suburbianmind

I brought the Hankook V12 evo last Spring and love them, a little bit rougher than stock (I feel every brick on these German Village streets) but are so much more "grippy". They are great for the price.

I just switched from my winter wheels today and the huge gap between the front tires and the fender is really noticeable.

Anyone have a recommendation on a place for spring installs or have done it themselves? I have a set of Tein S-tech springs in the basement that I want to install but don't know where to look. Thanks in advance.

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

the rx7 store, call xavier who runs service at 264.9588

i put my summer shoes on today as well. tire rack has the oem re040s for $125 right now; i had two new ones already so i picked up two more. i wanted to stray from stock, but at that price i figured one more time wouldnt hurt

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

nope, he runs his own business but is usually out of town detailing some ridiculous collection

colnago1331

iTrader: (1)

Sorry - Todd owns Esoteric Detail. He does great work and also works on high end cars. He had a job in Indianapolis for a Ferrari owner who was shipping his car out to Pebble Beach for on of the pre-Concours d'Elegance shows.

colnago1331

iTrader: (1)

I installed my own springs on my old Miata. The job wasn't hard, per se. Just labor intensive. And it was the first time I'd done any suspension work. I got a spring compressor from Auto Zone (free tool loan) and it took about 10 hours. Again, that's because I'd never done it before. I'm guessing now I could do it in close to 4 -5 hours.

I put my non-winter wheels/tires on last night. I bought the car in January and at the beginning of February I had winter tires put on the stock wheels. I then bought a set of BBS RK's and had my non-winter tires put on them. This is the first time I've actually had/seen the wheels on the car . . . and I think I like them!





Yeah, I know - needs a wash!

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

i think i may have met him actually, but i cant place where

suburbianmind

Thanks - I'm going to give it a shot soon.

Anyone in the area up for a drive somewhere? You can't beat early spring.

Huhwha

I need a couple of weeks before a drive. I'll be ordering the new summer rubber this week. I also need to tear down the left rear and see what's going on with the brake. Or more accurately, what's not going on. The rotor on that wheel is almost completely rusted, telling me that the brake on that wheel isn't doning very much. This corresponds with the pedal feel, which seems to take more effort to get the same result. Kinda weird - I've never seen anything like it. At 80,000+ I could be out of brakes, but I would have expected a different impact on the rotor if that was the case.

Anyway - I should have it sorted out by the 29th. The next weekend is Easter weekend. The weekend after that I plan to go to Barber for the Gran-Am race, so that takes me to April 17th, I believe. Hopefully by then the weather is nice and we can have nice spring drive!

For you long range planners, the Rolex Grand-Am race is June 19th @ Mid-Ohio. It's a 5:00 start this year. Those of you who came out last year will remember we had a great time, including pace laps and a visit from Sylvain Tremblay, winner of the 2010 24 Hours of Daytona! The plans are not quite finalized for this year, but you can expect a similar great time. Plan to join us for the weekend!

Huhwha

So now I know how many miles before the brakes are toast - 80,000. I don't think there's 1/16th left on the rear I pulled.

Looking around, it seems the deal from the RX7 store is best (slotted rotors w/Hawk HPS pads all around), unless somebody has a better idea. I'd like to pick them up this week and install next weekend.

New tires should show up next week, so another week or so and I should be set; very much poorer, but set!

Jst1311

I'm in the same boat, replacing brakes cause the stock ones squeal like hell. I'm hoping I can get a good price on some stuff tho since a very good family friend is a manager at bob sumerel. I got all my stuff for my old car dirt cheap, but that stuff was cheap to begin with so idk how much of a deal I can get on quality parts outside of tires. Of course I also need tires, and if I'm going to get tires I should probably get a second set of rims....

Anyway, anyone have their windows tinted that could share their experience? I also found a chart which listed OH law as having 50% all around, which seems absurdly high, anyone have lower and have problems?

I also just realized I'm posting this before I actually back searched the thread for such info, so maybe i'll find some comments.

Go Steelers

Ohio law says 50% on the front door windows is the max, but you can go darker on back door and rear windows. I currently have a minivan and and SUV that have the front door windows tinted at 35%, and it matches the rear factory tint pretty good. I've never had any issues with 35% on the front doors. My old Mazda6 was 35% all around, with no issues.

For tinting, I've used Ziebart on Henderson road. They have done a nice job on my last 4-5 vehicles.

colnago1331

iTrader: (1)

Brakes are easy and the pads can be had for cheap if you want. The rotors, obviously, are more expensive but do you actually need new rotors? Are the current ones warped?

Re tinting - the best place in town, I believe, is Mr. Tint down on 104 (Frank Road) in south Columbus. It's probably around $225 for the RX-8.

And Ohio tint laws are at 50% for for the front two windows and, if I'm reading it correctly, any darkness less than 50% for the rear windows so long as outside rear view mirrors are present.

RA-Eight

iTrader: (6)

I've been running 35% on all of my cars (and wife's) over a 10 year period, never been hassled.

Jst1311

The way I'm reading that code is 50% all around, though that is incredibly confusing. But it matches the chart which I actually got off ziebarts website.

Either way it seems 35% would be safe, and looking at ra-eights pictures it seems dark enough for my taste. I'll look towards the suggested shops, thanks for the help everyone.

Huhwha

There's a voice from the past! How's it going Ra?

RA-Eight

iTrader: (6)

Howdy Jeff! I haven't been away for that long have I? How is everything?

It's been a crazy year for Jenna and I, neck deep in real estate activities. Finally sold our condo, and bought the house of our dreams! The dust is finally settling so you'll hear more from me soon!

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

yeah, i was pretty happy with the pricing from jason as well. i got the same setup; the slotted only rotors took a bit longer to get in, but i definitely did not want drilled. i think the pads and rotors were just under $500, jegs wanted over $750. i also picked up two stock potenzas from tirerack for $125 each to compliment the two basically new ones ive got in my basement to go on soon. next time ill go away from stock, but at that price its hard to pass up.

welcome back and congrats ra!

Huhwha

Got the tires in the car (one in each seat and one in the trunk); they'll get mounted tomorrow.

The rotors got delayed. They should show up tomorrow, but I'm busy. I'll pick them up Tuesday and go from there. Looks like a late night Tuesday

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

if you havent already, you should put in stainless brake lines while youve got everything pulled

Huhwha

I thought about it, but I'm too lazy right now. I should do it the next time I change my brake fluid.

Tires are on, but I haven't been able to really test them because my brakes suck so bad. Hopefully get the brakes on tonight and see how it goes.

Go Steelers

Finally picked up an RX8. I looked around about a year ago, but then got cold feet due to the economy. Well, with spring in the air, the sports car bug bit me again, so I have been searching the past few weeks. I live just north of Columbus (Westerville to be exact) but found a nice 2005 Velocity Red RX8 in Dayton. It has the black leather, the GT package, spoilers and under 28k miles.

Jst1311

congrats, sounds just like mine, cept the color. Can't believe I have already had mine for almost a year tho. Still enjoy it every time I get in =P

Hung_horse31

Hey Guys-
It's been years since I've been on this forum! Glad to see some familiar faces. I hope everyone's 8 is running well! Anyway, I've been having some issues with my 8 and seeing if someone could advice me what I should do.
I have about 61k on my 8 and spark plugs haven't been change. I think I have the old starter, in which the 06-08 8's have a stronger starter. My problem is after shutting the car (reving at 4k for 5 seconds) I have hard/long cranks. There's no problem starting the car if I leave the car shut off for 20 mins and longer, but if I want to start the car again after engine is shut off for 5-15 mins, it takes me awhile to get the car started. The battery is fairly new.

If it's a spark plug or starter issue, do you think I can buy it and have rx7store install it? I want to avoid the dealer at all possible. Byers Mazda is charging $90 just to look at it since I'm out of warranty.

Thanks!

Buckeye_rx8

First of all, i am not a rotary God or anything and have only had my 8 for about a year. But with that said I have done a fair amount of wrenching and here is my 2 cents...

On a 60K RX8, your plugs should definitely be replaced, and while you're at it you should do the ignition coils too. I bought my 8 with about 40K on the dial, and two of the coils were shot. I replaced the plugs and coils and wow -- big difference. Your car will gain A LOT of pep as a result new plugs and coils so I would highly recomend doing this. Not sure how hard you drive your car but I have already been through a set of plugs in 10,000 miles (6 track days) I have had the car. I don’t think this is your "starting" problem, but it certainly would not hurt your situation.

As far as your starting problem goes, you are probably in the right track with replacing the starter itself. Starters are pretty inexpensive and easy to replace, so i would begin there for your fix. A second area to consider might be the fuel pump, I replaced mine because of the fuel cut issue on left hand sweepers, but I saw a few posts on the early pumps getting stuck in the high output mode and causing starting issues, but replace the starter first and see if that helps.

Good luck!

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

hey man, good to see you again. the starter is the most likely culprit, id call ricart and see if theyll work with you on getting it replaced since theres a tsb on it. if not yeah rx8 store is your best bet. after that id change the plugs, theyre relatively cheap and easy to do. im about to change my wires for the first time and im at 111k, so those likely arent your issue.