Hey guys I just turned 19 and got my own TiGray 8 finally!! It's Used with not too many miles on it. The car is in excellent condition and came with the grand touring package. As of right now I have about 1k to spend on it and cant figure out what to buy for it. Maybe some of you could tell me what was the first thing you bought for your 8 or what you would recommend for me... any advice at all would help from all you experts .. Thanks! P.S. anything from visual to performace.

- Andrew

 

A/C condensor and oil cooler screens.

They will save you money and grief later.

 

Best mods I bought for the money were the racing beat swaybars (front and rear) and tein springs.

 

Im still kind of leading towards an exhuast or an air intake ... would those be wise choices?

btw thanks for the help

 

those choices would be alright if you wanted to lightly mod your car. those where my first mods after 2 years of having the car. haha. anyways, once you do those though, if you really want to feel the potential of the 8, you would want to do an aftermarket suspension setup IMO.

 

The answer to this question is wholly dependent on what your end objective is and if you are able to do the work yourself. I have found the three most effective mods for power gains to the rear wheels are cat-removal midpipe, lightweight flywheel, and a nitrous oxide kit. If handling is more your preference then the Racing Beat swaybars and springs are nice upgrades, without being too aggressive, and they are reasonably priced. The factory intake box is quite capable and power gains from cat-backs are minor. The factory brakes are very good too. Appearance mods are subjective so I won't even get into that. The matter of EMS's is another subject that depends on what your end goals are, but some decent gains can be had with a good tune.

 

I say take your money and go pick up some girls...well thats what I do with my car


For real, it depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking to get noticed, then i say get your exhaust and high flow cat and run WOT everywhere. If u plan on going to the track or autocross then mazdaspeed's suggestion is the way to go. In the vendor section there are some espelir springs on sale for $100 and from what i understand you can get struts for a few 100 more. And to be honest with you 1k isnt going to get you far with the 8 but it will give you a good start. happy modding! hope this helps.

 

Save about $1500 more and go get a turbo kit.

 

The lightwiegt flywheel is something you really feel - other performance mods are less noticeable. Although nos would be a real buzz i'm sure
Exhausts & intakes cost lots with only noticable "benifit" being extra noise .

 

I just recently bought an '04 Ti-gray 6 speed and the first thing I did was order a set of tanabe sustec sway bars and GF210 springs for $500, KD front end service set for $100 (made things so much easier disconnecting ball joints), K&N typhoon intake kit for $245, K&N oil filter $12 (overpriced), 8mm sparkplug wires for $45, NGK plugs for $50 (updated version) and now looking for polyurethane end link bushings (est. around $25-$35).
I'd also recommend a synthetic tranee and diff fluid and maybe a coolant additive.
...hope that helps you decide on which route you wanan take and good luck with the task.

 

your not going to gain much of anything powerwise for $1k (sans nitrous) and you probably already have more car then you can drive suspension wise... so spend some $ on driving lessons

 

Tein Basic Coilovers- $700 shipped (Less if you shop around)

Best single mod Ive done on my car yet, not to mention the best bang-for-buck mod Ive done.

 

Nawzzzzz

 

wow great advice thanks a lot guys

 

1500$? Im pretty much clueless about turbos but arent they even more then that?

 

It's going to cost a hell of a lot more than $2500 total. You have installation costs, tuning costs, peripheral stuff (gauges, guage pods, etc). If you don't have about $5K on hand don't try it. My 1st (& best) mod was Racing Beat springs, & sway bars. Way better feeling/handling. Racing Beat cat back exhaust sounded awesome. No cat back exhaust will give you much hp gain. Mainly for better looks (imo stock exhaust tips look way too small) & sound. RP Supercat is a good mod as it gives a bit of hp gain & is very easy to install.

 

If I had $1K to spend my mod list would be this....

Racing Beat Sways $350
Tein S-Tech springs $150
Agency Power pulley $150
Clear Corners $70
Stealth Bulbs for the front and rear $20
K&N or AEM intake $250-$300 since they are both loud and the sound should keep you happy until you can save up enough money for an exhaust

 

Save your money and do things the right way with the right parts as repair costs are greater than mod ones.
my 2 cents

 

I would wait for suspension mods until the car has more miles and the ride is affected.

I think you should get the basic appearance mods.. If the car does not have the appearance package, that would be my first choice. Then the strakes, then the rotary package for the front and back.

Anthony

 

Make the intake the last thing you do. If power is a concern, then an ECU is what you are looking for. Mazda put the best hardware on the car possible. Software is the key. These cars are detuned in a big way. Other than that, start ripping out the emissions gear. That is the only mechanical fallback we have. Flywheel is about the only thing needing attention.

 

mazdaspeed shock is a good buy, just get that and racing beat spring and sways bar

 

wow more advice then I could ask for thanks a hell of a lot guys

 

i agree with the mazdaspeed shock, but i would match it with the mazdaspeed spring as well, they are purposely tuned for one another..