Joker_andthe_thief

wiring isn't an issue of cost but just time so your good there motor mounting is relativity easy imo, for me the tranny was the hardest part making all the components work together starter flywheel(s) clutch throw out bearing fork ect hardest,,,, but you were able to sun a gm tranny, good stuff! post the cost of the drive shaft because im curious if i would have been more expensive than the adapter i made ($550)


is it a gm motor?????
so your motors ready mounted?

kickerfox

Designed (built?) by Honda, sold under the Isuzu name. Isuzu has their own trans bolt pattern but there is also a GM60 pattern on the block. Any 60 degree GM bellhousing will bolt to it but I used the Isuzu bellhousing which has the larger Asian transmission bolt pattern like the R154. NV3550, MA5, etc... In other words, transmission options are almost endless. The Solstice trans had a shifter design that would be easy to modify and the trans had a suitable range of ratios. Turns out the shifter location was a bulls-eye and no shifter modification was required.

All the details have been sorted out. It's just time and money from here. Both of which I'm tight on at the moment so I'm just gathering the little parts here and there like fuel components, lines, connectors, piping, and aluminum billet for the parts I need to make.

LSXREX

Not much of a kit. Mounts are the easy part. I'm just confused as to why you're swapping in a motor with the same amount of power as the rotor?

kickerfox

That answer will likely start another war.

The Isuzu v6 has good low end torque starting right off idle. It has 36% more torque overall but doesn't rev as high. I won't have to spin the ***** off it or downshift 3 gears to pass someone on the highway. HP heaven claims it's very restricted. A chip + exhaust gets another 50hp out of it. I expect as much with a custom exhaust and either stand-alone or piggy-back management. That puts the NA output around 265hp. Mainly torque gains in the upper RPM range. I'll be boosting this one to 350~400hp.

I should post some photos of the exhaust manifold and Y pipe that Isuzu used. The collector off the exhaust manifold has an opening equal to one exhaust port. The Y pipe has a restrictors off each bank that are even smaller. This may have good scavenging in the low-end/mid-range but it has to be killing the top end. I guess in a truck that's what they wanted.

Just remember, I'm not trying to build the ultimate sports car. Like I've mentioned before, this engine wasn't my first choice in v6s and I had no opinion of Isuzu prior to choosing it. Is it the best v6 out there? No, but it has features that make it perfect for my application. Mainly it's a "fully-featured" engine (DOHC, pentroof heads, large ports, strong block, coil-over-plug, sequential injection, yadda yadda) and it's small, light, easy to plumb, and has endless RWD transmission options. And completely capable of my power goals.

I did stumble across this image.

Joker_andthe_thief

!!! if it's a honda 3.2, 3.5 can you post the engine code? if it's a j series you sir are a lucky man

also fuel lines brake lines exhaust is all last and super easy

step one, fit and mount the motor and tranny at the same time (inorder for shifter to line up and have a correct placement)

step two, fabricate motor mounts in that position

step three, exhaust route

step four, water lines and vaccumm (try to simplify is as much as possible for clean look)

step five, fuel lines, regulator, injectors, return

step six, radiator fans location and mounting (custom)

step seven, wiring plugging in the harness and making sure it's all hooked up (PITA)

step eight, do what ever it take to get running (quick start) identify if it needs spark or fuel and identify problem source

step nine, install drive shaft and check all fluids

step ten, take it for a slow cruise around the block

step eleven, start re-routing wiring vac lines and i am using hockey tape as it does not dry out and crumble like electrical tape i like to use blue or camo,,

step twelve, check it all over again for leaks, burning smell or strange friction noises or rubbing, scraping, hi pitched whines ect.

and you're done

aside from having to repeat step twelve every 2-3 days for a week then once a week inspection till your comfortable and no major issues has arisen!

just like AA motor swaps have 12 steps IMO

Steve Dallas

Every time I drive my Tacoma, I daydream about transplanting its engine into my 8. Being a 4L V6, it puts out a hell of a lot of torque. Something about not having any makes me want all I can get!

kickerfox

Joker - The two Isuzu v6s are the 6VD1 3.2L and 6VE1 3.5L. The only difference between them is the stroke. The engine was a joint venture between Isuzu and Honda. Honda got the Rodeo to re-badge as a Passport/SLX and Isuzu got the v6 engine as their own. The closest Honda-branded v6 is the C32B from the NSX but Isuzu's v6 has a 75-deg V angle. They are very similar in design and if I laid the two short-blocks side by side you can hardly tell them apart. Head design is very similar but the C32B head uses individual belt driven cam sprockets. The Isuzu head use a single belt driven sprocket on a jackshaft which gear drives the cams. I like the Isuzu heads better. It's a very narrow design but the C32B is a superior engine.

j9fd3s

lol, my friend has a rav4, i think with the same engine, and in showroom trim it runs a 14@99miles an hour in the quarter mile, which is like FD territory.

unlike the FD, there is no driver feedback in the toyota, so the black circular thing in front of the driver is terrifying to turn.

Chezmanbespoke

Kicker,

Awesome plans for the build! Too bad its met with so much criticism rather then help!

Im following through your thread trying to find your posts where you discuss the steering rack, ive seen it mentioned a few times that you are converting it to use a hydraulic rack and eliminating the electric PS.

Im interested in doing the same with my swap, as I have 0 interest in lowering the rack and making terrible tie rod angles, but havent found if anyone has a "best" option as far as other hydraulic racks fitting into the RX8. I know the chances of a bolt in solution are low, but hoping there might be something thats close enough, and can be fit relatively simply short of re engineering the front of the sub frame.

Good luck on your build!

Im doing an LS swap in mine because there is 6 LS motors in my garage and ive been swapping LS motors since 2005 before anyone even realized they could swap so easily lol, but I am not happy with any kits available on the market, so I am going the same route as you in fabricating all of my own parts.

kickerfox

Nothing is a bolt in. I used an older Mustang rack. Maybe '95 era. The only modifications to the 8's sub-frame was to lop off the old brackets and drill two holes for the mounting posts which are, I believe, 5/8" chromo tubing. Two long bolt secure the rack to the tubing. The RX8 tie-rod ends are the same thread but you'll have to cut about .75-1" of thread from the mustang tie-rod itself. You'll have to fab your own steering shaft.


You can see the two mounting holes in the pic here.


MUSTANG GT STEERING RACK & PINION94 95 96 97 98 4.6 3.8

Chezmanbespoke

Awesome, Thanks for the reply!

Those are a good starting place, definitely nice that they are cheap and plentiful.

I have been hawk eyeing V8 Roadsters kits and it appears they are using a NC chassis miata rack, it seems like it might be a fairly close setup, but their a bit more expensive to start with.

Prescription 8

iTrader: (2)

I might have to use the same method to swap my steering to hydraulic, Though I wonder how the durability is of the Mustang rack. I've read a lot about mustangs not having very much steering angle, Though I'll probably just mod the knuckles to suffice.

Did you come across any other racks that were as close as the mustang rack?

kickerfox

Nope. But you can make anything work. The Mustang one was just the easiest, and cheapest, to make work. The shaft coupling on mine is just temporary until I get the engine seated on mounts and figure out where the exhaust has to go. Don't want to shaft myself into a corner.

Prescription 8

iTrader: (2)

Ah gotchya, I wonder if the price is any indication of build quality....

Chezmanbespoke

It seems like a good way to go based on the way it mounts, the way the bypass tubes run, and the cost of one to get the car rolling.

Also, since everyone and their uncle makes parts for mustangs, you know there is quick ratio ones built for SCCA race cars should it bother you enough in the future that your willing to shell out some cash to change it.

http://www.summitracing.com/int/part.../model/mustang

Im going to go the same route as you kicker, for my LS swap, as my motor is much lower and further back then most seem to have in their swap, and the Miata ports out the top of the rack would be a clearance issue for me.

Excited to see more of your progress with it!

kickerfox

It's things like that people often overlook. It really is a lot of work trying to imagine all the pros and cons to every conceivable option of donor parts. Sure it takes a little longer (I spent months researching steering racks alone) but in the end I'll wind up with a very fun, reliable, and quick project car that I'll be happy with for years to come. That's really the bottom line.


Prescription 8 is going to measure the travel on the 8's rack and I'll measure the mustang one to compare steering angles. He's concerned with not having enough angle because he's intending on drifting the car. My concern was just being able to steer the car.

LSXREX

Had to tow a buddy's rodeo a couple days ago. Noticed it has a GM 0411 PCM. There is ALOT of support for that pcm. You can do anything you want with the OS. I use HPTuners but there is also EFILive

Prescription 8

iTrader: (2)

Too bad it's currently buried under a mound of snow

kickerfox

Depends on year. Isuzu changed a few things over the years. A stand-alone or piggy-back is SO much easier then flashing OEM boxes. Can't beat real-time.

Joker_andthe_thief

bump G D-it

800XL

I haven't gone through every page yet but this looks like a very nice build. Sometimes you have to try something different than everyone else just because. I drive a 4500lb 3.2L powered Isuzu Trooper so I can imagine what the stock engine will do in something lighter by half. The stock exhaust is very restricted as you say, so you really might find an easy HP boost just by giving it the right pipes.

I have some comments about the Honda/Isuzu relationship. Honda had no design input at all on the original 92-97 3.2L SOHC/DOHC engines or the 98+ 3.2/3.5L engines. Honda simply didn't have an SUV offering that fit the passport/Rodeo niche and Isuzu needed more production capability which Honda had. The passport was simply a rebadged Rodeo, and the Acura SLX was an Isuzu Trooper. They were a joint venture in terms of production but the engine technology and design was all from Isuzu. That is why these engines are completely unlike any other Honda models. Isuzu isn't as popular as Honda obviously so I think people try to project that Honda made the Rodeo for Isuzu, but it was solidly the other way around.
There was another car were it was the opposite though. The Honda Odyssey minivan was rebadged as an Isuzu Oasis.

kickerfox

Your half right. But the engine is a Honda design. It's like a 75deg version of a C32B. The similarities are striking. The Isuzu/Honda deal was for the '93+ Passport. At that same time, for '93, Isuzu dropped GM's 3.1L LG6 and put in the 3.2L Honda built engines and Honda gets the 5-door MU/Rodeo to sell as the Passport. Must have been cheaper then the LG6. Honda had already been selling the Isuzu MU before the deal for the Passport even happened. I forget which "Isuzu bible" I found the information in but if I find it I'll relay the info.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

And and RX-8 does not weigh 2,250lbs, more like 3,000lbs depending in the trim.

kickerfox

True. I think I figured mine at 3100. The Amigo I had was 3400~3600lb and surprisingly peppy. It gave me hope.

Steve Dallas

So are you still working on this thing or what?