Mazda RX8 with M3 style mirrors

The Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE is a 2003 bi-fuel version of the sports car RX-8, in which the two-disc rotary engine allows operation with hydrogen or gasoline. This is the fifth Mazda vehicle with a hydrogen rotary engine. The hydrogen tank with 110 liters at 350 bar stores up to 2.4 kilograms of hydrogen and is in addition to the 61 liter petrol tank. In 2005, Mazda got street approval for this vehicle. The following year, the first vehicles were leased to customers (Idemitsu and Iwatani). In November 2007, Mazda announced the delivery of 30 RX-8 HRE to the Norwegian hydrogen project Hynor.  Many modifications can be done to your Mazda to make it look sportier and perform better.

Installing M3 style mirrors is one of those neat projects that can really add some spice to the look of your Mazda without taking up too much of your time. The total install time for a pair of M3 style mirrors should be less than two hours.  

Aftermarket mirrors are available in different materials, including FRP plastic, carbon fiber and fiberglass. Plenty of different styles are available such as D1 style, F1 style and M3 styles. You can also get them in manual or electric, and get them with or without LED turn signals built in.

The toughest part of the job is actually finding a set of mirrors that will match your body color. If your Mazda is white or black, there are usually aftermarket mirrors available in those two colors. Any other color will need to be custom-painted to match your body paint.

Some aftermarket mirrors are manufactured with an additional lamp in the side. This can be wired to either to your parking lamps or your turn-signal lamps. Either one requires additional wiring to be threaded through the door, so I usually don't recommend this approach. Most of the cars I've seen with lamps in the side of the mirrors don't actually have them connected-they're just for show.

In Mazda's RX-8 with the Renesis engine, fuel consumption is now within normal limits while passing California State emissions requirements. The exhaust ports, which in earlier Mazda rotaries were located in the rotor housings, were moved to the sides of the combustion chamber. This approach allowed Mazda to eliminate overlap between intake and exhaust port openings, while simultaneously increasing exhaust port area. The Renesis engine even meets California's Low Emissions Vehicle or LEV standards.