Have two faulty wheel hubs on my car. One in front, the other in back. I just replaced the rotors, so I'm a bit annoyed by the timing, but because I can't find any 2-piece rotors available for purchase, and parts for the car are getting more and more difficult to come by as a whole for upgrades, I'd like to know if it is possible to get a different wheel hub and rebuild the brake assembly with parts that have a larger aftermarket for track.

I wad told before that I can use subaru sti wheel hubs, but it was by a source I didn't put a lot of faith in. Can I get some input on this? Is this a thing or am I stuck longing for more?

 

Do you mean wheel bearings? There's a lot mixed in here. You can buy 2 piece brake setups from RacingBrake or Wilwood, but as with any big brake kit, it's $$$. There's also very little point in it, the stock brakes are very good even for racing (assuming good condition, right choice of pad etc)

​​​​​​Its recommended to stick with OEM wheel bearings. Looks like Timken makes both the RX8 and STI bearings so there may be some truth, but none of this has any bearing on your brake options. You're not changing the wheel bolt pattern or caliper offset.

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if you want a sti, sell the Rx8 and get a sti.. otherwise, use Rx8 parts on your Rx8.

quality rotors and pads are all you need, with braided lines and better brake fluid.

 

I was told quite clearly by RacingBrake that they do not condone the use of their brakes on the track. I've also read a lot on problems with the brake assembly for any use beyond general street driving. Is wilwood back in stock? I'll check again. I've looked into these multiple times over the years and gave up. Same with Gyrodisc and some other brand I'm forgetting about that has some "gold" something or other in its name. Just to be clear, this is the bbk you're referring to?

I didn't say I wanted an sti >.> Just having problems finding the parts I need for the RX8.

 

Thats odd, they helped me quite a bit when I was installing my second hand RacingBrake kit. Not sure why they would tell you that. They even offer race pads.
Lets back up a bit. Are you finding your braking insufficient? Are the hubs the only thing that needs fixing?
This car doesnt really need a BBK, stock brakes are already 12", with a good pad Ive yet to find a track that makes them inadequate. The only reason I have one is because it was spectacularly cheap.

 

I'm looking for performance upgrades that are class legal. Lose some unsprung weight, improve braking, etc. I don't actually have a problem with the current brakes, as I don't really use them all that hard to begin with. It's just that I am not able to modify my engine in my class, so I have to do other things. I'm trailing just 1.5 seconds behind someone else who has a pretty significant amount of mods on their car + better tires (which I'm pretty sure are not legal for our class but w/e).

I agree I don't need a bbk. But the two-piece rotors would really benefit me. I need to improve my acceleration times, as I've noticed that's where I'm really losing to the competition.

I'm also at the point of replacing the hubs, so I thought I should figure out if there was other options out there for performance parts since I've had a real problem finding upgrades. A two-piece rotor set is the actual goal I am after and thought it may be necessary to get a different hub assembly to open this door. But if they are making two-piece rotors again for the car, I'll try and get my hands on them. Was that link what you were talking about before? I don't see weight specs but their dimensions make me wonder if they would actually be heavier than stock brakes.

 

That makes sense, thanks for the context. Thats not a bad deal at all on the Wilwoods in your link. I did a bit of searching and GoodWin appears to have the Wilwood kit available and on sale for a bit more but with free shipping. https://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazd...61-1301RX.html At the end of the day any 2-piece rotor setup on all 4 corners is going to be over $1000, so you may as well go all the way and save some unsprung mass in the caliper to boot.

There is no comparison in weight between stock and 2-piece. I should have taken measurements, but the RB rotors are like half the weight of stock rotors. That aluminium center piece weights nothing, compared to the solid iron center of the stock rotor. You can throw them around like frisbees But, given that in the stock rotor most of the weight is near the center, the rotational mass benefits are not going to be proportional to overall mass savings. The calipers are half the weight again of the stock calipers. So Ive come from circle from "you dont need a BBK" to "you may as well"

One other thought was to see if there are Miata NC rotors that are near our stock diameter. NCs and RX8s share many components and I wouldnt be surprised if there is a surprise match in offset/dimensions in the Miata aftermarket bin.

But, all this stuff is probably not going to be worth 1.5 seconds (on a 2-3 minute track?). Have you considered changing to the 2009+ differential? Its geared a little shorter, could give you an advantage accelerating out of turns.

 

While they did revamp the website and a lot of the previous info such as weights etc. is no longer listed, there’s plenty of information on here about the RacingBrake stuff. Not going to waste my time holding your hand; get the OE size 324x24 front kit and the 2-pc rear rotors for the most weight savings. Nothing else is lighter. Or the 2-pc rotors only if that’s what you want. Those parts are all on their website, not sure what the issue is other than you come across as not very experienced.

you have to replace the front hub assemblies; use only the OE Mazda part as the aftermarket stuff doesn’t last for racing; that info is on here too

I’m assuming you have a rear bearing issue rather than it actually being the rear hub; again, the process for that is on here too. It’s not a simple unbolt and swap deal like the front.

the sooner you learn how to search effectively the sooner you’ll become self sufficient at finding what it is you want and need; like anything worthwhile in life, it will require some effort and paying your dues. There’s a reason I know what I know, having put hundreds, if not over a thousand hours scouring anything and everything RX8 for the last 15 years. I’m willing to help you some if you want to pm me, but in case you didn’t pick up on it already, am not one to coddle adults or be a butler handing out stuff on a silver platter for people who can’t be bothered with making any effort on their own.
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I'll go ahead and grab the BBK and see if it helps. I didn't know about the differential. I'll check that out. Thanks for the help.

 

As mentioned before, I have heard people on the forum mentioning Timken makes the OEM hubs. Don't quote me on it, though. I got an OEM front hub through the local dealer, though if the Timken one is OEM, you can get some good savings through Rock Auto. It's not a hard process, just make sure you are ready to deal with some rust.

The rear bearing is more work. It's not a hub, you'd have to press the bearing in and out.

I recall doing some digging about the Racing Brakes and seems like quite some people are not impressed with their quality and failure rate. Combined with the reply that mentions they don't endorse track use, I'd be careful.

 

they say the same about the RX8, but some people having or not having issues might be a bit more revealing then some of the have-group might want to admit
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I've had no issues with the Racing Brake stuff... they hold up to a 450+hp car that puts a lot more stress on the brakes than the stock car

I think most of your time deficit is the tires the other guy is using. If you are on comparable tires I bet you would be closer