Looking for a RX-8 for tack day car
I am looking to possibly buy a 04 or 05 RX-8. Both of the ones I am considering have almost 100,000 miles on them. The car is being purchased just to be a track day car (and to drive to and from the track which is a little more than an hour away). Maybe some on the weekends but not much. Is it possible to get 200 - 210 whp from this car if I upgrade the ignition (using the BHR ignition that I have read about on here), install a new CAT and use the COBB Tune that you can get from the mazda maniac website.
I will upgrade the brakes and put some coilovers on it as well but that wont effect the power, just how quickly I can put it to the road. Both of these cars are in the $5000 range and I am not looking to break the bank and rebuild the entire engine or add a superchager or turbo as I dont need a 400hp car to have fun in. I also dont really care if the car makes it to 150,000 miles or not as this is not going to be an everyday car. I would be happy if the car makes it 3 years without blowing up the engine. So is 210 whp a realistic possiblity or is that not going to happen with a car that old with that many miles?? |
200-210 whp isn't impossible with a good engine. That's the key: getting a good engine. Get a compression test done at a Mazda dealer or rotary specialist. Don't just get some yahoo plugging a normal piston engine compression gauge; it won't give you meaningful information.
Any properly working ignition will probably not make any difference in horsepower over any other properly working ignition. Ignition upgrades are usually a reliability mod. A high-flow cat isn't a bad idea. Get a good midpipe and weld a 100 or 200 cpi cat into it. I don't think it's possible to directly correlate real-world compression numbers to real-world horsepower. If all else is equal, get the car with the highest numbers. Alternately, get a roller with a blown engine for $1500-$2000 and then install a fresh engine from a good rebuilder yourself (Rotary Resurrection comes to mind but there are a number of good ones). |
For 5 grand, i would have to agree withpreppie.....rollers are obviously common. Prices on this car for roller 500-2000grand. Price for a new engine, 3grand. You would probably save money buying a roller and dropping the engine in yourself. Then just taking care of it as a track car. My 2 cents.
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+2 for that approach. Did exactly that, couldn't be happier. Also took the opportunity to do some reliability mods while I was building the engine. Increased oil pressure, thermal pellet in the e-shaft, better seals, sohn, etc.
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Much good advice in this thread already.
I have been tracking my 8 for 3 years now. If I had it to do over again, I would buy a Miata and eventually turbocharge it (In fact, I am in the process of doing that now). The reason is simple. There is a price premium for almost every part you will bolt onto an RX-8, and some things you will eventually want will not be available. Miata parts are abundant and dirt cheap. Brake pads, rotors, calipers, BBKs, cooling duct kits; wheel and tires; flywheels and clutches; transmissions and differentials; radiators and water pumps; coilovers, dampers, springs, control arms, bushings, sway bars, etc; catalytic converters and exhaust systems; turbo and super charger kits; all cost considerably more for RX-8s. And, Miatas are almost as much fun to drive. If you track an RX-8, you MUST attend to cooling upgrades and other reliability mods immediately, or you will kill the engine quickly. . |
Think about what Steve said.
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Unless you have limitless pockets, I'd go with the miata option. I'm spending 20k building my 8 and it's not even a track car. YET I'm still getting a miata to. That says something.
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Originally Posted by Davs
(Post 4786774)
Unless you have limitless pockets, I'd go with the miata option. I'm spending 20k building my 8 and it's not even a track car. YET I'm still getting a miata to. That says something.
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Actually I'm considering trading my 8 for a NA/cash and building an exocet...
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Originally Posted by ZiG
(Post 4786895)
Actually I'm considering trading my 8 for a NA/cash and building an exocet...
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I have been thinking about the Exocet idea lately, too, as I have shopped for a Miata. A good, straight car with low enough miles to think about turbocharging is hard to find at a decent price, but I have seen at least half a dozen that would make great Exocet donors. The trouble is, I would have to store it and trailer it to the track unless I go through all the trouble to make it street legal and find insurance for it. And, I don't really want to do any of that. Also, an Exocet kit is $7500, and a good turbo kit is only $3500.
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If you are stuck on an RX8, do a forum member a favor and buy this R3 for $9k
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8s-sale-w...-miles-262616/ Invest in seat time, and enjoy spanking much 'faster' cars around a track. This car will need appropriate cooling etc, should then be good to go for a long time. Miata is always a good option... but they don't 'go fast' unless you invest in FI... and then they still don't really 'go fast', they go 'less slow'. If you wanna go fast - used, hi mile, C5Z06 is the way to go. Perfect candidate here, $15.5k, major reliability mod (valve springs) done. The Z06 has good stock cooling etc. No real weaknesses. With good setup, tires and driver, it is a track monster. Wear parts are cheap. Major parts (tranny, etc) are more expensive but very durable. 2002 z06, 85,300 miles, $15,500 obo. moving and have to sell. - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion |
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