great thread. and yes im stilling looking to buy an rx8. just cant find what im looking for yet

 

if you can afford it, S2, if you plan to mod your car in the future, even putting on an exhaust becomes a hassle with a S2.

 

Hey guys im thinking about purchasing an 04 with about 82k on it, i love the rx8s and dont mind anything about them, anyone think i should look for a newer year or would i be fine with the 04.

 

cant hurt to look. It really just depends on what you want.
S1=2004-2008 S2=2009-2011(12)
S1 04=cheap, warranty until 2012, usually high milage=more money in pocket, more chance of problems

S1 08=not cheap, warranty until 2016, usually low/medium milage=less money in pocket. less chance of problems

S2 09-11=not cheap, warranty until 2017-2019(i think), usually low milage=less money in pocket, less chance of problems with newer updates, the most PITA when it comes to upgrading, even changing an exhaust will require modification.

It all depends on what you are looking for. There are so many rx8s for sale.

 

would love to go with a s2 r3 but cant afford it. so im going with a s1. i have a Caliber SRT4 that im selling so i can pick up a S1. i do plan on modding it and dropping a 13b rew and looking to hit 650+ hp. But for now stock is good enough for me. I want a black or grey gt with black/red leather seats. i found a 2004 gt with 66k for $10,500. the car looks beautiful. only thing wrong is that its still on the 1st motor, stock starter, stock cats, and oil change done every 3k WITHOUT topping off in between. this car looks so good but im having second thoughts.

 

if you can't afford an R3, then you can't afford an REW swap, let alone the work it takes to make a 650+ hp REW. Stick with your Caliber or get a civic. Seems to be more in line with your wishful thinking. Maybe pick up an S2000, everyone knows that they're the king of Race Wars.

 

You got it twisted my friend. This is a long term goal (2-5yrs). Let me be a little more clear, getting a new r3 right now would not be in my best interest. Got other thing I'm looking to do (buy a house) before I consider buying a new car. "Let only the work it takes to make a 650+ HP REW", hahaha you never now what the next man is capable of.

 

So you're trying to say that you can't afford and extra $100 a month now, but in 2-5 years you'll be able to afford an $18k engine build, and about $10k in parts, fabrication, and labor to put said engine in an RX8?

You're right, I don't know what the other guy is capable of. However, I do know that getting 650+ hp out of an REW does not come cheap or easy. Because i know this, know how loans work, and have some life and car experience, I can say that you don't have a clue what you're talking about and just have some pipe dream of having a race engined dyno queen of a car.

Do you know anything about turbo sizing? Have you ever hear of a P-port, a J-port, or a company named Ianetti? Didn't think so.

 

650 out of a REW makes it a dyno queen. Run it for more than 5 min and you will have chunks flying and a puddle of molten metal. Bring your expectations down to 500 and your getting realistic. High maintenance, but realistic.

 

Bring it down to 350-400 and you can even drive it and have it be somewhat reliable.

 

Thanks once again.

 

Maybe a 20b would be better to achieve this power. I will gather as much info that I can on this swap.

 

Thats even more expensive and unrealistic

 

Just got off the phone with Esmeril Racing. For the HP I'm looking for the, 13b RE is the swap I going to be doing. Can't wait

 

Did Chris give you a time frame and a price? Maybe you should check out his Bad Guy thread.

So now that you've talked to someone, are you going bridge or p port to get to 650?

 

good luck with that
please make a build thread

 

He's thinking 'long term'. I wouldn't expect to see a build thread anytime soon.

 

Just joined the fold; much thanks for the invaluable info and advice! Used to race 1st gen RX-7, so not a new "rotard," but great to learn the idiosyncrasies of the Renesis before buying.

 

take a look at this, this is taken directly off the FAQ at rx7club.com

http://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php?...38&postcount=6

17) What mods do I need to make 300hp? 400hp? 500hp?

Since stock power levels already push the limits of the car, begin with maintenance items: fuel filter, tranny and differential oil, spark plugs and wires, coolant change, injector cleaning, bleed brakes, replace fuel pulsation damper, coolant hoses, etc. Next, install reliability modifications (alternate list) to correct weaknesses in the factory design: all-aluminum radiator, downpipe, aluminum AST or AST elimination, vacuum hose job, boost gauge, coolant temp gauge, modify cooling fans by thermoswitch replacement or manual control, and others. Finally, it is time to add power mods. FDs respond to power modifications and tuning but can’t handle more than a couple bolt-on power mods until fuel, boost levels, and re-tuning are considered. This advice isn’t meant to slow down your progress, but to ensure you don’t destroy your car. It’s happened many times before, and with modified engines pushing the limits of the stock engine systems, the reliability mods become necessities. See this thread for further info.

i) 300HP can be achieved with some bolt-on mods and piggy-back ECU tuning. For example, Pettit Racing offers a +60hp package for under $1500. M2 Performance has a 290HP kit for $2000, and 315HP kit for $3500. 300hp already exceeds the stock ECU’s fuel maps, so the list includes a remapped ECU as well as intake, exhaust, and intercooler upgrades. Any similar set of quality bolt-on will yield similar performance. Any power beyond this point is difficult to pass emissions testing.

ii) 400HP – At this point, it gets tougher to keep the power on the road, so upgraded tires and suspension should also be considered. One fellow planned his path to 400hp in advance to be $10k plus installation time. This list of power mods includes full exhaust, intake, upgraded turbos, reliability mods, upgraded fuel and ignition system, engine porting, standalone engine computer and wideband O2 sensor, clutch, intercooler and tuning. Auxiliary injection would make sense at this point to improve reliability.

iii) 500HP – See if you can afford 400 first. Tens of thousands have been spent to get and remain in this range. Don’t expect your engine to last long. Update: 500hp still isn't cheap, but with auxiliary injection engine life is greatly improved over past high HP setups.

This excellent site is a compilation of modified cars and their dyno performance.



19) How hard is it to put a 3 rotor / 20b in an FD?

It is not a bolt-in swap. 3 rotor engines were produced by Mazda for the Mazda Cosmo luxury car. It’s called the 20b because it has 2.0L total displacement and it was never sold in the US. The engines are imported and installed in an FD with significant work, including modification to the firewall or a custom engine subframe. Many systems require modification, and much of the installation and tuning is manual labor. The simple fact is a 3-rotor motor is not expensive by itself, but the installation and tuning is. 3-rotor FDs require a budget exceeding $35k, not including the car. The good news is that a 3-rotor creates significantly more torque and horsepower than a 2 rotor. If you’re serious, and have the funding and time, start here.


20) What about a 4 rotor?

It’s a more challenging project than a 3-rotor because the engines hardly exist. The only 4 rotor engines in existence exist as racing engines (used in the 1992 Lemans-winning 787b race car) or custom fabrications. The engine eccentric shaft is extremely difficult (costly) to make in a 4-rotor configuration, plus custom intake and exhaust manifolds are required. Budgets for 4-rotors substantially exceed 3 rotor projects, and so only a handful of 4-rotor cars exist. Here is a link that describes a bare-bones 4-rotor engine, and another link with some component prices.

 

So I went and bought myself a Mazda rx8 today. It's a 2005 shinka edition with only 37k on it! Good deal. Guy tol me he had the plugs done at 30k miles. YES I have read a number of threads but I'd like to compile It all into one. So here's my question, what do I need to do to the car to I guess gaurente or pro long the engines life. What kind of maintenance should I do just to play it safe? I'm pretty hands on so it'd be a great help for any advice or wee future tips with owning an rx8(besides the obvious regular maintenance that is posted everywhere) thanks.

 

Not trying to be a smart ***, but did you read the first few posts in this thread? 90% of your questions will be answered in this thread. The other 10% can be searched for by going to google and searching like this: "general maintenance site:rx8club.com". Welcome to the club

 

Typical noob post, I'm sure my first post sounded similar to this one. When first coming to this site, all the information available here is very overwhelming. After over 2 years of reading I'm not even close to being an expert on these cars. All I can say is research your car as much as you can. It's for your own good. Welcome to the club

 

Please don't insult us by saying you read it, and then proving that you didn't read it. Post #9 has a section dedicated to SPECIFICALLY answering this question...

 

This forum has been incredibly helpful. I have been lurking it for over a week learning as much as I can about the car and the general "personalities" of the rotary. Im looking at a 2004, and if all checks out on the car I will be purchasing it within the week. I plan to keep using this site to check up on the cars and continue to learn. Thanks for all the Information.

 

If I were you I'd look for something at least a couple years newer. Chances are that engine core warranty is out on most 2004 unless they sat at the dealer un-purchased for a good while.