Hailtodachief

Hey I'm new to this and I bought an rx8 that needed slot of love I've fixed every problem so far and I drive it from Missouri to Louisiana for work. Ya I know gas mileage sucks but I love to drive it and dont care about the planet anyway it started sputtering I've already replaced the plugs and wires I'm replacing the coils next I'm just wondering if I need to rebuild it. It has 143000 original miles and runs like a beast since I kicked the cat and put 2.75 exaughst on it just looking to see if I'm right but I'm gonna rebuild it eventually can some one make me a list of every thing I'm gonna need for the rebuild cause idk much about the kits I just want oem parts I mean it lasted 143000 miles and is still going strong you cant really beat that kind of quality
I also would greatly appreciate a list and website to buy from
and would kinda like to know the pros and cons of street porting and bridge porting

onefastrx7turbo

Atkinsrotary.com and mazdatrix.com are good starters for you.

Hailtodachief

Sweet jesus mazdatrix where it's at thanks I've spent over an hour planning on how I'm gonna be broke for the next 6 years lol hey do you know of any place to get a oem bumper?

myon

Atkins rotary is my place to go. Look at their rebuild kits.

Also when it comes to the rebuild, this video helped me a lot:

CaymanRotary

Welcome to the club! Sounds like you made the classic error of buying an RX8 without a compression test. This should be the first thing you do since you suspect engine damage. Only way to know for sure is to run the compression test.

As for a rebuild if your car is shown to need it, you can’t buy the rebuild kit until the engine is apart. You have to know what you need before ordering. In all honesty, far easier and better to get another engine, or another car. Possible you may need to order entire housings and rotors. A rebuild can easily cost as much as a replacement engine so save yourself a lot of trouble.

As for your question about porting, not really worth it. All it’s gonna do is give you worse gas mileage. In your situation, better to not mess with the porting. You got enough problems by the sound of it.

Hailtodachief

Hahaha na I didnt know about the compression test but it runs fine it only sputtered when I made it to new orleans so after 8 and a half hours of driving at a solid 75mph straight that's not bad plus the humidity and fog from new orleans could have had something to do with it but I figured I'd see what you guys thought plus it's so fun to drive I would gladly build a new engine for it

CaymanRotary

Its possible your engine may still be fine for now. You really need to do this test before we can advise further. A rebuild is more daunting and expensive than you think. Also, because I’m assuming you will do it yourself, it’s possible as a first timer that you will make a mistake and either forget something or put stuff in the wrong way. This is something that’s better to have professionally done. This is why it’s better to swap in an engine that’s already built. A rotary engine is only as good as the person who built it.

Hailtodachief

Yes true but having someone else do it would take away the fun of the learning and as long as I order all the correct parts needed and take my time I should be alright lol at least I hope Anyway! I'm gonna do a compression test before I drive that long again just to be on the safe side anyway

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...engine-231883/

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...ilders-265177/

CaymanRotary

I mean, still do the engine swap yourself. I'm just saying its better to buy a replacement engine than it is to attempt a rebuild.

10KRPM

Really ??? Seems like no matter where a person stands on climate/environmental topics, they still should care about the planet. Just my editorial comment, not meaning to offend!

On your car, from my bit of reading on this tells me that an engine swap is a better option than a rebuild, as Cayman is saying. Not that you can't do it if you are an experienced mechanic, and I think it's cool you want to learn about them during the rebuild. I'm not a good enough mechanic to attempt it but even if I was I think I'd leave this to the experts, and rebuild a piston engine for my fun.

NotAPreppie

It should be noted that the price on assembled shortblocks from Mazda have increased about $900 in the last year (used to be $~2900, now closer to $3800).

IIRC, ASH8 reported that there were no more remanufactured engines and everything would be new out of Japan. If that's true, it explains the price increase.

10KRPM

That's quite an increase!

As a newbie to RX-8's that's having a blast with this car, I'm feeling like they are an amazing bargain. The resale is really low due to the issues and reputation, so I feel like I bought a car that compares (sort of, I realize there isn't a direct comparison to an RX-8) to sports cars that cost twice as much or more for the same age and miles. So spending that kind of money on a new engine seems well worth it in an RX-8 in good shape.

apex1

Even though Mazda is not selling remans, there should be plenty of aftermarket companies that offer them.

onefastrx7turbo

I dont know if Kevin is doing RX8 motors or if he just still does RX7 but Kevin at Rotary Resurrection does good work. If you are mechanically inclined, you could do it yourself but you have to be very detail oriented.

Hailtodachief

I think its gonna be a while before I need a rebuild it braps and shoots flames all I was wondering was about all the seals i would need to make sure i saved enough up and to see if anyone could tell me if my theory was correct and the reason it was sputtering was because of the coils needed replaced

NotAPreppie

Your meaning is not wrong but the nomenclature is a bit.

By convention, Mazda remanufactures engines while everybody else rebuilds them.

It's a pedantic fine point but I'm a pedant so, you know...

CaymanRotary

Anything ignition system related is incredibly important so it could be the cause. Test them first so you know that's the problem.

apex1

I can appreciate the discrepancy.

So in practice, what do you get with a Mazda reman as compared to an aftermarket rebuild?

NotAPreppie

An aftermarket rebuild will depend on what the rebuilder decides to do. This is usually (but not always) informed by what you tell them your goals are.
If you're looking for a budget rebuild, they may try to re-use housings, depending on the condition of your housings and their judgement of whether or not they can get good enough compression that you won't complain.

With Mazda remans (which may not even be a thing anymore), they usually replaced almost everything.
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...azmart-265994/

apex1

The mechanical simplicity of these motors makes communication of expectations somewhat simpler.


“I want >8.5 bar on every rotor face and it needs to maintain that for 20k miles or more.” Reasonable or ridiculous?

CaymanRotary

my auto has that and has nearly 20k on its reman. Not unreasonable at all.

NotAPreppie

They might be mechanically simple but that's a non-sequitur in this discussion. There's a lot of attention to detail required that are make-or-break for performance and have nothing to do with mechanical simplicity.

No idea if your request is reasonable.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

I mean if you're free revving the engine a lot, and enough to shoot flames and talking about it brapping, I don't think it will last much longer. Brapping is a sound that can be heard at idle with porting. If the engine is surging then there is something wrong.

Someone took good care of the car and treated it pretty well, otherwise the engine would have failed already. Not saying that well maintained engines don't fail early, as we know they do, but just starting that I feel as though someone really took good care of the car. You should do the same as a rebuild is expensive and if you have to buy rotor housings, it just gets a lot more expensive. Enough that it's almost cheaper to buy a reman engine from Kevin Landers. His work is top notch! At the end of the day its your car and you do with it what you want. Just trying to give some friendly advice.