I have a 2005 rx8 with 117,000m and i keep it very well maintained but i know that i'm pushing it with a rotary engine regardless.

This is the first time i'm looking into this but because we all had to start somewhere.

What would be a good engine swap that is not insanely expensive but could add some hp.

My friend recommended a 2.0l boxer with a turbo but im just looking for suggestions.

 

In order to do an engine swap that isn't insanely expensive, you have to swap the car's frame and body as well. Ie. buy a different car. The cheapest swap is using the 13b from an RX-7, and expect that to run you $12,000 to $15,000, much of the cost is related to electronics. The entire car was built around having a tiny engine in a place that no other engine can fit. Trying to install any other engine inherently means it is mounted elsewhere in the car so it doesn't matter what engine you pick, you have a huge host of problems to solve for, many of which require rebuilding the front of the car, writing custom software to talk to electronics modules (or replacing literally everything electronic in the car with something else).

The RX-8 is a very very difficult platform to complete a swap in. It's never cheap.


This was done as a joke... but it's also agreed to be rather true. Which engine is chosen doesn't even matter in the end. It is literally cheaper to buy another car outright that has the engine you want in it, not to mention quicker and less difficult. Since you could trade your RX-8 for that car, it becomes significantly cheaper and easier.