Your top 5 mods for a daily driver

[Rupert]

Vented plasma induction coils.
Bio-nueral gelpack circutry.
Variable geometry pylons.
Supercharger.
Ablative hull armor.

I feel like I should be getting your reference... Sci-fi of some kind?

[Laconian]

Vented plasma induction coils.
Bio-nueral gelpack circutry.
Variable geometry pylons.
Supercharger.
Ablative hull armor.

Tri-axilating headlights.
Nanite-enhanced ECU.

[Onslaught]

I feel like I should be getting your reference... Sci-fi of some kind?

His car would be a mix of the USS Voyager and a little USS Defiant.

[Raza]

1.  Stretch
2.  Poke
3.  Slam
4.  22+" rimz
5.  Roof rack

[omicron]

I'm not at all enthused by stereo upgrades. I don't like music when I drive; in fact, I don't really like background noise at all. Just me, the car and the world.

[Morris Minor]

Good sound system.
Good tires.
Good shocks.

Years ago when the kids were tiny I had a Mazda MPV. A friend of mine ran an independent auto servicing shop & he suggested replacing the shocks with some decent gas struts. It COMPLETELY transformed the way the car rode & handled for the better. So even on a lowly, crappy, minivan it made a big difference.

[NomisR]

Nothing. Not on a daily driver "normal" car anyway. I'd go out and buy one that's got good stuff on it from the factory. Now a sports car is another story. But a DD for me should just be right from the factory. It's why I was looking at an RX-8 R3, BMW 335i and a Infinit G37 sport as my DD cars. They didn't need anything to make them right or feel good.

Good tires from the start so I wouldn't have to worry about it.

A firm but not jarring suspension. You can make something better by changing these things sometimes. You can also fuck up something horribly by messing with it. And if you've never been in a car with the parts you're looking at buying then you've got no idea how it will feel until it's over with. And then it's too late unless you want to do it all over again.

Stock radios are never that great. But aftermarket ones never look good in the dash.And they don't make normal looking stuff anymore. It has to have all kinds of lights and bullshit on them. And now that so many cars make the A/C and other controls all one big unit with the radio it looks even worse when you change one.

You've got to pull apart panels off the car and put them back together without rattles and things like that. And most people just can't do that worth a shit. For a few days I thought about getting a touch screen radio/GPS for my new car. Then I said fuck it.

No to the exhaust too. Unless I've seen it and heard what it sounds like I've got no idea if it's better. And it's a DD so I don't want to have it too noisy in the first place. You can't go by what adds and reviews on-line say. I've done it before and I've got a full $1,200 exhaust in my shop doing nothing now.

I don't know about your model year, but I didn't know the OEM Potenzas that came with my old Rx8.  They were loud, and they performed poorly.  After I switched to RT615s... much much improved.  Even wet traction improved over OEM with significantly less road noise. 

[68_427]

1.  Stretch
2.  Poke
3.  Slam
4.  22+" rimz
5.  Roof rack

Is the rust number 6?

[NomisR]

Why are you guys changing the lighting on the cars, unless your car's over 10 years old, anything made in this century should have decent lighting even with stock bulbs.  Any aftermarket crap light silverstars just blinds people. 

For me..

1.  Tires, like everyone says, stock tires sucks 99% of the time. 
2.  Wheels, something light weight
3.  Brakes, upgraded brake pad, and if needed brake discs and SS lines.. but the latter is just optional.
4.  Shocks probably..
5.  ECU tuning if good one's available... ie. Hondata.

Everything else would probably remain stock since this is a daily driver.  And most of my "mods" are pretty much wear and tear items other than the wheels and ECU, but they should all improve the overall performance on the car.

These are the mods I'm thinking about for the RDX.  I haven't decided on what I want for the wheels yet though.  The OEM brakes definitely needs to go.. they're not enough for the weight of the damn thing.

[sportyaccordy]

Yep. So true.

The two main problems are that even when aimed properly the optics aren't designed for the location of the arc in the bulb, nor for a bulb that puts out in some cases twice as many lumens. So you have twice as much light going in all the wrong directions.

The other problem is that a lot of people choose bulbs in the 6000k or higher temp range which is way more towards the blue/purple end of the spectrum than OE HIDs which are closer to 4000k-5000k. Blue light is known to refract more readily than light in the other end of the spectrum, so even the driver sees less of a benefit since much of the light he's casting causes eye strain and glare for himself in snow or rain.

Of course you know this since you and I are big into Daniel Stern, but not a lot of people know this so I figured i'd share it.

Yea lighting has to be done right, or not at all.

I am actually fascinated by lighting, and did some experiments with some sealed bulb fixtures. It's possible to run an HID bulb in an H4 enclosure, but it needs the proper shielding & positioning, and isn't as good as a projector anyway. I would either go full retro or just leave the lighting alone.

Rupert, I think there are some legit sealed bulb fitting HID projector kits out there.

[sportyaccordy]

Good sound system.
Good tires.
Good shocks.

Years ago when the kids were tiny I had a Mazda MPV. A friend of mine ran an independent auto servicing shop & he suggested replacing the shocks with some decent gas struts. It COMPLETELY transformed the way the car rode & handled for the better. So even on a lowly, crappy, minivan it made a big difference.

Shocks are very underrated. As a wear and tear item, you'll have to replace them anyway... might as well go for the best, as they make a huge difference in ride & handling.

[68_427]

So I was using the RX-8 in GT5 today and I want one.

1. Remove rotary
2. shvap in an LS6
3. headers+ exhaust on LS6
4. rimz.
5. maybe some lowerz

[NomisR]

So I was using the RX-8 in GT5 today and I want one.

1. Remove rotary
2. shvap in an LS6
3. headers+ exhaust on LS6
4. rimz.
5. maybe some lowerz

WHAT???!!?!  Rotary is part of what makes the car so great.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

1. Headlights -I'm a big fan of HID conversion kits, they're extremely easy to do (I've put three in), and the difference it makes is phenomenal. I hated driving rental cars with cheap halogens (some newer family cars have decent headlight systems, but even then...) after having driven nothing but HID for the past few years.

Same here. All my vehicles have them and when I drive a car with regular halogens it's not the same.

The two main problems are that even when aimed properly the optics aren't designed for the location of the arc in the bulb, nor for a bulb that puts out in some cases twice as many lumens. So you have twice as much light going in all the wrong directions.

I aim my headlights slightly lower (Not on the Gixxer tho. I'm going for max visibilty on it.) when I install the HIDs. I haven't been flashed or flipped off so far.

[Onslaught]

So I was using the RX-8 in GT5 today and I want one.

1. Remove rotary

Boo

[68_427]

WHAT???!!?!  Rotary is part of what makes the car so great.

The chassis is what makes the car great.

LS6 > wimpy rotary

[2o6]

I'm going to guess you haven't driven one, or anything with a sky-high redline.

[68_427]

I'm going to guess you haven't driven one, or anything with a sky-high redline.

I'm going to guess you haven't either.

[Onslaught]

The chassis is what makes the car great.

LS6 > wimpy rotary

Just go get a Vet then. Don't ruin a good Mazda.

Oh, and you can't tell shit from playing a damn video game.

[2o6]

Yes, I have.


There's nothing more satisfying then revving a car up to 9K and then some.

[68_427]

Yes, I have.


There's nothing more satisfying then revving a car up to 9K and then some.

Torque is also fun.

[68_427]

Just go get a Vet then. Don't ruin a good Mazda.

Oh, and you can't tell shit from playing a damn video game.

Corvettes are also really common.

[Onslaught]

Corvettes are also really common.

Well you don't see as many RX-8's around as you do Corvettes that's for sure. But it's not like you don't see them around. I see them all over town here. It's nothing people don't see everyday.

[68_427]

Well you don't see as many RX-8's around as you do Corvettes that's for sure. But it's not like you don't see them around. I see them all over town here. It's nothing people don't see everyday.

I've seen less than 10 RX-8's over the last two years.

[NomisR]

The chassis is what makes the car great.

LS6 > wimpy rotary

Rotary is what makes the car special.. with the low CG of the engine allows for the balance.  It won't have the same balance with the LS6.  It's not just about the weight but where the weight is placed.

[Onslaught]

I've seen less than 10 RX-8's over the last two years.

You live in a shit hole then.  

I see about 4-5 a day on the drive into work. About about 10-20 a week around town. Have a large RX-8 club in Charlotte that I can never get around to going to see the guys.
But they all drive like idiots and total cars one after another. At this rate the club won't have any cars in it if they keep it up.

You want a rare one then get a 09 up. I've only seen 4 of those in the last year.

[Onslaught]

Rotary is what makes the car special.. with the low CG of the engine allows for the balance.  It won't have the same balance with the LS6.  It's not just about the weight but where the weight is placed.

Careful, ChrisV will be in here telling you how dumb you are. He'll show you pictures of his V8 RX-7 FC and tell you it was just the same as the stock one. Then he'll start telling you lots of other crap.

[NomisR]

Careful, ChrisV will be in here telling you how dumb you are. He'll show you pictures of his V8 RX-7 FC and tell you it was just the same as the stock one. Then he'll start telling you lots of other crap.

  I like the way a Rotary sounds.. there's just nothing like the whirling noise of a Rotary and the effortlessness of it at high RPMs. 

But I don't see how you can place an LS6 lower and farther in the car than you would with the Renesis though.  The 13B-REW on the other hand, all the additional plumbing makes it big so I can understand.

The Rotary can probably use something like a TVS supercharger on it though.

[68_427]

You live in a shit hole then. 

I see about 4-5 a day on the drive into work. About about 10-20 a week around town. Have a large RX-8 club in Charlotte that I can never get around to going to see the guys.
But they all drive like idiots and total cars one after another. At this rate the club won't have any cars in it if they keep it up.

You want a rare one then get a 09 up. I've only seen 4 of those in the last year.

I live in red neck ville.  We like V8's or GM 3800s.

[hotrodalex]

  I like the way a Rotary sounds.. there's just nothing like the whirling noise of a Rotary and the effortlessness of it at high RPMs. 

But I don't see how you can place an LS6 lower and farther in the car than you would with the Renesis though.  The 13B-REW on the other hand, all the additional plumbing makes it big so I can understand.

The Rotary can probably use something like a TVS supercharger on it though.

I want a C3 Vette so badly right now, though. Saw one yesterday and it was pure sex.