Knight Sports Article

Happy New Years everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates, but don't worry, expect to see a lot of positive changes soon; both to the blog and an upcoming project car. In the meantime, check out this really cool article on my favorite Japanese rotary tuners, Knight Sports.

This article was done by ImportTuner and has some really nice photos of the Knight Sports RX-8 that won 1st place in the Macau 2009 GP. Page 2 has all the build information, which I thought was very informative to see all the different things they had done. Building a race car really is a lot more then just gutting a car, putting in a rollcage, and a few bolt ons; and they show that in their work here I believe.

Their RX-8 was a big inspiration for me on my build for my own RX-8. How they handle their research, testing different parts, fabrication, designing functional parts, their clean and sleek look, etc. Just a well balanced, full package deal when you look at their parts and designs, much like Black Halo Racing's approach to products. I look forward to seeing any changes they plan on making to their car come 2011. Maybe going back to a Renesis engine, but adding a nice twin-scroll turbo? Perhaps starting with a series II platform and doing some changes from the ground-up? I guess we'll have to wait and see, so stay tuned.

Knightsports 2010 Catalog

Attached here on this post is the Knightsports catalog for 2010. Be sure you have Flash so you can see it properly. Kind of cool that they have it online now so I don't have to scan all the pages like I did for last year. Looks like great stuff as usual, not too many additions. Keeping it simple as usual.

Knightsports Won The 2009 Macau GP

My favorite rotary shop from Japan had come and conquered in the Macau 2009 GP apparently. I'm not very familiar with the race so I'll be looking more into it, but I'm glad that they took 1st. Sort of sets a good example that rotaries, if done right, can be devastating monsters in various other forms of motorsports, and not just B stock Autocross and GT-Rolex series (for all your SpeedSource junkies :) ). They outfitted their car with a 13B-REW Turbo pushing just under 500HP. Here are some videos of the race..the sound of the engine is just absolutely addicting. Makes me want a turbo!

Knight Sports Catalog 2009

This Month I'll be reviewing a product catalog from Knight Sports instead of reviewing a movie. Wanted to do something a little different this time, and I had just recently picked this up. For starters, this is almost like looking at a adult magazine for car enthusiasts.

High quality pictures, great paper quality, and excellent explanations of all their products (at least the ones I can read in english). Knight Sports is a well known tuning company from Japan that has been around since 1971. They make quality parts that are highly respected, but at a cost of course. In my opinion, I think they have one of best RX8 line ups around, but for RX7s, I'm still a Fujita Engineering kind of guy, especially for their GT kit.

Many of the parts here are very well engineered and well thought out. Take the header for the RX8 as an example. Of all the headers I have seen, this header is the only one that splits the middle runner into two (it explains with diagrams in the catalog). Very cool stuff and definitely worth a download.

Feel free to grab the catalog here, scanned in high res PDF. (Thanks to Altspace for hosting!)

Oil Change And Maintenance

Got my excellent oil filter and oil the other day. The Knight Sports Oil Filter I purchased over from Corksport (they have all of Knight Sports catalog, just not posted on the internet) which is apparently a high quality racing oil filter that is strictly for rotary engines. If you look in the picture below, the size compared to OEM is a huge difference.The oil filter is specially designed to work with premixture oils and synthetic oils, as opposed to the old 5 w20 that Mazda recommends. The oil is a 10 w40 Synthetic oil by RedLine and is some of the highest quality stuff you will find on the market right now. I was very hesitant to even go synthetic at first, but after reading various reviews on the rx8club.com boards, I had heard numerous good things, especially with a higher number like 10w 40.

My understanding is that the way RedLine oil is made, it has certain properties about it that make it so the apex seals wear and tear much less then normal. And since the viscosity is higher in the oil , as the oil heats up and thins out, it won't be thin to the point that seals could start rubbing against the housing, making this oil one of the best choices. Granted, most tuning companies in Japan are running their own premixture oils of 10w 50, but this will do for now.

I just want to add that after changing my oil and oil filter to this, my engine feels a lot happier and more at home when revving. Before it felt great, peppy and lively, but a slight bit "upset" with small rumbling. Now, when revving the engine, it feels smooth as butter, and I already noticed a slight increase of MPG. Idling is still similar to before as I have done the airbox modification, but it was still noticibly better, by both me and the mechanic. I highly recommend this oil and oil filter to anyone who is serious about maintaning their RX8 to it's fullest, as this really was worth the extra money. I don't know about you readers, but I disagree with using a OEM filter that is used on all of Mazda's cars, as opposed to a special oil filter for a special engine.