Has anybody swapped in a Star Mazda crate engine into a Series I RX8? I saw one yesterday that I can buy here in town. It was still bolted to the big blue crate. Very cool. They are Series I engines with a few holes plugged (heater core, etc) and a dry sump on the front. All that is no big deal since the guy selling it wants the dry sump but not the motor. Something inside my engine is toast so I should be able to bolt all my parts (intake, OMP, alt, pullys's, etc) onto the crate engine. The unknown part would be unplugging the plugged ports and making them usable again.

I can't get any results from Google on this.

I see this being a good option due to this being a brand new engine designed for track use. My RX8 is mainly a track day and auto-x car but I like it so much I keep it street legal and drive it to work. For the price of this engine, it also makes economic sense rather than a rebuild.

 

Did you take a look at the engine? What makes it worth it is a lot of stuff that won't work in a street driven RX-8. It runs a cable TB, different header that won't work in a RX-8, different water pump and pulley setup, IIRC.

 

I looked at it yesterday. It is all stripped. I'd only be buying the bare block.

 

How much? Who built it?

 

Never heard of ''Star Mazda'' . Mazda don't sell ''crates engines'' the same way G.M and Ford does, You can buy a new OEM engine @ the dealership but pricey as hell. Be careful with it, I could take your current engine, rebuilt it, paint it & put plugs on the ports within' 2 days then call it an '' let's say a Mazda VroomVroom crate motor'' so you think its related to Mazda OEM. Buy what you know or can trust, Known shop or builder and send them your engine for a rebuilt. Same results, with peace of mind!

 

Star Mazda = Open wheel formula car powered by a Renesis. It's part of a feeder series for Indycar. F2000 is below it (somewhere) in the ladder, IndyLights is above it.

Series Website: Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
An engine specific technical doc from Mazda: http://www.rx8help.com/doc/StarMazda.pdf

And what they look like: