I8yourv8

I understand RIWWP, but you cant blame me for trying to do it and save money. I just miss having a fast car and like i've said. I love these cars, but not the power plant. Only thing I can do for power it seems is a 45 shot of nitrous for like $600.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

So why did you purchase one then? It's no secret they are not boulevard bruisers.

zendrums

iTrader: (2)

I'm advocating not using a crate engine. What's wrong with a used engine? This isn't a renny . My point is that you can get a 5.3 for nothing (they are EVERYWHERE), make crazy power with stock internals, and not have to worry about ruining your crazy expensive engine. What's lower grade? They make an aluminum variant; We're just talking displacement. I don't think you're actually familiar with these beasts... the 5.3 is the same block as the ls. Same mounting and everything, acc drive needs swapped (they all need cts-v accessories). What do you think is not fitting here?

You can easily find a nice low mileage one in a jy. Most offer warrantees. If you are worried about it, you can buy of for 700 fully dressed with a 6 month warranty with <70k miles. If you're adverse to a few problems, you shouldn't be doing a swap.

More to that point, I'm suggesting not breaking the bank on an engine swap. IMO if you do that, you're doing it wrong; buy a different car.

I'm not actually planning on tossing an engine away every other week. I was making a point. A 5.3 with fully stock internals can run boost at 6-700 hp for 200k+ miles. There's plenty of people out there doing this. Worst case is my turbo tune blows my engine, but then I source another. I've done my research 10 times over and have input from others that have done the same on multiple other platforms. Even jalopnik is smart on swaps. Why do you think I8 is so miffed on the 25k price tag vs a 240 swap? I agree that wiring is going to suck, but that's more of a time thing than cost.

Btw, Brando1985 @ norotors swapped a 5.3 into his 8 with a hinson kit. You could go ask him about cost if you're that interested. Not advocating Hinson, just saying.

Best.
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/how-to-score-a-500hp-ls-engine-for-free-1131506504

Hope that rant wasn't too long o_O

I8, full disclosure is that I'd not have started this swap if I was worried about getting into it for 15k sans turbo. Stuff can happen, you need contingency cash.

I8yourv8

Your right man, good luck with your build. Im just a soldier and glad I found out what kind of finances this would cost before I got too serious. As to why I bought this car is a long story. Got pre approved for a evo which ive always wanted. Sold my diesel truck that I loved, went back a month later to get the evo and they said my credit changed and I no longer qualified without $2500 down which I didnt have. They had **** for cars, and the rx8 was the best they had. Never thought id own one because its not a easy to modify and make fast cars, but I have fallen in love with the car, but not the engine, power, or horrible gas mileage out of such a puny engine. Hence why I wanted to do the swap. Get way better gas mileage and unlimited power options. Best of both worlds in my opinion

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

I wasn't blaming you for trying to save money. I'm pointing out things that you didn't seem to consider yet that will ratchet up the price quite a lot. If you really want to avoid wasting money, you should consider EVERYTHING before you start anything.

Feel free to ignore the advice. All it means is that your own money is wasted while the forum sees yet another failed swap. If you start, we want you to succeed. Seriously, we do. But if you are just going to be yet another 'i can do this cheap' swap... well, you are going to get ridiculed quite a bit about it. History of RX-8 engine swaps continues to prove that it isn't cheap, and that people who assume it is always fail. With a lot of wasted money in the process.

I encourage you to not just dismiss the advice, and really think about it from a perspective of 'what could go wrong' and 'what problems will I need to solve'. Start digging for those answers and documenting everything so you don't lose track. It's your only real hope of succeeding.



zendrums,

I wasn't referring to a used motor over a crate motor. It's all the other stuff that I'm referring to. Weld, metal type and grade used, fitment accuracy, electronics stability, connectors that lock properly and don't shake themselves loose or allow in contaminate, fittings that seal properly, proper hose material, properly securing wires and hoses around the engine bay, etc... Everything you do that is custom (which is virtually everything) will have a price tag and a quality level attached to it.

I8yourv8

No Sir! I appreciate it, you guys opened my eyes on how expensive this swap is. I may have the money but its not worth it to me. Thank you for clearing things up, im glad I started this thread even though I didnt get the news I hoped for. I think I may go the nitrous route, and focus on other things on the car. Thanks