NOTE: This is for reference only; I am not liable if you screw your car up. Use caution and common sense when working on your vehicle. Read the directions (like you will) use the right tools and use the appropriate safety equipment.

Tools needed

12mm socket
14mm socket
17mm socket
3/8” socket wrench
3/8” socket extension
17mm wrench
8mm Allen
Phillips screwdriver
Utility knife

Getting Started

The RX8 does come with a factory strut tower brace.  And, if you remove it, you do feel a difference.  However, the factory brace leaves much room for improvement.  For the ZWP, we decided to go with the GTSPEC Strut bar.  It is made from aircraft grade 6061 aluminum with a triple internal hollow wall.  Overall weight is about the same from the steel factory brace when you take into account all the brackets on top of the strut towers.

Factory Strut Tower Brace

Remove Factory Brace

Using a 12mm and a 14mm socket, remove the factory strut brace and additional brackets. With the factory brace removed we can really compare it to the GTSPEC.  Actually, there is no comparison, the stiffness and the build quality is drastically better than the factory brace.

Install the GT brace

Reusing the 14mm sockets, install the GTSPEC brace.  We recommend having some play in the bar mounting points to pivot the brackets for installation ease.  Once the brackets are firmly mounted, and then you can tighten the brace using a 17mm wrench and a 8mm Allen.

NOTE: We recommend that your car be on a flat even surface when tightening the bar.  Otherwise, the brace will attempt to keep the chassis in a tweaked position.

Check for clearance

I had to slightly move (Bend) the brake lines coming from the ABS controller.  I only had to move them about an 1/8 of an inch.  You do not have to create a situation where your brake lines rub against anything.

Front bar complete!

Your front bar is complete.  Of course you will not be able to fit the factory engine cover. (Unless you modify it) But for me that is 3 additional pounds that is not needed for the operation of the vehicle or needed as a comfort to the passengers.

Rear Bar installation

The rear bar is slightly more effort because you need to work around the interior pieces in the trunk.  Care must be taken to ensure you do not break the trunk interior pieces.  Let’s get started.

Remove the interior

There are several clips that must be removed to gain access to the rear strut tower mounts.  Start by removing the rear plastic piece.  There are four clips that hold the rear piece.  These clips are removed by pulling the center clip partway out.  Then tug on the center piece and the entire clip can be removed.  Once all four clips are removed, gently pull up on the panel to remove it.

The remaining side pieces are removed by removing the clips then gently pulling out the pieces.  In addition to the clips used on back piece, there is another clip that has a Phillips head in the center.  These clips are removed by gently unscrewing the center piece completely out.  Then the plug can be removed.  Apply as little pressure to the Phillips screwdriver during this process or the center pieces will not come out.  Once the panels are removed, we can proceed to the next step.

Mounting the strut tower brackets

Only the outside bolts need to be removed for this installation, the inner bolts can remain untouched.  Align the bracket for the rear strut brace and install. In order to install the other side, it will be necessary to remove the bracket from the strut bar.  This can be done with the 8mm Allen and a 17mm wrench.

Cutting the holes in the interior pieces

This is the most challenging part of the project.  You could just slit the panels to slide them over the strut bar, but that will look tacky.  Instead, we decided to cut holes for the bracket to extend through.  This is more difficult, but the results speak for themselves. Start by placing reinstalling the factory side panel.  Make sure all the mounting holes align.  Then slightly press where the strut tower bracket meets the panel.  A light tap will actually crack the panel where the bracket meets the panel.  Use this as a reference where to cut.

On the passenger side, there is more work to be done

You need to remove the strap and reinforcement piece of wood that holds the factory flat tire kit.  This can be done with a small pick took to remove the staples holding everything together.  Once this is done, repeat the same steps used on the driver side for locating the strut tower bracket. Once the holes are cut for the brackets, reinstall the interior.

Mounting the rear strut tower brace

The hard part is now complete.  Installing the rear strut tower brace requires using the 17mm wrench and 8mm Allen.  Your installation is complete.  The are several drawbacks to the rear strut tower brace.  You do lose trunk room.  Also, the mounting place for the Tire kit is taken then the strut tower mounting.  But it does look great and the rear bar does help with the chassis in corners.

What’s next?

Our first part of this project was to improve the already great handling of the RX8.  We have upgraded, the wheels and tires to light, wider wheels with more grippy tires.  We lowered the car with Tein Basic Coilovers and now we have added the GTSPEC front and rear strut tower braces.  Our next plan is to complete the suspension with upgraded sway bars and suspension links.  Then we plan to get the whole setup tuned with corner weighting and alignment.  Stay tuned.

After mounting the rims and tires it became painfully obvious that the brakes were in dire need of cosmetic improvement.  Like many RX8 owners, I have been happy with overall performance of the factory brakes.  However, the looks leave something to be desired. Both the rotors and calipers look rusted.  Couple that with my decision not to install caps on my rims made the vehicle look much worse.  The solution was quite simple: Paint the brakes.

Special thanks to Dave and Jamie for their technical assistance.

NOTE:  This is for reference only; I am not liable if you screw your car up.  Use caution and common sense when working on your vehicle.  Read the directions (like you will) use the right tools and use the appropriate safety equipment.

Equipment and supplies:

I used Duplicolor Black high-temperature spray paint.  I know some people like to highlight the calipers but the reality is they are stock and I am looking for a clean/non-flashy look. I also used a can of brake cleaner, shop towels, news paper, cardboard and scissors.  Of course you will need all the necessary equipment and work area to safely remove the wheels from your car.  If you don’t know what these things are, don’t attempt this yourself.

Here is the wheel before I started. Notice the rust color on the caliper and center area.  Nasty.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Remove wheel.

Step 2: Clean away dirt and debris with brake cleaner and shop towels.  If you have stubborn dirt, you can use a soft scrub brush as well.  Mine were clean enough not to do this.

Step 3: Cover the area surrounding the brakes.  I used news paper to cover the suspension and cardboard to protect the concrete below.

Step 4: Make a cardboard template that exposes the brake caliper but covers the rotor.  The notch on the other side was for the smaller rear brake rotor.

Step 5: Using a cardboard template, paint the brake caliper with several light coats of paint.  Check your work to ensure all the edges are painted.  You will need to make paint passes at different angles to completely cover the entire rotor.

Step 6: With another piece of cardboard, paint the end of the rotor.  Turn the rotor to paint the entire edge.  Try to keep the cardboard as close to the edge as possible to reduce the amount of overspray on the rotor facing.

Step7: Using another cardboard template.  Paint the center of the rotor.  Try to minimize the amount of overspray on the rotor facing.  Also, try not to paint the threads.  If you are a real messy painter, you can tape the wheel studs.  I also painted the center of the axel because this was exposed when the wheel is mounted.

Step 8: Using a show towel sprayed with brake cleaner, wipe off the overspray on the rotor facing.  This does not need to be perfect but the cleaner the better.  The rest will be removed when you drive.

Step 9: Let it dry.  Well as least to the touch before remounting the wheel.

Here are the pictures with the front and rear wheels mounted.  Much better!  This is a very simple cosmetic improvement that can be competed in an afternoon.  This is definitely worth the effort.

I recently found out that some people do not know how to calculate fuel economy. I have to admit, I was stunned. I also realized that some people are missing this critical tool they can use to monitor the status of their vehicle. Below is a quick tutorial on how I measure fuel economy. This is relatively easy to do as long as you follow the basic principles I have listed.

Measuring MPG (Miles per gallon)

1. Fill up your tank with gas. Let the pump stop on its own. (Letting the pump stop on its own increases the accuracy of your calculations)
2. Reset your trip odometer. If you do not have a trip odometer, write down your regular odometer mileage.
3. Drive the car. For the most consistent average, try get as close as possible to “E” or empty. (This last part is not necessary but does help in better averaging.)
4. Go back to the same gas station (Same pump if possible) and fill up. Let the pump stop on its own. (Letting the pump stop on its own increases the accuracy of your calculations)
5. Document how many miles you have driven.
6. Document how many gallons of fuel you needed to fill up.
7. Divide the number of miles driven by the number of gallons required to full up the tank. This is your fuel mileage.

First Results

• Miles Driven: 215.6
• Gallons used: 13.444
• MPG: 215.6/13.444 = 16.04 MPG
• Total Cost: $53.36 Ouch ($3.969 per gallon for 93 octane)
  
• Cost per mile: 53.36/215.6 = $0.25/Mile
  

Notes:

This mileage was a combination of 50% city and highway driving. As always, it was spirited. My next trip is to Indiana this weekend. It will be interesting to see how the mileage changes with 90%+ highway driving.

According to the 2003 Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Omnibus Household Survey, the average commute to work is 26 minute, 15 mile one-way trip to work. Based on my figures above, the an average RX8 commuter will spend $7.50 a day, 37.50 a week or $1875 a year (assuming two weeks vacation) in fuel costs alone.

An increase to 20 MPG would result in a annual cost savings of $371.25. Increasing mileage to 25 MPG would reduce fuel costs by $672. Of course, we did not buy a sports car for the fuel economy.

I know that they are supposed to last 100k, but the reality is that a fouled plug will lower fuel economy, hurt performance and potentially damage the cat. My first shock was the price of plugs for the RX8. I got a deal at $100. That’s $25 each. That is over 10x the price of many other plugs. Well, I am glad I did. Check out the pictures of what the plugs looked like in the car. I am definitely glad I swapped the plugs. (Click on the pictures to launch the gallery)

If you try to replace the spark plugs yourself, you will find that it is nearly impossible to see the plugs by opening up the hood. Luckily, I found an easy access by removing the drive front wheel.