zoomzoomnash

Shinka, about 2-3 weeks ago. Early morning Maybe 8 am. heading westward. I'm sure I honked. You are probably correct about the color.

Also, forgot, played bumper tag with a black on 95 about a month ago. heading north toward B-more.

Of course, had the pleasure of meeting Floridagirl and Nuegenracing recently. If you want any kind of graphics work look Nuegenracing up. He did a really nice job on his car and works in a sign shop.

Revvittupp

I work in Laurel Daily... Galaxy Gray, still stock. Right on rt 1... commute from Owings Mills everyday.


And to confirm previous reports, I had a good, quick service visit with Ourisman on 198... Oil Change and MSP16(reflash) in 40 minutes while I waited. I need a tire and back brakes and was explained that, but not too sell-y in the process.

J2R

I had a good ding that chipped paint on my front driver side corner panel. I took it to Mike's auto body in Waldorf the job required filling and repainting the whole fender. Cost was about $650. Insurance took care of it, not without paying my deductible.

By the way, I have a couple of people interested in meeting up. Go to the MD/NoVA/DC meet thread if anyone is interested in joining us.

thebiggdaddy

Anybody interested in buying the AFE Shortshift? I have one on sale for Locals only. Check it out:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-sale-wanted-44/fs-afe-shortshift-144147/

Just PM me if you have any questions or if you're interested.

raphy3

How does the SS work, is it easy to put in yourself or does it take an army of mechanics? I know nothing about this thing but if it makes shifting gears easier for me I'm all for it.

Zephyrzone

I've also seen the VR at the cabinet shop, I'm interested who owns it- doubt they are on the forum. I guess they work there.

I'm on RT 1 all the time, I work off of it. You've probably seen me- VR, GT, spoiler, no front plate and the back one says "VELOC8Y"

thebiggdaddy

It definitely makes shifting quicker especially from 1st to 2nd. So, the throws are reduced compared to the stock shifter. There is a DIY on installation. It's not hard at all. Just follow the directions, and you're set. Just PM me if anyone is interested.

raphy3

So my 8 is in the shop right now for several issues. When it gets out if everything works right I think I'll buy the SS if no one else has taken it by then. If they try and screw me and I have to pay X amount of money I prolly won't be able to.
Who knows, they seem like the types to find a million or whatever reasons, "see, no that isn't covered by warranty either, because, see..." Hope they prove me wrong!

blackenedwings

Wow! I saw three RX8s today, thats a record for me. I saw the first one, VR in front of Ops 1 on Fort Meade, first row or so, looked really nice, but I was late for a meeting so I didn't get to stay and stare. My meeting was over at NBP1 and I saw 2 more 8s in the parking lot there, another VR and a titanium grey. Those Ft. Meade folks will probably see mine mostly in the airplane lot because I'm in late and there are never closer spaces.

Im_DANomite

iTrader: (1)

i live in Ft. Meade too...how come i don't see anyone??

drifter_d

That's because they're inside the "special" gated area on the south side of Ft Meade - I think the acronym breaks out to Naval Support Activity... yeah right!

blackenedwings

Yay, we are "special"... well I do drive an RX8 so I guess thats pretty special. I had a black 350z park next to me today with two young guys who got out and looked up and down at my Shinka, looked up at me, back at the Shinka, then walked away without saying anything. No sightings of 8s today though.

raphy3

lol that's hilarious.
Back where I went to school the Z was an 18 yr old frat boy car. Wanted one till I saw one on every block and even more than one parked at the same address... covered in bird @^!#. Didn't want to drive down the street and behind me people are saying: look at that guy, his mom bought him a Z for a HS graduation present.
Check on youtube for the Topgear review of the 8; it's great.

Going to get mine back from the shop today, will see what they did.

... Ok just got back from the dealer. Here's what they did:
-PCV ventilation (get rid of annoying condensation on dipstick so I can actually check the oil level without squinting at it sideways)
-replaced front brake pads and resurfaced rotors (got rid of annoying squealing I had; TSB 04-001/06)
-oil change
-rotate tires
-reflash PCM per recall (I didn't complain about lack of power, they flashed anyway, didn't notice an increase in power)
-fixed squeak in clutch pedal when shifting (they didn't put that they did this on the service report; told me it was done however - odd it's not on the service report since squeaky clutch pedal was a TSB)

Here's what they didn't do, because No Problem Found:
-hard to shift into 2nd gear at high RPM
-rough idle
-high pitched whine when engine braking
-higher pitched squeal when accelerating
-sunroof shakes/creaks when fully open and rolling over rougher road.

It looks like the rough idle was cancelled by the PCM flash though, so mark that off the list. The engine is a lot smoother now, less raspy. I had got used to the raspy and jolty nature of the engine and it made me feel close to the metal, so to speak. So I miss that a little. Now it's much smoother and the car feels more elegant. It has a more sleek feel, so all in all I don't mind them doing the PCM flash without asking.

Sure enough, two seconds after leaving I rolled over a bump and and the open sunroof creaked a little. I don't know why they didn't find this. The high pitched noises coming from the car are still there. I have no idea if they're normal and they weren't able to tell me. Perhaps that's what "NPF" means, but it would be nice for someone to say, "Yes, that's coming from the engine/tranny, and all RX-8's make that noise, it's normal."
Perhaps the shifting "problem" is more esoteric. I just think it takes a tad too much effort to shift; I shouldn't have to think about it. The shop guy told me to bring it in again sometime, hopefully the remaining problems will show up for the tech.

Still, not bad, bunch of stuff was fixed on Mazda's dime.

first-rotary04

iTrader: (4)

I have the tranny problem.
grinding gears from 3rd to 4rd gear at high rpms they didn't find anything so I'm gonna keep on trying.

J2R

I can't repeat this enough. Both our 8s are serviced at Rosenthal Mazda. They will go the extra mile to find these problems. Trust me, they know us by name now. It's an hour away from us but we will never go to another Mazda.

Revvittupp

I'll back Raphy up on this new reflash... may not seem like extra power, but it SURE feels A LOT smoother. Idle on up to redline(mostly lower), it just seems like they have better A/F ratios or something becuase it's noticeably better.

Zephyrzone

Agreed. I just posted on another thread about this. I have an '07 and after they flashed it the car feels much smoother, probably due to the increase in OMP flow (oil to the engine). I don't feel a power gain, although I *DO* feel a bump in power at about 8k RPM's which I never noticed before. Could be the ECU just learning again, or it could be a permanent thing. I don't know.

It's so ironic! My daily commute for 4 years was from Owings Mills to Laurel! I lived off of McDonough Rd. and commuted to Cherry Lane off of RT1 by the mall. At the time I had an Acura CL Type S (2001). Awesome car which I still miss. But I bought the Acura because 5 years ago I couldn't afford the RX8. I've always wanted an RX-7 and when I saw the 8 at a car show in 2003 I KNEW I would own one someday. Now I live in Columbia, bought my 8 less than a year ago, and still commute to Laurel. Very nice considering the price of gas!

raphy3

Yeah funny you mention that, because just today I was noticing this extra jolt, seemed to be around the 7500 rpm area, a little after the last ports are supposed to open. Pretty interesting.

Zephyrzone

Yup. We'll see if this continues. I haven't driven much after the flash to know if it's always going to be there. If it's still there in a few weeks I assume it's permanent and not just the ECU learning and adjusting. I was going to get the Racing Beat flash but this new Mazda flash makes the engine so smooth I'm almost afraid to change it. I love the silky smooth feeling. Reminds me of the FC- kind of what I thought the Renesis was supposed to feel like. I absolutely love it. Does anyone know what "letter" this flash is? I thought the last one was 'S' but I'm not sure.

Ok, Sushi King off Dobbin Rd on Saturday night. I saw a 2004(?) VR GT w/navi, two tone interior and a vanity tag (won't post it here out of privacy). It also had an RX8club.com sticker on it's rear window! Anyone know who this is?

Also, the RX8 at the cabinet shop off Snowden River MUST work there, I see it multiple times a week. I think I'm going to put a note on his/her windshield.

04wb8

iTrader: (4)

i got mine about 2 months ago. 2004 winning blue. i live in huntingtown.thats in calvert county.

Revvittupp

Interesting... I go from Pleasant Hill(not quite NewTown, to Montgomery st).

Maqybe I should check my oil more often now... be right back...

RenoIV

I was about to post a sighting in another thread then saw your post here.... I think you will recognize my plate in my avatar?
We've been going to Sushi King for years.... excellent fish.... If you see my 8 there on a Saturday night go to the sushi bar it would be a pleasure to meet you.

I've seen the 8 at the cabinet shop too. I don't recall seeing any posts that show the owner is on the board.

beers

uh8medoncha

Wow a thread for MD RX8 owners.... Guess thats me too! I've had my 2005 8 for about a year now. I live in Silver Spring. Just took it to the shop and found out the previous "owner" (car was supposedly stolen from the lot) had hollowed out the cat. The CEL had waited a 8 months to tell me and has been on and off ever since... lol. I'm the older black gentleman with the fro' drivin around smelling up the place with my catlessness.... ha. I just ordered a high flo cat and borla exhaust from rx7store.net. Anyone have a hfc and passed emissions? I've seen a few others around. I have a "I'd rather be pimpin my PC" license plate cover cuz I'm an old PC gaming nerd. My computer is faster than my 8 but I'm looking to remedy that in the near future. Honk if you h8 me!

Steven Carones

iTrader: (2)

anybody know the yellow 8 that i see drivin around olney? ive seen him about a dozen times already but have no idea who he is

thebiggdaddy

^It says you're located in Portugal?