need advice for rb20det swap on 2004 mazda rx8.
 

So here i am typing in the infamous swap section of the RX8 club. I was hoping i wouldn't have to do such, for a year or two maybe of owning my rx8, but its been problematic and cursed i feel from the start . from sabotage by strangers, to my own foolishness of losing my key, to this corona pandemic. i feel like i have no other options. Now, since i have sat for long enough hating my rx8 ( the whole winter ) i've decided that those moments of silence. the ones where i sit inside her and hate myself for not being able to drive her every day. The long days i sit and stare at her hating her for no apparent reason at all must come to an end. allot of things have gone wrong with my rx8 from abs to immobilizer to anti theft codes and beyond. there is just so much that overwhelms me about the rotary engines counter part. its brain (computer system) that makes me not want to repair the sanctity of its rotary complexion. and to be quite honest with you idek where to start with fixing my rx8 and keeping it rotary. there's just so many minor things that have caused major failure with my car idek its current state. my only shot at redemption is to buy a donor car and swap out its entire computer and electronic system and hope my engine is good from sitting and waste more time and money on the finicky rotary OR swap it. which lead me here.

Today Wednesday may 27th 2020 i got the message that the rb20det i've chosen as a perfect candidate for my rx8 is ready for pick up. now ive mulled over many many engines to swap into it from vortec's to k series to saab t5/t7 Frankenstein swaps. but ive settled on the rb20det because of its interchanging abilities between all the rb engines. NO I DONT WANT AN SR20DET. im not a fan boy of them and i don't see the hype around a drift taxed engine. but in all my research i keep getting bumped back to the sr20det due to its similarity to the rb20det. my question is has anyone ever done the rb20det swap? i see so many rb25 swaps but none of the rb20. im at a loss on where to really start and am wondering what all in the sense of custom work that i will have to do to do to get the rb20det to actually fit and not bend the sh** out of my frame. can i just follow an rb 25 det swap thread and make the small mods to configure it to the rb20? or can i follow an sr20 swap and make the small mods to conform to the rb standards?? im a bit stumped and could use some guidance before i get ahead of myself.

thanks in advance for any and all advice.

My advice would be that if you feel this way about the stock car and issues you are having, a swap is going to give you the same feeling - especially going with an engine that no one else has really done. You will most likely end up with a paperweight in the end after you get frustrated and quit. Just being honest...