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| For the drivetrain, the OEM Ring and Pinion are retained along with the OEM axles and driveshafts. The major differences are the Kaaz 1.5 way limited slip and… |
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| The Rear End gear oil cooler. There is nothing exotic or complicated, making it easy to repair and maintain while at the track or even at Mazdatrix. |
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| The transmission is still the Mazda ZF-sourced 6-speed from when the car was purchased, brand new. However, Dave is using a Mazdatrix lightweight flywheel, which he says is the lightest on the market. |
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| While most rotary engines, even the Renesis, are usually loud with a race exhaust, this Turbocharged “hybrid” engine is actually fairly quiet. Well, it was quiet compared to the NA Renesis RX-8s at Fontana and Wide Open RX-7s that regularly compete in STR2 whenever I'm at a NASA event. Those things are earsplitting, but do sound very awesome. Dave's sounds even better with the turbo and I'm not just saying that because it doesn't require me to have earplugs over my earplugs. Just saying. |
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| The final piece of engine kit up front is the oil cooler. The rotary can be notorious for high engine temperatures and being finicky on hot starts, but Dave's car never really shows that problem. Combined with the Mishimoto radiator, Downing modified Water Pump, AEM Water/Methanol injection, and the oil cooler, I think hot starting has been solved. |
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The final portion is always my favorite part of my feature car stories. It's the background of the car just prior to becoming a race car and how it lived its life to this point. It really can tell you about the owner and this is no different. Dave owned this car since it was new and was one of the first RX-8s in the country. It was also bought with the intention of using it for testing and production of parts from Mazdatrix and knew it would eventually end up a race car. It was the car used to tune the suspension for the Tokico D-Spec dampers. So, those of you running D-Specs on your RX-8 have this car to thank. It's also the car to first try the wide-body kit made by AIT and developed with Mazdatrix. The engine in this car was the first to try the hybridization of the Renesis and 13B-REW engines. The Mazdatrix RX-8 is responsible for all of the parts and components that they sell for your RX-8. What finally made it a race car was a purchase of another RX-8 that was originally intended to become a race car for the shop. However, the scrapped RX-8 Dave had purchased was better than the Mazdatrix one. It had leather seats, better stereo, and more bells and whistles. So, all of the parts that made the better RX-8 a scrapper car were replaced with parts that were on the shop car. Thus, the race car was born out of the ashes of another car. |
However, the story of the Mazdatrix RX-8 doesn't really end on a good note. If you read my article on the MPTCC Round 2 at Auto Club Speedway, then you know the current state of the Mazdatrix RX-8. If you haven't read it, during practice for Race 2 on Sunday, the car went out of Dave's control and hit head first into the wall just prior to going back up onto the banking for NASCAR 3 and 4. He wasn't hurt but the front of the car was trashed and the front clip needs to be replaced from the suspension forward. It was what prevented the Mazdatrix RX-8 from showing up at Round 4, as the clip had yet to be installed. The one thing about owning your own business is that the business has to come first. It seems as if business at Mazdatrix has picked up, but Dave Lemon has said that the RX-8 will be fixed. It is just a matter of time.
Thanks to:
Dave Lemon – Mazdatrix
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