V8 swap questions
 

First off yes I've searched through the forum, google, bing, my old ladys purse and still am doing so, so cut me some slack. Other then that let me say this sites search function can be a pain in the ass without the correct "keyword". :rant:

Other then that happy Friday ladies and gents I'm looking to swap am LSx into my 8. I purchased a 04 MT Rx8 last month with a blown engine and have been bouncing back and forth on what to do with it. Now I could just rebuild the engine but am open to other options. My goal for the car is a fully functional DD with over 280whp, reliable and better mpg. I know rx8 and the last two things really don't go well together but anything is possible. I am comfortable fabricating and have the tools do so. Sorry for the rant but I just wanted to get that out of the way for those who will try to give a million reasons on why not to do it.

My questions are:
*Has anyone found a canbus solution to get the dash working?
*I did stumble upon these guys on google and was curious to know if anyone has dealt with them? RX8 Dash Controller - CANbusAuto - Home of Automotive CANbus Innovation
*If not how bad is the wiring? I am in no way an electrical wiz.

*The rear end, I'm not really looking into making alot of power at this point in time. Just looking to get the car to run properly so the only mods to be done to the engine if I decide to do the swap would be an intake and exhaust. Although I did read somewhere that the diff was god for up to 500 ponies, will the axles themselves hold up or would that be an issue that will be need to be addressed?

There have been some people who have had *SOME* success with a V8 swap. That said they dont function as factory. To my knowledge they do not have ABS or traction control working. 1 or 2 have managed to get most of the dashboard working, but not most. V8roadsters, know for Miata V8 swaps, is supposedly in the works with completing a kit, but nothing has been released yet.

Abs and traction are more luxury items in my book.

Has anyone retained the factory ecu to control the guages? In theory im thinking of keeping it and using the gm pcm as a piggyback to run the engine could work. But id have to wire up the gm pcm to the 8s obd2 port for the inspector to check for readiness codes.

Just a thought I can do pretty much everything else just the electrical is a pain... Thats to be expected with any swap though right?

Electrical is easy if you know what all those wires do.

Tap +12v at the alternator. Use the mazda pcm to control all the mazda bits. Use the mazda oil pressure sender so the gauge works. Use the mazda coolant temp sender so the gauge works. Gotta get a custom machined trigger wheel for the Tachometer. Need a bump steer kit to keep electric power steering. You will need to wire the CEL to the GM PCM. Make sure you use the GM Sensors. Senders operate gauges, sensors send info to the pcm.

ABS and Traction control are for chumps and the government. Ditch I am planning on ditching that crap. I never even bothered with trying to think of a way to keep that stuff on any car I built. Just take the bulbs out of the cluster if the lights bother you.

That's the plan for this build. The only guages on the dash are the tach, fuel, oil temp and coolant temp. If I could retain those I'd be happy. (I hate looking at dead needles. I could always pull the bulbs out of the cluster so I dont have to look at those annoying lights. Wiring the GM pcm to the 8's OBD2 port wont be a problem providing I can find the right diagrams.

I'm getting the swap kit from LS1RX8.com and a trigger wheel for the tach is provided so thats out of the way. Only thing is IIRC and correct me if im wrong doesnt the speedo run of the abs?

I'm in the process of swapping an LS3 using a kit from V8 Roadsters. They have a Canbus translator that converts the signals from the GM computer to the signals needed for the RX8 cluster. This eliminates the need to retain the RX8 ecu, harness, crank trigger, etc. It also lets you use a hydraulic steering rack which keeps the stock steering geometry without using a bumpsteer kit.
The translator also has the ability to supply the signals needed by the ABS/DSC but it needs some more development before ABS/DSC is ready.
I've got a build thread that I update as I progress. Check it out if you want more information.

WHAT!?!?! HAHA freakin A I will definitely have to check into that.

Good lock, read the new member forum it has some info that may be helpful like useing google to search.

Site:rx8club.com xxxxxxxxx

Dude I've been using searching on google and the forum for the last month. Not much on the subject to be found.

Well i know there not a lot but a few threads like stubbs.

Have you searched like i posted just swaping the xxxx's for your topic. That will do a search of just rx8 club

yes am currently doing so.

The last one I did I just cut the OBD-II port out of a junkyard car, and wired it into the the pcm. Then stuck it through the pass through in the firewall and mounted it in the glovebox. That was in a 7 which did not have a stock obd-II port.

LSx swap into a 7 should be perfected by now lol. Since the V8R canbus isn't out yet I sill have to look into keeping the factory pcm in the car along with the gm one so this should be interesting.