Recent Racing Updates

She really has come a long way, even with just this year already!

This year has certainly tested me as a driver so far. Running into various problems at the start of the year in which the car hasn't been able to preform at 100%, which in turn forced me to have to drive as fast as I could. Now with all of my issues taken care of, the RX-8 is back in action and I can focus on driving fast, and fine tuning the car as much as possible for Nationals this year. Because I've spent most of my free time working towards fixing the car, working, or racing, I haven't really had time to post about each individual event. Below is a short and sweet condensed version of the changes I made, followed by links to all the new (also VERY condensed) posts related to each all the races I attended in June, complete with results and video.

Blueberry's Bruise

Rotors and Eccentric Shaft freshly removed 

Found the problem with Blueberry; Eccentric shaft. As pictured above, the eccentric shaft connects the two rotors together inside our rotary engines. When that very shaft is off standard specifications by a fraction of a millimeter, things can go wrong. Fortunately enough I have a spare motor that will be used for a donor eccentric shaft (e-shaft). There is a fancy dial indicator on its way to measure my spare e-shaft before it goes back into the block with a fresh set of seals.

Bad Camber Bolts?

On the alignment rack

Since the previous few posts, I've been trying to sort out a lot of kinks in the suspension to get everything nice and balanced, especially for the upcoming SCCA National Tour. After coming up with a game plan, I decided to mess with the alignment a little. That's when I ran into a minor problem while trying to get realigned. The passenger side could easily gain a lot of camber, while the driver side was maxing out only at -2.1 degrees. Clearly, something was not right here.

Stuck Swaybars?

Dry bushings can't be very helpful I bet

While I was changing the front swaybar from the full-stiff setting to medium-stiffness, I came across something really interesting. After I disconnected my endlinks, I had tried to move my front swaybar up and down to see how well the grease I applied at the beginning of April was holding up. With one hand, the bar didn't budge. With two hands, the bar didn't budge. With two hands pushing pretty hard, still no movement. Taking a rubber mallet to the bar, not an inch. I loosened the bushings on both sides, and STILL no movement with the rubber mallet! After removing the bushings, I noticed that the bushings and bar was completely bone dry. Within a little under two months, the grease had apparently dried out.

Ti Gri's Engine Bay Overview - Part 1

Ti Gri in her full glory!

After a month and a half, I finally got Ti Gri back in my hands. I originally was going to hold off on this post for a bit so I could clean up various things on the car, but I decided to post the condition of the car the way I got it back from Speed 1. In their defense, I did go to pick it up early (which was after almost two months of waiting). The work that was done was great, however, there were a couple of important things that were overlooked in my opinion. Let's have a look...

Build Weekend... Again!

Blueberry - 4x4 Status

As Blueberry's track conversion continues, all of the wear and tear of daily driving is coming to light. Just before my other motor was rebuilt at Wankel Works, I began to notice increased drag from the rear wheels. The increased drag quickly lead to a loud whine from the differential. Since the differential was in need of replacement, it made sense to completely disassemble and clean everything else. I referred to the Factory Service Manual (FSM) for the removal procedure and I began to break down all of the rear suspension components.

Since Blueberry was my daily driver for years in the Northeast, I have one word: Rust. When disassembling the rear, I discovered that my tie rods were not only rusted, but completely frozen solid in place. That is when the RE-Zelse team and Luis from Wankel Works assembled together down in Pennsylvania to help me finish the work I started.

Engine Issues Resolved

I was chasing down a "gurgling/fluttering" noise at 8,000RPM for a little over a month recently. The noise was very noticeable and had gotten me very concerned, so I could simply not ignore it. After a lot of digging around and countless times of ripping things apart, I figured out what I was faced with. The interesting part of this however is that not only did I figure out the problem, I learned that I was chasing 3 separate problems. I thought I would share my findings with everyone, just incase someone should run into a similar issue.

Whats New?

A lot has been going on the past few weeks, so I'm glad I finally have some time to myself to kick back and relax. The main topics of whats new is in bold below. You will begin seeing more review posts, DIYs, and casual posts now that things are back under control.

Blog Updates

The blog has received many changes over the past few nights. Most of these updates I have been planning to implement for awhile. For starters, I decided to spruce up the fonts and colors used around the blog a little bit, while maintaining the same overall feel as before. Then, I cleaned up the side bar by getting rid of a few extra things and making everything easier to navigate. I also added some new pages to my blog that I think everyone will enjoy.

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.

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.

Prepping For Winter

Getting the car ready for winter can be a bit tricky it seems, as you want to make sure you don't leave anything out. This is the first year the car will be in the garage all winter, so I had spoke to a few people to see what was necessary for proper storage. In short, your list should look something like this.

• Quick Wash
• Oil Change
• Coolant Change
• Top Off Gas Tank with Gasoline Stabilizer
• Park Car on Cardboard Pieces
• Block Off Wheels with Wheel Chocks
• Release E-Brake
• Inflate Tires to 50PSI
• Set Shocks to Full Soft
• Empty Glove Box and Other Compartments
• Place Dryer Sheets in Car to Avoid Musty Smell
• Remove Battery and Connect to Battery Tender
• Block Tail Pipes, Cooling Ducts, etc. with Rags to Keep Animals Out
• Close Windows
• Set Vents to Open
• Cover (If Not in Garage)
• Detail Throughout Winter

I plan to do some detailing while it sits in the garage, like clay off some overspray I had gotten earlier in the year on the car, polish the exhaust tips, other goodies. As for the list, I had to do this all this weekend due to the snow coming. Really wish I could've installed my new brakes first, but oh well! Thanks to Dave and James for help with this list here.

Issues Fixed!

Hey there everyone, sorry for the lack of updates as it has been quite a hectic month. Back and forth trying to fix the car, along with getting sick and upcoming Holidays. Big thanks to Liberty for their help, and big thanks to Oleg for finding out the source of the loud banging noise. Pictures taken are some random snaps as she is finally back home in the garage.

The power steering rack, as well as PCM (Power Control Module I believe) had to be replaced. Most RX-8 owners usually need their wiring harness or PCM replaced, but a few needed their rack replaced instead. I guess I needed the two! Car feels normal again with no issues, and have driven it a bit before deciding to post this.

My oil pan needed to be resealed again it seems, so they had taken care of that while the car was there. Hopefully this time I won't get any leaking after a couple of months.
Lastly, the loud banging noise that was resonating throughout the car was actually from my rear passenger side shock. It seems the adjuster screw came loose on the threads around the shock body and slipped a bit (the one sitting right behind the springs).

A few other Stance owners have mentioned running into this after numerous track events/autocrosses. Luckily, the fix is to simply retighten it. I really didn't feel like getting anything replaced right before the winter or something.

Not much else, but I am looking forward to Jason Isley's article in Sportscar coming up in December regarding his RX-8 setup for STX! Stay tuned for a review of that.

More Exhausting Exhaust Stuff!

Was feeling better yesterday and decided to play around with the exhaust for a bit with my buddy James at Oleg's house. We solved a few issues I was having, but created one big one in the end.

1. We tightened the bolts from midpipe to header more and that helped seal the exhaust leak upon startup. It's very minimal now and barely lasts awhile when the car is warming up.
2. We were curious if the piece that had broken from the midpipe would be able to come out if we tipped the midpipe or something. Instead, when we took off the OEM Catback..the piece came out from there. No more rattle!
3. We tested the HKS Hi Power with this midpipe to see what the volume levels would be like. As awesome as it sounds, with the crackling and popping, especially at redline, it is still too loud.

The problem then started as we took off the HKS and put back on the stock catback. For some reason, every bolt we put back into the midpipe, was getting stripped, and then finally one of the bolts snapped inside of the midpipe. Wasn't a pretty sight... especially at 1am.

As I'm writing this now, just got a call from the dealership (James took the car in for me, big ups to James!) saying that it is all set. Big ups to Liberty Mazda for saving the day as usual! For now, it looks like I'm rattle free and exhaust leak free ( for the most part), but catback less. I think I'll be waiting for the BHR catback, as I have a good feeling about whats to come with it. Stay tuned.

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.

Showing Off The Sponsor

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates but it’s been pretty quiet and I just got back from a well needed vacation. I was able to get together with James and Oleg to put in a few replacement parts that I mentioned before were giving me problems. The airbox got replaced (thanks for the part Alz0rz!) with one that has screens for proper MAF readings now, and the exhaust midpipe got replaced by a new one from BHR in hopes that the header flange to midpipe will seal better, as well as the rattle to go away.

To top it off, we were able to slap on a nice banner from one of my sponsors, Sleepermodz.com. We’ll see how this midpipe turns out, but the idle is great now, and the banner blends in just right!

Patch Work

Took some time to give the car some of the love and car that it deserves the other day. I wanted to remove the side skirts, buff out a scrape that a SUV had left me when I parked in ChinaTown, and remove my foglights. Thanks to the help of Josh, we got right on that.

Removing the side skirts was a bit tedious, as it had to be cleaned from the 3M tape and dust. Then we had to plug the holes with "hole plugs" from Home Depot, painted with touch up paint and clear coated, and then some slight super glue around the edge to make sure it is on against the body firmly. Will have more side shots soon.

Bumper was buffed out, again thanks to Josh. Looks brand new, except for the few rock chips, so looks like someone put white out here and there. Headlights needed a serious makeover as well as they were hazed and scratched from the baking we did. Much better with a much better output.

Lastly, the fogs were simple to remove, just 3 screws from the foglight assembly into the bumper and they're off. The PIAA's I had previously were blown, and I had slowly gotten out of the fog light phase, so I removed them.

More pictures can be seen here. Thanks a million to Josh for the help!

Maintenance At DSG

The seal between the oil pan and the engine was a little on the leaky side. Grabbed some Redline 10w-40, and a Knight Sports oil filter and took the car over to DSG to get the pan resealed. Not much else to say, other then they sealed it with something stronger then OEM that they use for most of their Subaru's and other cars.

Thanks to Nick from DSG for the pictures!

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.

Bleeding The Clutch

After taking a quick drive in James' RX8 and comparing the clutch pedal feel between mine and his, we both decided it had to be a air in the master cylinder or clutch line. Mine was still better then before, but at the same time it felt like putting your foot in stiff spaghetti.

The process sounds a lot easier then it really is. Honest. And sadly, we needed three people to do this job. NOTE: Make sure your car is COOLED DOWN or you WILL burn hair off your arm (I learned the hard way). You start by jacking up the front of the car ( a good amount, one of you 3 is going under there) and setting it on jack stands.

Take off the cover of the brake fluid reservoir. You're going to need a light under the car, as well as above from the hood so everyone can see where the bleeder is. In the picture above, look between the oil filter and the clutch line... That is the bleeder with the rubber cap on. It's really frustrating to reach from both directions, but we managed. Remove the rubber cap, then slip a 8mm wrench up carefully and placed the closed end on the bleeder. This will be a pain, but patience and help from the other person in the hood, you'll be okay. Make sure it's on the bolt tight, then fit on the hose.

When the hose is on perfect, put the other end into a disposable cup or bottle, but clear enough you can see what is going on. Now, someone will have to go into the car and get ready to pump the clutch, while the person under the car will open the bleeder valve, while the third person will be watching the cup for air.

Start off by holding the clutch pedal to the floor, open the bleeder valve, then close. Pick up the pedal from the floor (It'll stay stuck to the floor) and begin to pump it a good amount until you really can't anymore...and then hold to the floor. The person under the car will then open the valve and release more air or fluid. After you've done enough and gotten rid of all the air bubbles and have nothing but fluid constantly coming out, replace the fluid you've gotten rid of and cap everything back together.

Give the pedal a few pumps before driving to make sure it feels good, then after, you should notice a serious improvement. I've read somewhere that you may want to bleed the master cylinder before AND after bleeding the clutch line, but we only bled it after the clutch line. Huge difference to my pedal after doing this.