A few months ago, I bought my RX-8 because I wanted to save money compare to the other cars I had. I bought it knowing the fact that it will be slower than the last couple cars I owned, but I have been extremely disappointed at how slow it is at the track. Since the purpose of this car is to save $$$ for a year or two, I just want to see what budget mods are out there for me to at least close the gap for next year.

Yes, tires will be upgraded for next year. I am thinking about what other ways I can improve on it without spending too much money.

 

Free mod. Gut it. Pull everything out for the track. And replace your seat with light race seat. Sure you will spend a couple of hours before and after every event, but it will cost you nearly nothing and will help with acceleration, braking and cornering.

 

budget + performance?

oxymoron?

 

When you say 'track', do you mean road course or drag strip? I do not find the 8 slow on a road course.

 

I agree, on a road course an RX8 out of the box with a good set of R-compounds and track pads is not a slow car.

 

Who exactly are you trying to beat?
I knew my car wasn't going to beat a corvette Z06 at the track before I bought the thing.. I think its plenty fast and a lot of fun at the track.
I don't know if I can beat the other guys in my class, a nissan 350Z and an 89 Corvette, the vette is a good 4 seconds faster then my 1:31 laptime, that's hard to make up. I did just start in april and have a lot to learn yet

 

If your fat you could lose weight.

 

What were your previous cars?

Unlike an Evo or a 350Z or a Corvette where you can use power to mask mistakes and come up with good lap times, the RX-8 is a momentum car. Momentum cars will really teach you to minimize unecessary braking and perfect your line through the corner. You'll have to learn to maximize speed wherever you can and you'll need to work on shifting the car a lot more to keep it in the relatively narrow powerband.

Tires and alignment are my first suggestions. A stock RX-8 is pretty softly sprung, but don't confuse that with slow. The stock suspension works very well. Once you've dialed in the alignment and added decent tires, work on the driver (this is the best mod, since it carries over to any other car you drive). Seek out instructors with experience in momentum cars, like Spec Miatas.

 

Your best performance mod right now would be just get as much track time as possible, or take some track driving lessons.

There is no point in spending money to modify your car when you really aren't extracting its full potential yet. The RX8 is a great car out of the box, so learn to extract its full potential before adding parts.If you only had it a few months, you still aren't extracting at least 60% of what the car has to offer. By modifying it too soon, you are never going to properly learn your car.

Take a performance track driving course, and/or have someone experienced ride with you, or have an experienced person take you around in your car. Do as many lapping days as you can and focus on your driving firstly.

You say the RX8 it slow at the track? I politely disagree, and say its the driver that needs the work. I guarantee you that if you do this, you will soon realize that your most valuable mod, is the driver.

 

exactly

Speed is money. How fast can you afford to go?

 

I didn't think the RX-8 was all that mod friendly to begin with, there are other cars that will take to cheaper mods much better..

 

he said without spending much money, track time=a lot of money. Also there are things that can make you go a lot faster without becoming a better driver....tires comes to mind and is the single largest factor.

 

You bought the wrong car to save money.

 

I should have rephrased my word. The car is slow relative to cars in its class. I am not saying it is a Miata, but it is not exactly a car that can put up fights with S2000/350Z/EVO/STI stock. I know a lot of it goes to the way the classes are formed and the mods allowed, but it seems to be an uphill battle no matter where you go other than parking lots. I am just hoping for something that can improve quite a bit w/o blowing my budget. With the turbo cars, you get power easily by doing simple things. In the Z cars, you pick up tons of corner speeds by doing a control arm to add camber. I am hoping there is something in the RX-8 that can provide a great bang for the buck. Brakes and tires are already done (although the R888 I have left a lot to be desire), but for planning purposes, just want to see what will give me a good bang for the buck in limited budget.

One of the poster is right that I have to completely relearn from driving a HP car to a momentum car. At the same time, the off corner speed is just sad on the RX-8. I have tried using different gears and rev the **** out of it, the result was pretty much the same. As soon as the car gets on power, it is already over. Apex speed, entry speed, they all don't matter when you can't get the speed off the turns

 

basic mods will make you competitive with stock 350z s2000 etc
What are you allowed to do ?

 

 

You are right that I definitely left some times off the table, I am 100% sure of that as I am still getting use to the car. Of course there is only so much I can do when I am almost cornering the same speed as my other cars and running nearly the same lines (did win a few TT back in the days). The difference in acceleration is so great that there is only so much I can do, it also doesn't help that two of my R888s are shot! Still, I wish I have 40% left out there to pick up off the car. I have run against a similar RX-8 equipped with slicks, it is noticeable quicker and I wll definitely do a set of slicks next time. Even with slicks, I will still need some extra help if I want to keep my pace with my competitions. I am just looking at every option to see what is worth or not worth doing.

http://img411.imageshack.us/i/vir3carcompare.pdf/ Red is the RX-8....

 

What basic mods will allow me to pick up 3+ sec over a one minute course. I can probably pick up one second going to a full slick than my half slick, you have to tell me where to find 2 more secs without blowing major $$$ into the car. Of course this is assuming the other car stays stock

 

Sway bars will give you more stability.... Drop the car... get some Tein S tech's.

Wtv that's all im going to say.

Get a midpipe too, it'll help you out alot.

 

I don't know about 3 seconds but I know I could keep up with a stock 350z on a 1/2 mile straight with the few NA mods I had .
Midpipe + freeflow exhaust
Tune (accessport)
lightweight flywheel
Racing beat duct sealed into stock intake with k&n drop in
AP underdrive pulley
I also used to remove any excess weight that didn't take too long to do (rear seats, tools, floormats etc.)

 

I dont track my car but i do spend a fair amount of time on back roads adn can tell you that a good set of sway bars will do wonders on how this car handles. i bought a set of racing beats and upgraded the front end links for mine and i could tell a night and day difference in how it behaved. I'd say if you were able to take the corners faster than your competition it would cut down on your times and help with the lack of acceleration compared to your competition.

My .02 anyway.

 

I know it is three + seconds because I owned and drove both cars with same brakes and similar tires. The acceleration difference is pretty much what I showed you, the Z also feels less scary through the steady state turns as it has stiffer suspension. The RX-8 feels a lot nicer in the transition though.

I would like to keep the car emission legal, so have to pass on the midpipe. My car is 3200lbs (vs 3440lbs on my Z)exactly with full tank and me at the track. I have heard exhaust on the RX-8 really doesn't equate to much, so I don't know if it is worth while. The RX-8 I met at the track did seem to have more power down the straight, but then it could just be because he came off the corner faster. I think all he had was a muffler.

I did think about a RB tune, but is there a true benefit to a stock car with just the flash?

 

Most sports car corners at roughly the same speed, tires are the biggest factors. With a slower car, you could take advantage of how to dive into the turn as you don't have to deal with the heavy braking motion

 

No offense, but most ppl use extra acceleration in their cars to mask driving skill. I'm so glad I started in a slow as car complete with slushbox. Knowing that it is hard to get to high speeds forced me to keep my car at high speeds. With that said
Tires
Sways
and HPDE's. Once you learn how to keep your speeds up during turns, you'll shave off those three seconds in no time.
Lastly, what track are you running at? Some tracks give the 8 an advantage... some really dont.

 

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha yeah stop eating for a month then go back on the track, lol