....,what would you do to it to improve the performance?

I'm in Iraq right now and everytime I'm over here I find something to study up on for the duration of the deployment to pass my free time. the last few weeks i've been poking around in these forums and I've picked up tons just from reading all of your posts(thanks for the info BTW ). So I figured I'd throw out the question, if you had a brand new RX8 and about 12K to make it more fun to ride/race/faster/better handling/etc. what would you do to it and why?

It also just so happens that I'm in the market for a new car and with my re-enlistment bonus I'll be able to buy a new ride and put a few grand into it which is kind of why I've been lurking around here.

Thanks for the info everyone,

Dan

 

Trade it in for a used M3.

 

Hmmmmmm..... i'd go:

petit supercharger stage 2 ( i think around 5k, might be a little more, might be a little less)
larger set of wheels and tires ($2000 to $3000)
exhaust (500 to 1000)
professional tune (300 to 600 to whatever, depends on who, what, and where)
brakes and rotors (500)

then about 2000 to 3000 left to custom the body how ever you please or upgrade the suspension



oh and don't forget, $55 for clear corners

 

first off stay safe over there...i just got back from my second deployment in nov.
hopefully the pettit supercharger kit will be out by the time you get back...i'd do that with the reflash, Tein coil-overs, RB sway bars, greddy strut bars, RB flywheel clutch and exhaust, and a new set of wheels...probably a set of light weight 18" rims. all that would put you close to 12k with install.

 

Any set of brakes and rotors in particular?

 

endless rotors is a vendor here, they have a great set of rotors (slotted and cross drilled) plus pads for about $500 is I remember correctly ( i actual think it's a little cheaper, around $460). Also both will install directly into the stock rx8s brakes.

Take your time and jump around this site, especially the multimedia/picture section, you'll quickly find ways to spend 12k.

 

use it to help pay for it, no need to mod it right off the bat, drive it a while, break it in, kill your payments, then go town on it

 

I guess you can't argue with that advice!

 

Good advice. I wish everyone that owned a RX-8 thought this way. The number of posts saying how financial situations were dictating a sale is rather disturbing in my opinion.

 

well if its paid off i woudl send the car to mazsport and let them boost it for you

 

Yep, stay safe over there.

For the car I would do this :

-aluminum flywheel (Racing Beat/Mazdaspeed/ACT)
-agency power pully (easiest to install, and cheapest)
-air intake (Racing Beat Revi/Ram Air Duct or AEM/Mazdaspeed unit)
-RP Supercat/hi-flow catalytic unit
-Cat back exhaust (for better sound, depending on what you like there are Racing beat, Greddy, Borla, Mazdaspeed, etc)
-Racing Beat ECU Flash
-Zex wet nitrous system

Unless you have a good $10K I would stay away from the turbo system. Fun, but a lot of work, and the possibility of blowing the engine unless you have another $4k to spend in case you blow the engine do do the turbo system. Even the nitrous system needs a bit of work.

Good luck.

 

umm using n20 wouldn't blow a motor...... i drove the type 3 today and it was 100 percent amazing, strong, and reliable.... call them and speak with scott the rest will fall into place

 

If it's not done properly it could blow your motor as easily as a bad Greddy turbo setup.

 

lol... you obviously dont know about mazsport man... he would never let a car out in any other condition then perfect

 

I'm not talking about Mazsport. I know Scott does stellar work. Just a nitrous kit in general. If you buy it, you still need to work with it or you run a risk of blowing an engine still.

And I have seen mazsport's work very nice, but that kit, plus installation, plus the peripheries and you are looking at most of that $12K gone.

I honestly wouldn't do turbo (again) if I had to do it all over again.

 

$5000 for supercharger + $1000 for engine management unit (So you don't blow up your engine) + guages + install + tune

easily $7000 to $8000+ total.

 

If you want straight power:
My vote for biggest bang for the buck is the mazsport type II turbo kit. That's about all you'll get for 12K but you'll get the fastest renesis out there right now for it.

Then get some coilovers, brake pads, and wider tires when you get your next bonus.

If you like the road racing stuff:
1)Spend 2-3K on a skip barber racing school weekend.
2)buy the KW variant 3 coilovers.
3)Get the racingbrake 2 piece rotors and calipers.
4)go to your nearest track and blow the doors off everyone with twice as much power as you and 1/2 as much skillz

 

Thanx for all the ideas everyone but I think I just came up with one that tops em all. I'll just spend 10K on stickers graphics!! I'll make my care look like a sponsored stock car, and when everyone asks to race I'll just be like "yeah I would but I just had the flux capacitor recharged and it takes a coupe days to get it tuned right, you know how it goes, you can't take chances with plutonium and stuff. and besides I wouldn't want to make you look bad in front of your friends so I'll just let ya go this time. Better luck next time." Trust me if there's one thing I can do it's BS my way through anything, and no one will be the wiser, excpet you guys, but I'm sure you won't tell anyone, seriuosly keep it between us and the first rounds on me

On a serious note, how much of a difference do the aftermarket pads and rotors usually make?

 

not that much of a difference in normal driving, the stock brakes are excellent from the factory. The 60-0 and 100-0 are past some cars that are twice or triple the price of the rx8

 

FI - I wish AFE SC was ready.
Exhaust
Suspension
Lighter wheels
Short shifter

 

Stickerz rock!!

 

What a question to be asked. I just asked myself that question tonight and came up with a list of things that I was going to do. Just bought my 8 so i believe it fits in perfect. I was thinking.........
-Would start with the racing beat full exhaust (near $900)
-Then a new intake (probably a Revi) ($350)
-Set of new wheels (have some good ones in mind but not cheap) ($2000)
-Set of new coil overs (dont know what brand I would go with yet) (at least $1500)
-Pettit Supercharger ( $6000 w/ install and tune)
-Clear corners ($89) and chrome fuel door ($200)

That lands you at almost exactly $12,000 and you would have not only a fast car but it would have the sex appeal and the handling of a champ. Now all I have to do is find 12K

 

Like dillsrotary said not much in day to day driving. Take it to a road course and you deffinitly need some aftermarket pads, stock rotoars are fine. I learned this the tough way this past weekend at Road America.

 

Do you currently own an 8 or are you looking to buy one?

If you don't own one, I'd go about a thorough purchase process to make sure it is the car you want. Most of the unhappy 8 owners out there are guys who really should of bought high torque/hp quarter mile cars and don't appreciate the driving performance of the stock 8. They didn't do their homework and spent 25k on a awesome looking sports car that isn't exactly what they wanted. Then they bitch about it on the forums.

Second, what is your former car? If the 8 is a nice step up for you (as it was for me), you'll be very pleased with the stock performance. The first couple grand might might go toward some window tint, wheels, and some stereo work. Guys who have had their car for a while are numb to the performance and have these little things done already. They all have turbo on the brain (except the guys who have SC/NO2 on the brain). What I would spend 12k now on is not the same as what I would of spent 12k on a year ago.

Once you have driven the car for a while, you'll know whether you want to step up to coilovers/sway bars/flywheel/handling improvements that'll make your car super nimble or if you want to dig out some bucks for a FI project. Unless you do almost all the labor yourself, it would be very tough to build what a lot of people would consider a complete car 12k. Most people just dump money as they have it and try not to think about the total tag they have paid. I know I've spent a couple grand on mine and still consider it basically stock.

 

12g? I would get a mazsport turbo soooo fast.