I did a search or two (not really all that comprehensive or extensive) and what I found was a few miata guys that wanted the same thing, and they bought the DRL module from a Canadian Mazda dealership and installed it in a rediculously short amount of time. I think the procedure involved finding the point to plug in said module, removing rubber "delete" plugs, plugging in module, and making sure everything looked good put back together.

I have no idea if this idea translates to the RX-8, but it'd be worth a shot to maybe email some canadian mazda dealerships... The other thing that was mentioned was the fact that if you bought the miata module in the states, it was ~$80 but if you bought it up North, it was considerably less expensive (no idea why, can't confirm, just reporting what I read). The other thing to do is to work with your current dealership and see if they can't help.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

i never even thought of trying that considering the RAV4 is automatic...i'll try that tonight when i get home and tell you how it goes but if you're wrong then THANKS FOR GETTING MY HOPES UP!!!

j/k - :D

 

I don't remember any of the specifics, but in the Celica, people did something to one of the fuses which disabled the DRLs.

In the US 8's, is it simply a matter of installing a fuse to make them work?

 

naw, i don't think so...in the RAV4, it was an actual $50 part, a relay i believe to make the daytime running lights turn on whenever the car was in ACC...i'm sure the fuse that is being taken out on the Celica's are for that relay

 

I was about to ask why the type of transmission would have any bearing on the use of the handbrake, but then remembered that Americans just slam the thing into Park and leave it rocking on the transmission without applying the handbrake. Do they teach that in Driver's Ed?

I once borrowed a friends automatic Saturn, and he though I'd broken something because it wouldn't move when he shifted into Drive and hit the gas!

 

you're right, we don't use the parking brake on automatics...at least every single person i've ever been in the car with always just puts it into park...and no, i don't ever remember learning that in driver's ed except when driving manual which is obvious...

 

Awfully cheap of me I realize, but I didn't afford an RX-8 by wasting money...

Anyway, My insurance company gives me a 10% discount for them. Seems to me to be well worth the money. Might just have to contact a Canadian dealer. I do have the Titanium gray so it is either DRL or green neon strips under the car... lol

 

I dont need daytime running light because my car is yellow

 

Anybody ever thought about making the fogs run during the day, I think it would look mean

 

I think Mazda didn't put the DRL on so the car wouldn't look like a GM product. Is GM the only car maker with those stupid lights?

 

Background...
I drive a motorcycle in southern california & my life is on the line every time I go out. I have no seatbelt nor would it do any good. Helmets are pretty useless at 65mph. I can see the potential accident three lanes away, again, my life is on the line, I have to. I simply carry this driving awareness over to my cars (another 20-23k miles/year).
So rather than worry about driving around with big inflatable tires around the outside of everyone's car & making the speed limit say, 20, why don't we legislate a better, more accurate, driver's exam or require defensive driving school or something along those lines. You can't manufacture out or legislate out poor drivers with "nanny" laws...that group will always be there.
Bottom line: Why should I have to drive around during the day with my lights on because others aren't paying attention or have eyesight that's too poor to be driving anyway?
BTW, I believe seat belts save lives & are a very good thing, I just believe personal safety should be the driver's choice. Same thing with the running lights, don't force this crap on people, give them the option.

Also, in your post "to" is spelled "too"

 

Norats - I agree, seat belts are great. They save lives. But your right about another thing, sometimes those DRL's are a waste of electricity anyways. Most people don't see them or don't care. They have become almost like a car alarm going off in a mall parking lot. Everyone hears it going off, but does anyone care?

 

A waste of electricity? Damn... you must be putting a mighty strain on your alternator to need that extra charge the battery gets. And the last time I checked, the alternator's pulley doesn't engage on extra load, so don't start talking about lost power or wasted gas...

 

they are meant for use during FOG
not driving, not DRL

DRL uses low Wattage

it's a personal choice, i don't like it, but i am sure the cops/other drivers see you better

there are DRL moduals you can buy, in our case you are tapping the high beam for DRL running 15-25% Wattage

go for it, it's a cool mod if you like DRL

 

I agree - DRL's help you stand out with the cops

 

Bingo, because others aren't paying attention and you need all the help you can get. If you want to be the one who convinces the world that there are a bunch of mindless ignorant drivers out there by getting into accidents with them, be my guest. I, for one, am going to be trying to avoid accidents as much as possible and not become a statistic just to prove a point.

For some reason, I'm not surprised you are a bike rider. Sing it with me:

"You can fly so high, never going to die!"

-Mr. Wigggles

 

i recent the implication on motorcycle riders...

every driver's responsibility is to drive.
driving should be neither offensive nor defensive, but to drive, on public road that is.

reason we take defensive driving courses is because we know there are poor drivers out there, we see them everyday on the road. I accepted the burden because bottom line is my life, but it doesn't mean a poor driver can neglate my safty because i've 'tried' to avoid his thoughtless act on public road. The law and insurance put the burden on the better drivers to cover the poorer drivers. most people who care enough to surf these boards are probably on the better side already, simply because they care.

most auto driver view motorcycle drivers as unsafe and reckless and they put their lives on the line. well it correct only in the sense the rider accepted the danger limit, not that the poor driver can 'take' their lives because it's on the line.

most bike riders' behaviors seems reckless to drivers are because of what's preceived. they come up behind a car and 'because they are so small, they can't be seen'
NO, they can't be seen because poor driver didn't look!!!

let's get back to DRL should we?

 

back to DRL

DRL is run off a simple module in your engine bay

if you like it, go get one

if you don't like it, unplug it

sweden pioneer them as mr wiggles pointed out, i believed the reason is their weather? and the fact that part of the year, they get little sun light.

we have mix feeling about DRL apparetly, personally, living in so cal, i don't need it, when needed, i'll turn on my head lights because i believe it as a courtasey for me as a driver towards another, not to warn him or her per say, but to announce my presence.

now if insurance company come out and say it'll save me 10%, sure, i'll probably go get the module for the 8 to save me some cash.

 

Terence T,

I was refering to DRL's.

I was responding to the attitude: "Hey I don't need DRL's because if the other drivers can't see me, that's their problem."

Sure it might be the other driver's fault that they don't see you, but it is everyone's problem. It's everyone's auto insurance rates, it everyone's health insurance rates, and its everyone's highway that gets congested when an unnessary accident happens which better visibility may have prevented.

And, for those out there who don't want to "waste" what amounts to less than 40 Watts to power your DRL's (<1/20th of one HP!), then I won't "waste" power from my cell phone's battery to call 911 when I see your RX-8 and the idiot who didn't see you in a ditch bleeding to death.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

Well, I am still not clear on how to proceed.

I would love to be able to tell my dealer or my mechanic to install the correct module so that I have DRLs in my RX8 when I get it this fall. But without specifics, I am certain the dealer would be cluless at what to get.

My Volvo T5 seems to just have the headlights running at full intensity, not at reduced power as some here suggest. Basically my headlights are on when the car is on, off when the car is off. (BTW: There is a simple overide setting for those who do not wish to have DRLs).

I take it there is no cause for concern in having the Zenon HID on all the time?

Anyway, it would be nice to find a simple solution and a simple installation that my dealer could provide. (Does not the RX8 come with DRLs elsewhere in the world? Can I not request they get that "mazda" part and install it?

I don't know, this s/not be complicated.

Claude H.

 

Claude,

Good points. You wouldn't want to power up the HID's everytime you got in the car. The ignition sequence for the lights involves a high voltage spike to get the Xenon to ignite.

I think DRL could be implemented either with the fog lights or driving the high beams at a reduced power output. It doesn't have to be precise.

BTW, Sweden is the only country that I know of where you have to have some form of headlight on when you drive during the day. There might be others.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

it might, because xenon is whiter, close to sun light in color, during the day it will be less visible it seems. than halogen light

not in the US because it's not require by law

 

The point is about choice & that's it. If you want drl then turn on your lights during the day.
If you want to wear a helmet, wear one. If you want to wear seatbelts wear them. Just don't forcefully impose choices on the rest of us, (like auto drl) I can make my own choices. BTW, your stereotyping is all wrong..I do wear a helmet on my R1.
OK, so we agree to disagree.

 

Norats,

First off all I didn't insult you. I simply don't understand your arguments. Please re-read the post. I said I am not surprised you are a bike rider. I am also not surprised that you don't wear some form of a helmet. Your personality type is pretty clear.

Let me tell you a quick story, I have never been in any accident other than a couple low speed fender benders. But about 8 years ago, before DRL's even existed, I almost got into an accident with a motorcycle. It was dusk and I had the sun in my eyes about to make a left turn. At first glance forward, I was all clear to make the turn. So I looked left to start my turn, then I looked straightforward again and there he was a biker on his chopper. He came out of nowhere and luckilly I saw him the second time I looked. I was quickly able to stop and I didn't even get into his lane. I'm sure he saw me lurch forward but there was nothing he could do. If I had proceeded with the left turn his skull (without helmet) would have been through my windshield. The accident would have been my fault, but his head through my windshield would have been both of our problems. However, I guarantee if he had his light on or some other marker illuminated on his bike I would have seen him in the first place. This biker didn't have the ESP that you possess; he gave me a justified dirty look after I lurched forward because he knew he would have been a grill capture if I had not stopped my turn.

Yes, I can turn my fog lights on when I turn on the car and that would probably suffice, but it isn't automatic and I can't make it automatic. I like things such as automatic doorlocks, keyless entry, and other luxury/safety features. For instance, it would be a pain in the *** to turn on ABS everytime I started my car because a few racing purist didn't like the feel of anti-lock brakes. It should be the other way around. For those who don't want DRL's, the should be given a switch to turn them off. The default position should be "on".

I would like the option of some form of DRL's. It is a cheap safety feature and it is unubtrusive unlike many of the more exotic safety features being proposed. If I was a safety freak, I wouldn't be getting an RX-8 in the first place. I like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and I want any half asleep drivers to know where I am at.

I never want my next of kin to hear the words: "I am so sorry, I didn't see him."

-Mr. Wigggles

 

To give the thread a jolt back in the right direction...

Canuks have had DRLs for more than ten years, and I don't care either way, BUT - they became required on new cars in (I think) 1991, so it is now obvious to everyone that the oncoming vehicle is probably an '88 Dodge Aries or similar....it has become the cutoff point between 'normal' cars and P.O.S.

The '8' uses high beam bulbs, on low power, making a very yellow beam. I personally enjoy twilight now, it is time for those Xenons to take over! LOVE those lights! Don't get too close in traffic, you could fade the paint on the car ahead!:D :D
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