False Alarm

Looks like everything worked out okay in the end, as I got to pick the car up earlier this evening. It seems the thermostat had failed, but instead of failing open, it failed shut. Since it failed shut, the reservoir tank began to boil over and spewed out coolant from there. What concerns me though is that the battery was randomly dead, thus why I couldn't start the car. Perhaps my battery is on it's way out now?

Regardless, Liberty Mazda saved the day and replaced the broken thermostat with a working OEM one. A few test drives and everything was working great. Temperatures are roughly 5 degrees higher now, but fluctuating between the temperatures is minimal. That being said, I think I'll be staying with the OEM thermostat, even though Mazmart is willing to replace it, free of charge. Thanks for saving the day though Liberty, glad that my engine isn't gone and still running strong.

Sparco Bag & Power Steering Update

Ordered a nice Sparco Bag that just came in today. Decided that grocery bags were no longer cutting it in terms of storage and carrying things to autocross events. Looks really nicely made with plenty of room for goodies, so I can't wait to try it out this weekend. Already packed up and ready to go to! For the price, the quality and the size, I would have to say this bag was certainly worth it. Big ups to Dan from Assaultech.
As for the power steering update, sadly it had taken Liberty Mazda a whole week to receive the harness from Mazda North America. Splice off the old one, solder in the new one and wrap is all they did. Upon inspecting the old one, it looks like radiator fluid from the overflow had managed to leak into the connector. Everything feels great right now, so we'll see what happens during this weekend's event and overtime. Stay tuned.

Liberty Mazda Visit - Power Steering Be Gone!

Decided to drop off the car early in the morning before work to get looked at. The front accessory socket malfunctioned on Sunday, and the never-ending power steering issues that seem to happen at all the right times. We'll have to see what they say about it all, but I have a feeling it is the only part that was not replaced; the wiring harness.

UPDATE: Got a phone call from the dealership that it is the wiring harness that is malfunctioning. Go figure, the cheapest and easiest part to replace was the cause of all the power steering issues, at least I'm just guessing. Will be picking the car up on Wednesday.

Liberty Mazda Visit

The weather outside has been getting much warmer now thankfully, so I decided to take advantage of that and take the car to Liberty Mazda and get some needed things taken care of. As usual, they were more than helpful and couldn't have done a better job at what I needed.

For starters, they saved a unfinished bodywork job on my trunk and bumper. The results were better than expected, and I wish I just went to them from the start. The trunk is now wingless, and the holes for the badges that I plugged before and the holes for the wing are welded up, all with fresh new paint. Bumper had gotten a little scraped up and badly chipped from all my highway miles, so it needed a repainting for sure.

For maintenance goodies, I got my transmission fluid changed, my differential fluid changed, state inspection, engine compression test, and my new REmedy Oil Pressure Regulator upgrade. Everything went smoothly, big ups to Mike and Tom for their hard work in making sure I'm taken care of. For those who are wondering of the results of my compression test, I think Ray of BHR had said it best,"Dude! Your engine is backwards!"

Front rotor at 250 RPM came out to an average of 8.2. The three runs were 8.6, 7.9, and then 8.1. The rear rotor at 227 RPM came out to an average of 8.6. The three runs were 8.4, 8.6, and 8.9. Most rebuilt engines see high 9 numbers. It's interesting as usually most rotary engines have the rear rotors start failing first, seeing lower compression there instead of the front as the rear rotor runs hotter than the front. But surprisingly with all I have been doing, my 2004 engine with 52,000 miles is running quite strong. No complaints here!

Here are some more pictures of the debadged and dewinged trunk.

Exhaust Update

Was at Liberty Mazda today to get my worn engine mounts replaced as well as my old OEM header to be installed again in hopes it'll get quiet and fix the exhaust leak. Engine mounts helped make the car a lot smoother, so that worked out great!

As for the exhaust, it seems I still have a slight leak when it is cold. The flange isn't warped like the other header though luckily, so it could be the old gasket warped due to the previous header. The annoying buzz is gone, and the exhaust is as quiet as stock, so I think I'm going to try the HKS back on the car again in hopes it won't be too loud again. I think it will work out fine, just need to narrow down how to fix the leak, and wait for BHR to release Ver. 2 of their midpipe to get rid of the occasional rattle.

Stay tuned.

Transmission Overhaul

Roughly two weeks ago, shifting in general began to feel notchy and even began to grind at certain points. After changing the transmission fluid to some fresh MT-90 and still being unsuccessful, it seems it was time for a new transmission.

Liberty Mazda was up for the task and helped me out greatly, with a quick transmission swap and allowing me to also install some new goodies. I figure, if the transmission is out, why not swap the clutch and flywheel, right?

Above are pictures of the old pressure plate and transmission parts, while below are the pictures of the fresh new setup.

04-08 RX8 Transmission 6 Speed (Aisin AZ6 ) with RedLine MT-90
ACT Heavy Duty Pressure Plate with Street Performance Clutch Disc
ACT ProLite Flywheel and Counter Weight

Doesn't get any better than this. After 500 miles of breaking in the clutch, bleeding it here and there, adjusting the pedal, babying it around town, I got to finally put the pedal to the metal. This is a highly recommended power upgrade to any other RX8 owner out there. The throttle is much more responsive, almost as if the car was a S2000. Rev's quickly and pulls very nicely in 3rd gear. Infact, I would say 3rd gear pull feels like my old 2nd gear pull, making 2nd Gear much more formidable for Autocross.

This was well worth the money, and thanks to Liberty Mazda, it was done right. Again, very highly recommended and it really gives the car that more "enjoyable quick roadster" feeling. Thanks to Mike from Liberty Mazda for the excellent photos.