So lately the little things on my FD have been pissing me off and make me feel 70/30 about the car (still love it) but im trying to do some reviving... We all know these cars are old, and im getting annoyed of my car feeling like an old piece of crap. so im just curious what other "cheap" simple mods help out the car out and update it...

some things ive done to attempt to revive some life back into the car..
99spec tail light conversion (~20 if you dont have anything)
respraying interior pieces (SEM trim black ~15 a can looks awesome)
respraying headlight shrouds
quiet coat the whole interior (quiets the cabin, and if applied in the door gets rid of the cheap "glunk" sound when you slam the door

in the process of...
painting rotors
painting calipers

ones i know of... (i know some are lame)
white led for gauge cluster (~ 50 i believe?)
e-brake/Shift boot


any others to add? any cheap mods to make your car feel "a bit newer"??

 

New rotors
New carpet, trunk, floor mats, interior
A very good detail job (a professional can make your car SHINE)
99 front lip
reupholster seats


"cheap" is relative to your financial situation but mods above aren't beyond most of our reach...especially since we've dedicated ourselves to the money pit already.

 

...cheap, but labor intensive!

that's how i roll.

 

I hope you mean the rotor hats and not the rotors themselves lol.

 

If you have light scratching, I'd suggest wet sanding and polishing your paint & tail lights.

There is also glass polishing kits to do all your windows.

get yourself a good air gun, and go crazy on your interior (blast out all the plastics)

 

Plastic-X works WONDERS on the plastic exterior parts like the tail lights and turnsignals.

 

the only item i think makes the interior seem dated is the steering wheel. i installed a 99 nardi steering wheel and it transformed the interior. retained the air bag and horn but lost the cruise control, which means nothing to me.

i dont think its a "cheap" mod($250ish) but easily my favorite(make it a bit newer) interior one.

cheap mod would be...rattle can your wiper blade holders and replace your wiper blades with Trico Innovision blades. VERY clean, subtle, "make it a bit newer" mod....$25ish

 

What?

 

A new windshield. All the little sand pits and glare make the car feel old.
New glass is only $260 installed.

rph

 

detail the exterior yourself, if it has some light scratches in the finish, then do some light wet sanding, if not, get a clay bar kit (autozone sells meguires mothers and some other kit, i got mothers and it is sweet) and do a nice multi step wax job (i use meguires 3 step, but instead of the normal wax, i use the gold glass stuff.) then for all of the faded plastic/rubber trim get some meguires trim detailer and rub that into those old faded pieces, a clean shiny car really does feel better to drive.

 

I like the look of the metal sill plates, but not the scratches and dents they seem to attract after a while. Flame if you must, but I bought these off ebay. Metal backed by thin hard plastic and they're self-adhesive. This is a picture I took shortly after installation...3 or 4 years ago. They still look the same. I think it dresses it up a bit...~$20 shipped IIRC.

My original shift **** was getting worn looking. I picked up a like-new 5-speed RX8 **** from the forum. IIRC, ~ $60. Then I took a tip from DaleClark's old website and bought a chrome Miata E-brake button, which matched the polished accents on the ****. <$10. I like it anyway.
Bad picture, but you can sort of see it..

Added an Autovation dead-pedal cover that matches the stock clutch and brake pedals pretty closely. ~$35.

Redline Leather goods shifter and e-brake lever covers. Not sure how much they are now. I bought them shortly after I got the car years ago...<$50 at that time.


On the exterior I bought the updated turn-signal/park-light lenses for the 93-95 bumper. There are a couple of different versions, but IMO they update the look quite a bit. Various sources, but most under $60. I don't have a picture handy, but there was a recent thread on them with pics.

 

+1 for the RX8 5 speed shift ****.

I picked it up and love it.

Also to the OP. You said you used quiet coat. Was that a significant difference? Would you do it again?

 

Sgtblue.

I dig your mazdaspeed door plate.

Looks very nice.

The plastic scuff plate you mention is from a base model.

 

already have the 99 lip... carpets isnt a bad idea, but i want custom ones... and seats are in the future... kinda pricey!

i prefer SEM trim black paint. i swear by it..

already have NRG quick release, and personal Neo Grinta steering wheel.. thinking about doing the wiper blades... i think the holders were recently painted... ill double check..

brake rotors... kinda like the rx8 guys... they all have rusty rotors so they paint them silver or black to mask em... im gonna powdercoat mine...

a little pricey... im gonna try cleaning mine up for now with a razor blade, see if it makes any difference...

just clay bar'd it and 3-4 coats of wax in the past 3 weeks still hate how my car looks lol

those sill plate thingys look dope!... i have a voodoo shift **** already.. not a fan of the rx8 ****... had an 8 and was using the voodoo.. i love it. im looking into the autovation pedal set and to powder coat them aswell as for the lenses, im trying to go 99 spec front bumper so gonna hold off on that..
love it. yes it is a significant difference, ESPECIALLY in the doors.

 

Bubbles,

claybarring isn't enough, you still need to do a 2 or 3 stage detail

laquor bath your car (removes wax & excess clay)

2000 grit wetsand

3000 grit cutting compound (I like 3M extra cut)

start slow with the cutting compound with a wool pad (1000 - 1200 rpm with a 7" pad)

finish your cut at a higher speed (1400-1600 rpm with the wool pad)

now use foam pad polish (with a medium/soft 7" foam pad)

spread evenly, and buf @ 2200 rpm

next: swirl eliminator apply with a soft/ fine 7" pad @ 2800 rpm

work large/ even areas

now wax, let it haze

remove with a micro fiber cloth that has been lightly sprayed with body shine.

You will love the way your car looks after that.

 

Is quiet coat a sound deadening spray? how did you apply it? remove all the interior to apply?

 

I need this^.
I've been procrastinating because with my luck, right after I replace it on my dime, a stray rock will take it out again. But I'll have to pull the trigger soon....it drives me crazy.
Don't know about the "Quiet Coat" stuff, but had good luck with rattle-can undercoating. You have to pull off the inside door panels but my doors shut with a nice solid "thunk" and helps a little with road noise. Good time to shoot some silcone caulk between the outer door skin and the inside crash brace/barrier too. The factory stuff sometimes lets go, and the two panels can rattle against each other.

 

For the exterior, replacing the old, outdated "yellowish" color of the license plate lights with Superbrightleds.com LED's look much more modern. Especially for Silver,white,black cars.

$16 Shipped

 

and for the record, PlasticX is a plastic polish not a paint like the SEM trim paint.

 

When you say rotor, do you mean the Caliper? i still am not thinking correctly if its the rotor? Why would you paint your rotor????

-AzEKnightz

 

i used a roller, think of it like a thick paint.... i hadd the car stripped when i did it, so you will need to remove all the interior pieces..

here some of my pics when i did it to get an idea..
http://muibubbles.blogspot.com/searc...&max-results=5

i was thinking about that yesterday! do you know which bulbs? i wanna do that and the gauge cluster next

oh lol i thought it was somethign else... just googled it looks pretty promising!

lol... no i dont mean the calipers but i will do those as well.. it IS the rotor. you paint them bc they rust.. a lot of the rx8 guys do it, i did it when i had my 8. there was even a tsb on it for the rx8 where the dealer will paint them..

heres a pic of a rotor with rust (the inner hub part)

 

^ He is talking about painting the middle part of the rotor known as the "hat". Not the part that the brake pads come into contact with.

John


Edit: ^ Beat me to it.

 

That's what I was thinking too. But iono, I dont see the point of doing it. U wont see your rotor hat, it's not for performance, and if water/rain gets in there, it will rust no matter what.

But I guess it's one's opinion =)

-AzEKnightz

 

some of these are touch up mods. some of them are just good ideas to begin with...

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/small-mods-make-world-go-around-881462/

 

you will see it. you can see the rust if its rusted... im powder coating mine.. they wont rust....... heres my friends pics.. he painted his...
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=196316

i forgot about this thread! im gonna go through it again thanks!