TAKA 八仔ブログ: RX-8

RX-8 cop car in Sydney

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 11:03:19 GMT

I will just ask

WHY?

Shit!

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:38:49 GMT

What is happening here???????

There is some wear on the right side of the brake pedal. Can feel-toe do that?????.... Please do not let my wife see this. I promise not to put my car on the race track for a while.

Car is fixed and more are added!

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:27:49 GMT

Car is fixed and the panels are done!

I finally took the delivery of the new wheel last Friday and now it has replaced the repaired wheel. The repaired wheel will become a spare wheel. What is the spare wheel for? Well....

Now what is new.

I put this endlink on because I realise the stabilizer bar is tilted ever slightly above horizontal; the concept is simple: the more horizontal the stabilizer sits, the better it works.

By the way, I installed them myself at Craig's hoist . There are adjustments from 90mm to 104mm on the endlink, which correspond to 25mm lower on spring to stock height. By the way, this set of endlink can also be used in Mazda MPV (LY3P), Mazda CX-7 (ER3P), and Roaster/Miata/MX-5 (NCEC).

A050 soft compound review

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 01:41:24 GMT

Very interesting article and some deeper meaning of just longitudinal and transverse grip comparison.

http://feed.carview.co.jp/tb.aspx?t=blog&i=5832160&h=5c7e9

This person driving EVO still prefer A048.

Corner balancing - my suspension height is way out!

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:59:05 GMT

I went to Melbourne Performance Centre again today to get the car on the scale! Well besides the fact that I need a diet (because I was also asked to sit in it), the suspension height is way off. There is a 10mm difference between the left and right rear suspension when Mr fat Taka is in-situ , and the weight for each corner is way off too.

This is the scale and wires ~

The plates goes under the car.

Adjustment is needed for all 4 corner but mainly the right rear. I helped too!~ but I had a slightly easier job.

Total weight of the car, with me (91kg) in it is 1430kg.

The corner of each car is like that and of course, with the driver in the right, the right side of the car is going to be heavier. The main thing they are trying to adjust is the right front to left rear ratio, or the cross ratio. This is aimed to be 50% when corner balancing. With me in it, the front is 52.1% and the right is 52.6%. So I am contributing to 2.1% and not quite 50:50. I need to lose weight, don't I. I also have the car in 3/4 tank of petrol to simulate what I have mostly on the track. I normally have a full tank to start off the day and reach to 1/2 by the end of it. So 3/4 of tank is the best.

Dean, who did the car up for me at MPC, said that if the balance is out before you will find the car will prefer to turn to one side under brakes, especially in my case where the rear is off. Actually in the last few track days, I found the car turned better to the right then to the left, which I struggle to set the final corner of Broadford.

Let us see later what this do.

By the way, the A048 is quieter than RE55s Bridgestone but they are still noisy.

Knight Sports 4-BEAT tuning video

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:00:05 GMT

4 Beat tune - City driving impression

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:37:50 GMT

I have some driving impression... all things work in the car. The FM stations and all the audio setting has not changed. A/C is working. ABS and DSC does what it is suppose too (it has been tested ). Idling is fine although I experience some variation of the actual rev (from 800-1200) during traffic, but not rough at all.

Now power wise, I have to say the first 3000rpm is stil useless and difficult to pick up. The throttle response is as before. So much reliable assessment since I have been testing the car in full throttle mostly hehe . In mid range (4000-6000 rpm) the power is ok but I definitely can feel the "pull" from the engine at this range. I just check the torque curve now, and it shows the biggest gap before and after tune, so that can be explained.

Between 6000rpm and 8000rpm there is very minimal different in terms of feel. But after you go pass 8000 there is some extra activity that the graph does not show. Some extra boost of activity after 9000rpm, at which point I used to think that is just for show and very useless in terms of gaining extra speed. Now this is different. *My shift light spot has now been adjusted*

Experiment 1

What is like to have rocket fuel on board?

Love it and hate it. It does sounds more violent, the top end is more aggressive. It is a shame that I did not have a chance to put it under dyno. In fact, I went back to see Jason from the REVS rotary but I did not ask for another dyno run. Damn!

The lower torque is not as pronouced but it roars quickly to 9000rpm! Certainly a different car compare with normal V Power.

Stop making more driving impression. Get on the track** (my track guardian angel shouted).

My Knight Sports 4 BEAT tune

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:58:06 GMT

This is the way to tune the car. Now I have it!

Here is my story and all the picture are taken from mobile phone (*sorry it is so bad :rolleyes: ).

From Knight Sports Website
そして実際の空燃比は、ノーマルの場合、２０００－９０００まで約１２－１３になっています。
Normal AFR is about 12-13.
ノックレベルをみながら思い切った燃調を試しましたが、結果的には１３－１３．５がベストパワーに
なります。 Considering without pinging, the best AFR is 13-13.5
結果的に点火が進み、空燃比がストックデータより約１ほど全域で薄い状態ですが、３０００ｒｐｍ
以上で、全域にわたり６-７馬力のアップ。排気効率の良いマフラーとの組み合わせで１１-１２馬力
アップします。特に中間域がきちんと上がっていますから、扱いやすいパワーカーブです。
Too technical for me for most of its parts: Essentially they talk about advancing the timing and if the AFR goes from low 12 to low 13s... one expects 6-7ps increase all the way from 3000rpm, with good flowing catback combination can achieve 11-12 ps. Mid range will increase mainly.

燃調と点火以外では、スピードリミット、レブリミット、電動ファンの作動温度設定、メタポンのマップ変更も
可能です。
Besides timing and ignition change. Speed cut, fan control.

弊社のデモカーでは、ファンの設定を８８度にしている為、常時９０度以内で水温が安定しています。
また、ＷＤＳによるチェックも行っていますが、異常は検出されませんし、アップデイトも問題ありません。 Fan is set at 88 degree. WDS can still check codes, update (?refresh) will be ok.

Now.

The morning started with me going there very early

The tuners arrived in a few several minutes ..... They come and inspect the dyno carefully My car gets on the dyno and do the initial run 119kW only

The guru... the gentleman on the right is the president of Knight Sports - a man with a few words. The tuner opens the ECU cover. Need some adjustment on the board to install the map

One is plugged to the harness and one to the other (bottom loop). Then he keys in the all the important data.

Uplading ... 30%. When the upload is finished. Check with the dyno graph again.

Finish ... a sticker of approval!

Dyno chart

Power to Torque

Power to AFR

I have some driving impression... but I will conclude after cold start tomorrow.

New new semi-slicks (Yokohama A048) - no track reviews until October (really)

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:40:28 GMT

This is it. The new thing that glues. It took me 2 years to have the courage to try something new. And after a lot of Internet research (some of which are very bias I have to add), I decided on the Yokohama Advan A048. They are in the size of 235/40 R18 91Y MH compound. MH compound is the hardest compound and the same compound used in the Lotus Exige models.

From comparing between the 2 tyres (the Bridgestone on the left; and the Yokohama on the right), the tyres look the same in width. Although the Yoko is 235 and the Bridgestone is 245, the square shape of the Yokohama means the contact part of the tyre of Yoko is the same size as (if not any more than) the Bridgestone. The tyre is smaller - as you can see on the bottom picture, and lighter - with even just my hand I can tell, and certainly the size wall is stronger (with a smaller profile).

245/40 R18 Bridgestone (left tyre) VS 235/40 R18 Yokohama (right tyre)

I will track here of any track review, but these tyres are saved for the Nationals.

HKS talks about intakes for the RX-8

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:56:07 GMT

This is the first of my translated Japanese magazine articles. More to come I promise.

“RX-8 air intake is a difficult subject and it is very sensitive to change. One must choose carefully,” said the intake designer at HKS.

Normally an open type intake works well for every car, since the best suction rate you can get is from this type of design. Totally open type in an Mazda RX-8, however, has an opposite effect.

If you want to increase the engine performance, the volume of air intake has to be increased. However, one must ensures cold air being taken in. Since high temperature air arising from an RX-8 has an increase total volume than colder air. Hence, a lower density of air particles, resulting from less air being taken in the end. The ECU also very sensitive to intake heat, and it may be the reason for reduction in engine power.

“On the other hand, if the box is totally sealed, the amount of air is certainly less than open type, hence performance of the intake will not be fully used. Therefore, the amount of open air expose to the intake, and the shape of the box, and where it opens are important.”

“We have produced the best intake whereby the intake amount and the air temp is balanced.”

Therefore, HKS opted for a suction intake has a shape not totally open or totally closed.

This is their analyses using different set ups.

Discussion

In my opinion, it is a very confusing article since the parameters on the graft are confusing.

The first graph indicates the temperature of the intake over engine revolution. It is very confusing since it is a difficult concept of the fact that the intake temp will reduce in hard revving. Does it mean more continuous air being sucked in and the actual temperate reading is being record by the sensor?

The dyno graph on the right shows marginal benefits. The max power difference at the top of the rev range is a mere 1-2kW. I hope they have factored in variations of power between runs on the same set up. This marginal result may not be argumentative enough.

To confuse me even more, the middle graph indicates a big variation between intake resistant versus the intake flow. The actual amount of flow in respect of the engine revolution/speed was not shown. I wonder how much of this graph translate to actual benefit of amount of air being taken in across the rev range.

The actual resistance benefit of the HKS filter element itself can be shown by comparing the result from both closed type boxes (the black graph and the blue graph). According to this, there is approximately 20-30% increase (~0.21 m3/sec to ~0.27 m3/sec at 4kPa of suction resistance). So I interpret that in the same type of box you use (close type), you will have increase of flow by 20-30% when you change to the HKS filter type alone. That is not great amount considering just changing the filter itself from MazdaSpeed, Pipercross (RMagic) and ITC will get at least 10-15% of improvement in filtration effort.

Conclusion

HKS has its point of balancing the amount of air and its temperature of an intake. I reckon there may be a better way then just merely opens the box and get more air flow, knowing they have done some sacrifice by getting small amount of bonnet air.

I think some sort of ram air via the bonnet may be a good solution, although it will not be rain proof.

Choosing my S-tyre

Fri, 11 May 2007 13:12:57 GMT

S tyre (aka R-spec tyre, semi slicks) is my vital part of the circuit time attack. I have been using the Bridgeston RE55S in 245/40-18, SR2 version. This S tyre is rated from time attack (short or long) to league racing. So the SR compound hit up quick but last very long, which is an all round tyre.

It is criticial to choose the tyre I am going to run at the National, and I found now the compound I am going to use too. It must last long, since I have to make it last the whole 2 days. So soft compound is out and there will be too much testing to do. There is a big group of A048 fan in Japan, and most of the trackkies in Japan are running A048, and not much are running Bridgestone. I really do not know why.

The choice for trackkies in Victoria is very clear. Most people are running Bridgestone or Toyo. It merely because Bridgestone (RE55S) is 2/3 of the price of the Dunlop D03G and Yokohama A048. But I do not find any evidence of the Dunlop and Yoko being a superior tyre. Japanese have in their blog saying that A048 does not last as long as the RE55S. Would that because they chose the wrong tyre?

I will track back to this thread once I have more info but so far I have the official site only.

Bridgestone RE55S, Dunlop D03G, and Yokohama A048. I am leaning on Dunlop at this stage.

The new bumper guard put on and glued (笑)

Sun, 06 May 2007 03:09:00 GMT

The tape is in and black silicon has to put in from the back to let it set for 24-48 hours. The gap will never be perfect since the edge of the middle has changed shape from the heat. We can only do the best we can. Should not have pull the melted plastic out and we have have a chance to remould it (淚).

Once I took it off the guard is glued well to the middle portion and the lower bumper. But you can still see considerable gap in the bottom part.

Who said Shelly No More Gaps is useful ... liar

RX-8 Engine (13B-MSP) Miniature model

Fri, 04 May 2007 10:01:08 GMT

I just brought this recently. It is very well made and has a clear exhaust port to tell people what MSP stands for. It is a 6 port engine with one housing. You prob has to buy 2 to make an RX-8 haha. But it turns and have 2 fake but clear marked spark plug (*leading - L and trailing - T).

A retrospect embarrassment

Fri, 04 May 2007 07:57:21 GMT

I don't like to speak of my stupidity on the day. This happened about 3 weeks ago before the EXE track day. I just want to change the parker light, thinking it is easy done since I have done it so many times. Here I go and pop, the socket holding the parking bulb (a W5W or 194) came out nicely. The trouble was the bulb is lost.... in the casing! In an attempt to save my embarrassment, I try to get it via a stick, a chopstick and even put the Bluetek into the socket, trying to stick it out. And GUESS WHAT! The bluetek went in as well. Shit .

I use a lot of instruments, even those from my lab does not work. I knew I had to go to Nelson for it. He uses a flexible pick up tool to get it and take it out within a minute... fuk.

I swear if these LED go too soon, I will go back to Bluevision.

Nice exhaust notes comes with consequences

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:23:21 GMT

Yes I was too painful to write on the spot but I had to take some pics. After installing the clutch I found the exhaust notes is different. Sounds so great! I thought the engine is just rev better since the clutch/flywheel install. And the tinging sound is just the clutch noise.

So wrong. The bolt of the midpipe actually comes off. And when I chase my time at Winton, it came off and give a nice exhaust blast. The best racing noise on earth. It may have robbed a kW or 2 from the turbulance flow though.

When I come back from the pit, I discovered the bumper is melted.

I felt the pain and the pic is just taken today.

Burn exhaust guard where the midpipe is.... you can see where the hot air goes through the plastic of the bumper. The clips have gone (melted) and I have to find a way to glue it on... well my mechanics has to do it. He is the one that cause the loose bolts.

The middle bit also suffered.... This will not make the repair... I might have to thinking of something clever for that. Need to polish the tip too!

Thanks heaps for William for his spare parts!.... I owe you one!

My review of ORC Light 250 clutch.

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:11:07 GMT

The clutch is in.

My impression? It is very light. The pedal can go to the floor without much flex of my left leg muscle. The bite is excellent and very instance, so it would be slightly harder to drive. However, I found it is ok in traffic for me.

The gear shifting is much smoother. I think now it is back to normal. Like a new car!

The main thing is the 1st 2 gears the response is very good. It shoot towards 9500 rpm without fuss. I cannot go to the 9000rpm in 3rd gear during Easter... otherwise I will get book big time. Haha.

Drive shaft has to be taken out. The gear box was taken out to reach the clutch.

The cat and midpipe is out to make way to drop the tranny.

Nelson commented how clean the fuel has been burning. How clean the inside of manifold!

Starter motor! It is the first thing to come out and why I took a day in a Mazda dealer to fix that?

Note the hole: Where the starter motor is taken out off.... you can see the flywheel beyond that!

My impuse buy - it must be useful

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:36:26 GMT

I am going to put the clutch set and clutch line this Friday. However, I already order some more mods.

LOL

This is my new mods:

FRONT one -

REAR-

Autoexe Front and Rear lower arm bars! It meant to stablize the suspension.

Without bars

With bars - red look that much better! LOL

I have also updated my racing wheel nuts - my current set is wearing out and not pretty anymore. Getting some Wedsports. May run something different with the Wedsports wheels.

Counterweight purchased

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:48:24 GMT

This is the counterweight that I purchased today.

Most aftermarket flywheel needs a counterbalance and most use the rear counterbalance from the automatic gear box of the RX-8. I need some bolts for that 6 holes and I will come tomorrow.

Model number N3Z2-11-52X
$105 from Max Kirwan.
Weigh 1.6kg

ORC Light 250 Clutch

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 11:16:16 GMT

My new mods here.

This is the ORC (Ogura Racing Clutch) light 250. It is high pressure type so I have room for engine mods. Wicked. They are rated up to 235kW. So I will need to change it once I decided on turbo.

It has a baby blue colour.

Now weight

Clutch clamp housing

The fly - 5.5kg

The organic plate with package is 0.8kg. I guess 0.6kg on its own.

So the kit is less than 10kg or just over when I add in the counterweight, need a AT rear counterweight.

My response to people saying about fuel economy on our RX-8s

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:46:39 GMT

QUOTE:

*the* main point however was that there was no way to drive the car economically. If you didn't want to push it, it would still suck fuel bigtime.

My Response:

Choose your car carefully

Recently I discovered the green side of me, feeling now fuel economy is very important part of my life. So much so that I feel that people use our resources to warm the environment is so wrong, and should be prosecuted.

I also decided not to place an order at my local Volkswagen dealer for an new Bugatti Veyron. It has the good look, I admit. But it just has VERY little rear view. It SUCKS fuel big time. I don't like fueling up every 100km, and it is a 120L fuel tank! Think of that it only would only take me 15 mins to get to another station since I would be traveling close to 400kmh. It has enormous tyre at the rear that would be too expensive to replace, nor there is any boot space for my golf club or Mrs' shopping. Oh that the Bugatti watch that the salesperson trying to sell worth as much as my house.

I am also reviewing how I use my current car, trying to change my driving habit. Because when I get something that has 1001hp, I should drive it like a nanny to limit my contribution in warming the environment. I know I am wasting the car, but that is ok, since my neighbour squirrels are thanking me saving the environment. And hopefully they will stop going to my attic, chewing my electrical wire and cause a house fire.

I also think I should buy an jet car, since it burn clean methanol and have the same horsepower. Stop myself being a playboy.

So much to consider when you buy a car.

I will stop farting now since it emits CO2. Oh dear!

Cleaning: What is your Stage III water restriction habit?

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:30:39 GMT

I am sure black paint is hard to maintain. I don't do much to it, but I still have comments about how new it is after 3 years. I guess I must be doing something right.

Here is what I do.

1. Put the car in the shade as much as possible. UV is the no one killer to paint.

2. Now I wash it in the car wash place. I have to choose it carefully since some people do scratch paint by using bad habits.

I go to them -

Magic hand car wash in Hood Street, Collingwood

They are very good, quick and many Porsches to see. They have been in business for more than 10 years, even before the water restriction.

3. I use the spray that comes with this kit to get rid of the water mark after going back to my place.

This is very handy, especially the clay bar when you want to prep the surface before polishing.

When I want to polish I will wash the surface first with the spray and a non scratch cloth. Clay bar the surface with the lubrication from that spray. Dry the surface again.

Then it is time to check the swirls.

4. Then when I see the swirls or fine marks I use this to "try" to get rid of it.

It is not fool proof and some deep one cannot be recovered. Then you need professional help.

Some industrial products are much better than this and the professional orbitor spins faster and neater.

After all the prep and semi happy with the prepwork. It is simply to gather your favourite polishing products and off you go. I use an 10" orbitor since I am lazy and the machine does a better job. I don't think hard wax need to apply all the time. I normally have the car using soft polish for most time and use hard wax once a year. You can tell your wax is hard or not. Polish rub easily and have fine dust when you wipe them when they are dry. Hard wax is harder to remove and have thicker crump.

What are your habbits?

No Unichip = best Winton Lap Time

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:52:54 GMT

It is a strange world we live in. Why would anyone so reputable get it so wrong. And does not admit it.

After the drama of the dead Unichip (it was the fact that the Unichip died and put the cranker sensor out of range, resulting in the car not being able to start), I was convinced that there is nothing that the $1000 Unichip was offering to my car.

In fact, I have the prove today.

1'43.146

There is no better evidence than that!

Read here

http://www.mylaps.com/live/showLaptimes.jsp?tid=114&transponder=780605

I was stuck behind backmarkers all the time and it is not funny. People put dirt on the track!

I gave up after the time was set. I was not prepare to waste my petrol and tyres.

New rego plate

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:28:13 GMT

It takes me so long to decide this. TAKA*8.

I dunno about you. I am so into this name that I decide to become a real "TAKA". Who has "TAKA"? I resulted in getting this "TAKA*8" plate. It actually fills the plate backlings very nicely. The rear plate required some modification to the holes though. .

What do you think?

Winton PCOTY lap times

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:26:06 GMT

Where are you placed?

These are the Winton Laptimes from the PCOTY's. That is the lot of them from over the last 6 years (ie. all 130 of them). Keep in mind that the latest ones (ie. from PCOTY '06 final) see to have had better conditions that usual, and seen to be (up to) 1sec quicker than what they go from the same cars earlier in the year.

Note the FPV F6, XR6 times as a reference.

Porsche 911 (996) GT2 = 1.36.35
Porsche 911 (997) Turbo '06 = 1.36.38
BMW M3 CSL (R-spec) = 1.37.06
Porsche 911 (996) Turbo = 1.37.07
Lotus Exige S (R-spec tyres) = 1.37.46
Lamborghini Gallardo = 1.37.51
Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S = 1.38.25
Chrisler Viper RT/10 = 1.38.44
Lotus Exige '05 (R-spec) = 1.39.17
BMW M6 '06 = 1.39.31
BMW Z4 M Roadster = 1.39.84
Porsche Caymen S = 1.40.00
Mitsubishi EVO IX = 1.40.18
Mitsubishi EVO VIII = 1.40.88
Lotus Elise 111S (R-spec tyres) = 1.41.12
Audi RS4 '06 = 1.41.12
BMW M5 '06 = 1.41.15
Mercedes SL55 AMG = 1.41.22
Subaru Impreza WRX Sti '05 (RE070) = 1.41.47
CSV Veloce 330 = 1.41.53
BMW M3 '02 = 1.41.56
HSV GTS (Auto) '06 = 1.42.00
Porsche 911 Carrera '02 = 1.42.01
Porsche BoxsterS '03 = 1.42.09
Audi RS6 Avant = 1.42.09
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO VI = 1.42.23
Subaru Impreza WRX Sti '06 (RE070) = 1.42.39
CSV Veloce 330 '02 = 1.42.53
Nissan 350Z Track '06 = 1.42.56
CVS Mondo GT370R = 1.42.71
Mercedes CLK63 AMG = 1.42.75
HSV GTS Coupe = 1.42.78
HSV Clubsport R8 DTS (R-spec) = 1.42.95
Nissan 350Z Track = 1.43.18
Merceses CLK55 AMG = 1.43.29
FPV Typhoon '06 (Auto) = 1.43.32

My best lap = 1.43.423

HSV GTS'03 = 1.43.44
HSV Clubsport R8 '04 = 1.43.50
Holden Commodore SS V '06 = 1.43.56
Subaru Impreza WRX Sti '02 = 1.43.60
Ford XR6 Turbo '06 = 1.43.62
Mercedes E55 AMG = 1.43.66
Mercedes C55 AMG = 1.43.67
Holden Monaro CV8 '03 = 1.43.69
HSV GTS = 1.43.71
Subaru Impreza WRX Sti'03 = 1.43.75
Lotus Elise '02 = 1.43.88
Mercedes CL65 AMG = 1.43.94
VW Golf R32 '06 = 1.44.04
HSV Clubsort R8'05 = 1.44.07
Honda S2000 = 1.44.09
Audi RS4 = 1.44.13
Audi S4 '04 = 1.44.31
Mercedes SLK350 = 1.44.35
Holden Monaro CV8'05 = 1.44.47
Ford XR6 Turbo '06 (Auto) = 1.44.47
Ford Falcon TE50 '02 = 1.44.50
Holden Commodore SS'05 = 1.44.53
FPV Typhoon '06 (Auto) = 1.44.60

Mazda RX8 = 1.44.62

Mazda MX5 SP = 1.44.70
Holden Monaro CV8 = 1.44.80
Chrysler Crossfire = 1.44.87
HSV Mallo R8 = 1.44.91
Ford XR6 Turbo '06 = 1.44.95
BMW Z3 3.0 Auto = 1.45.03
Bentley Continental GT = 1.45.03
Jaguar S-Type R = 1.45.22
BMW Z4 3.0 = 1.45.28
Holden Commodore SV8 = 1.45.37
FPV Falcon GT-P = 1.45.40
Honda Integra Type-R '02 = 1.45.53
FPV Falcon GT = 1.45.57
Mercedes C32 AMG = 1.45.59
HSV GTO Auto'05 = 1.45.62
Holden Commodore SS '02 = 1.45.64
HSV Clubsport R8 = 1.45.68
VW Golf GTi '06 = 1.45.72
Subaru Liberty GT-B '06 = 1.45.78
Holden Commodore SS '06 = 1.45.80
BMW 330Ci = 1.45.83
Ford XR6 Turbo '06 (Auto) = 1.45.90
Jaguar XKR = 1.45.94
Jaguar XJR = 1.45.94
HSV GTO Coupe 6.0L '06 = 1.45.95
Ford Falcon XR8 '02 = 1.46.00
Ford Focus XR5 Turbo = 1.46.00
FPV Falcon GT '06 (Auto) = 1.46.05
Porsche Cayenne Turbo = 1.46.12
Holden Commodore SS '04 = 1.46.13
Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo = 1.46.28
Honda Integra Type-S = 1.46.31
Audi TT 3.2L DSG = 1.46.35
Nissan 200SX = 1.46.40
FTP F6 Typhoon = 1.46.46
Ford Falcon XR8 '06 (Auto) = 1.46.50
Holden Commodore SS = 1.46.58
Subaru Impreza WRX = 1.46.74
Volvo S60 R = 1.47.00
Mazda MX5 SE = 1.47.00
Subaru Liberty GT = 1.47.06
Ford Falcon TE50 = 1.47.07
Renault Sport Clio Cup = 1.47.16
Alfa Romeo 147GTA = 1.47.21
VW Golf R32 = 1.47.22
Audi S6 = 1.47.25
Renault Clio Sport = 1.47.30
MG ZT 260 = 1.47.51
Renault Sport Megane 225 = 1.47.53
Toyota MR2 Spyder = 1.47.56
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA = 1.47.59
Audi S3 = 1.47.63 M
ini Cooper S Chilli = 1.47.74
Mitsubishi Raliant Magna = 1.47.81
Mini Cooper S = 1.47.97
Holden Astra Sri Turbo = 1.48.14
Ford Falcon XR8 = 1.48.29
Merceses SLK230 = 1.48.34
Jaguar X-Type Sport 3.0 = 1.48.80
Volvo S60 = 1.49.00
Mazda MX5 = 1.49.88
Mazda6 Luxuy Sports = 1.50.19
Mitsubishi Magna VR-X = 1.50.24
BMW X5 4.6is = 1.50.68
MGF Trophy 160 = 1.50.78
Holden Barina Sri = 1.50.85
Ford Fairmont Ghia (v8) = 1.51.78
Toyota Camry Sportivo = 1.52.44
BMW X5 = 1.52.83
Alfa Romeo 147 = 1.52.90

The famous Taka thread

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:44:28 GMT

Ten things that all new RX-8 owners should know from day 1

I have been inspired with tens of thousands of RX-8 owners worldwide and have learnt so much from you and I am going attempt to summerize the highlights. Sorry in advance if this long thread bores you. I want to score a sticky :D I will be Australian specific.

CURRENT NEWS!
1. Engine mount:
Second hand car owners - please check if your car need engine mount replacement. Just drive to a dealer before warranty runs out! It has been a problem from Asia to Europe.

2. Petrol containing ethanol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Official response from Mazda Customer Service Department

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the use of 5% Ethanol blended fuel in your Mazda RX8.

The fuel recommendation as per page 4-2 of the owner’s hand book is an octane rating of 95 or above.

Mazda does not actually recommend ethanol blended fuel , however, as stated on our website, your vehicle can also operate on up to E10 fuel, which as you may be aware should have a maximum of 10% ethanol in the fuel. It would appear Optimax is the first E5 fuel being marketed currently and should obviously only contain 5% ethanol content. May we also refer you to the link on our website which provides pertinent information relevant to the use of E10 and in particular “Points to note” .

http://www.mazda.com.au/articleZone...68#Article-2087

Trusting the above is of assistance.

Yours sincerely

Mazda Customer Service

Full discussion thread here

EDIT: Recently survey (Taka, nojooc) that we made serious mistakes when we first get our car - here hint: Drive your brand new car to your wife first, not to your mates.

1. RX-8 has a rotary engine
When people ask you about the car. The major difference from others (like the RX-7s) are: It is normally aspirated, have new side exhaust ports and 6 intake ports. It is 177kW in Australia from 184kW in Japan due to the ECU tune to reduce emission. And yes it is not a V8

2. Rotary engine drinks. Both engine oil and petrol.
Check you engine oil at least every 2000KM. Do not forget to warm the car 15 minutes so the water temp is up and steady. Then stop the engine and wait 5 minutes before taking out the dipstick. The top and bottom line is 1.7L in difference. Also the type of oil we use is in hot debate. Mazda dealer has Mazda rotary oil (which is mineral base). SL rating 5W30.

Side note from Gomez: Don't worry about the cappuccino froth on your dipstick, you don't have a coolant leak into the sump.....it's just a little condensation and it's normal in a rotary engine.

3. DSC can be switch off in different levels.
Pushing the DSC off button once is only half way. To switch off all systems, press and hold for 7 seconds until you will see the slippery sign in the centre. Then it is all off. To reset the "all-off" situation - shut the engine and restart (but beware flooding - no.7 of this thread)

4. There are two modes of dash light driving at night
Factory setting is

If you click the dash light all the way up beyond a click

5. Light bulbs
H9 for high beam and H11 for fog lights. They are very hard to find replacements. Even normal non-superwhite ones need to order in some places. So should have one spare handy or know where to get them.

6. Bare radiator and oil cooler allowing stone clip damage.
There is an oil cooler in the left air hole of the front spoiler and the radiator is at the bottom section where the front rotary crest is. You notice there is no guard to protect from flying stones. Hymee in Brisbane sell the Gorzilla Guard

7. Flooding
It is when there is unburn fuel in the chamber and cog it up and occur when switch a cool engine off (when you rolling out of the driveway). See thread about flooding in this page. Also see version of the ECU flash (ie. when people talk about F and G flash in this forum).

8. Modifications
At this stage (July 2004): A lot of people talk about Turbo/Supercharge. A lot of people have done the exhaust. Bang for bucks in most profession people's eyes is the sway bars :o . Most australians have Hymee exhaust

(April 2005): Look at my mods. I have some cool ones and some waste of money ones. I love my sway and strut bars, RP short shifter and the Hymee sCANalyser.

9. Some are not really secrets
Like it uses premium unleaded fuel (been tested with unleaded and knocking occur), except for Wildcard's car haha. There are four compartment in the center pillar (front cup holder, the CD storage behind that, rear cup holders, rear compartments) and the centre upright with storage space designed by Japanese as a rubbish bin - true story :o. Once you use the glue kit you have to change tyre, they can't be repaired then.

10. RX8club is full of knowledge
Famous RX-8 Australians: Hymee (moderator and exhaust man), Gomez (his memory and recap of before-printed knowledge), AMG (with his flooding knowledge :p ), Lock and Load (with his .... ). Others like timbo, Kev, Dez, nojooc, and all others here are extremely friendly. Internationally PoLak, D MENAC 7, rotarygod, Japan 8, cortc and all others are great guys. We have hot chicks too!! .. eh Kari.

I want someone tell me what have left out and will rewrite and change thing if required.

Thanks
Taka

__________________

Retro RX8club.com thread by Taka - RE55s review

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:43:01 GMT

My review of the Potenza RE55S semi slick - Sandown lap time plummeted!

I have done the best time after review of all the videos. (and they are coming later)

The previous best time from the half worn RE040 is 1'35.9"

Since then I have done.
2nd oil cooler,
Odula intake,
R Magic air filter, RB short shifter,
but the most responsible piece of equipment.
Potenza RE55S 245/40-18 SR rated (hard compound)

My review of this tyre:
The tyre is FAN-TAS-IC.

1. Very noisy tyre.
It is extremely noisy but the ride is good. I had to get dance music to Vol 7 or above so I will not hear the road noise.
It has a very stuff side wall so it gives a very good road response.
But the trade-off is to have more road noise to your ears, so it is not really confortable if used as a road tyre. :o

2. Fantastic grip
Hence, more confident with the turn in. The stock suspension (strut reinforced) holds pretty well but there are too much load on the tyre still. Coilover will help.
I turned in the first turn of the Sandown raceway like a man possessed. Going oversteered, understeered when turning in, the tyre helped you to grip and stay away from the outside curve. PERFECT!

In the wet, it can be tricky since the grip is resulted from a higher temperature generated from the tyres but it is not going to acheive that in the wet road. DSC is required

3. Still last as much as the road tyres
After all this fun, only a small portion of rubber has been used. I reckon I can have it for 7-8 track days on those. Similar wear was seen in the RE040 on the track. IMO

4. Reasonably priced
Best of all it is cheap. You can get one for about $450, but I got a special price of $380 a corner

Highly recommended if you track your car a lot. You will end up saving and having so much fun.

LAP TIME
This is from the afternoon session (T = Traffic; W=Warm up; C= Cool down)

Session 1
,Lap,1, ,'1m58.69,s,'118.69,s, W
,Lap,2, ,'1m32.22,s,'92.22,s,
,Lap,3, ,'1m31.45,s,'91.45,s,
,Lap,4, ,'1m31.91,s,'91.91,s,
,Lap,5, ,'1m40.05,s,'100.05,s, T
,Lap,6, ,'1m37.74,s,'97.74,s, C

Session 2
,Lap,1, ,'2m8.24,s,'128.24,s, W
,Lap,2, ,'1m35.32,s,'95.32,s, T - ILIV48 :p
,Lap,3, ,'1m31.71,s,'91.71,s,
,Lap,4, ,'1m31.80,s,'91.80,s,
,Lap,5, ,'1m31.85,s,'91.85,s,
,Lap,6, ,'1m32.86,s,'92.86,s,
,Lap,7, ,'1m40.44,s,'100.44,s, C

Session 3
,Lap,1, ,'2m18.73,s,'138.73,s, W
,Lap,2, ,'1m35.56,s,'95.56,s, T
,Lap,3, ,'1m32.59,s,'92.59,s,
,Lap,4, ,'1m39.55,s,'99.55,s, T
,Lap,5, ,'1m31.89,s,'91.89,s, C

In the morning,

Behind the JDM Honda Integra Type R (162kW + Mugen ECU and Suspension, Semislick).
,Lap,1, ,**********error
,Lap,2, ,'1m34.88,s,'94.88,s,
,Lap,3, ,'1m39.53,s,'99.53,s, T

Behind the 2 Carrera (one S and other normal Porsche 911)
,Lap,1, ,'1m35.61,s,'95.61,s,
,Lap,2, ,'1m36.25,s,'96.25,s,

**************************************************
I will try to put the video up in my website later in this thread.
**************************************************

Retro Taka Thread - Review of Odula intake

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:34:39 GMT

Taka’s review of the Odula RAM intake duct

Inspired by the Wildcard’s $30 modification, I would love to improve the quality of air flowing into the air box. I have chosen this RAM intake made by OVERDRIVE Japan (and now traded as Odula) in Osaka over the Re Amemiya RAM intake which would have costed me a fortune.

This is a simple mod. This tube is just a replacement tube of the original double fresh air duct together with the variable fresh air duct (VFAD) solenoid valve*. It is 100% compatible with the stock air box. It is likely to be compatible with the REVi box too (me thinks).

First, bumper was removed. I found the air duct area is pretty much sealed and I have seen for the first time of what Wildcard and other people said about the “dead space” in front of the VFAD and the VFAD is “sucking warm air in”.

And ladies and gentleman please look at the VFAD at this shot.

I sure did not race the engine before shutting down. And the VFAD is at half way?! I realised, after read through the RX-8 service manual that the valve will open on negative pressure, and close in a positive pressure. I assume that it will be at half way at null pressure then. The VFAD was removed, and the plastic tube to the VFAD solenoid valve was unplugged. There is a stopper provided by Odula to seal the open end.

I have removed the board underneath the duct rather than making a hole for the odula ram as suggested by the installation guide.

The duct is secure with 2 screws to the duct and 1 screw to the front bar.

I thought I have to drill holes to the diamond of the solid mesh in the front but you can see in the picture, how clever the location of the opening is! The location is SPOT ON!

And that is it~! After 2 hours of mucking around ….

* only in high power 13B-MSP engines.

Retro Taka RX8club.com thread (3 - Tein Flex story)

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:30:50 GMT

My Tein Flex story

---Taka production presents---
TAKA's Tein story

Clips made for my assessment of Tein Flex and EDFC - well, it is basically some home videos about some driving after the Tein's being installed. The videos were made not to compare (being as non-judgemental as it is) but just want to have fun with it.

Thanks to astro, ILIV48, 8000rpm, auzoom, Kalli, MIRX*8 and Dr. Flynn for their contributions. Oh, and the Porsche drivers too

Scene 1 - Road Test
Staring: Taka and astro.
Description: It was done on the Sat morning after alignment. It is to compare the "ride" of the stock to Tein. Our intention is to compare comfort level but grip is also mentioned.

Download here (70Mb)

Scene 2 - Alignment
Staring: Adrian from Stuckey, Taka and astro
Description: astro and I went to Stuckey Tyre Service for professional alignment. Adrian has done car driven by nannies to Porsche Carrera Cup drivers.

Download here (32 Mb)

Scene 3 - Track day
Staring: Mr. Porsches, Taka, astro, 8000rpm and ILIV48.
Description: Fun clips from the Event Oneill track day, 9th March.

Download here (57.2Mb)

Scene 4 - Drift day
Staring: Dr. Flynn (Professor of Skidology), Taka, auzoom, MissyK, ILIV48, MIRX*8 and astro.
Description: I am sure you know about our drift day. The first one I ever had. It was fun but skill is hard to be perfected.

Download here (91.3Mb)

EDIT:
I will clarify with d00ny why sometimes the download is slow (also on the link, please right click and use save target as...). Maybe someone using a download accelerator and a few people downloading. Please enjoy.

Retro Taka RX8club.com thread (2 = Defi gauges)

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:11:17 GMT

Defi BF gauges (white) with Re Amemiya CF pod

This is my new toy. The pod looks better under the sun.

They are Defi BF gauges with white backgrounds, and water temp, oil temp and oil pressure. Controlled by Defi controller II.

Finished with the RE Amemiya Carbon fibre pod. It is a good finish but 3 problems:

1) Need to cut a hole in the stock top, and screw it in.
2) The 60mm hold is offset (to the driver side) a little so it is not easy to put BF meters in. So a slight enlargement is required to put the gauges in.
3) It is not a tight fit in the lower lip of the LCD display. So it is cut off slightly in the bottom. I think they try to double side tape on it in Japan but I don't want to - it will spoil the look of it. So I think I had to raise the LED screen to fit the little hole.

The pod is from Re Amemiya via japanparts.com, and it is hard to get. And the Defi meter is from HK... a great little project for project racing Nelson loves the real CF

Retro Taka review on RX8club.com (1 = Unichip)

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:00:45 GMT

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hymee

http://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php?p=345623&postcount=6
Custom tuning is naturally going to get the best out of any car. There are lots of production tolerances the factory tune must cater for.

Yes sir Hymee. Well, This is my review... :D

Unichip from Air Power System

At the launch of our Mazda RX-8, Mazda Australia claimed that the Oz spec RENESIS produces 177kW at 8200 rpm at the flywheel. The reason for the 7kW loss from JDM spec is the ECU retuning to suit the required European engine emission standard. This standard is much tougher than the Australian standard currently in place. Then why not getting the Jap spec 184kW into Australia? :o We will never know. The game now is to bring it back where it is suppose to be. :p

Hence, piggyback is the go? :o I have done some background research. ECU tuning in Japan has begun since the first RX-8 came out in April 2003. Knight Sports, being one of the well known rotary tuners, was interviewed by the RX-8 magazine earlier this year and in that they mentioned they have tuned in a way of traditional piggyback does. And they can only reliably gain 6ps at the flywheel with stock setups.

With the full intention of at least getting back to 184 kW, I seek advice from the most reputable tuner in Melbourne – Unichip at Air Power System (APS). What is Unichip? Rainer, the customer relation manager of APS explains, “Unichip doesn't actually change anything within the factory EFI computer. It simply intercepts the signals it receives from the air flow meter to allow us to optimize the fuelling, and the crank angle sensor to optimize the ignition timing. Say the air flow meter is sending signal = X, the Unichip takes X and applies a correction factor, say X x 0.97. The factory computer therefore changes its output to the injectors as a result. Of course this is a dynamic equation with the Unichip supporting 204 points of adjustment for fuel and timing, over 17 rpm and 12 load sites, thus creating 3D fuel and ignition correction maps.”

The car was tuned at a warm and damp day on a real dyno roller. My stupidity guided me to have the tyres pumped up to 40psi, simulating track condition. I was skeptical when I received the pre and post dynograph. It was only 7kW gain at the wheel, or about 6.5% gain. But the gain is there from 4500 rpm and shifting the peak power to from 7400 to 8500 rpm. Thinking of it, in perfect theory (and I know it is wishful thinking) 6.5% gain from 177kW is 188.7kW (or 256.56ps). This is exactly what Knight Sports have! What a coincidence?!

Now, how does all this translate to the sensation to my right foot and my gluteal skin pressure receptor (aka butt dyno)?
From just 100m from the APS garage, I noticed the improved smoothness of the engine. Renesis is already silky smooth, but the tuning makes the rotor feel like skate on ice. It is like the chamber has been hand polished. The acceleration is now a true linear progression – in ALL throttle levels! There is nothing new or improvement I can see or feel below 3000rpm - to be honest. It still cannot pull well at 2500 rpm on 6th gear up the hill. However, the major difference is at mid throttle around the 4000-6500 rpm. Even my passenger can feel the difference immediately pre and post tuning. It is so drivable now and yet still keeps the characteristics of the Renesis. Tuning just flattens the few minor weak points of the engine. I like the feel of this “new engine” even more.

Is Taka happy enough to put the Unichip sticker on his car?…. Hmm may be not. You see, the engine feel better but it has 2 problems. The first is when I first got the car back it was idling rough. This issue is generally resolving itself. But the second problem is the slight sluggishness when starting the motor. That is currently under investigation. Fuel consumption is still under testing. Fuel economy I think it will be similar. My first half tank involves 50% fanging around and testing the tuning and setting my newly purchased shift light and 50% steady highway. Normally it will be a 15.0L/100km run, I have 14.4L/100km. I will test a few more tanks.

So what does it do to your hip pocket? Is it worth it or not? It really depends how you see it. Unichip perfects the engine but not as much of a real power gain as the turbo cars. The price is justify depends on how much you want to improve the drivability of the car.

To translate to track language, it may be just up to a second better a lap. It is because of the better half to full throttle at mid range, and this makes powering out to back straight better.

The whole Melbourne is riding

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 03:50:02 GMT

12/10/06: Entries are now closed for the 42km, 100km 210km and 250km Rides

Final numbers participating this weekend are:

42km: 2,718
100km: 2,960
210km: 6,640
250km: 1,959

Total: 14,277

Oh wow. That is impressive. I wonder how many low ass rider I am going to pass this weekend.

Gear oil time

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 06:10:19 GMT

Guys,

I have recently experiencing some notichness in the gear and unhappy about it, especially I am sad that I will face a bill of $6000+ for a new set. . While I am contemplating surrounding my mod plan for a new set of boxes. I am thinking of these things:

I just change my gear oil and see how it goes?

So research is on.

The car is on MT 90 Redline gear oil (Spec HERE ). It has done less than 2000km but 2 track days. The first track day was cold and wet and certainly the shift is smoother. The recent track day in August - the 3rd to 4th gear is notchy and getting imprecise. Now even in the street it is getting notchy 3rd to 4th at high rev. I felt recently of the stock RX-8 and I suddenly reminded myself what it "suppose" to feel like. I had to do something.

Now I can afford to just change the same oil - in fact, I think now that would solve the problem. But what will happen on the track - it won't last and same shit will happen. So research has to be done.

Looking at the same redline website - they have a better premium gear oil, namely lightweight shockproof. (Website here ). I am still confused in what oil to choose. But I guess the better oil having a higher rating. The MT90 is a 75W90. And shockproof is a 70W140 oil. More info here about the less wear coeff and friction with stockproof cf. MT90

FOR YOUR INFO: Oil viscosity is measured at both high and low temperatures-
High Temperature: At high temperature (i.e. 100°C the viscosity measurement
is useful in selecting the correct oil to lubricate a working engine.
Low Temperature: At low temperature, the measurement predicts engine
cranking or start-up characteristics and oil pump-ability. The viscosity
measured at low temperature has "W" after the SAE number, which stands for
“Winter” eg SAE 15W40.

I have also tracking some alternative and testing them all.
Motul GEAR FF-LSD COMPETITION / SPORTS
Royal Purple Max Gear oils or Synchromax
Castrol Syntrax

All sounds very good and I wonder how they performed. Watch this space in coming years when I have the chance and the guts to go through them all in one gear box

Gear oil changed Wed 13 Sept 2006 to RED LINE LIGHTWEIGHT SHOCKPROOF(from MT90)
Taking the oil out and certainly the colour has changed (to beyond recognition of the original MT90 with minor metal power) in 2000km and 2 track days. for a weak sweet gearbox of ours.
Certainly I am now having the lightweight shockproof it is ok on the street. The notchiness is almost gone. But I think it is just because of new oil rather than the oil itself. I guess only time will tell when I get onto a racetrack and see if they last. Will report back.

New set of track wheel (on order)

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 06:52:48 GMT

I cannot wait for those to come. These are the current wheels that are raced in production cars in Japan and GT races. Wedsports TC105N. I decided to buy another set for the track days because the stock wheel does not give enough clearance even with the spacer. Anyhow.

The size I order will be a 18 x 8.5 +32. Hopefully there is enough clearance in hand for the AP racing caliper. I am quietly confident since my Enkei with +40 offset have 4-5mm clearance and I guess a +32 will be better. Time will tell