I was wondering what mods you would like to see available for the RX-8? I personally would like some adjustable coilovers, intake, and a free flow exhaust system. Hopefully these mods will be similar to what we see on the mazdaspeed rx-8, which means they would be availble through them. Also depending on the shifter maybe a B&M short throw.

whats it like modding a rotatary car? is it any different then a piston engine?

Maybe a front tower strut brace. Shifter if it wasn't up to par with what I want. Intake if it provides a singnificant power boost. I think there isn't going to be much that is cost effective to upgrade on a car so higly tuned out of the factory.

Originally posted by tribal azn
whats it like modding a rotatary car? is it any different then a piston engine? In some ways, it's very similar, and in other ways, it's very different. Take a look through this and the RX7 forums for more info. If you have the time, it will make for some interesting reading.

My first mod will probably be along the lines of an alarm or stereo item. But that will depend on how the car is when I get it.

I wouldn't start slapping coilovers on the car until I've driven it awhile, and unless there was a reputable setup available. There are plenty of "coilover" kits out there for other cars that are all show and no go.

---jps

A little early for this discussion, unless you're the type of person who likes to modify their car just for the sake of modifying it. There's no way to know what parts of the car will need tweaking until we've driven it!

My first three would be intake exsaust and Computer
then some form of forced induction NO Nitros. then lowering springs with very good struts possably KONI then ST braces
And thats about the extent of it.

Probably the stereo..

A trick coat of wax. I figure I'll gain at least 10 HP.

Louvered hood like the early red one:p

I seriously question whether is so highly tuned. My thought is that the mazdaspeed version will still be NA. If so there should be an easy 50hp that can be found in the engine. I am sure there will be pre cats to get rid of too. The problem with rotaries is emissions so most likely there will be a lot of preformance to be found on the exhaust end.

Originally posted by fritts
I seriously question whether is so highly tuned. My thought is that the mazdaspeed version will still be NA. If so there should be an easy 50hp that can be found in the engine. I am sure there will be pre cats to get rid of too. The problem with rotaries is emissions so most likely there will be a lot of preformance to be found on the exhaust end.

Most of the emissions problems were solved by moving/reshaping the rotary's ports.

Originally posted by Grimace
A trick coat of wax. I figure I'll gain at least 10 HP.
If you consider that a mod then yes, my first mod will be 2-3 coats of Zaino, right after I claybar the car to get the contaminants off the paint from the long trip from Japan. :)

A trick coat of wax. I figure I'll gain at least 10 HP.

If you get the 350.00 dealer-applied Armor Plate, you could be talking 15-20HP, at least!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

No, seriously, I'm hoping you can see good, reliable gains in NA form, as well. We won't know until it's here, unless Boowana has some inside track info from Mazdaspeed. Come on, Boowana, leak us some info.!!!!!

Maybe someone will make a chip that will release an extra 20-50 hp if this is true. :D

I am doubting that the reshaping and placement of the ports will do alot to help emissions. No matter how you look at it a rotaries combustion chamber is not conducive for properly combusting all of the mixture coming into the engine. I am sure things like having no overlapping of the intake and exhaust ports help but the chamber is way to spread out to give complete combustion. Emissions will never be a rotaries friend.

Doubt it all you want, but do a little research first.

Speaking of a different chip. Can anyone venture a guess as to what max redline the Renesis can take?

Right now it's 9000 rpm, right?

Could it go 10000rpm or more?

I know that it just spins faster, and we wouldn't have to worry about a piston rod going through the hood, but what would be a safe (reliable) redline, if modified?

Not that I would do it when the car came out. But if a mod chip has been out a while, and it's proven reliable.....why not?

I have that's why I said it

Originally posted by threeputtwash
Speaking of a different chip. Can anyone venture a guess as to what max redline the Renesis can take?

Right now it's 9000 rpm, right?

Could it go 10000rpm or more?

I know that it just spins faster, and we wouldn't have to worry about a piston rod going through the hood, but what would be a safe (reliable) redline, if modified?

Not that I would do it when the car came out. But if a mod chip has been out a while, and it's proven reliable.....why not?
Probably around 11k, but I don't see much point if the car makes max power at 8000.....

I would agree with one or two of the other posters. Wait until you drive it. You may not want to "mod" anything!
I wouldn't be surprised if the Mazdaspeed version was NA but we'll have to wait and see. Let's get the first one over the curb.:cool:

I have not owned a vehicle yet that I have not modded. I don't believe I will be able to not mod this vehicle. I give the car I'd say 2-3 months before it gets its first mods.... There's always room for improvement....

I generally don't modify my cars until after 1 year. Usually starts with better then stock tires.

So my guess is I will be changing tires after about a year or so. I doubt they will last much longer then that since I will be autocrossing the car.

a year?? woah, you must be goin' easy in those autocrosses... ;)
i've already cooked the Michelins on the Echo after only 8 or 9 months now, and just drivin' on the streets... but then again, they're about 150mm across?? (not sure, just estimating...)

seriously though, modding an 8 is kinda silly if you're thinking about just keeping it as a street car... i'm SURE it's in a high state of tune, but you'd really have to rebuild the engine with some SICK porting, and a whole lot of management software to get those "easy" 50 horses: Mazda's not going to tie up 20 hp in an exhaust system, is all i'm getting at. way more rev's is what the doctor is gonna perscribe if you're bent on making more power... i just don't see how much more you could port this sucker without going to the bridge, or monster or something...

I don't think modding any car is silly, Its doing something I enjoy doing. Spending time on something I enjoy doing. 50 horses may not be easy, just working on getting my point across. But I'm sure power is there. RPM is not where I hope to find power, but with a rotary though that's about the only choice except for FI.

For me... even if i tried i could not help myself from modding this car (look at my my car (http://www.said7.com/cougar) ). First id get exhaust/intake/stereo. Then Headers and a chip. Then Body kit/hood/rims.


I cant wait :D

Originally posted by said7
For me... even if i tried i could not help myself from modding this car (look at my my car (http://www.said7.com/cougar) ). First id get exhaust/intake/stereo. Then Headers and a chip. Then Body kit/hood/rims.


I cant wait :D
What are headers?

I leave my car stock, so I don't know... :D

From my own experience with rotary engines, I would guess that an aftermarket fuel chip would easily do the trick at getting around 50 hp.

I would not expect you to see engines raising the redline much since 9000 is really a known SAFE limitation.

Even though you would gain 50hp at the top rpm, the bottom rpm would not change all the much to be noticed.

More porting?? The ports in the renesis are perfect and any major change would take you back to the problems of previous (old) 13B engines. I am sure you want to avoid that scene....

The most logical and noticeable change in power output would be achieved with a small turbo. One that spools quickly for the maximum low end torque and can still allow 9000 rpm without choking off the intake.

Imagine if you will an engine with around 225 ft-lbs at 4500 rpm but only 300 hp at 9000. That would certainly be within a range of dependability and still increase the FUN factor by at least 50%.

Anything more than this would be foolish for a 'street driven only' car. And you could probably get away without to much 'beefing up' of the accessories around the turbo.

Aftermaket rims with some sticky tires on it, maybe Toyo Proxes RA1s for street use.

I would add adjustable racing struts when they become available.

I will probably do some alignment tweaks.

At some point, I will probably replace the exhaust. But that will probably wait.

Depending on brake bias, I might play with different pads.

And I will consider an aftermarket front swaybar or custom bar.

All of the above to stay in a stock class for SCCA Solo2 and ProSolo.

I have no interest in changing the engine or rpms.

Originally posted by MyT13B
From my own experience with rotary engines, I would guess that an aftermarket fuel chip would easily do the trick at getting around 50 hp... You actually think that you're going to be able to "chip" 50 HP out of the Renesis?

---jps

Perhaps he meant to type "5" :-)

Originally posted by MyT13B
From my own experience with rotary engines, I would guess that an aftermarket fuel chip would easily do the trick at getting around 50 hp.



50hp from JUST a chip? this isnt fast and furious

yes, I meant to say 50 extra ponies.

My reasoning is this:

1. the porting is already giving the engine the air it needs.

2. The stock chip is likely to be 'leaned out' to promote fuel economy and prevent excess high rpm power for reliability.

3. 50 extra hp at the top end would not improve the low end noticeably.

4. Expecting more power than this is sure to cause premature failure. The engine will only handle so much power (without special internal parts) and still last any length of time.

AND one final note: Those who intend to race with this engine should consider all new and traditional modifications inside the engine to ensure its reliability. Sure the factory engine should be strong, but there are many ways to make it better but these ways will void your warranty and make your car "NOT LEGAL FOR STREET USE" in most areas.

I think most people will be pleased with the factory setup.

You could almost get 50hp from the previous gen audi a4, but it had a turbo with an electronicly controlled boost, which made it easy.

They are thinking that the 250 is just an artifical number and are hoping that you can unlock the real hp just by modifying a few things in the ECU. Rather optimistic, but I guess, possible. I'd think 20-30hp boost would be the max though.

To answer a previous question of what are headers, headers are the pieces of exhaust pipe that connect directly to the engine. As for mods, I am very overprotective and would have to go with the flame throwing securty system that was labeled my guiness Book of World Records as the "worlds most dangerous car alarm." Key my car, and go home "well done."

but still fuzzy, 20-30 horses is completely insane...
are there insurance or EPA ratings which would encourage an artificial HP number like that?? i mean, the lower rating for the auto is because of the revs and everything, but why hold back on a sports car like that??

I think with exhaust/no precats or cat (gotta love no emmisiions in florida)/intake/chip. You could probably see 40-50hp gains if its anything like previous rotaries.

I won't touch the car for the first 6 to 8,000 miles. I want to be sure there are no factory flaws before anything else. As far as upgrades, I'll wait to see what some of the rotary specific tuners like RX7.com, Petit, and M2 do to their cars.

Regarding emissions, there is an SAE paper which addresses and compares some of the side exhaust port's emission characteristics as compared to traditional peripheral exhaust port. The SAE paper can be viewed here:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rxsept/Images/RX8/renesis_paper.pdf

Indeed, some of the reduced emissions from the Renesis will be due to the zero overlap of the intake and exhaust ports (as already mentioned by another poster) but there is also a significant reduction in HC emissions due to the side port exhaust. Basically, unburnt HCs get trapped in the trailing corner of the combustion chamber down by the apex seal. In a peripheral port exhaust configuration, that trailing corner gets exposed to the exhaust port and the unburnt HCs get dumped out the exhaust....bad for emissions. In the side exhaust configuration, the trailing corner never "sees" the exhaust port, so the unburnt HCs are kept in the chamber so they can be burnt in the next combustion cycle. The SAE paper claims 35-50% reduction in HC emissions due to the side exhaust layout.

So, while porting the Renesis for performance will probably increase emissions as compared to a stock Renesis engine, I don't think it will have quite the high emissions we used to see on the older peripheral port motors, due to the side exhaust configuration.

In a nutshell, very little flame-shooting if you're so inclined. :)

ah gee wiz........

those flames were so cool!!

I love honda math

Originally posted by Toadman
In a nutshell, very little flame-shooting if you're so inclined. :)

Which is why I will never sell my FD rx-7. Fireballs are THE BEST deterrant for tailgaters. It's better at night because the flash lights up their whole car in my mirror :D

FD + no cats = Flame-on-demand (tm)

-pete

Originally posted by Macabre
I love honda math

Exactly. I've never been in a 'chipped' NA car that felt any different to stock.

-pete

Aw, c'mon guys...show a little optimism here. You'll still be able to shoot flames, you just have to gut the cats and richen things up a bit :) Heck even pissed-on motors can shoot flames if "tuned" right :D