Hey guys, thought I'd pick the brains of some of you proverbial rx8 elders. I have saved up a little bit of money and would like to do an effective performance mod to my car.

Here's what's done so far (not much):
RB screens
Fog light rewire/bulb swap
Tranny/diff fluid swap (redline)
SS clutch hose
RP short shifter

As you can see, most of that stuff is drivability and the essential screens. I wanted to do something that may give a tiny bit more kick to my drive. My first idea was a CAI (AE or MS) or perhaps a catback. Any thoughts?

 

you could get the retune from racing beat. Only if you have an 04 though.

 

why not do both the CAI and catback? They won't help much...its like in the higher rpm range.
Canzoomer maybe. that or the intercepter x is what im doing next if that helps at all.

 

Doing both is an option as well. I'm trying to hold off on the catback until it gets cooler out, as I don't have a garage, and it's ridiculous here in NC this summer. I was also considering perhaps a flywheel upgrade, but cant figure out which is better- act prolite or ms. What is canzoomer/intercepter?

 

If you want the most kick for $1000, I would suggest hi-flow cat for about $300, and either Used Canzoomer (piggyback) with software & cables (to connect to your laptop) & have a competent mechanic tune it. That would be about $1000. If you are not mechanically inclined, or have no mechanic resources then go for the Racing Beat Revi intake w/ ram air duct. Flywheel is nice but after all is said & done the flywheel & the cost to have a mechanic install it is almost $1000 (requires dropping the tranny). ACT is lighter & will give you faster acceleration than the Mazdaspeed, but the MS unit will give you better drivability.

Interceptor X is a higher end ECU mod, but if you are looking to stay within $1000, that is not an option. The hardware cost alone is way over $1000, let alone installation & tuning.

 

Thanks for the info man. Would the hi-flow cat do anything with an otherwise stock exhaust/intake? I've been eyeing up the act prolite flywheel for a nice performance mod, but need to find someone good to install it. I am mechanically inclined, but have no workspace. It's frustrating... I hear that the car revs way faster and generally feels great with a lighter flywheel. I think a CAI yields too little gains in hp or general drivability. From what I've read they're pretty much noise unless you have a good exhaust.

 

yeah, they dont have too many gains...i feel a little kick from 6000-9000 with the MS. A lot of stuff without FI is just going to be top end gains
Good for redlining 1st and 2nd...so on and so forth..its fun.

 

Yeah.. another option is saving this money and praying for the quick development of rp's supercharger!

 

where are you at in nc?

 

Im in Durham, right by Southpoint. I see you're in greensboro?

 

Cai and exhaust will make it sound much better.

 

well i had them all installed 1 at a time...

first of all, careful if you go midpipe with catback... a wrong combo will make your car sound like a lawn mower on crack. the gains are pretty nice... but not jaw dropping.

cai- i got the aem cuz i like how it looks, and it does give gains (like few others where u lose hp). also the sound is very nice~ when your on the throttle, you hear a nice whine that sounds like a small turbo. gains... hmm it's just enough to be noticeable. cost $225-250)

got the agency power pulley. it's great~ easy and fun to install (if you like working on cars)
it has 20% underdrive and people worry about the AC going to be warm but it's fine~ it's cool enough. power wise, it's more noticeable than the intake and also revs slightly quicker. it's a great mod, good bang for the buck (only about $170 includding shipping)

got the interceptor x installed 2-3 weeks ago. it's nice~ i've been driving it a lot harder cuz it's so much more fun but even so, my mpg still improved despite the constant redlines. it is expensive... but the product is great and a great mod if u plan on going turbo in the future. if ur not, still a great mod, but u might wanna look into canzoomer if ur gonna stay n/a... a lot cheaper. gains are very noticeable and i got it cuz of the mpg improvement. (customer service is excellent too) cost: $1599 (no tax)

lastly, just today, i got the act prolite flywheel installed~ it's great!! first and second gear is quite sexy and pulls nice. costs about $700 for the flywheel plus install... but well worth it.

hope this helps. after everything, the car feels nice and sounds great. gluck

 

$1000 for this car cant get you much.... i spent over $1000 for just the revi intake, revi duct, and borla exhaust. well... i think its worth it cause these mods makes your car sound hella sexier even though gains arent much noticeable.

 

the RP Supercat is about $400 shipped and its a high flow high temp cat which should give you around 8-10hp. also lighter than stock. theres currently a group buy going on.. :D

https://www.rx8club.com/group-buy-center-85/group-buy-rp-supercat-midpipe-gasket-kit-www-rx7-com-95057/

 

"cai- i got the aem cuz i like how it looks, and it does give gains (like few others where u lose hp). also the sound is very nice~ when your on the throttle, you hear a nice whine that sounds like a small turbo. gains... hmm it's just enough to be noticeable. cost $225-250)"

Wow where can I get the AEM intake for that price? Your post was very helpful for my decision. I think if I can get that intake for that price I'll buy that first, and probably jump on the high flow cat scsi mentioned. Oh, just a question about the cat- how hard will installation be? Is it just bolt-on or should I figure in some mechanic time to the price?

I want to do a flywheel SO bad but I think I should hold off for now.

 

Catless midpipe
Catback of choice

Those two definitely, but other things to think about would be:
- AEM/MS CAI
- Aluminum flywheel
- Various suspension stuff (not for pep, but for more fun through corners/turns)

 

I spent about 2.5k$ for mods I got. Thats is TurboXS setup, canzzomer ( still don't have it ) ACT prolite, Unorthodox pulleys and revi + duct. What can I say.. I got n flash and before this mods, from 0-62 it was sth about 7s, now is less than 6 If I were U with 1k$ I would buy flywheel and midpipe or highflow cat. Maybe cz but I still don't how it works and what is going to give me.

 

Well, just ordered the AEM intake, so 290 of my budget is gone. I think I may look into suspension stuff with the rest of the money. coilovers and some beefed up anti-sway bars might just fit the bill

 

Good choice. The installation and filter cleaning can be a bit tricky considering you have to remove the front bumper and the intructions are next to worthless. My installation took me like 6 hours but I was taking my time. Didnt want to get any scratches or cracks on my bumper. Sounds real nice with RB catback I think there a great combo.

 

Assuming you are still on the $1000 budget, with $300 gone, there will be no way on earth that you will get a decent coilover suspension for that price. Best off (if you are not constantly on the track & want a good street setup) going for the Racing Beat suspension setup (springs, Sway Bars, front sway bar endlinks), getting them installed, and that is about $1000 right there (CAI & suspension setup. For the money, the RB suspension was about the best thing I did for my car.

 

Thanks Fanman. Yeah I just started looking into the price of the RB suspension, and it would be a bit much for now. That may have to wait a month or two. Did you install it yourself? Did it noticably lower the car?

 

Has anyone got any dyno results to prove that $1000 can get you any significant power gain?

 

There's dyno results somewhere around here for flywheels freeing up a few hp, as well as a new exhaust and midpipe (8-10 hp). Both of those I would say would fall under the 1000 mark.

 

hey zen, my bad, i got my aem cai for like $280 from one of the dealers on ebay but i can't find him =T

anyways u'll like it and install is pretty easy. with $700 you can get flywheel and have them installed. you might be $100 or so short depending on what they quote you.

 

I was considering it. Is the difference pretty noticable with the act prolite?