I have been bouncing around thread to thread and figured a summary would work better. I am looking for rotary techs and mechanics along with people who dedicate their time to legal racing. Basically whoever has knowledge that they can back up.

I wanted iput for the NA RX8 as far as what brands to use and what brands to stay away from. A majority including me spend alot of money trying to gain a couple H.P. and I think alot of us want to know which products exceed their competition so that we dont get upset after hearing we could have bought something more superior
For instance, I have a REVi intake and ram air duct ( is this on the good list?)
SRMotorsports 9.25lb flywheel
SR underdrive power pulleys
Cobb accessport
I know some mods become outdated, so I wanted to add mine in their to see what better has come out. I wanted to know about sway bars, struts, High flow cats, hearder, ignition or basically anything not stock that helps in performance
Like I said, I am hoping for the proffesionals on this posting since I am just an enthusiast and dont have data to go with my opinions and dont want to clutter yet another thread with daily drivers opinions.

 

My friend, about 90% of the members on this forum already know which products work for what no matter the brand. Some of the members knowingly put mods that they know have no performance increase in their car just for the noise/look/ that product provides or just to be different from eveyrone else. With that said, you are off to a great combination of modifications and BTW you have not tried searching hard enough and have not done enough research.

 

Everyone of us is a professional

 

Check out the "Mods I regret" thread. One of the best modification resources on the forum.

 

I'm a profession. You want the good and the bad? Where to start....
Good - you have a desire to mod your car with meaningful changes.
Bad - Your desire to mod is only exceeded by your inability to see what changes are good.
Your solution (same for many others..don't feel alone), getting right to the core of the it...

Stop! Stop looking to buy 'best brands'!
Stop relying on what others say!
Stop following the advertising carrot offered you at every turn!
Just stop. Know there is no "holy grail of NA power" for the RENESIS, stop chasing it.

If you believe that's all wrong, you bought the wrong car, so only choices are get over it or sell it.

Then if you're still here....Start!

1) find/focus on understanding the underlying concepts of that which you seek whether it be HP, handling, whatever (you say HP, but reference sway bars, anything not stock)

2) absorb and internalize knowledge from all sources (people, magazines, books, internet) about that which you seek until you are sick of it, then keep reading and learning (never stop)

3) from within, develop YOUR OWN REASONS for purchasing (or not) a particular mod to suit YOUR OWN purpose. That is, don't so much rely on others, justify it FIRST from your own knowledge, your own understanding, your own NEEDS.....THEN fact check that with others opinions/experiences for verification of what you KNOW!

4) then add a mod, test it yourself, learn from that....rinse...repeat all the above...continue. That is all.

May the knowledge of your journey keep you from temptation

 

How in Gods name am I getting these replies. Thanks Flashwing, yours does help. I just wanted a small thread with Brands and mods of the good and the ugly. Simple as that. I am not retarded. I know how to study up on things but am sick of all the meaningless posts and thousands of threads. Some Brands do have better flywheels than other brands. I am not saying one brand has all better mods than others. If I want a product, I do as much research as I can. I have stopped modding except for the Cobb about 4+ yrs ago and know that other products come out that exceed the old. Quit steroetyping me. I have had my 8 for a very long time. Mods may be pointless to others but they still sometimes do hold greater quality than stock and may squeeze out more performance. If you dont want to post any advice, other than study and dont follow the bandwagon or follow marketing schemes, than please dont post. The information you are telling me is stuff I already know and not what Im asking for. Sorry for sounding like a TOOL but I am 33 and dont need to be schooled on the irrelevant.

 

If you did your research as you said...

You would know that what you have is good.

 

I am not making this post for me really, but for everyone on here.
I am too broke to buy any more mods considering I lost my primary job.
When I get some money, I can justify to the wife for buying at least the BHR ignition considering it may save me money in the long run. I did my research on my goods but that was when they were newer. I am sure bigger and better have come out since there has been alot more time for trial and error and research. I was honestly making this post for a summary of information to save hours and hours going through thread after thread.
I guess even though it sounded like a good idea to me, I am the only one.
If this continues the way it is than I will have to remove it if I only knew how.
I guess I will have to reseach on that

 

If you delete your first post, that will delete the whole thread. On the other hand, I am curious as to what some around here might offer up as viable/valuable mods for the RX-8.

I know I have my opinions and my customers seem to be quite happy with the advice they have received from my whole team.

 

No one here has the resources to try and test each combination, let alone each of a certain type of mod, to know what is the best setup. Much of it is educated guesses. Then again, a all out car may not be the best for a daily driven car.

 

I think the difficulty in this thread is basically your request boils down to "what are the best mods". And if you read a post that was "what are the best mods", you'd probably consider that post white noise internet forum chaffe. There are few brands that really offer a full line-up of items for the 8. You can't go to cobb or aem and buy a ton of stuff. Usually, you go to specific companies for specific needs. Also, the "best mod" thread has been done to death.

Adding complexity is the balance and small degrees of differentiation this car has along with the fairly decent stock components. Lots of people make a solid exhaust for the 8 depending on your auditory tastes but power-wise they are virtually indistinguishable. I love my racing beat, but it probably makes 0-2 hp. Its added weight probably saps more than that.

"I wanted to know about sway bars, struts, High flow cats, hearder, ignition "

Sway bars and struts are going to have significantly varied responses depending on springs, tires, usage, and values. The stock suspension is really good at stock power, weight balance, with stock other suspension components. I went to really fat sticky tires and now the car will body roll like the love boat - need to go stiffer. On the flipside, I'm a boring old man at heart and would avoid going overly stiff. I might go with a set of KW-Variant 3s with an adjustable sway to get stiffer than stock but be able to dial it back some. Also, height adjustable is important to me due to my non-stock weight balance.

High flow cats depend on your EGTs I suppose. I had an RP Supercat and baked it, but I poured a lot of heat into it.

Ignition is one of the weaker stock components so swapping to an aftermarket as far as building a better car is pretty good. I had a Mazsport ignition. It ran well for while I had it, but the company is no longer around (and of nefarious merit). I'm replacing it with a BHR, but have no results of which to speak.

Spinning components - flywheel/pulleys/pressure plates - show decent returns. The engine spins 9k afterall.

So after about 10 minutes of thinking, I typed a lot of words and got nowhere. The topic is too vague.

 

 

I Feel a small handfull are on board here. The reason why there are so many posts on this subject is because of whats happening here in this thread. Quite a few are just giving out theories and assumptions. The reason for this post, was to sum up all the other posts without hearing the daily drivers hopping on here and saying that a certain intake is the best out there because of its sound and it FEELS like its faster.
I wanted some pros who know quite a bit and have the dynos tpo back them up. Alot of you did make great points about how there are just so many variables. I wanted it to be for the common enthusiast who just wants better parts, little more power for the daily driver. Taht is why I didnt want to talk FI or porting, or engine swaps. The majority of us may want to do that but cant fit it into our budget. Lets face it, Mazda did put on some unreliable parts and not only that but I cant speak for anyone else, but I was pretty pissed when I got the letter that said there was less power than initially figured.
I have seen lots of members that I felt fit in this topic. I have alot of respect for the staff of BHR among others. I wasnt trying to be rude by wanting the daily drivers to keep from posting on here. I just new if they did, this thread would quickly turn into the others. I too am not going to say whats great out on the market since I am just an enthusiast.
I just wanted to throw out my idea and hope it took off for the pros but too many people want to question even having this thread.
As far as the angry reply. I felt like I was being talked to like a newbie right out of High school and I could just see the thread going down the shi_ter.
I apologize for trying to have a meaningful thread for the common RX8 driver who can avoid problems by getting modifications for performance. For instance the Clutch pedal reinforcement. Better starter and ignition system to save the Cat and flooding issue.
Obviously this isnt as Black and white as I thought. I should have known better. Track drivers have to use different mods than Daily drivers who want a little more performance.

 

This thread was in teh sh1tter the very moment you posted it in the 2009+ S2 forum area

 

 

Ya I know. What a dumb mistake. I was hurrying to make a new thread and didnt pay attention to the details. I was intending for the series1. I will give this a few days and if it still sucks, its going byebye.

 

I was joking, but the idea that everyone hereis a professional opinionated AH is still valid, ask a question on a forum and you can expect to look for the elusive diamond in a cesspool ...

 

so eloquently put too .

If anyone around here knows how to get the most from an NA 8 it would be you Team . I know you didn't like to give too much away back in the day but surely the time has come for you to open up and share your secrets .
How bout it ?

 

If this is true, please share your wisdom. Alot of us would like to know even though Im broke
I think my setup feels and sounds really nice. I can only say what I feel considering I am not a pro and dont use dynos. Im still waiting for my next calibration from MM but I know hes busy. I mailed the initial data on the 4th. I feel really obsessive considering I keep checking my email.

 

Drop the under drive pulleys from your list. Add BHR ignition in it's place.

 

I am sure this is a dumb question but why should I drop the underdrive powere pulleys? I definitely want your ignition system but need the money.

 

Underdrive pulleys have proven no benefit in performance on the RX8.
Overpriced bling.

 

I feel your pain.... I came on this forum with the same mindset, just lookin for any helpful info from some people who know what they are talking about. But now that Ive been there done that, ive realized that this is basically a forum where there are plenty of people who do know what they are talking about, but most people only know portions here and there since obviously not many people know absolutly Everything.... (and if they do then they probably dont have the time to teach everyone)
So all you will really get is a few small fragments of advice (especially since things really depend on what you are looking to have happen) and that is only from the few people on here who are willing to take the time to tell you what they know since they either 1. view you as a noob so dont really care or 2. have already posted it somewhere or another so dont want to type it all again.
So I wouldnt bother making a post attempting to gather all those fragments into one decent thread, since the chances of that happening are slim. Sure it'd be great to have all the info in one legit thread, but like I said, prob not going to happen. You're much better off taking the time to go through and learn all the info yourself.
Otherwise you can take your chances with the often harsh responces from everyone here not wanting to listen to "yet another person looking for info" thread.

Dont mean to hate on people here or sound like an ***... just puting it how it is

 

^ +1

Topics like this are better off as you doing your own research, sharing what you found and THEN waiting for the opinions to come in.

Perhaps find out what sway bars etc brands are available, look up info on them and then make your own opinion of the what the best is.. share it and see if any reasonable disagreements come in

 

Do not get the agency power underdrive pulley!! I don't know about the other brands but this one is just a waste of money!!...