canzoomer

Stage1 can be turned of with the switch on it.
Then it is indetectable, UNLESS they open the ECU box and actually see it.

I recommend you keep a basic toolkit in your car. Sears sells them for about $49


It takes a 10mm wrench or socket and about 15 minutes to remove it.

Speed Racer

canzoomer,

Please keep us updated with your findings (good or bad) with regards to the K&N intake as many of us have already purchased this mod and also have a Stage I on the way.

BRx8

yes, with all the hype going around and only a few decent reviews other than "this thing ROCKS!", i'm sure a few people with very high expectations are going to be let down...if you think this mod is going to change the car completely, think again...this mod is only for people that venture into the high rev ranges consistently...if you always shift under 5 then you're wasting your money...to make the best use of this mod, practicing some shifting tricks like powershifting and heel and toe to keep the revs up are going to be a must (but then again, the car was designed like that in the first place)

RX-8 friend

You can go directly to stage 2 from stock. If you just want to drive on the street, I recommend you try stage 1. I think it's the best solution for those not into "extreme" modifications. It's a very good street mod. Stage 2 can still use a cat (Random tech one for now). Installation of the cat. is easy and should cost you 1 hr or less at a shop (it bolts in). Be aware stage 2 is not fully developed yet and some details may change.

guy321

I installed mine lastnight, and drove 114 miles so far.... I didn't notice the speed increase at first.. but then I went up an onramp in second gear and was amazed!!! It's definately faster.. unfortunately I think I want more.. been playing too much Need for Speed Underground...

Gas Mileage.. 114 and I'm at the 1/2 way mark.. ALOT of redlining, about 70% hwy. It seems better than my normal mileage.. At this rate I should have to fill up later tonight, so I can give a more accurate mpg.

shebam

Thanks for advice. We installed Stage I this morning -- only hard parts were (1) in taking off the battery cover I managed to break off the left back tab in my impatience with that clugy thing, and (2) as others have reported, it's hard to compress those plastic expansion screws that hold down wires on either end outside the ECU box. But as they also reported, about the same result can be achieved by prying them up with a flat blade, only slightly worse for wear -- but after a few times that way, the bottom is going to be mangled. Bet Maurice installed something better or rerouted them, as many times as his ECU cover has been on and off.

Like others, I am happy to report reaching the 8,500 RPM bell from 5K much quicker in 1st and 2nd gear, and frustration that I live too close in to D.C. to find out a lot about the other gears -- except that on the Beltway the car seems to gather its skirts and step out easily at 4K rather than waiting until 5K, which does obviate some downshifting. Also when I rev the engine in neutral I sometimes hear a little exhaust boom or pop that I never heard -- can see why Mazda thought their engine was a little too hot for the standard car. I thought I'd stop w/Stage I, but now have to read up on exhausts.

Maurice, we who are about to go fast salute you.

sferrett

Ok so now I'm getting excited... counting the days until Mr. Fedex delivers for me... Come in spinner!!

Jan 23, 2004 10:19 pm Departed FedEx sort facility VANCOUVER, BC

success07

Just an FYI folks - 5 inches of the white stuff fell in Columbus last night with 5 more inches due for tomorrow. Jason and I canceled the dyno runs for this weekend but we'll try and get together again as soon as possible.

Be careful out there if you have to drive this car in the snow. I had to last night and it was HORRIBLE!! I wasn't expecting the bad weather until later last night but unfortunately that was not the case. Anywho, just wanted to keep you informed.

racerdave

The "snow tire" thread in the wheels and tires forum is a sticky for a reason.

Japan8

As everyone here is obviously a rotorhead, you may not have considered this...I am wondering if the problem with the K&N intake is caused by... how do I describe it... a "lip" on the intake are the air comes in from the filter.

The Ford 302 V8 had this problem in the aftermarket. When people would only upgrade the MAF and not the throttle body (if I remember correctly)... the air would come in from a larger "pipe" to a smaller one, thus a "lip" was formed at the junction. Muscle Car mags suggested grinding the "lip" down so that it would "ramp up" from the larger to the smaller. This was supposed to give a nominal performance benefit. I've been wondering if this is partially the cause of the idle and noise problems.

Just a thought for anyone with the K&N who'd like to at least pop off the filter and check at the fitting at the joints. Then again I could be totally off... but I figured it's somewhere to start.
:D

canzoomer

Could be that, or lots of things.
Most likely I think would be simple turbulence.
If you get a vortex forming you will see some fairly big differences in air velocity.
It's a MAF, which is a flow sensor, and is easily affected by turbulence.

Could be a lip, could be the shape of the intake causing uneven flow, could be lots of things.

Only testing will tell.

Best way is to build a transparent copy of the intake tube and do a smoke test. This will show vortices and pressure spots, but is a difficult thing to do.

Japan8

I agree... hard to really know what's causing the problem. I've thought that at least the noise was caused in part by air turbulence caused in part by a "lip." I've also wondered what differences between the K&N fliter and RE's product account for the differences n sound volume and now this problem that we are seeing...

Yep... it's gonna come down to testing...

Omicron

Good thought Maurice. Anyone out there work in the plastics industry?

Speed-ER doc

Another update:

The more I drive with the Stage 1, the more I love it. Feels like a turbo kicks in at 5300 RPM (esp in 2nd gear). Other gears pull harder too, but second is a blast!

15 MPG on half a tank of redlining around town 1/4 city to 9K, 3/4 highway to 100 MPH. Usually get 17 MPG without nearly as much redline but same route. I find I am redlining everywhere and driving faster in general, just to enjoy the pull.

Also cool, as stated earlier....about 80% less black goo in the tailpipes!

Dropped it off at the dealer for oil pan replacement and left the mod in and on - hopefully they won't notice, but I don't really care. This makes the car so much better, Mazda should be ashamed of themselves for screwing with the car to begin with.

Thanks to Canzoomer for his hard work and professionalism, and hope the rest of y'all get yours soon. I also look forward to reading more impressions from other early adapters. :D

shebam

"Dropped it off at the dealer for oil pan replacement and left the mod in and on - hopefully they won't notice, but I don't really care. This makes the car so much better, Mazda should be ashamed of themselves for screwing with the car to begin with."

Please bear in mind that when they did my oil pan replacement they re-flashed the ECU without telling me until afterwards! Don't know what effect this could have on Stage 1 if it is turned on when this happens.

syntrix

It is reported that the reflash does nothing to the maps, rather it fixes a potential issue for a check engine light or soft codes.

You should be fine, as there is no "power" reflash yet.

Maximus

do you think mazda will comeup with a 'power' reflash TSB some time soon?

thanks.

murix

A reflash should never hurt a piggyback as it is simply intercepting and modifying the signal from the stock ecu to the injectors based on a percentage. The stock ecu is unaware of its existance. There are no codes that would be returned from the stock ecu to indicate otherwise. The only way they should even know it is there is if someone were to physically take a look.

hootersam

I installed a K&N Typhoon back in November and the only problem I have had with it running roughly was when I'd pull up to a stoplight after about an hour of driving. Everything seemed secure, but I found that the clamps had loosened slightly. Once I tightened them, everything was just fine. Felt a little foolish cause I was so worried I took it in to a dealer even though in the K&N instructions it says periodic tightening is required.

AutoBahnRX8

HooterSam,

Are you using CanZoomers Stage I?

Omicron

Welp, I got mine late yesterday, then installed it today after work. Here's my impressions:

The quality of workmanship of the unit itself is excellent. It's a simple silver box, about 8"x5"x1" with a set of plugs on the underside and 3 fat plug connectors coming out of it. I followed CanZoomer's directions (posted in his forum) and had zero serious problems installing it. Hardest part was getting the plugs connected, as the wiring is tight. Mine also came with the "disable" switch (phew! I would been upset if I'd gotten one of the ones without it) and I rubber banded this switch in the "on" position to avoid an accidental turn off that some have experienced.

So after all was installed, I took ReX for a spin. Took it easy for the first 10 minutes or so, and did not note much - EXCEPT that the engine definitely seemed to run smoother.

Then I got ON it - BIG time, and woah! What a difference. There is a definite SURGE of power that comes on around 6000 RPM, and the car pulls MUCH more strongly to redline. Also noticed that I could BURN the tires power shifting from first to second (before they just gave a healthy chirp) then spin them again from 2nd to 3rd... and amazingly, I could chirp them going from 3rd to 4th. W O W!!!

However, good as it is, this is not the panacea of all performance mods. It's an improvement - BIG time - but those of you who are hoping it'll feel like a rocket has been strapped to your car will be disappointed.

So in summary, I *love* this mod and feel it's worth EVERY penny, but I think I'll be going to Stage 2 when it's released. :D

Oh, and BTW, I plan to GTech time it "on" and "off" over the next couple of days, and will be heading to get a real dyno done sometime in the next couple of weeks.

THANKS MAURICE!!! YOU ROCK!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

RXhusker

Omicron -- let us know if you find any issues with the RE intake (like the K&N). Ihave been waiting to pick up the intake until after I get Stage 1. Good advice on the expectations. I view Stage 1 not so much as a big performance mod -- more like just getting it back to intended "stock" -- like it was supposed to be.

Are you still loving your intake? How is the sound?

Speed Racer

Paul,

I received mine yesterday too. Like you said, build quality is first rate and the car definitely runs smoother. With the months of hype it does have a hard time living up to those expectations. I'm sure that it is performing exactly how Canzoomer has stated but some how, after reading all of the hype, the human psyche just expects the car to sprout wings and fly at 5k RPMs . LOL

Instead there is a nice surge in power at 5k RPMs and another around 7.5k RPMs. This is noticeably better than stock and now it finally pulls hard all of the way to redline. Nice!

There was one odd thing that I noticed. With the car running smoother my Borla exhaust has lost some of its edge. Instead of growling & burbling it just purrs all of the way to redline. It feels like someone hit the mute button. :p

syntrix

If there are locals with new intakes, I have a loaner magnahelic gauge coming very soon!

If you know what that is, you would be begging vendors to send me free intakes for testing, and I should have Stage 1 to play with sometime in the future, too!

For the lazy, a google linky:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...=Google+Search

Omicron

I just got my car back where I can drive it hard again because of the oil cooler hose leak (see this thread for more info on that), and have not yet put my RE intake back on. I will be doing so today or tomorrow though, and will let you know.

And yes, up until I had to take it off to get the car repaired, I definitely WAS loving it. It'll be interesting to see how it does with the CZ stage 1, as some have reported problems with the Stage 1 and the K&N intake.