I am thinking of using the RX-8 for an occasional track event – maybe four track days per year. I’ll be in green group or novice group. If so, what parts need to be upgraded? Will the transmission hold up?

 

Driver, Brake fluid

Brake pads...after the fist couple...
Maybe tires next....


Otherwise you are good to go

 

Make sure to keep the oil topped off. I top off after 30 minute session and go through about 1.5-2 quarts each day at the track.

And depending on the track and temperature, make sure to keep an eye on your tires.

 

It is a great HPDE car! DOT4 brake fluid, higher temp brake pads, and take the baby seat out of the back and you are good to go.

Of course once you start driving it you'll want to do other stuff.

 

My trans has 126,000 miles on it. I have also used my 8 for about 20 HPDE events.

 

i agree,

green or blue. change the fluid to a good track fluid. and enjoy..

drink lots of h20. keep an eye on the temp gauge, and oil fluid level..

beers

 

15 track days on this car.
Brake fluid freshly bled, trackable pad (I've been using Hawk HP Plus or Porterfield R4S or EBC Yellow to keep from having to swap pads out after track days), and enough tread on your tires are all you need to sustain laps.
A performance alignment goes a long way in pointing you in the right direction.

Only 2 cons- 1st, keep the fuel from falling under 1/3rd tank. The way the tank is designed, one does experience hesitation if the fuel level is low. 2nd, you need to learn to drive momentum if you don't know so already (no torque!).

 

wow,

1/3. you are way ahead of the game.. it can happen at 3/4 depending on outside influences..

btw, have you noticed it on only left hand turns, and certain tracks?

beers

 

The RX8 is fine for open track days in stock trim. However like any car you should perform preventative maintenance like others have mentioned in this thread.

A few things you NEED:

-Keep the fuel level up. The stock fuel pump is on the left side and spirited driving can cause fuel sloshing and the engine to sputter/stutter. Mostly in left-handers as mentioned earlier.
-Watch the outside of your front left tire for wear. A good tire pressure gauge will help you manage this. Rotate your tires to maximize the life of them.
-Good air flow to the radiator. A little racing trick is to take some 2" x 2" window foam (usually gray in color) and seal up the areas around the radiator. You'll want to foam up the areas around the radiator so that the inlet air HAS to pass through the radiator and not AROUND the radiator. Available at the hardware store for $5
-You'll want to gently shift the car. Especially the 3 to 4 and 4 to 3 shifts. The transmission is fine as long as you don't try to "speed shift" it. Shift GENTLY. We have 5 transmissions and I can tell you from experience that these gears see lots of use and are more vulnerable to hard shifting.
-Drive the car well under 9,000 rpm


A few things you WANT to get more out of your track experiences. Note: WANT, not NEED.

-Fresh brake fluid and an oil change
-HAWK HPS brake pads front and rear. They are a great street/track pad. These cars have AWESOME brakes.
-Something like the CG-Lock http://www.cg-lock.com/track.html Cheap---$50
-A new alignment with more camber. WANT it, don't NEED it. The problem becomes tire wear if you do a lot of street driving.
-An aftermarket radiator

Things you don't NEED and shouldn't want:

-R Compound tires
-Shocks, swaybars, coil overs, lowering the car
-Track specific alignment
-Turbo
-Short shifter
-Heavy Duty clutch and pressure plate


The RX8 is a really great track car. So great that you can push it hard and expose some of it's weaknesses. Mainly these are grip and suspension related. You'll have to push it pretty hard to expose these weaknesses. For 4 track days a year you'll be fine with the car in stock trim.

 

Check the brake fluid and definitely bleed your lines. Most people just change the fluid when they bleed but if this is your first time on the track you probably don't even need that. Still it's a great precaution. If your pads are over 30k miles you may want to check them as well but the OEM pads are fine for a day or two of light track driving.

Beyond that you should be fine. The 'sloshing' happens coming out of right or left hand sweepers. It's really not a big deal but you don't want it to hamper your day so if you're below 1/2 a tank at the end of a session fill it up.

Honestly though this car is perfect for learning on right out of the showroom so don't sweat the car much. Go out there and concentrate on learning how to really get the most out of your car.

Most of all have fun.

 

Don't forget to rub one out before you go...oops wrong thread...

 

Being in the green or novce groups, and for occassional track duty, as you indicate you will be, you don't need to much of anything. If your novice groups are anything like the ones I've seen over the last 5 years at track, virtually any car, stock or better is more than sufficient to be on track.

The Rx-8 is exceptionally well appointed in stock form. It was designed as a sports car with a high safety margin in all performance aspects. I drove the stock car w/Dot 4 fluid up thru intermediate group on multiple tracks from '04-'05. I'm aware of a local instructor for the BMW Club that drives a bone stock '07 RX-8. he says he has no problems with it that way. It's mostly about the driver. I good driver can overcome the minor deficiencies of a decent car like the RX-8 with driving skill.

Just to err on the side of safety, change out the stock brake fluid for something better, and always use decent tires in good condition. Beyond that, checking fluids & pressures often and having a helmet (and of course your friendly instructor by your side), you should be good to go!

Keep the sunny side up

 

Anybody using this thing for AX? Does it help?

 

Great comprehensive write up.
Only gripe I have is that the HPS may be OK for the first outing, but a jump to HP Plus would be highly recommended once more speed is being shed.
HP Plus has an extra 100 degrees up top in range, plus the friciton curve is meatier in the upper range. The HP Plus do dust more on the street, but they aren't as harsh on the rotors as people make them out to be- I've been monitoring rotor wear with these for 2 years of street/track duty and it's extremely acceptable.

 

Both left and right turns. These come to mind;

Coming out of T16 at Sebring.
Coming out of T9 at Homestead.

 

It helps keep you in one place in your seat well. AX I would assume it's useful....for track work it absolutely is.

 

Thanks guys. This is great news. Sounds like I don't really need anything expensive to track the RX-8. I'll be using stock street tires as well. Question on the shifting. For track HPDE use, what rpm do you guys shift at?

EricMeyer, great write up. I got cg locks. They are great. I checked your website. Looks like you guys just moved into RX8 this year from spec Miata. How do you like racing the RX8 versus the Miata?

 

You should be shifting around 8300-8500. You can go into redline without problem but too much and you start risking overheating. The heat generated between 8500 and 9200 is significant. The car still has power over 8500 but you're outside the main powerband so there's no point in going there if you don't have to.

But don't worry too much about where you're shifting at. You'll figure that out towards the end of your HPDE not at the start. Just try to keep it above 4500. If you slip under that you will put your foot down and not get a damn thing in response.

Also not sure if it was mentioned but get your oil changed with something better than 5w20 (5w30 should be the minimum on the track). You should also have at least one quart handy because you'll go through at least that during the HPDE. Check it a lot throughout the day and keep it topped off.

Make sure you have a decent torque wrench too and check your lugs before going out on the track.

 

Im at 25k, brake fluid should be changed at 30, but I have my first hpde in december so i should probably go ahead and change it, right?

but... to what brand/kind? I've read DOT4 is the way to go, but which one?

I've also read a bunch of conflicting things about HOW to change it, so, whats the best way.

I will also be swapping to HP plus pads, which is why I figure i should do the brake fluid while Im at it, to lessen the amount I'll have to do at 30k, and I'll be riding on street tires (yoko S drive) because i think my R tires are too soft for track (Z214 C70). I'll probably buy a medium compound next time.

 

Right. DOT4. There are plenty of options but the easiest is usually just to go for ATE Super Blue. It'll meet your needs and you can get the same exact fluid in a different color and alternate between the two so you know when your fluid is switched out. Your fluid should be a amber color right now. If for some reason it's blue then go for the ATE in amber.

I'm not sure what conflicting things you've read but put the car up on 4 stands, take the wheels off, and with a helper who listens to instructions work the pedals. Basics are bleed the master first, then move to the wheel farthest from the master (Right Rear) and work your way around the car. Work each wheel until the fluid changes color. Add fluid after each bleeding. Finish by bleeding the master again.

It's really pretty easy. Takes longer to get the car up and the wheels off then it does to bleed the brakes. If you don't have a helper you'll need to spend a little extra on a nice bleeder that can do the work w/o the pedals but I'd recommend bringing in a friend (especially one who's done it before) or training a significant other.

There are a lot of good threads in the DIY forum and other forums that you can check out for more information. And there's nothing special about bleeding the 8 from other cars so you can get good information from anywhere on the Intergoogletubeweb.

 

I've used one in all my autocross cars and love it!

 

Cheap, yes. Compatible with the RX-8? No. Unfortunately I didn't check that before I ordered mine. Doh.

Wait, what?

 

4 stands? I've got two. would you recommend or NOT doing rear of car, then jacking down, then jacking up the front?

also, can i get the fluid at autozone/advance/napa etc, or somewhere online cheaper? and how much, 1 Litre?

 

So far this year I have 546 miles of track time and a total of a little over 1200 miles since August 2006 and my car has had no tranny or engine repairs in that whole time frame.

 

Well I'd recommend shelling a few more dollars and getting another set of stands (ideally a matching set to your current stands). If you ever change your tranny/diff you need 4 stands but it's not necessary for brake fluid. If you're doing your own work on your car more often having 4 makes life a little easier.

But if you only have two then do the rear first and then the front. Order stays the same (master, rear passenger side, rear driver side front passenger side, front driver side, master).

Yes. You can get quality DOT 4 fluid from any automotive shop. I believe there's talk about it in this forum under a recent HPDE track day brake pad discussion but really all you need is something with a good, high temperature tolerance. SuperBlue is just nice because it comes in two colors so knowing when the new fluid has replaced the old fluid is a little easier. ATE is better than the OEM in terms of tolerance but there are better fluids out there than ATE that just don't have the 'gimmick' of alternating colors.