Project NoTorques, an RX8 for time trials, HPDE and some autocross

Here it is, in all its glory:

The build has begun, but at the moment I'm mainly doing catch-up maintenance. It's been looked after better than most in my price range (below 8k-ish) but there's still plenty to do.

While I was waiting for my Mazdaspeed team support membership approval, I decided to do something about the headlights. Just because I have a cataract doesn't mean my car has to have two of them, too. Before and after:

Unfortunately they're already starting to yellow a bit again, I think I may have to clearcoat them.

It has the advanced keyless entry system with the credit card sized "keys" and of course both were dead. New batteries ressurected one of the two, the other one remained dead, most likely because someone inserted the previous battery the wrong way around . Oh well, one will do for now.

What wouldn't do was the broken cap over the ignition lock (common fault) - initial research suggested that Mazda really wants you to buy a complete steering lock, but a bit more digging brought up a TSB and a part number just for the cap's base.

Here's the part number if someone else runs into the same issue:

And it's not falling off the steering lock anymore!

At this point the parts started piling up from Mazda and Tire Rack, but I was also waiting for this important part, NLA from Mazda:

Did I say pile of parts? OK, small pile - most of the cooling system stuff hasn't arrived yet, and what feels like half the US supply of Idemitsu rotary engine oil and premix isn't in the picture.

Yesterday was mostly spent addressing issues that didn't require me to move it as the battery is currently on the charger. First order of the day, coils. Pulling coil #1 out didn't look too good, look at the burn mark on the bracket:

Coil wasn't looking too hot either, but that wasn't a surprise - the PO never changed the coils so there was a good chance they were still the originals - compare it with a brand new one:

The other coils didn't look much better either, in fact the further back I got the worse they were. It'll be interesting to see how it starts now - and yes, it'll also get new wires and plugs, but for that I have to get under the car. While I had the airbox out to get at the coils, I also replaced the air filter - the dealer inspection had a note on there saying "air filter slightly dirty". That was the understatement of the year, it was properly filthy.

Speaking of properly filthy, the a/c filters were also a little overdue for replacement, although I have to say the dried fruit that almost prevented me from getting the filter out was a nice touch.

While I was poking around the interior I also replaced the worn through vinyl shift boot with a leather one from Redlinegoods. Unfortunately the mounting ring and the top of the OEM boot was broken so the install isn't as neat as I would like, but it's an improvement. I also found out that the PO really seemed to like sugary drinks that leave sticky residue all over the place. Yuck.

For today, it's time to play the garage shuffle to get this one into the garage and do the brakes, plugs and wires.

Mind sharing year/miles/price? curious. I passed on a 2005 in 2008. I cannot remember the miles but it was $12k. I passed because on the test drive when I reset the mpg on the highway It stayed under 12mpg... (at the time I was driving from ohio to sc monthly if not every other month...)

I do remember it handling well but wanting a bit more torque. (i remember that my 2004 mazda3 felt like it had more torque.) Eventually bought a z but that's another story.

Yay another rotary!!!

Coils and plugs are a wear item so long as you stay with OEM, it needs to be part of a 30k service, look at BHR Texas rotary experts for LS coil kits (much better design then OE)

Big front sway bar is a big help and really thats about all you need to do aside from struts for the suspension for a while.

It is much easier to do the plugs through the drivers wheel well with a flex joint and an extension, test pipe is suggested for a track day as they can easily carbon/burn out with heavy track use.

Good luck with the build!

A shinka too! you usually seem them only in purple and AT too. I think it has slightly different brakes/suspension or it just has the GT/T brakes instead of base sport. but the suede leather interior is nice because their regular leather is very terrible. Do you have to take the airbox off to replace the coils? I just ordered my BHR new plugs helped but I still feel some hesitation at high rpm sometimes.

easy way to get at the plugs (in a pinch) is just turn the steering wheel all the way then lay and ground and get your hand in there. You will have to remove a plastic trim with a philips but its easy.

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

It's an 06 Shinka with 122k on it, bought from its long-term owner (he owned it since it had a bit over 9k on it) because he wadded up his race car and needed the money. I ended up paying 6800, which is about the going rate for an S1 out here and reasonably cheap for a late S1.

In reply to JtspellS:

Yeah, I'm aware of the BHR coils and will probably put them on if it turns out to be a longer-term car. With the Mazdaspeed discount the OEM coils aren't a bad deal though and with the amount of parts going on there I had to postpone the purchase of the BHR ones.

In reply to fidelity101:

The purple ones (aka "Black Pearl Mica") would've been my preferred colour actually, but that's a 2005-only colour. Shinkas aren't that easy to find overall so I'm quite pleased with that. Other than the interior, Shinkas had a foam-filled front crossmember and Bilstein shocks. The crossmember is there, didn't see anything saying "Bilstein" on the shocks - they're on the list of items to be replaced anyway.

I did pull the airbox to get at the coils as it's much easier that way. IIRC for the BHR coils you will have to pull it as you're also changing the mounting bracket and that pulls out towards the front of the car.

In reply to BoxheadTim:

Trust me I understand, it took me 2 years before I decided to so the coil conversion kit lol.

And even with the stock coils it makes it much easier to do with the air box out, its really not horrible to take out.

Spent most of the afternoon in the garage yesterday with not much to show for it, but I deliberately took it slow with an emphasis on doing things right.

Someone got a lot of use out of the brakes:

Took a while to get the disk off as it was corroded onto the hub a little, but not as bad as I've seen in the UK. PB Blaster and a rubber mallet eventually got it off. Cleaned up the hub as best as I could, let's hope the disk is sitting on properly (there is minimal "grinding" with the pads on that suggests slight runout, but I lost my nice dial indicator when I moved from the UK and haven't replaced it yet, so that's a guess).

While I was in there I swapped out the brake line for a Goodridge stainless steel one - the workshop manual calls for disconnecting the brake line when replacing the disks and after ignoring it, I now know why - it's much easier that way...

While I was in there I pulled out the spark plugs and as expected, those also didn't have much life left:

The electrodes on the trailing ones were noticeably worn compared to the new plugs. I'm pretty impressed it started and runs as well as it does.

Hopefully between now and Friday I'll managed to replace the remaining three brake disks and get to bleed the brakes and clutch (shared reservoir, yuck). We've got the annual track and Auto-X tech on Saturday and I hope to get the car through there rather than having to try and get it teched at the first event.

Congrats - I'm in the same process as you as I picked up my RX8 late last fall and have been slowly upgrading/replacing old parts in hopes of having the car ready in April for some HPDE to see how she does.

I should start a build thread so we can compare notes as the progress continues

6k for an S1 is the going rate? wow here in detroit they are 3-4500 all day long but then again the big 3 are quite prevalent here. I believe the S2s have billies to but I did not see a sticker either.

I think most rx8 owners do the same thing (for drivers that is, not show or hellaflush stuff)

plugs/coils/fluids/brakes/drive the E36 M3 out of it.

otherwise spend 2000 dollars to gain 10whp and 50Db

Awesome.

Love these cars. It's nice to see a stockish build on one.

SWMBO really wants one, and I'm interested to see how reasonable and durable a used one can be. Many sites say you have to plan to replace the motor no matter what, so I've been leary of them.

In reply to fidelity101:

6k-8k for an S1 seems to be the going rate in NorCal. 3-4k buys you one that needs an engine rebuild and/or has been driven into a heavy, immobile object. At least they're usually rust free.

Re power, my take is that you either stick with stock or put a pile of money in. 13B TT conversions have been done, and one of the rotary specialists in the UK who I used to do business with (Carl Hayward of Hayward Rotary) has a bridge ported Renesis in his trackday car that's even running on the OEM ECU.

I'm planning to mostly throw money at the suspension snd probably some chassis stiffening for now.

In reply to cdyer77:

Indeed you should, either for comparing notes or to have company in our shared misery .

In reply to Cooper_Tired:

Depends on who these "many sites" are. A lot of people don't get just how maintenance intensive these things are and simple things like neglecting the coils and spark plugs can cost you an engine. That, plus the long maintenance intervals, aren't helping.

Plus with the 04/05 ones, you had the usual combination of dealer issues and a Mazda product early in its life. This one does still have the original engine according to the seller, but you don't hear too much about ones with that sort of engine longevity.

I am planning to extend the lifespan of it as much as possible using the appropriate special ointments (that's why I have 24 quarts of various kinds of Idemitsu rotary oil in the garage...) and eventually get another engine off ebay to rebuild once I get a better feel for how this one is holding up.

Progress update - spent my alloted garage hour last night digging around the garage for tools instead of working on the car. I think I'll need to spend an evening cleaning up that mess first.

Passenger front disk is baked on the hub as badly or worse than the driver's side one so I took off all the brackets, loosened the mounting screws and gave it a few squirts of PB Blaster. Another squirt before I leave for work and hopefully it'll come off tonight. Goal for tonight is to have passenger side front done, then do the rears tomorrow and Thursday night.

A friend got an S1 recently for $2k with about 90k miles. Has some minor bumper/fender damage on rear and is a low option car with cloth interior and now sunroof. Car was a little down on power after coils, plugs and S2 starter so they did a rebuild and somehow she managed to negotiate a deal with Mazda so they got all the needed parts on credit for promoting Mazda through use of the car and writing articles for them while they campaign the car in C-Street autox. Theirs is a New England car and the lower control arms were totally fubar, required them to saw the things off.

Having to saw control arms off? Holy cow, and I'm complaining about disks stuck to the hub because of a little corrosion...

Anyway, after being sidelined for a day due to some disagreement with lunch, I finally managed to get the disk off last night. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to finish up the work at the front and move on to the rear brakes.

There's a bridgeported RX8 running on stock ECU up here.

I keep looking at RX8's, but I already have 2 RX7s and not sure if I have the stomach for a modern rotary.

I'm interested to see what it's like living with one of these - thanks for documenting!

Progress seems to be typical for one of my projects - not as much progress as I would like, but more swearing than I had hoped. Fortunately, nothing major so far, but enough to cause unwanted delays. Especially unwanted because I ended up missing annual tech and the car is going to reside on axle stands for another week or three. Oh well, I still have a month to the first event. gulp .

Rear disks came off relatively easily, but a tire shop replaced one of the rear wheel studs and it looks like I suspected - backplate mangled to get the stud in, and I don't think it's quite the right thread either as I could barely get the nut off. In the end I had to recut thread before putting the wheels back on.

Plus, it looks like some Neanderthal wound back the piston on the rear drivers side with a chisel and marked a couple of the slots. Fortunately there is enough left for the HF wind-back tool to bite and do it's job.

That wasn't the case on the passenger side, the piston turns with a fair amount of effort but doesn't wind back in. Looks like it's berkeleyed, local NAPA can't get one for 4-5 days minimum so I guess I have to bite the bullet and get one via Mazda Team Support - more expensive but that one should definitely be here before next weekend. Plus that'll allow me to order the various filler and drain plug gaskets the local Mazda dealer doesn't have in stock.

Oh, and both rear shocks are leaking . I had hoped to be able to run the car on stock suspension for its first event but it looks like it's coilover time early. That's $2500 I really didn't want to spend right now, especially as I also still have to get track tires and wheels.

A very well timed thread! I am looking at picking up a S2 R3 once my 911 SC sells. http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1982-porsche-911-sc-4/

All canoes aside, I have been researching R3 vs non R3 and S1 vs S2. I have found a low mile R3 for $19k and am unsure if the extra dough is worth it. This thread will add an S1 datapoint to my research. Keep it up!

Wanna swap my RX8 for your SC?

Thought not.

Anyway, I would argue that an R3 is worth the money, the S2 is a better car and the R3 is probably the most interesting model they made.

So with the mangled rear caliper I made yet another call to Mazdaspeed and put the project on hold until this guy showed up:

Everything went together well after this. Flushed the brake fluid and drained the diff and transmission fluid. I don't think I've ever seen diff oil as black as the one that came out of this diff, looked like well used engine oil. Anyway, after all the usual swearing when filling up the transmission and diff, I buttoned up things under the car. With the new plugs, leads and spark plugs it fired up much better and when idling there was no discernible movement from the engine - it did rock a little when I bought the car, so I guess I figured out why it did that.

Last job under the car, put some of the good stuff in:

Yes, I know it's synthetic and I also know it's the "wrong" viscosity. Idemitsu also happened to make the oil that Mazda ran in the 787B...

At this point I was eager to get all of this buttoned up and drive the car. I was also getting tired and cranky, which should've been a hint that I needed to take a break. Well, I didn't and this happened:

I have to put the RX8 on a set of low Race Ramps to get my jack underneath it. Didn't want to start the engine so I hopped in the drivers seat, stuck a foot out the door and gave it a push. Only that in my addled state I spaced and didn't close the door soon enough. Hey, I mean the bike was only parked there for the whole winter.

Even with the damage, I got lucky - if you look closely at the picture you'll notice that both stands had snapped up. Fortunately the bike was leaning against the wall just enough and didn't topple over when I carefully extricated the RX8. Damage to the RX8 is annoying, but should be relatively easy to sort out for a decent bodyshop:

The bike didn't fare too badly either, at least on the side I can see. Didn't have the heart to pull the bike out and check for damage on the other side yet. The main problem is going to be finding a good replacement side panel - not sure if they're even still available from BMW and used ones usually have damaged mounting lugs:

So, not taking a break cost me a few hundred bucks . Listen to your body, folks.

At this point I took it out for a test drive (well, I needed to get cat litter...) - it does run much better than before, and the brakes with the new Hawk Street/Race pads are pretty spectacular. I even drove it to work the last two days and it's running really well. However I did notice that it appeared to be losing coolant. That's never a good sign with a rotary...

After parking it this evening I checked underneath for oil leaks and noticed a drip from the front of the car. Didn't smell like oil and looking a bit closer showed it was coolant. It wasn't hot enough to push coolant out of the overflow, but I also noticed the bumper undertray was a little wet.

Well, here's the reason for the coolant loss:

Yep. Radiator leak. The foam between the radiator and the body is soaking wet, too.

Now the good news is that I do have a Koyo on order with Mazdaspeed, the bad news is that they won't be able to get it to me in time for the first time trials event of the yeat. Guess I'll have to check with Goodwin tomorrow if they have either a Koyo or a CSF radiator in stock. Heck, at least I found the problem before taking it autocrossing as I had originally planned for Sunday.

You're basically finding the same things my friends did on their S1. They got the motor all buttoned back and up and started driving it again and then it developed a coolant leak from the radiator soon after. Their stock shocks were toast as well. When I had my 8 I had mine go out and start leaking from the rears around 60k, they are cheapo stuff.

As far as the discussion goes around which 8 to buy I'd say definitely at least S2 because of the improved oiling, but if you have a known good S1 for a good price then just premix and run it. R3 is compelling, but at the same time $19k for an RX8 is pretty spendy IMO and considering the R3 doesn't add a whole lot of advantages I'm not sure I'd pay that much.

Thanks for the insight on the R3. Here us the one I have in mind. Mazda RX-8 R3

I swear it's been up for sale for over a year with the same price. The price seems high, but it seems to have been properly taken care of.

Sucks about the car falling off the jacks! I slso have learned to stop wrenching when I get tired. Thats usually when I get ham-fisted and start breaking E36 M3.

It's a nice looking R3 and I'm sure it is worth $19k, but is it worth $19k to you is the question. IMO the extra R3 stuff doesn't necessarily add up for me.

Tim - Look into the Ron Davis racing radiators from Mazmart - seems to be what all the guys racing rx8's are using. They are pricey compared to others, but I've read about fitment issues with both the Koyo's & the Mishimoto radiators.

I have one on my "to purchase" list once I get to that point with my RX8 (which has had zero progress lately due to work schedules)

http://shop.mazmart.com/en/remedy-rx8-radiator-04-08-mt