Hi all,
New to the forums and new to owning an RX-8.
I just purchased a 2005 model. The car is everything I hoped it would be. It is 100% stock atm, and was looking for some advice on first steps to customizing two aspects:
wait! before anyone laughs please realize this is my first car I am customizing and might be a little ignorant on some of the lingo and what is or isnt feasable

One being performance, looking for baby steps on squeezing more hp to get the 350z owners so I only see them in my rear view mirror. (my co-worker has a 350z and talks crap 24-7 about the rx-8)

Second, I did not get the Nav system because I wanted to get a custom TV installed in that spot. To my dismay none of the local sound shops are williing to undertake this. They say I have to get the dash piece from mazda that is cut for the nav system, which mazda doesnt sell.

Any tips or advice for the beginning enthusiest is greatly apreciated

 

Try mazdaparts.com for the dash piece.

 

Welcome to the forum. I hate to break it to you, but anything short of FI (forced indution), will not match the 350z in terms of speed. It really sounds like your coworker is hating on the 8. Funny thing is that every auto mag that pitts the 8 vs. the 350Z has the 8 coming out on top. Maybe this why he is upset?

 

Did you say you have an automatic transmission? Beating out the 350Z is unlikely then, as it doesn't have as much "oomf" as the 6 spd. But like momo said above, a number of mags prefer the 8 to the Z. Print out a few articles and leave them on your coworkers desk. :D

 

As for the custom TV try searching the Interior audio and electronics forum (you will find everything you ever thoght possible and more has already been done by the folks on this forum and a LOT of very good DIY (do it yourself) guides to everything from installing the custom tv to making the sound from a custom computer play from the OEM head unit.

As for performance well in tearms of $$$ the only two ways to get the performance of your car better than the Z are:
1 (not my favorite idea) NOS
I know, I know before everybody starts flaming me, its the first answuer that every rice boy from the F&F parts 1 and 2 will give you but it is also the most economical way of squeezing more HP aou of the renesis withowt major mods. Not shure how it will afect the life of your engine.

2 FI as they already said try looking at the Gready turbo kit it's more $$$ but it has already been proven to work like a charm for the guys in this forum and most of them will swear by it like the bible.

OPTION 3) Inore the stupid a$$ coments by 8 haters. The Z might have the advantage on a straight line but on the twisties the agility of the 8 will have the Z trying to keep up.

 

Amen to that. This happened to me while driving on Mullholland drive a while back I was driving and a "350Z" came up behind me and tried to egg me on. (I have an AT) and I dropped it in to 2nd and took off around turns and when I looked back the "Z" was having a ton of trouble keeping up with me. The best part was the look I got when he caught up with me at a traffic light. can you say mean evil eye. :D that made me sooooo happy.

 

We live right by each other Royal

 

Have fun with it but relax about the 350Z's.

There'll always be someone with a faster car than you. However, you can content yourself with the knowledge that yours looks better and is truly unique.

As long as you're smiling when you step out of it, you've already won the real contest. :D

 

Upgrade your suspension a little (sway bars, coil-overs, or strut tower bars) and take your friend with his 350Z to the track. If you're a good track driver, you'll never see him in front of you.

 

it was only a matter of time until someone brought up the "twisties" crap. face it you got a car thats slower than the Z. don't care what you say to try to chage the way you want to feel about it. Whether you can hit that apex better or come out of a corner with better speed. I mean don't get me wrong on this i love my car and everyone elses 8 i see out their. but Z's are fast twisties or not. enjoy your car for the smoothness that it takes you from 0-60+ or whatever your speed may be. the ease of fitting your friends and the comfort of a drive on most any roads in the city without going home to a donut and your favorite show on T.V. You can make your 8 fast. but of course we all know its not going to be as cheep as making a srt-4 to a 11 sec car (excuse my example) but the point of the matter is that everyone has pride in their cars. and no one wants to admit that they have a bad car, a slow car, so what im saying is have some pride in your ride. enjoy it and who cares what they got to say. you both have a nice car. twisties and straight aways or not. BTW the 350 got the same time as the RX-8 on top gear when THE STIG drove them. in the end my choice will be the 8 over the Z anyday. so welcome to the forums and i hope you enjoy every drive to come.

 

Yeah... so isn't that saying that the RX-8 and 350Z are JUST as fast as each other with the same driver? Hmm.... >.< And yeah I bring up the track, cuz drag racing is just gay.

 

I hope you bought the 8 because you love it, not because you want to outrun other cars. If you bought it for any other reason you got the wrong car. It's a statement that you prefer class and that you are more mature in you auto preferences. Getting the AT was definitely a step in the wrong direction if you mission was to 1-up your friend. Enjoy your car for what it is and don't worry about who you can outrun.

 

I got the car because i loved it from the first time i saw it. Rotary, quick, nimble, beautiful, are all reasons i got the car. If you really feel its not fast enough, there are some small mods you can do, but you wont outrun the Z. As for the friend talking crap, i had one kinda like that. He never really said anything good about my car, then he got an 02 mustang and started bragging about it all the time. I have the revi, so one day i told him to come with me. I opened the hood and revved the engine to 8 or 9 k right in front of his mustang. well, ill tell you right now, that shut him and his dad the F%$# up. I love the car for what it is, not what it can beat in drag.

 

Just go to a club with your friend, have him drive his Z and you take the 8. Now let him take 1 girl home with him and you take home 3. Then see who talks crap. :D

 

Thank you for the ideas. I do Love my 8, and I did test drive a 350 before I bought the 8, didnt feel right to me. the 8 is great =)

I do not have an AT, I have the 6 sp. If I were looking for nothing but speed I would have looked at the evo or srt4 as well, but class, and "the feel" were my main objectives. Trying to squeeze more hps out of my 8 isnt due to envy of the 350. Nothing wrong w/ wanting a little more oomph in the ride=)
I dont always smile when im stepping out of my 8 though, but im grinning like a cat when i step in, lol.

Is FI the same as the turbo packages? both were mentioned my several posts.

and yes search+the posts in this forums are elite, I should have looked a bit more before i posted this thread.
Thanks all for the welcome.

 

FI means forced induction- where something forces air into the engine. Turbos and superchargers are the two primary devices used.