I have a 2004 Automatic RX-8 and have to keep it as an auto cause I'm only 17 and a Man. would MURDER me on insurance. The Auto 8 has about 189 hp stock, do you guys think I should put mods on the engine to make it a racer or spend all my money on looks to rice it out? I have spent weeks trying to decide but I want to leave it to you guys to help me out.

 

Leave it alone and just enjoy the ride.

 

w3rd... your 17 how do you have money to mod it???

 

Work..

 

No engine mods available now will give you enough power for the money.Mod the exterior,but who says you have to rice it out?put a nice clean body kit, some nice rims,drop it,eyelids,clear corners,clear headlights and tails and your set.

 

Depends on how much your parents are going to let you spend their money. Just tell them that you want to increase the speed of the car and see if they are willing to give you the money.

 

I earned what I got thank you. I graduated with a high-school average of 3.5 and got a full scholarship to University of Florida. I pay insurance and anything extra.

 

Damn, you mean to tell me I coulda bought this car 6 years ago when I could barely get financing for a Honda?? Ferreal???

I work in Real Estate for a living, and write contracts and work with financing all the time. There's no way in hell a 17 year old kid would have been able to get approved on a purchase like that without an insanely huge down payment. Someone co-signed for you, or bought it in their name for you, hence you haven't COMPLETELY paid for what you do own. What I'm saying is that you got it on someone elses credit score and not your own. All my speculation of course... :D

 

moded a auto car?! it's not work on a rotary car.. don't try it.. .u will just waste ur money. even u got turbo or superchager from greddy(I don't know jpness. so just a gruess) that u got 267hp.. but so wat..??! 4 speed auto do noting.. it can't race.. if u really want to race.. evo rs..!!! weee.. so scared... but dude.. u just 17. and drive a 8 already... that's a hell good thing. don't complain..man.. it's cool enough.. when u got skill.. then buy a fast car later. the very first thing for u right now. is.. improve ur driving skill...

 

You can always do a V8 swap.

 

While I also highly highly doubt he's paying for his car himself(note he omits the inital cost of the car and substitutes his gpa instead) I have to use this thread to vent a bit of my frustration.

I'm 20 and went directly into the IT world after highschool. I've saved cash and have a job to afford the car. I'm having a hell of a time getting dealers to realize that I'm not some kid getting a car from daddy- I am here to buy a car and I don't appriciate being looked over as someone just here to drool at a car on a showroom floor.

On a more positive note I'm going to check out one of the pearl RX8's tomorrow and hopefully grab some nice shots of it(as I have been unable to find any real good photos anywhere.)


My advice to VelociRedBeast: Make the car how you enjoy it, take your time and decide for sure what mods you want to do and what you can <b>afford</b>. .. oh.. and learn to drive a stick- I am about to finish a year on an automatic and thats a year I'll never get back :D

 

Yep.... there aren't much in the way of engine mods for the auto or the manual RX-8 right now.

So don't even worry about that.

Do whatever you want to make the car look as you would like, and in a year or so, engine modfications will likely be available. That gives you time to enjoy the car, see what you'd like done to it, and save up the cash.

 

Check the Canadian forum...there are some pics in one of the threads in there of a white RX8

 

If your 17 your parents would have to buy the car, #2 a 17 year old can't qualify for financing so the car would have to be paid in cash, unless parents purchased the car with their credit and you make the payments to them, which in that case they own the car anyways. In any case I still say leave it stock. Did you actually compare insurance rates on a manual versus an automatic? I haven't experienced any differences in my insurance between my manual and automatic MX-5.

 

i am 19 and am paying for college myself. the last time i worked was when i was in 5th grade. my parents put me with a kids moddeling agency and i was in a couple of commercials and alot of department store ads.

you know what they say about assuming...

 

dont worry about the FINANCIAL shyt.... im 17 as well... his a fortunate to drive a RX-8... MAN JUST SHAKE THE HATERS OFF... people get jealous when i drive my uncles S500... Im fortunate... Give him advice whether to spend money on ENGINE or..... thats what his asking..... not if he should be driving a 8 or why/how he bought it... or whatever....

 

hey VelociRedBeast, congrats on your ride and being a young driver of an 8. i'm sure a lot of people here are jealous. it seems you're very responsible and get good grades, so please take care of your ride. do well in school, and in the future you can buy a m3. if you fix the exterior, it won't be "rice" as long as it look clean. there isn't a lot of performance mod yet, but in time it will, just wait. oh last thing, be smart and don't race in streets/highways. good luck buddy!

 

Neither. No offence, but this applies to all 17 year old drivers - you don't know how to drive worth crap! Spend your money on attending performance driving schools - they teach you how to recognize the limits of your car and how to handle your car at the limits - they make you a MUCH safer driver, and not to mention a much faster driver. You can even get an insurance break for taking defensive driving training. Then, invest in replacement tires and brake pads, and do more performance driving schools and track days with instruction. Take as many track days and schools as you can possibly afford. They not only make you a better driver, they make every car you own from then on faster.

(Besides, there's no worthwhile mods for the auto RX-8 that make it appreciably faster).

Regards,
Gordon

 

I would think that statistically vehicles with automatic transmissions make up a larger percentage of car accidents, and therefore insurance would be slightly higher with automatics.

Nevertheless, you can spend a good chunk of money on some nice wheels, tint, suspension, and audio, which is enough to make anyone turn their heads a few times.

Modifying the engine right now won't produce any satisfactory gains. An intake and exhaust might only make the car louder, and perhaps add 5-10hp to the 7000-9000rpm range.

 

if you cannot decide what to do, sounds like you don't really have the urge to do either one. Thus just leave the car as it is until you feel you know what you want.

Why let strangers from the web decide your stuff???

Enjoy the car,
Peter

 

save your money now, and wait for some more mods to come out. That way you can make sure all the mods function properly without problems.

Alex

 

Take this into consideration: Youre a ricer if you have more exhaust decibels than your engine has horsepower. (I stole this off that famous you might be a ricer if... page.)

And tobe honest w/you --- given how loud youcan make the exhaust system sound on the Rx8 versus the horsepower rating on the automatic being under 200 -- theres a very good chance that any type of exhaust mod youperform on the automatic will put you into the ricer category.

I just never saw the point in blowing money to make a car look like or sound like its fast when the performance just isnt there. Id consider ricing the manual but not the automatic. Personally I thinkthe automatic stock exhaust is loud enough given its acceleration. Its already louder than the manual stock exhaust anyway. (The reasonwhy I only mention exhaust related mods is b/c they are basicallythe only type of performance mods that exist rightnow).

 

This post just shows you what the level of intelligence regarding a thread is like from a 17 year old. I seriously feel bad for the educational system we have here in the US. This 17 year old can't even figure out the difference between (His.. and He's). It's not just one incidence of illegible writing.. it's this entire paragraph. Would I really want to let my kid spend more money to make the car I bought them go faster, when their educational level is more like 6th grade?

 

Actually most of us own an RX-8, and purchased it on our own without our parents help. I'm not sure where you assume the jealousy comes from. We are merely stating that he would be wasting his money if he tried to increase the performance of an AT 4 speed, also that he would be wasting more of his parent's money. 3.5 GPA here in So Cali would get you to a good 'average' college. I graduated with 4.2 GPA, and I was ranker 52nd in a class of 502 seniors.

You just told him to be smart, and don't race... what do you think he's asking for when he said.. "Performance mod...Racer or Ricer" in this thread? You can't possibly think he's going to increase the HP of his car and not want to race/drive fast.

I wish people would tell me 'Congrats' to me everytime I purchase something.

"Hey congrats on paying 65.80 on your grocery, have a nice day," Says the clerk at Ralph's.

 

I applaud you for your work and the car is a fine reward. Regarding the mod.'s, leave it alone and then in a few years trade up to the manual.