December 9, 2008

Grounding The Car

Thread on RX8 club
Actual Product

Picked up some excellent grounding wires custom made from Flex Innovations. I had a grounding kit at the very bottom of the list as it really was not that important, but when I saw the special for such a low price, and that it was 8G wire just as good as an HKS or Apexi grounding kit, I really could not pass this up.

Install was very straight forward as it comes with very good instructions and took only 30 minutes with box end wrenches. I did not feel the need to really take any pictures at all as the pictures on RX8 club are great enough (the first link).

First thing I noticed was, my lights and gauges all came up much faster. Idle was much smoother, as in next to no vibrations and the needle was flat at all times, while warming up and running. It could just be me, but I think the speakers sounded clearer then before. It was nice, a fun little addition, and for the price, why not, right? Thanks Flex for the good stuff! I'm very much a name brand buyer, but this was a brand killer to me.

December 6, 2008

Good Christmas Gifts

Every year I usually order some Christmas gifts from drifting.com. Every year their selections get better and better, with great selections of DVDs and racing shirts at good prices. The shirts really do make great Christmas gifts as I've never had a complaint yet! Big thanks to them for getting me my order.

December 2, 2008

Exhaust Upgrade

I finally had given into desires and got my cat-back exhaust that I really wanted for my car. I had ordered the HKS Hi-Power Single Exhaust from the boys at Fluid Motorsports. Big thanks to them for taking care of my order with great customer service, so don't hesitate to give them a call with any questions.
I went with this exhaust for a few reasons-
1. The look of the single exhaust is something I prefer over dual (if you notice, 90% of actual track RX8 cars have single exhaust)
2. The sound clips I heard on Youtube sounded great!
3. The Ti-Burnt tip was very appealing
4. HKS makes great products
5. Good reviews I read about this exhaust
So I really couldn't say no when I heard the great price! I recieved the exhaust Friday and went to a NEPOC install meet to have help from my friends Josh, James, Jimmy, Thol, and Bruce. Big thanks to everyone, especially Josh who was under the car the whole time (My hand still hurts from being broken, so I was next to useless!).
From what I could tell, the install seemed relatively straight forward-
1. Jack the rear of the car up and onto stands
2. Remove the plastic exhaust shrouds on the rear bumper
3. Unbolt the exhaust from the catalytic converter
4. Pull the exhaust from the hangers
5. Slowly pull the exhaust away and swap in the new one!
For starters..The sound was excellent and the youtube videos do NOT give the exhaust justice. It's very deep, much like a Subaru STI's stock exhaust, only louder. In terms of difference, I can feel a bit more low-end pull, but nothing else that is really noticeable. It weighs about 15 pounds, and stock weighs 37, so some savings there as well.

At the moment unfortunately, at idle I can hear something rubbing against the car, and so I hear a high pitched squealing of metal being rubbed...I will update this blog with the fix to it once I take care of that. Stay tuned.

Thanks to Josh for uploading these great videos.
Video 1
Video 2

December 1, 2008

Best Motoring International - Drift Bible

Drift, Drift, Drift, and MORE Drift! If drifting is your thing, this movie is your bible (no pun intended). This is an oldie but one of my favorite videos I have. This video takes you into the art of drifting, not only what it is really about, but how you can use it in various ways, both on and off the track.

Keiichi Tsuchiya, the Drift King talks to you a little about his history in driving, and then goes straight into the basics. From there, he shows how weight balance is key. He also explains and displays various techniques you can try out, ranging from beginner to advanced. This is a very useful tool when deciding what kind of rear wheel drive car you want, and even offers advice on simple tuning you can do to your car to help you learn faster. Again, if you have any interest in drifting, then this is where to start.