RX-8 Replacement Parts Wholesale

Need replacement parts for your RX-8? There is one distributor in Singapore where most of the smaller workshops go to for parts – definitely cheaper than sourcing from MM or GR.

Sin Guan Hin Auto Parts Co
24, Veerasamy Road,
Singapore 207329
Tel: 293 0863 (3 lines) 295 1487
Fax: 2967648

23, Lembu Road
Singapore 208453
Tel: 298 1222 (3 lines)
Fax: 298 1472

 Another source you might want to try too is:

Fong Yat Motor Co Pte Ltd 
Blk 685 Race Course Rd #01-324 
Tel : 6293 5722

RX-8 Recall: It’s Official! (at least in the US)

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p…260#post1501260

Excerpted from the Mazda Motors circular to US Dealers:

Mazda Motor Corporation has decided to conduct an Emission Recall Campaign to reprogram the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) and replace the spark plugs on certain 2004-2006 RX-8 vehicles produced from April 10, 2003 through June 1, 2006.
Due to PCM software calibration issues, the following conditions may result:
i) The oil-injection metering system may be inaccurate causing poor engine sealing of the combustion chambers resulting in drivability or emissions problems.
ii) Too much fuel may be injected at the time of engine start causing carbon to be deposited on spark plugs or plugs may be flooded, causing a difficult start condition. In addition, the catalytic converter may be degraded on some vehicles.
iii) (Only 2006 RX-8 vehicles are affected.) A test value indicating engine coolant temperature may be incorrectly shown on the service tool when a diagnostic function test is performed at dealership.

IMF = Road repavements & closures

It’s amazing how much effort the Singapore govt puts into just a single event just to make a bunch of angmohs happy. Imagine – over the past few months they’ve been relaying and repaving roads at breakneck speeds, almost 24/7 regardless of heavy traffic conditions (e.g. Orchard Road). Now, they’re closing the roads around the IMF event vicinity, perhaps for security reasons but prob also to ‘show’ the angmohs how well managed, clean and uncongested our roads are. Now if only they put in the same effort in things like freedom of expression and press.

(From motoring@Asia1) Several roads around the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre will be closed from Sept 10 to 20, to facilitate the IMF and World Bank meetings to be held there. These include sections of Nicoll Highway, Temasek Boulevard and Raffles Boulevard. A section of North Bridge Road will also be closed for a few hours on selected days within the same period, as will be some lanes along other roads in the Marina Bay area. The police have advised public to take public transport when possible, and to be prepared for last minute changes to traffic and bus routes. Due to the closures several bus routes will be affected, and the taxi stand in front of Suntec Singapore along Temasek Boulevard will be closed. The convention centre will be closed from Sept 8 to 20, but shopping areas like the Suntec City Shopping Mall, Marina Square Shopping Mall, Millenia Walk and CityLink Mall will continue to be open. Visit the Singapore Police Force Singapore 2006 website for more details go to the on traffic arrangements and road closures.

Traffic will be diverted at the junctions of:

 

• Nicoll Highway and Republic Avenue
• Bras Basah Road and Nicoll Highway
• Esplanade Drive and Stamford Road
• Middle Road and Nicoll Highway
• Temasek Boulevard and Temasek Avenue

To enter the Marina Bay area, use:

 

• East Coast Parkway (ECP) and exit at Rochor Road or
• Republic Avenue via Crawford Street

For more information, please visit http://www.singapore2006.org/sections/announcement/announcement11082006.html

(Update: Day 1 Monday, Sept 11, ECP)

Traffic on the ECP at 8.30am – I’ve never seen the ECP towards town so jammed up before. We’re talking average speeds of 15-20kmh at the very max from the Marine Parade exit thru the speed cam before Rocher, and 40kmh from the Rocher exit thru Prince Edward. All in, it takes about 40 mins to clear Marine Parade to Raffles Place. Motorists living in the east, you’ve been warned..

(Update: Day 2 Tuesday, Sept 12, ECP)

According to the Singapore media: “the traffic was even lighter than the usual peak-hour traffic in and around the Suntec vicinity.” I don’t know what the producers/journos are smoking (ain’t weed supposed to be illegal here?) but there’s NO WAY traffic was lighter, unless you’re standing in the middle of the blocked streets. ECP at 7.30am in the morning was worse than ever….. same old 20kmh traffic speeds, not easing up till about 500m from the prince edward exit. More and more people are thinking that using the east coast park slip roads helps in beating the ECP jam – NOT. The jamups at the road junctions and the ramp up to the expressway actually makes you a little slower. My advice, dump the propaganda the media is dishing out, and get a bright and early start to your day…and remember to drive safe, I don’t want you kissing my bumper at any point 😉

Tire Pressure Monitoring System w/ LCD

Just arrived, the shown TPMS retails for S$199 and installation is another $35/$60 depending on rim size. Installer said 18″ rims are harder to install coz bigger/heavier/stiffer tires (??) so basically I became a carrot head and paid the $60. Wheel sensors are hidden inside the tire so can’t be vandalised/tampered/stolen unless you lose your entire wheel. It communicates by RF to the TPMS’ CDU. Battery life is listed as “>5 years” in the manual. System can handle tire rotations by allowing you to swap positions of the sensors on the CDU itself (without physically taking out the sensors from the tires).

The TPMS is available at SGD$199. SMS [redacted] or email [redacted] for more info

ScanGauge II – OBD II scanner / Trip Computer / Digital Gauges

ScanGague II is an OBD II/CAN scanner that can read your car’s error codes and can also clear them to get rid of the Check Engine Light (CEL). It is also a trip computer that automatically tracks your current trip, today’s trip, previous day’s trip and current fuel tank’s trip and can give you all the usual trip computer information such as max speed, max water temp, max engine rpm, average speed, average fuel consumption, trip miles, trip time, trip fuel used, fuel used since last fill-up, fuel remaining, distance since last fill-up, distance remaining, time since last fill-up, time remaining. Last but not least, it is a digital gauge that simultaneously displays 4 pieces of data read from your ECU. You can set any of the 4 readings to display your current fuel consumption (litres/100km or litres/hr), battery voltage, water temp, intake air temp, intake manifold air pressure, engine rpm, speed (adjustable), engine load, throttle position, ignition advance/retard, etc. Anyone interested can check out this device at www.scangauge.com. This product is available in Singapore.  

The ScanGauge II is available at SGD$329 in limited quantities. SMS 96318100 or email services@sq89ers.org for more info

Review: Original Mazda 4 pot calipers

Original post by Coupe07

I got my 4 potters up. ORIGINAL MAZDA 4 pot calipers, made in japan. Done by Monster Garage.

1. brake lines – i am on autoexe steel braided lines with teflon coating all the while for RX8.
2. brake pads – yup, FD3S autoexe street brake pads
3. Brake calipers – FD3S later batches. The earlier batches have the same brake piston size and can accomodate smaller brake rotors only. The later batches have both brake pistons of different sizes and are slightly bigger. I’m still using the original rear RX8 calipers for my rear braking system.
4. brake rotors – Autoexe slotted brake rotors meant for RX8.

Performance wise – so far so good. It has to be better than the stock rx8 system, if not i will ditch this new mod. Like i said, i will not sacrifice performance/safety for looks. This 4Pot is lighter than the original single pot.

Weight of 4 pot – 3kg
Weight of stock single pot – 5kg

Unsprung weight saving.

FEEDBACK after 2 plus weeks of testing.

1. Bite feel definitely better.
2. Can brake much later.
3. Takes a while to get used to cos bite is different from original.
4. Aesthetically, looks good!

The test is based on my own setup, with slotted Autoexe rotors and Autoexe steel braided brake hose. I have not tested them on stock rotors nor stock brake hoses. However i shld tink this is good.

RE Amemiya ECU Reflash

I found a really cool feature in the RE ECU reflash: Smart shifting between normal and agressive footworks. Driving normally (up to 2/5 pedal), shifting as per norm, albeit a little higher rpms than stock. Driving aggressively (3/5 pedal to full), gears will redline at 8200 for 2 secs before shifting. And all this on full auto w/o using paddle shifters ‘manual’ mode.

Other published features of the RE reflash:

• Speed cut removed
• Rev cut increased.
• Fuel efficiency increase.
• Temperature reduced.
• Latest Mazda ecu firmware

Review: Knightsports Muffler for 6MT

Original review by Rei (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=96986)  

Juz installed the knightsport muffler on saturday at monster garage. Initial feel
abt the muffler is that it is 1 hell of a gd muffler…(edited)

Let me start by saying, I wasn’t disappointed by the muffler…in fact, I was
impressed…after installing the muffler, the car now feels slightly more
responsive…If I wasn’t mistaken, the muffler does give a 7hp…plus the fact that
it is also lighter that the stock muffler…my guess is a combination of these 2
factors allowed me to feel a significant improvement in performance…the car now
lurges forward a little more willingly instead of the usual ” dun look at me…i’m
only a 1.3l rotary engine without any turbo inside” kind of lurge…

As for the sound, I wldn’t say it is a very loud muffler…during idling, I almost
thought i was still running on stock…but I think this is the kind of muffler that
require to be run at a higher rpm for it to sound absolutely lovely…but the true
beauty of the sound wld come in at say…ard 3k rpm? Anyway, thats what I felt…
above the 3k range…the exhaust starts to sound a little louder n a little more
bassy than b4…n as u start to rev higher, the sound juz simply starts to
compliment the engine. I say it enhances the sound of the rotary…n at 8500 rpm,
BOOM….magic…but I do have to say, this is not an exhaust for loud sounding
muffler fans coz even at very high rpm, it is still not as loud as some of those
flow thru muffler u heard on ur civics…It is juz not the typical “hey…wake up
neighbour, I’m home n I want u to know it coz i got a loud exhaust n its time
for u to go n pee b4 u embarass urslf by wetting ur bed” kind of muffler…

The look of this muffler is very similar to stock…except for the slightly bigger tail
pipe wif a knightsports wording engrave on 1 side n it protrudes out a little more
than the oem muffler…not very attention grabbing but hey…no one wants to grab
the attention of the wrong pple…for example, our very hard working ROV
officers…heehee…

Ok now, lets conclude…

Gains: 7hp
Weight: dunno…but definitely lighter than oem
Psychological Gain: Approximately 100hp
Damage: Kindly approach Monster Garage for a quotation

Lastly, I wld like to thank Monster garage for the product n the installation
process…the muffler works great…abit pai seh though…when Ivan help to
install it on my car…Buy u milo ping next time I c u, bro…thanks…
Oh, by the way…I was really proud of how my car sound b4 a yellow ferrari
zoom past me…
But hey…If I really wanted to sound like that, I want have installed microphones
n speaker to my tailpipes, right?
What more can I say…I’m a happy man…

Century Sprint 4AT Timings

3 NA 4ATs tested their timings that evening with timings ranging from 9.1 thru 10.5. Here’s what we found that was interesting – the discrepancy of over a sec is really due to how and when we shift gears. In my first run on either fully auto or shifting at redline (7800 thru 8500 in multiple runs), timings was consistently at 10.5 thereabouts. But when i did a run shifting at 7k, we clocked 9.5. Derrick clocked 9 using the same style. This speaks a lot for mythbusting siah – the car is not necessarily peaking at higher rpms.

Fastest 6MT timing is 6.7s by steffi

Timing method: Gtech Pro
Location: Level straight road

Review: Hayden ATF Cooler for 4AT

History: Read from forums and all that esp for PI auto cars (where should anything go wrong MM/PI will ask you to fock off) ATF cooler is a must to ensure that your transmision lifespan is extended, esp if you’re like me pia the car all the time.

Went to Garage R, spoke to a seebay tao sales guy. Quoted me $750 for HKS ATF cooler, told me needed 5+ hours to install, ask me come another day. Spoke quite rudely, prob because i was wearing my fav Mohd Mustafa shirt and banana slippers.

Went to AutoDynamac to fix my lighter socket, also asked about ATF cooler. He quoted aga half price of GR for a Hayden. Super friendly and helpful, shares same fashion sense as me – mustafa shirt and slippers too.

Got a call from Zav, one of the Monster guys, told him i was hunting for ATF cooler. Within 5 mins, he told me he sourced for the perfect size for the RX8 (a hayden, ‘heavy usage’ on the box, claims 33% cooler than others), and that it could be installed the moment i came over. This is great service siah!

Installation: Mechanic seemed very experienced, and what i like about the garage is that all the parts, tools, and that mechanical thing that lifts your car up – is completely new. Shit, even the toilet my wife says ‘pass’. Solid……. Installation was finished in 45mins.

i had concerns that once you change the ATF piping routing, you’ll need to top up ATF fluid. Well, the installation was done so well that not more than a few drops of ATF fluid was lost. To be kiasu, i went to see ATF levels when i got home – still full! The ATF will be installed at the bottom right foglight recess area. PI cars don’t have foggies so this ain’t any problem

Ride: Ride seems snappier, and gear changes faster. that’s for sure. Somehow, dunno psychological or not, my foot kinda seems much heaver.

Cost: Equal in price or marginally cheaper than AutoDynamac. But more important than cost is peace of mind that you got pple experienced in rotaries installing for you.

Review: Autoexe Stainless Muffler (2 Box for 4AT)

Just installed my spanking new Autoexe Stainless Muffler, and here’s a short take of my initial impressions:

Looks:
The Autoexe catback is lovely – very unique 2 box design and the tips are the tapered kind (ie cut at an angle) each lasercut with the Autoexe logo. Very nicely polished midpipe which connects beautifully (and easily) with the exhaust outlet. Most importantly, the exhaust tips have a perfect visual alignment, unlike other exhausts i’ve seen where one tip protrudes out more than the other. The Autoexe definitely doesn’t have this problem. Also, the 2 box design has a lower profile than stock. Previously, i used to scrape and even dent the exhaust box when clearing humps or even parking – not so with the Autoexe.

HP/torque increase:
Now I’m not really one of those ‘wake up the neighbours’ type of guys that go for loud exhausts, and would rather have a muffler that improves my ride’s performance. Now this is about the 3rd AT car i’ve owned in the past 3 years ( a Honda Civic, and then a Mazda 3) and i’ve tried about everything from ‘kui-tao’ the muffler at Manz, getting Sebring catbacks, changing resonators, pipe sizes etc etc. In fact, for the 8, this is the first time i’m getting a jdm brand.

From my experience, and also that of my previous club buddies, ATs are really hard to ‘tune’ exhaust-wise. You’ll either get no benefits other than sound, or even lose HP/torque. This is as a certain backpressure is needed to generate torque. In my Mazda 3, i once had a straight through setup with an increased pipe size, and it totally killed my low end torque.

The Autoexe performs really well, at least on my AT. There is a noticable increase in low end torque, and the car just feels substantially lighter. Revs are much more responsive, and the slight lag felt when launching the car seems to have melted away. Linear acceleration is also much faster (at least across 1st 3 gears), and i’m reaching 120-130kmh much faster on 2nd gear alone (NB mine is the 4spd AT). I’m very pleased with the low-torque gains on the Autoexe – finally i have that slight ‘lurch’ from start which the manuals seem to have, but the ATs don’t.

Sound:
As mentioned earlier, if you want those really loud exhausts, look elsewhere. The Autoexe starts off idle with a really low, bassy growl. When first installed, it was barely audible, but sounds louder now. In time, the db will increase to an extent. On higher RPM revs, exhaust sounds deep and wet, and def not those shrilly Remus’ we hear on the expressways from time to time. Think of a younger Pavarotti, low but not overtly bassy, and definitely not as high pitched as Jose Carreras.

Installation:
Installation was a breeze, and took under an hour at Monster Garage at Ubi, who’s the only authorized dealer in Singapore, so these guys know their stuff. Now what i really like about the installation is the care and time they take to make sure stuff goes up properly, it’s almost like they’re installing on their own cars. Now if you’ve ever experienced the crap service at FK and other exhaust places, you know what i mean.

Overall impressions:
The torque/hp improvement was a shocker esp on low end, esp when mine’s an AT. I’ve heard of bros installing Fujitsubos and HKSs that have either no or negative benefit. In this respect, I’m mighty pleased with the Autoexe. Sound is not loud, but a soft low bassy growl when idle, which develops into a mature wet sound at higher revs. The only other exhaust I know which works great with ATs is the RE Amemiya steel muffler, which is also available only at Monster Garage. The RE from what I heard has a very unique kind of sound.

I’ll post a further review on the sound once it breaks in further, what happens at higher speeds and hopefully, dyno results.

Rating
Low-end torque: 4.5
HP gain: n/a
Sound: 2
Looks: 4
Installation: 4
OVERALL RATING: 3.5

Available in Singapore with JASMA Cert from Monster Garage

Harman/Kardon Drive+Play

As my ride didn’t have a CD changer, decided to scout around for something that i can play from my ipod instead. Did a bit of research, and finally settled for the Harman/Kardon Drive+Play.

Cost me $500 + installation at Poh Seng, inclusive of an additional direct-to-FM adaptor cable (instead of using the built in FM transmitter).

The sound on my stock non-bose speakers is great, esp the bass (but i think my stock can’t take it so had to lower a bit) and the user interface is excellent. I installed the LCD screen on the dashboard next to the steering column, and the control knob close to the shifter.

Only prob is that once in a while (aga aga 1 in 50 instances), the unit will lose connection with the iPod. I dunno if it’s because of FM interference or coz they nvr install properly but i’ll be bringing it back this weekend for checking. Another thing is that LCD screen doesn’t support chinese characters, so all my Jay Chou CDs etc must translate to hanyu pinyin else doesn’t show up on screen.

http://playlistmag.com/reviews/2006…eplay/index.php
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/driveplay.ars

Preview: Knight Sports 4.777 Final Drive for 4AT

GFOO’s Review
The car feels livelier, and super responsive to the slightest touch of the pedal. Linear acceleration across all gears (1-4) is definitely improved. Honestly, now, a light touch of the pedal brings me to the speed i want. previously, i had to be more aggressive.

• For sure low-end acceleration has improved by quite a bit. Previously, car seemed to be straining a bit gears at 1-2, but now, it seems rearing to go and i haven’t even whacked it yet. the combi of RE Amemiya ecu and the final drive is great
• Prev when you let go of the pedal, the rev drops a bit. now, there is no rev drop when pedal is released, it’s maintained at the rev you left it at. I’m not quite sure how this affects performance as i’ve not driven/whacked enough to gauge yet but i do think that this will help pickup somewhat

All in all, from a cursory standpoint, the 4.777 seems to deliver what it said it would and more. Although it’s been said that this is not a performance mod that increases HP, in my books anything that improves my low-end performance is a good thing. Like Coupe07 says, singapore or even ns highway how often you’ll exceed 200kmh?

TAN280’s Review
Installation process : Is a pretty one day job [cause working so take at night lor] and the initial response who have tested can gladly said that the pull was marvellous esp when U rev high…

Just a quick roundup for those who are going to fix this or having this thought to fix on your ride soon. This is not a performance mod for HP but more towards your revving response. First of all, the gain is noticeable from 2K and is throughout all gears. Very linear and fast pickup right from the beginning and the fun part is when using our “F1” style paddle shifters cause it simply change almost instantly [not much of a gear lag], gear ratio also improved but the best part is that the fuel consumption is pretty much the same and the engine runs a whole lot smoother esp the low end part [maybe because of RE remap system]. Highly recommended for those who love quick response.

Overall impressions :

Overall this will lower approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of a second [est only], for those who love to drag or self-timing, this will be a good mod.

For more information, kindly PM me your doubts [I will try to answer as far as my knowledge goes] or simply go to Monster Garage to find out more. I will post a second review when this thing totally run in, so stay sharp.

HP gain : N/A
Torque gain : Not very sure buy surely will add some ba
Revving response : 4.5/5 [ using full automatic], 5/5 [using our F1 paddle shifters ]
Fuel Consumption : almost the same [ between 7.5 to 8 per litre (ballpark figure) ]
Looks : Well, is hidden so cant see from outside.
Installation : 4.5/5
Addiction : song song gao Jurong ar!!! mai tu liao… grabs yours and enjoy the adrenaline rush!!! Fast and Furious!!!