Hi everyone, I've found a lot of good information on this forum so I thought I'd join to share some of my experiences with my new (to me) RX-8.

My Background: I'm not new to racing, and have been competing in Spec Piņata since 2006. I love the class but the Miata is too slow to give that "pucker" factor. Cometh the rotary. I've always loved the 13b, and after working on several RX-7's, and a 13b swapped Miata for STL, I thought that an RX-7 would be a great place to get going in STL. The car was in rough shape when I bought it but luckily Covid gave me plenty of time to run through the entire car and clean it up. I spent one year racing it in 2020 and just about got it sorted before I found the deal on the RX-8.

The FC Before:





And After:












The RX8:
Originally built for PWC by Tony/Louie Rivera (excellent cage) and later retrofitted with a 13b by Jesse Prather, I was able to pick up this RX8 for a great deal from a racer out in Wisconsin who was running it in EP. The car is in good shape but could use a full once-over to get it fully sorted. The car was not well suited for EP and based on my experience with the rotary I knew it had potential as a quick car in STU. For STU I'll have to add appropriate aero, add a dash, and run an IDA style efi setup. My goal is about ~250-260 whp with a bridgeport. I can't say what it currently makes but 250whp should be very doable.


Some Photos of when it arrived: Don't mind the Hyundai front wheels. We needed extra ground clearance to get the car on the trailer.






Dash Fitment: The car has a fantastic cage however it made it very difficult to fit the dash without completely butchering it. Oh well.



I'll keep this thread updated as I continue to work on the car. My first race should be in mid-April but we'll see if I can get the car ready enough to race.

Thanks!

 

Nice prepped 8! Is this purely for AutoX or will you be doing some racetrack work with it too?

 

which sequential transmission is that?

 

So the car will be run exclusively in SCCA Majors STU class for national road racing competition. This year will be more of a shakedown year, and next year will be fore a national championship. The transmission is a PBS dogbox.

Here are some recent uploads from the past weekend racing:

 

Another quick video of the weekend: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...hHOFE2ZkdVU3BB

 

The car is built specifically to compete in the SCCA Majors STU Class. Next year i'll be gunning for a national championship.

Some recent photos of the new bumper and prep before its first race weekend: