gfailure

Though the two issues are not connected, I figured I could write one thread to ask my questions.

Haven't found anything in the forum, but then again they are quite specific. Actually one of the "issues" is probably more of a question than actual problem. My 8 is an 04 6spd MT with 85500km on the clock, for the record.

So, here goes.

1) For the first time since I bought the car, I had to do an emergency brake when someone cut me off while I was going around 80KPH. So i slammed the breakes hard. The car stopped and no accident happened, but it felt as if it was taking it's sweet time to do so. So, my question here is, how are the brakes suposed to, uhm, feel if they are in good working condition? Should you actually feel them trying to rip your face off or are they always so polite?

2) This problem has been going on since the day i bought it. The transmition oil was changed since then and it has made all the gear changes considerably smoother. One thing that did not change is the following. When shifting down (and only down) to 2nd gear while at high RPMs, some times, the gear grinds bad as if I'm trying to shift without actualy pressing the cluch. As i said the transmition oil is new (and good), and the cluch was changed before I got the car so its less than 6 months old. All the gear changes are as smooth as butter, both up shifting and down shifting except the scenarion described above, and that does not happen every time. When talking with a mechanic m8, he mentioned that this is one ich the 8s have and it's a case of opening up the gearbox and fixing a specific thing. He is a good mechanic, but as far as i know, has not worked on more tha a couple of 8s. So, what do you guys think?

I apreciate any and all advice and I hope the bitchslapping is kept to a minimum (though some might feel nice! :P )

Cheers all

Spin9k

As to 1), the brakes should easily "rip your face off" as you phrase it. If they don't there's something seriously wrong and I would immediately (or have someone else qualified) do an immediate take-apart inspection.

wrightcomputing

iTrader: (5)

1). the Brakes are amazing on the Rx8, mine will lock up the tires just a touch as I brake (I do have a lot of camber though).

2). My 2th and 5th gears are not as good as I would like make sure you are always smooth with the changes. It may be that a previous owned always grabbed the shift **** and rammed it into 2nd damaging the selector gate.
It is also a good idea to rev match. Give the gas pedal a little blip as you change down, when you are good at it you can change gear without using the clutch (not recommended). Doing that will take the pressure off and should allow much smoother gear changes without any grinding.

Wingznut

iTrader: (1)

Car & Driver Best Performers

The RX-8 has world class stopping power... As you can see in their "2000's" chart.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I had that problem once. It had to do with the brand of brake pad I chose. Replacing them, with a better brand, gave me back the bite that I expected. How old is your car and it's brake fluid? It could also be contaminated with moisture. A flushing with new fluid may be in order.

gfailure

Thanks for the replies.
Obviously my brakes are not working as intended, will look into it asap.