Heres the lay down. I bought an RX-8 in april and its completely stock. I have 3 mods in mind. getting a custom exhaust put in for around $350-450, an umnitza intake for $250, and install myself, or a shift kit for $282... i would just like sum advice to help curve my decision. also keep in mind that i autocross.

 

none, do suspension

 

sell the car

jk

short shifter

 

spend money on track days and auto crosses and learn the car.

 

If I had to pick one, I'd say shifter.

 

Ahhh yeah that might be a bit hard to accomlish since that is really expensive and i don't have that kinda money since im only a teenager

and on the autox money dont worry about that i put that aside evry month and more for driving classes

 

You can get a set of Progress Technology adjustable sway bars for a few hundred bucks, and I guarantee you'll get much more bang for your buck with those than an intake or exhaust.
As far as the SS goes, well I don't have one so can't comment; it is on my short list of next mods though.

 

For autox? Make sure you know what class you want to compete in and what limitations are there on aftermarket mods. Then get tires. Get brakes. Get wheels. If you can't afford those right now then get suspension mods (sways then springs/shocks then front strut).

None of your listed mods will help you at all in AutoX and the intake/exhaust may bump you out of stock. Short shifters are fun for normal driving but they don't help you autox or on a road track.

If AutoX isn't your biggest concern then just buy whatever you feel like. I got my exhaust and intake bling recently. Neither one does much on the track but they do sound effing fantastic.

 

If $1000 is your budget, I'd be stingy for a while. I would do really cheap stuff to keep the mod demons at bay while you make a plan. Ultimately, what do you want to do with the car? Don't buy parts that you would replace later on. Cheap stuff that can make a decent difference:
1. Paint your rotors and calipers. The rust on the hubs is an eye sore. This'll cost your maybe $40 on a G2 caliper paint kit (or whatever paint you like so long as it is appropriate for the temperature) and take a few hours. You can learn how to do your brakes while you are at it.
2. Clear corners - super easy to put in. Some color cars (mine is black) make a nice change. Not sure if it looks a lot better on a yellow. This'll run you 50-60 bucks and install is about 10 minutes.
3. Color match fog bulbs to the HIDs - 30 bucks maybe (Hoen) and maybe an hour to do if the wheel lining clips are giving you trouble. Also, LED running light replacements (like 8 bucks). I did this to my front when I was still running fogs and liked the result.
4. Cleaning products - a good car wash, microfiber sponge/shammy, some micro fiber towels, a good wax, maybe claybar the car if it needs it. A clean car is a nice looking car. My first car washing kit - all the crap I bought to do a really nice detailing - was over 100.

Depending on the mileage of the car, you'll be looking at tires sometime. Will you want wheels? Tires + wheels can run you $2k which is above your current budget but the best time to buy wheels is with tires. So plan ahead.

Intake/exhaust is really a "show" mod in that it'll give you some nice sound but not much kit in the pants. I bought an exhaust, so I thought it was worth it.

 

yeah the exhaust gives the rotary beast a nice sound over stock but the intake will not help at all with the numbers make a sucking sound and possible lose hp i would save the 250 and go for suspension on autox it is gonna b ur best advantage

 

umnitza intake is probably the worst intake you can buy along side other ones like weapon r....

 

get the shifter, you wont regret it

 

If you autocross a lot. Usually the first thing you should get is a 2nd set of rims and some race tires.

 

this is good info..

and the short shifter is a great mod. and easy to do..

beers

 

Really good information here:

I've been through the intake gig up and down. Stock intake is really good...just throw in a drop in K&N filter and your good to go. A cold air setup would be nice down the road, but factory stuff works great. Save your money.

Go with an exhaust setup which will drop excess weight from the car. Someone correct me, but I've been told the Racing Beat exhaust drops something like 30 lbs from the car?

I'd suggest the Axial Flow Short Shifter. Hands down the best (IMO) short shifter developed for the RX8. Used ones sell in like 10 seconds around here. You can get one new for approx $260. Makes your shifts feel like firing a bolt action rifle.

If autocross is your aim, look at suspension and brakes. We have a local Phoenix guy who is on Mazdaspeed suspension and wider tires and he's absoluty owning the competition in his RX8.

Best of luck!

 

the race version saves weight, but not 30 lbs. the nice sounding dual is heavier than stock..

did someone mention that the afss is a great mod?

beers

 

the race version saves weight, but not 30 lbs. the nice sounding dual is heavier than stock..

did someone mention that the afss(that is a link) is a great mod?

beers

 

Racing Beat Sways FTW!

 

short shifter, self install = win

 

Tires, tires, tires!

 

ive pretty much made my decision and decided to save up for the GReddy cat back system and after that nething else i put on it will be suspension uprgades,then short shift, then header, and eventually a turbocharger, but that probably wont be till i get outa college. and btw thanks for the help everyone...

 

If you are going to go turbo, do not buy an N/A exhaust manifold. Any turbo kit you buy will have its own manifold and your (likely expensive) N/A manifold will be wasted money.

 

Spend the night with Elliot Spitzer's hooker. Seriously.

 

Intake for looks and sound. But honestly i'd go for the shifter if you really want to feel a difference in your car.

 

future turbo or not dont waste your money on headers.....