ok, as some of you may know there is a kit out to put an ls1 or ls6 (gmc aluminum block 5.7) into an rx-7.

conversion kit (http://www.hinsonsupercars.com/)

well, i was wondering if there is enough room to put one of these in an rx8??

350hp and 25mpg niiiiiiiice

A recent issue of "Hot Rod" magazine has a brief mention of an RX-7 w/a small block Chev in it which runs low 10's. Obviously, it can be done and it is quite streetable. The engine bay in the 8 looks voluminous enough to fit one. That is not out of the realm of considerations for me. Just allow me enough time to roast my rotary first, okay? How about a Mopar 383 and Hemi 727? I have those in my garage waiting for the right chassis?

Charles

yea, those are nice engines, but the ls1 is aluminum, so it wouldnt kill the weight distribution as bad as an iron block,

i guess with the rx7, in the kit you can get strut and stabalizer bars which make the car handle just the same as when it had the rotary in it.

the rotary is nice, but i dont see getting 350 hp out of one without forced induction

i see ppl trying to make custom turbo kits for these, someone should try to do this then mass produce it, id buy it.

I'd never do it, 'cause the rotary is kinda what makes the car special. To me at least.

It'd kick ass to see someone else do it though! Although I fear what the torque output of a hemi would do to the structure of the car :)

no way you could ever fit a hemi in it, unless it was one of the crappy new ones....

You'd probably have to replace the composite driveshaft, since the V8 would no doubt torque it into a pretzel.

Why would you buy a perfectly balanced rotary sports car just to put a V8 in it?

OK, here we go:
1. It ruins the "rotary" aspect of the car.
2. I messes up the weight disribution of the car.
3. It messes up the rotary religion.
4. It goes against the universe!

;)

First, the aluminum Corvette engine is at least as light as the rotay engine, maybe lighter, suitably equipped. Go argue with Jim LaBreck on the RX-7 Forum.
Second, there is no rotary religion, at least not yet!
Oh, and third, the drive shaft wouldn't twist, it would explode into carbon fibre dust! That's one reason it's used in some drag race apps. When it fails it will not kill you.

Maybe, however, it does go against the universe! ;)

Yeah, wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a Corvette? It's a damn fine car on its own.

Even if the LS1 was a light as the renesis (which I still don't buy), it couldn't be shoved into the same lower, rearward (behind the front axle) placement that the rotary fits into, which would still screw up the balance.

I agree with Len above- if you want that kind of performance, just buy a used 'vette- a 2 or 3 year old model will get you a massive bang for the buck.

Originally posted by G8rboy
Even if the LS1 was a light as the renesis (which I still don't buy)

that's 'cause it isn't. the 13B-MSP is smaller and lighter than the S2000's motor. go put a V8 in that.

For LS1/LS6, S2K and Renesis engine weights:
http://www.geocities.com/jeffguilfoil/engineweights.html

From a theoretical standpoint I can sort of see why you might want to do it, but I don't get why you would buy a new RX-8 if what you really wanted was a Corvette?

Why V8 when you can do a 3 rotor rotary?

Perhaps someone already did this.....

My response was intended as a joke. The history of the 13B has shown that much more horsepower is attainable than people are willing to admit. On this forum, alone, the new Renesis is met with doubt as to how much output is attainable. Having spent the same amount of money as everyone else, I can understand the hesitation to mess too much with it. However, since I am an idiot with more money than brains I have no compunction in testing the limits of the Renesis. My B block and Hemi trans are being saved for the right rolling chassis to come along and then I can compete in class racing and still cruise the car once in a while.

Charles

Originally posted by Snrub
For LS1/LS6, S2K and Renesis engine weights:
http://www.geocities.com/jeffguilfoil/engineweights.html


Wow that's a lot of guessing! I've had a 13B-REW (wet, complete) all the way back to the tailshaft as well as the axles (no diff but I've weighed it too) and the whole thing came to just over 200kg. The Yamaguchi book includes the ENTIRE drivetrain (PPF, brakes hubs etc etc)

As for the 20b weight - 350kg!!! I know they're under 200kg bare for starters...

Pistons.....GROSS ! :D

Originally posted by rpm_pwr
Wow that's a lot of guessing! I've had a 13B-REW (wet, complete) all the way back to the tailshaft as well as the axles (no diff but I've weighed it too) and the whole thing came to just over 200kg. The Yamaguchi book includes the ENTIRE drivetrain (PPF, brakes hubs etc etc)

As for the 20b weight - 350kg!!! I know they're under 200kg bare for starters...

It's called uncertainties. Really for accuracy I should be rounding to the nearest 10kg. Are you SURE the drivetrain is measured with all that extra crap on it? That would subtract like 50kg from the weight of the 13B-REW. I can't see how it would be more than a small amount lighter than the S4 13B-T engine. It makes sense that the renesis weighs 25% less as quoted by Mazda, the turbos and the plastic intake manifold should account for the difference.

I can't find a *good* official figure on the 20B, but I agree that there's no way it could weight 350kg.

I have found multiple websites that list the 20B weight at 350kg, for example one of them is http://cp_www.tripod.com/rotary/pg20.htm and the weight they are referring to is the dressed weight, with transmission and everything included. However the weight of a 13G 3 rotor is only around 150kg.