So i got my 04 Rx8 MT about 3 months ago as my first car, bought it myself, now looking to upgrade it.

Its completely stock, im sure there are plenty of threads for this but none fit my preferences really.

Im always told performance over cosmetic, so performance wise i do not know where to begin. Im limited on money, but give me some decent options please.

Everyone has different opinions on where to begin, most told me a new exhaust, other told me just get the mid pipe for now since an exhaust is pretty expensive for a good one.

I want to get coilovers but for now those are a little on the pricey side, is it worth getting new springs and lowering it slightly?

Thoughts, opinions, flame?

 

AFE SHORT SHIFTER! hands down, then some lowering springs, then a midpipe and a cold air intake

 

I know, i just wish that the short shifter wasnt so pricey for what it is now, it use to be a lot cheaper, and noone is selling used lol. thats why i was thinking mid pipe first since it was pretty cheap.

 

go for suspension! ur cars gotta handle before it can safely go fast
(although 8s are already pretty solid)
strut bar and sway bars. IMO lowering springs are a waste if you plan on coilovers
short shifters are always good too

 

I got my 04 in August and stored it in December.

In those 4 months or so I got an AFE short shifter installed and got some Sprint Springs waiting to be installed in a few weeks when I get her out of storage.

Just ordered an intake today as well.

But most of all, make sure everything is well maintained. I ordered sparks, coils, and wires so at least I can DIY and know the exact time when they were last changed.

I would have done mid pipe but I'm sorta against it due to the permanent CEL it creates.

 

AEM CAI
Lowering Springs
New Ignition
High Flow Cat
Cobb
Forged Aluminum wheels no offset
MS Front bumper
Debadge everything but the rear flying M

Yea...

 

id say add the SS in there and thats a damn good list

 

I agree, YOu're really not gonna get much HP increase anyway with intake, exhaust, or midpipe. The midpipe is simply gonna change the sound of the car making you a target for dick cops. It's gonna smell pretty bad and you're not gonna pass smog.

If this was my car, First thing I'd do would be to change the oil with good quality stuff, Idemitsu, Royal Purple, etc. whatever you want. There's plenty to read on the subject.

Second, change the tranny fuild with red line MT90 and your diff as well.

Third, check the coils and spark plugs. Coils might be ok but spark plugs tend to go prematurely.


There are DIY's for all this stuff, so read up.

If your car is "squatting" I would save up for shocks and springs. Something like tokico D-specs (with cables for the rear) and maybe tein, tanabe, eibach, racing beat or the likes, for springs.

 

Tweek,

First off, congrats on your RX8 purchase. Second, understand that the advice I'm going to give you is after spending a serious amount of money on my RX8 over the course of many years.

The first mistake I made when I got bit by the mod bug was to get my hands on everything I could as quickly as possible. This meant I settled for stuff that was in stock locally instead of waiting and doing my research. In the end it resulted in me buying stuff that I later sold to buy the right stuff. It was a huge headache.

Here's what not to do:

Don't seriously modify the suspension. The rage is to buy coilovers however the majority of coilover purchases result in worse handling than improvements. In the end people tend to slam the car which screws up your suspension geometry and makes your ride quality terrible. With the vast amount of adjustments necessary with coilovers unless you know what your doing I'd highly suggest staying away.

Lowering springs are fine but the RX8 suspension is already VERY capable from the factory. Sway bars and other goodies like that are fine but unless you're doing any tracking of your RX8 the stock suspension will do just fine.

Same goes for your brakes. Unless you're looking for bling items don't bother with cross-drilled or slotted rotors. The stock rotors are fantastic. If anything you could change out to a slightly more aggressive brake pad or stainless steel lines.

Cat-back exhausts do little if anything for power and are simply noise makers. A mid-pipe would free up some exhaust flow but at the moment nearly all the "cheap" pipes make a whole lot of noise. You'll also have to deal with a check engine light.

If you look into intakes I'd only look at the AEM or Racing Beat intake as those are the only two that are not short ram designs and don't alter the MAF tube sizing which screws with the computer.

Next to intakes or cat-back exhausts the two most popular RX8 upgrades are the BHR ignition system and the COBB accessPORT due to their value they bring to the RX8.

I hope this gives you some direction with your purchases. With anything do your research and don't be quick to spend money because you'll end up with stuff you don't want.