked up my car Thursday after dropping it off Wednesday night, it smelled like cigarette smoke. There was a cigarette butt on the floor of my car. The service manager said "maybe it got stuck to someone's shoe and that's how it got in the car". Well, I left the windows open on my way out to school at Oceana and I will say that I don't notice the smell anymore.

At 3000 miles I took my car over for the oil change, and the dip stick looked like they had over-filled the oil. Something else to not make such a big deal over. Rich mentioned to check my car out before I left the dealership and I'm glad I did.

However, when I originally bought the car in July, I wasn't impressed with how they cleaned the car. I had to have them clean it up a couple of times before I left.

After I thought I had a decent experience buying from Hall Mazda, I referred a friend and her daughter (she wanted to buy a RX-8). Her reaction was that she would never go back there again.

 

Well, my next try is going to be First Team Mazda. They are a lot closer to where I live. The problem seems to be there are not that many choices out there and we all are running out of them!

BTW...Casey Mazda's vehicle prep people are not very good either. One of my eariler postings deliniates all that I went through.

 

We need to have a get together sometime.

SkrEEeeEeeecH! Ka-BaM! <metalic tinkle>

 

Hampton Mazda on Mercury is where it's at! they just changed out my clutch for me, over nited the parts and had the car back in a couple of days. excellent service from them so far, a DRASTIC improvement from those f&*ks at Casey. The new clutch is the HEAT! its even better than when i drove the car off the lot. i can roast 1st to 2nd, and bark the hell out of 2nd to 3rd.
just got back from Xtreme Nationals and got a dyno run in. 186.3! the only upgrade i have is the APC Freeflow air filter. i didn't get to run it though, i got judged way late and they closed the track betime i pulled up, i wanted to get a 1/4 time slip. oh well.

 

Thanks for the info. I shall try First Team first...and if that doesn't work out I will be off to Hampton Mazda.

 

Thought I'd say hi to everyone - I picked up my blue MT RX-8 with the GT package on 1 Oct. I have a daily commute from VB to Yorktown, and my first 1200 mi have been a blast. I'm real happy I got this over the 6 (wife told me to get the 8!).

The only thing I regret is that I didn't get the Nav, since it looks like a lot of people are having fun with it in the Electronics forum. Less weight, anyway.

I bought mine from Hall, but I must admit I made it real easy (i.e. no hassle - I spent most of the time just chatting to the sales staff and service manager) I had financing in hand and knew which VIN I wanted to test and buy. Came in under the s-plan, and didn't feel I needed to fight for something cheaper. I also drove it for most of the afternoon to run errands while they wanted to get me better financing (they did). I did have to have them re-clean the engine compartment when we were doing the walkthrough/inspection, but I'll give their service dept a shot when I need it.

Neil