Upgrade my XT8's mirrors?

Now that I've got my azimuth bearing and future focuser upgrades pretty much figured out, its time to think about upgrading my XT8's primary and secodary mirrors - for that extra transmission (92% total vs 77% total transmission - equiv to an extra 3/4 inch in aperature right?) and quality difference - better smoother surfaces and pyrex low expansion...
Thinking about Discovery 8"f/6 enhanced mirrors and diagonals...

Now questions/opinions:

(1) First off. Is it worth it? Or are my chinese optics good enough? Will I notice a difference (Transmission wise and image quality wise)?

(2) How easy is this? Sounds easy enough. Take off mirror cell and swap out primary. Take off secondary vanes, floss off old secondary, and silicone in new mirror. But, if I use say like discovery's f/6 pyrex mirror will that extra 20mm of focal length and thicker mirror also give me grave pains without moving the primary mounting backwards in the tube? I guess I better take that mirror cell off and check if it can accomodate a thicker mirror (will I need a new mirror cell?). Is Discovery's mirror thicker? Better call Discovery too...

(3) Are there better value mirror choices for enhanced coatings (95-97%), pyrex, hand figured optics?

My take is this:

The mirrors in your scope are very likely plenty good. The issues that are limit the optical performance of an 8 inch Asian scope are most likely thermal and maybe collimation.

Get the scope collimated and cooled and the ones I have used perform quite nicely. But just touching the OTA on a cool night will set up tube currents that will last a minute or more.

If you want to upgrade to "premium mirrors", don't piece meal it, buy or build the whole scope as a coherent unit. These Asian scopes do a very nice job and reworking the base and focuser will address their weak points.

Take your XT-8 for what it is, a very useable scope, save your money for another scope if that is what you want, and go out at night and use the one you have.

When the time comes to spend the money, you will probably want something other than an 8 incher, either smaller and more portable or larger with more light gathering.

The gain in moving from an 8 inch to a 10 inch is far greater than coatings will make. If you want enhanced coatings, get the secondary recoated, its inexpensive ($30 for a 3.1 inch at L&L Optical Services.)

In my view, these scopes are like Toyota Corolla's, both are very competent but are not as fancy as some. Trying to make a Corolla into a Lexus is futile task. When the time comes to buy a Lexus, buy one...


Jon

>>>>(1) First off. Is it worth it? Or are my chinese optics good enough? Will I notice a difference (Transmission wise and image quality wise)?
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Just another quickie:

Before spending the money, take a look through some scopes. See if you can see the difference between an XT-8 and a Discovery...

Then if you want to upgrade, go all the way, don't go half way, get something like a Mike Spooner mirror with a Protostar secondary. No more upgrades, just build yourself your dream scope and you will be set for life...

Jon