Axton

Hey Everyone,

After focusing so long on finally finishing my rebuild and enjoying driving the FD, I've taken stock of missing parts and wanted to put them out there for opinions if they're worth doing / adding back.

First, there's no undertray and front lip. It's a Series 6, so the non 99 spec front bumper. I decided to look at getting an R1 Front Lip and I guess the undertray should be added back if I'm going to do this? I've read quite a bit and I see the general consensus that it should go back on to help direct air through the radiator and intercooler.

Opening up the front bumper. It's a requirement to have a front number plate here in Australia, when I bought it, the front plate was mounted with a "home made" bracket. Would getting the OEM Plate Bracket be a better choice to get it out the way? To me it kind of ruins the lines of the front end... is there any other options? I don't want to do a 99 bumper conversion.



The Airbox Guide. Adding it back would probably clean up the look of the engine bay, but I don't think it'd really do anything in assisting cooling.

Hood Insulation. It's missing as expected, would look cleaner by putting it back, but all I can think of is just trapping more heat in the engine bay.



and Finally, the wheel well covers. I'm running the RX8 18" 5 Spokes with 235 x 40 R18s. I have a very suspicion that they'll more than likely rub.

BLUE TII

iTrader: (9)

1) Yes, you need an/the undertray to pursuade the air to go through the radiator instead of around it.

2) Front lip is largely aesthetics. Reproductions are cheap now and look even better than OEM (1 piece polyurethane lips available).

3) Can your number plate be up higher like '99 spec bumper has it? Actually, I think that is stock bracket location.
Are number plate stickers legal there as they are in California?
Other solutions? Thats between you and local police I guess.

4) No need for the airbox air guide, there is a benefit to removing it (turbo intakes suck hot engine bay air backwards through the intercooler as Mazda found and fixed later)- bonus power if you do the "cheap bastard" airbox mod.

You do need to cover the resulting hole in the intercooler duct as air would rather exit there than go through the IC.

5) Hood insulation will help protect your paint from heat damage. I think it looks better in its abscence though.

6) Yes, put in fender liners. That assembly is the oil cooler(s) duct exit into the fender vent. Wow, Mazda did funtional vents- awesome. It will keep your engine bay cleaner from tire water and debris as well, awesome again.

7) this is a 7. Not an 8. I dont hate hate the wheels, I dont love the wheels. I had the wheels on my 8 sometimes. Do get tires 25.3" tall or less on your RX-7. Its not an RX-8 on 26" tall tires, 7 just doesnt work on too tall a tire.

Do check out/ move to higher position your wheelwell wire harness. They get in the way of normal height tires let alone too tall a tire.

Axton

Thanks BLUE TII

I've just finished going through the list of fasteners for the Undertray, I think it'd be worth doing, I'll take a look into the after market 1 piece lips and see how they compare.

The number plate bracket mounts in the top of the Front Bumper vent, here's an example:



I've gone down the proverbial "Rabbit Hole" and found that I'm also missing the Bumper Air Guide, so that's been added to the list as well.

I'll take a look at blocking off the Intercooler / Air Guide hole, that's the type of good information I was looking for!

I agree with putting the fender liners back in as they certainly do serve a purpose, I'm already lucky that it already came with the dual oil coolers.

It came with the RX8 18s when I bought it, going for the low profile tire hasn't been a problem since I've replaced all the bushings and worn out suspension, the width feels really good and planted when driving but that's where I see it would rub.

I've already cleaned up and tucked the front harness in the wheel wells to make sure it doesn't start rubbing again, having the fender liner back in there would be extra insurance for sure.

Thanks Again!

mecman

iTrader: (11)

Moving the license plate up in the pic by Axton will help with cooling and air flow which is problematic on our cars. The undertray will also help air flow through the radiator rather than around which will improve cooling functionality.
The fender liner will also allow your oil coolers and fender vents to be functional, again cooling the engine oil better. Not to mention that throwing water up into your wiring and engine bay is not good either.

Neo

iTrader: (4)

As mentioned by all the previous posts, you need all the undercarriage protection. Wheel wells for the obvious stuff, and the under tray for the aerodynamics to do it’s job.
Having to run front license plates does suck, but unfortunately a necessary evil depending where you live. I’ve been running my plate as close to 99 spec location as possible for decades. In the past 4-5yrs I managed to bend the lower part of the plate towards the top of the bumper. Otherwise I haven’t fiddled with the stock bolt up.
While you can run the RX8 wheels without any issues, it’s not a look many would approve of. Mind you, the factory did offer 18” Rays wheels which add considerable height to the overall stance of the vehicle. Many have run 18’s without issues to the fender liners. The fender themselves though.. 8 times out of 10 they would have to roll the fenders.
As for the front spoiler, I personally thought the original was a little subdued. I was thankful they revised it to be more aggressive for the 99’s. It bolts up the same to the original bumper. Regardless of which though, please remember to get the proper brake cooling ducts. Can’t tell you how annoyed I get when I see the front spoiler but people forget to get the ducting. Can see the ground thru the spoiler openings. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of the part…
I would love to run the updated front bumper or even attempt to find an Rspec front bumper. But they removed the front side parking light. The symmetry gets all broken and throws off the balance of everything. So I kept my original bumper. personal ocd thing I guess. Lol