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.

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.

Redline Transmission And Differential Fluids

Redline Transmission MT-90 fluid. All I can really say is... THIS is THE stuff. My car was reaching 30k (in 2000 miles...but still) and I was getting too itchy to change the transmission fluids, especially after reading reviews of this stuff on the RX-8 club message board. Apparently compaired to Royal Purple transmission fluid, this really takes care of any clunky feeling when shifting between gears.

The install? A pain. I highly recommend paying the extra money to either have a dealership do this, or have a lot of patience and time. This process was terribly messy, but then again, the fluid pump we were using for this was $14 from autozone (kept falling apart with fluid going everywhere). Emptying out the fluid wasn't so bad, just like doing an oil change only in a different spot. The same goes for the Shockproof Differential fluid I had put in as well, just in the rear (again, could be messy if not prepared).

After 3 hours of messy fluids and half assing it all, we filled the transmission and differential up with a bit to spare. The difference was amazing. The transmission felt as smooth as butter, and as I drove it more, it got even smoother, but more of a solid feeling.

There isn't much else to say, other then this feels really good. I can see why serious RX-8 drivers, especially those who participate in motorsports, use these fluids for their car.