Postby chickenwafer » Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:14
If you just got your 8, I would recommend you start the following:
-PREMIX!!! Get some quality 2-stroke oil and pour at least 3-4oz in the tank during fill up. I use Idemitsu, you can get it from Mazdatrix. This is a MUST for any rotary.
-Daily redline! Rotaries in particular need to be redlined. NOT beaten on, but taken to redline. There is a series of valves in the intake system that only open at certain RPMs, so they don't open if you don't get past those set RPM points. Also, redlining increased combustion temperatures (safely provided you don't bounce off the rev limiter for 5 minuets) and can help loosen and burn/remove carbon deposits. Carbon deposits are the death of a lot of rotaries.
-Temperature. Watch your coolant temps! Never, EVER, start the engine, drive 2 miles to your destination and shut it off cold!! This is terrible for any engine but even more so in rotaries. Without the oil getting properly warmed up it forms extra condensation when can break down oil seals, cause corrosion, etc. Not a good thing. Shutting the engine down cold can also cause flooding and make the next time you need to start your car a hassle.
-Warm up: Make sure the coolant and oil is warm before romping on it. I usually advise people not to go above 4500rpm until the coolant is at least 160*F. Your oil temps are usually just a few degrees warmer than your coolant temps. If you can't monitor your coolant temps precisely either via the Cobb AP or a gauge, just wait to get on it until the OEM coolant temp gauge on the dash is in the 12 o-clock position.
I know it sounds like a lot of precautions, but rotaries take special care and if not taken care of correctly they will not last long. Taken care of correctly, however, and you can easily get a lot of miles and fun out of your car!
As far as first mods, there are some you can do that are free! The first is the popular airbox gut mod. The OEM airbox is actually very well designed and most aftermarket intakes yield little in terms of power, especially when factoring how much they cost. best is, you can reverse the gut-mod anytime you want, it cause no permanent "damage".
To gut the stock airbox:
-Remove the OEM airbox from the car. This is very easy, all you need is a Phillips head screwdriver.
-With the airbox out, flip the latches in the front of the airbox and flip the top lid off and remove and set aside the air filter.
-You will see two panels in the top lip of the airbox. These are help in by Phillps head screws, simply remove the screws and slide the panels out.
-Further upstream after the filter there are two (2) mesh screens. You can remove one easily (the other is more difficult, the one in the air horn). Removing one doesn't effect anything negatively and increases airflow slightly.
And that's the airbox gut mod. Completely free and reversible. How much power it gains you is debatable but I guess around 2-4rwhp. Nothing staggering, but it's free.
If you want, with the airbox already out, you can go a step or two further and also replace your stock air filter with a K&N panel drop in filter, this is good for another few extra ponies.
You can also remove your VFAD (variable fresh air duct) system. This will increase the sound and make a few extra ponies as well. This does require removing the front bumper, which sounds intimidating but really isn't very difficult.
Basically with the bumper removed, you will see a "sock" looking assembly sitting directly in front of the OEM airbox. There are two bolts holding it down to the OEM front crash bar, simply remove the bolts and tug the VFAD tube out. This will give you more air all the time without the VFAD restriction.
The VFAD system operates via a vacuum controlled solenoid, so to do it correctly you will need to remove the solenoid as well. The vacuum line runs all the way to the intake manifold directly behind and under the throttle body. Remove the vacuum line and place a cap on the nipple.
Then unplug the VFAD solenoid and remove the entire vacuum line hose system. And your VFAD system is now gone! This is good for another few ponies as well but is mainly a sound increase.
As far as parts, I would go AccessPORT first. This increases reliability in various ways but mainly because I can set your tune so your radiator fans come on earlier than OEM, ramp up your OMP metering injection rate, and give you a nice bump in power. The AP also doubles as a gauge with the hand held so you can view coolant temperatures, rpm, ignition timing, and other vital engine data.
A cat delete pipe would be a good second mod, coupled with the AP, since I can even further lean out your Air/Fuel ratios and give you more power, not to mention no more exhaust restriction.
I will say Street Tuning has its benefits, but dyno tuning can also be very important. Street tuning can be very difficult, especially if you are doing it by yourself, because then you have to concentrate on driving, watching multiple gauges, and tuning! This is usually too much to do and best if your tuner is in the passenger seat. The Cobb makes this a little more "interesting" because some of the critical parameter adjustments can't be made live, instead you need to note the problems, make a new map, shut down the car, and flash the map. These can get rather tedious, especially on the street.
The place I like dyno tuning the most is for driveablitly. Trying to dial in your cruising AFRs thru every gear is a major PITA on the street. On the dyno, you can load up specific cells or loads and hold them, without worring about speed limits or traffic, and dial in your cruising AFRs.
Also, the dyno can tell you a lot of things. For example, when setting up ignition timing, if you're street tuning, most people advance timing in 1 or 2 degree increments until they pick up knock. Well, in a rotary, one bad detonation event and your motor can be done, so tuning like this is not advised. But if you're on a dyno, you can advance timing or split until you see power start to (slowly) drop off. This will happen before detonation, so you know to back off the timing and keep it safe.
