Hi everyone, i bought my 05 rx8 gt a few months back and i absolutely love the car but i need more power lol... so im saving to buy the pettit kit this spring. ive already built a 400whp rx7 so i know that this kit does not include every mod im going to want to keep my engine safe. im looking for some good advice on what i should purchase to keep this car a reliable daily driver for years to come. here is my list so far. i want to know which of the two to get as well.

second rad or koyo rad?
cobb or just the pettit flash?
water/meth system
high flow cat?
some type of data log or tunable device?
gauges? water temp/wideband/boost/egt?
id like to hear what supporting mods you folks are running with this supercharger kit. thanks

 

Go read the Petit Threads,,,
Koyo Rad sucks... go BHR
Both... But Petit Stg II flash is good for daily driving...
Some are using W/M just as a steam cleaner/decarbonizer...
High flow or straight- flash eliminates the codes anyway
Data logger comes with the kit and is not tunable, AP is...
read the threads they're long but informative...

 

2nd radiator with mod so a 180 barrel type thermostat can be install,
the mazmart upgraded water pump,
water meth system as intake charge temps get too high--you have a fi kit on a 10/1 compression engine and you never know what kind of gas you get now a days. WATER METH IS VERY CHEAP INSURANCE.
real gauges of course with a/f one, egt gauge is controversial
efi dude is good for 2 hrs data collection
no cat!--optional!!
wrap the header
water temp, oil temp, boost, a/f, and intake temp gauges
upgraded coils are good--see Juans post he did it himself!
you will appreciate a oil filter relocation
olddragger

 

ok in what section can i find these pettit threads?
is there a write up or a link for the second rad instal? where can i buy the second rad? so right now im deffinatly buying the meth kit,rad and guages. anyone sell a piller pod for these cars or does the air bag not allow it?
is it better to have 2 rads or one (BHR) rad?
should i get one of those mazsport cooling fan mods even with an upgraded rad?

 

The pettit owner's section has a ton of info if you don't mind swimming through crap to get to it. There's info about the second rad install there. Are you planning on tracking the car regularly? I autocross monthly down here in Florida and my car stays pretty cool with just the OEM radiator. Unless you're going to road race the car or live in a desert, I don't think you need a second radiator, but if you do, get the BHR one.

As far as gauge pods, they have one for the pillar, but I personally think it's tacky. I went with the stealthy racing beat one that installs where the ashtray sits. There's also one that mounts to the top of the dash.

The cooling fan mod is unnecessary since the PCM Flash will make the fans come on earlier.

 

Bastage is correct, only places with little humidity and temps over 100 degrees need think about a second radiator but the stock rad is not enough, get a BHR. Gauges to me are a must have item, I'm tacky cuz I went with the A pillar mount. When your going really fast removing your eyes and moving head to look at your ash tray removes your eyes from the road. Just read the Pettit Owners forum and you will be well informed.

 

It has been shown that the side plates on our engine start to warp if the coolant gets to 225F for any lenght of time. That does not blow the engine but it does reduce the longitivity. 225 in the south in the summer is not hard to get too.
a secondary radiator will work better than a radiator upgrade because of several reasons:
1- the positioning of the oem radiator is at such an angle that it is detremental to airflow
2- there is a ton of "stuff" immediatly behind the radiator also affecting air flow
3- it is much less expensive to add a secondary--the exchanger I used can be bought for approx $80 throught Summit racing
4- you can mount it on and on the front support bar whichs positions it for excellant airflow even at low speeds and the support bar can act as a heat sink of sorts.
5- this increases coolant capacity
6- much simpler install. If you do want to do just a radiator upgrade then the BHR one seems to be getting the best results. Either way the upgraded water pump and a 180F thermostat is HIGHLY recommended.
Either the Pettit flash or the Cobb reflashs the computer to activate the fans at 180F
I mounted my gauges on the center piece--i can see them better there than on the ashtray(again I do track my car) You can get one from Lotec --its an apron design but looks oem once installed. It is about $60. Also look up Prosport gauges--sweet features--inexpensive price and just as accuate as all the others i have tried. Either place is fine--Th RB set up is also high quality and sweet.
to find the thread go to the Market vendors section and click on Pettit. If you need particular details PM me--I will be glad to help all I can. It is Ok to ask all the ? you want.
Hope to Welcome you to the family!
olddragger

 

What's tacky in Florida is the rage in Vegas. Vegas is always ahead of the curve as far as style

If I road raced my car I would consider a dash mount, but I don't find myself needing to look at the gauges every second, so the stealthy piano black RB pod is good enough for me.

 

I too considered the dash mount as it would have been the optimum but alas the Wagon Train race gives you an opportunity to use two or three different ways to to get to the end and I use my Nav system, it would partially block the gauges. When your going 130+ MPH on county roads (open range) the less time with your eyes off the road the better.
I love the graceful way you wangled out of that one

 

wow, 130. I hit 124 a couple of times on a back country road. I'd like to try 150 someday, but Florida has too many wild animals, and I'd hate to find out what it would be like to hit a racoon (or a deer, or a gator, or a gator, or a dog, or whatever) at 150 mph. If I lived somewhere like Nevada, where there's a lot of flat, lifeless terrain, I'd give it a shot.

Roland's done it, but he's a lot crazier than I am, or has bigger *****.


As far as the water temps are concerned, I went over 225 once (logged it) after redlining the car under load about 27 times in a span of 7 minutes or so. Basically I did some autocross laps back to back to back to back... you get the point. Usually you have to stage for at least 5-10 minutes between runs, but they do "fun runs" at the end and if there are not many people participating there's basically no wait. The car took it like a champ and cooled down pretty quickly. It was about 90 degrees outside that day.

 

wow thanks alot for all the info guys its alot to try and reply to so im going to try to cover most of my questions in this post...the biggest thing im worried about here is keeping this car a very reliable daily driver as this is the reason i bought a newer car in the first place, i will be driving this car everyday about 20-30 miles, im not planing on tracking the car much but i live in a pretty desolate area and i drive the car hard daily i probably average 60 mph on my half hour commute to work everyday on back roads...lol.. our summer days are around 80-90 degrees so its not exactly a dessert area but i will be using my A/C about everyday in the summer which i know makes it run a little hotter.


i do really like the RB ashtray mount but im wondering if 3 gauges will be enough, Water temp, wideband,boost...and i would like intake air temp and egt maybe. what do you guys think about just installing the kit and closely watching my temp gauge to see if it stays cool enough with the stock system? what temp range is safe and whats the highest i want to see?

 

I have the RB gauges and I just got this - defrost vent pod for the boost gauge...
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/defrost-vent-pod-155820/
Petit Threads - Like Bastage said the owners club has alot of bitch-fest back and forth between haters and lovers... but alot of quality info...
https://www.rx8club.com/pettit-racing-114/

Also you live in Lancaster, Pat(Shinka213) is right in your backyard in Aston, and was the first to own the production Petit SC....
Also mine will be installed in the first weekend in November and I'll be more than willing to meet up and show you everything....

 

cool man i like that guage pod! but where do you run the wires? do you have to drill the heat duct? and yeah man if we dont meet up before i get the kit installed we should deffinatly meet up once both ours are done. im gna contact shinka213 as well

 

Deffinately do your research,, any of these people in here are good contacts, Bastage, Olddragger, Phil's....
Also Moon Asad, hes one of the R&D guys for Petit and he's coming up for the install in Nov... he'll be around for a couple days so you could also meet him, if its in his schedule...
Also- Yes Im gonna have to tap into my a/c ducting to get the wires down the back of the dash, but I will most likely seal the holes up with some 3M...

 

The stock temp gauge has a very wide range that it considers normal. It sits at the same spot for me from about 160 to as hot as I've ever had the car, which according to the scangauge has been in the 230s on track days. I'm not sure at what temp point the stock gauge would start moving again.

You can get a scangauge to mount on the dash to use as your water temp gauge. It also serves as a code reader/reset device. Plus there's other gauges you can display with it.

 

so what do you guys think about the radiator idea i mentioned in post 11?

 

another good pod is the autoexe pod if you have the nav

 

i dont have the nav and id like to keep the dash display. im deff gonna go with the RB guage mount since im a big fan of the clean factory look. thanks for the ideas though

 

as stated dont let the coolant get over 225F.
olddragger

 

ok so thats the max. what do i want to see for normal temp?

 

depends on your set up, if it is oem and just the upgraded water pump and a 70/30 coolant blend then on a 95 degress day with some humidity in the air then you will see anywhere from 180-190 on the open road crusing --to some report 210-215 in city driving and when you track you will see 220-225. SOmesee higher thanthat as they drive the car harder..
point is there is not much run for error
OD

 

ok so here is my list so far let me know if im missing something.
Upgraded water pump
bhr radiator
meth setup probaly goin with cooling mist deluxe tunable system
rb guage bezel and water temp intake temp boost and wideband
ill have to figure out where to mount the fourth guage.
maybe coils? are they a must have?
i havent decided on the cat yet, i have the rb revi cat back and i like that is not ricey loud so im worried if i change the cat it will be to loud and it wont pass smog test? anyone know?

 

the coils are not absoulutly required although the oem coils are not that great.
i got the mazsport double resonated midpie and i have of of one of the 1st 5 ever built RB catback. I wrapped it and I added some insulation in the trans tunnel. it is really sweet--no drone ever(actually quiter than with a cat i think) at cruising etc --but open her up and she sounds good. the cabin is also cool and the cupholders are cool!
OD

 

does it pass smog?

 

I don't tend to suggest my rad to those in the north or northeast as the climate there doesn't tax the cooling system as the south and/or southwest does. I can get you both Snow and AEM alky kits but even in that case I would still suggest you simply get the S/C kit installed and have fun with it before piling on more stuff. I would suggest if you are leaning toward the Mazmart water pump that you do it while the S/C is being installed as it ain't easy afterward.