swapping a rotary into a not rx8
 

I've been thinking and thats dangerous, but while I do love my rx8 I have an even deeper love affair with pontiac firebirds, blame the god awful tv series knight rider which is actually where my name came from. My father wasn't the most creative sort lol. I have a v6 model 95 firebird that I have been tinkering on for years. It was my first engine build and my first automatic transmission build, this car and i have been through a lot. In more recent years I've been developing an affection for rotary engines and the evil little voices in my head that give me bad ideas suggested that maybe it would be fun to swap a rotary engine into this car. Fascinating idea to be sure, but I have no idea really where to start giving this serious thought. Is it really just as simple as finding a way to mount the engine and transmission into the bird and giving it a computer it knows how to talk to? I am not 100% on which version of the 13b I would use, but the series 1 renesis is the only one that i have an experience with - even as limited as that experience is. Not even really sure what I'm asking here, but any thoughts that could help clarify in my head what I'm trying to do, what i'd need, or why its a horrible idea would be appreciated.

Is it the 3.4 or 3.8 V6? The renny would be a downgrade from the 3.8.

Other things: the renny doesn't include a power steering pump, so you'll have to either give up on power steering or figure something out. If using the Mazda ECU you'll need the Mazda key cylinder and Mazda key for your Pontiac, otherwise the built-in immobilizer won't let the car start. You'll probably lose some dash functionality.

Its the 3.4, but I wouldn't be doing the swap for power, it would be for the glorious novelty of it more than anything else. Thats an interesting note about the cylinder and key, hadn't even thought of that. Power steering would probably be easy enough to finger out. I'm not sure though if I would stay with the mazda ecu or because its a project anyway look into building one. I've done a little work with speeduino for a motorcycle project but that would take a lot more looking into just to make sure speeduino can do everything that engine would need. I haven't looked at those forums enough to see of anyones done a rotary with them but thats an awesome community so I would bet the information is out there, and then I'd have to decide if I want to try and keep the firebird dash or yank all that out and make a digital one. Either way thats some interesting food for thought, thank you.

I think you'd need a stand alone ECU ($$$) or swap in a Mazda one. I doubt a 95 firebird has a very complicated method of controlling the interior lights/gauges, I don't think it's even OBD II until 96. The focus would be to keep the renesis happy, I doubt a complex solution would be needed to get everything inside the F body running, because it's not that complicated of a system. With an RX8 donor car, and a whole lot of fab work, a swap could be done, but the mounting would require lots of attention. I think a manual trans may be easier to deal with than an auto as well.

As far as reasons not to do it... The RX8 has a far superior chassis to any F body. I did own a 90's Camaro F body that was a fun car, but a decade of development makes a difference. The firebird is also about 300 lbs heavier than the RX8 (though you may recoup some of that weight with a lighter rotary). The Renesis produces about 30-40 more hp and 40 lbs less torque than even the 3.4 in the Firebird. It just seems like a whole lot of pain for very little reward other than "novelty". And that novelty wears off quickly, as can be seen by the many LS swapped RX8's that wind up for sale.

you are right about the obd 2. 95 was the swap year and my bird is early in that year so its one of the super duper awesome ones with an obd 2 plug and an obd 1 computer. Finding a way to access codes made me want to gouge out my eyes when I started. Far as manual transmission, I can't. I have tried and while I can get by in a pinch I never got to the point where I enjoyed it so for my own comfort the automatic is a must. You're probably right about the novelty getting old eventually, and its entirely possible that I'll never get to it or that it'll prove to be beyond me. I can do a lot, but I know my limits which is important with something like this that could kill me if I do it wrong. It would be super cool though lol and I appreciate your input. Part of the allure too is doing something I've never done I think as well, everything I've ever worked on has always been to keep it stock as possible for simplicity sake and now I"m in a position where i don't actually need any of my cars, I don't commute, my farm has a truck that I can do errands with, so it feels like a good time to branch out and experiment a bit. The only other engine I'm messing with is a jaguar v12 but parts are so hard to find sometimes and I'm just not ready to experiment with that monstrosity.

If you've never done anything really extensive automotive wise, it's difficult to understand just how much work a project entails. I put in a new engine, new trans, new cooling system, new fuel pump, changed all hoses, installed new gauges, replaced the entire exhaust, upgraded the suspension, relocated the battery, installed sound deadening, swapped in a new interior, and on and on. And the car still isn't perfect, but it took a ton of work and that was working with parts that were designed for the car. What you would be trying to achieve is a magnitude more difficult than that, for a trivial gain. I would not recommend it.

Put a V8 in that firebird, or put a turbo in the RX8, because at the very least these things have been done before, and in the end it improves upon the car beyond novelty and actually has resale value if you decide you don't like it as much as you thought you would.

I've done a fair bit, I built the engine for the truck and the engine and the transmission thats in the bird, did some exhaust work but didnt replace everything, done some suspension work but its all been to factory spec with just the aim to get it back on the road like its meant to be. I've just never tried something that involves installing something that was never meant to be there. So thats where I get over my head sort of before I even really start, so I absolutely agree that what I'm thinking about goes way beyond that. I had given some thought to a v8 for the bird, talked to people about that on some of the firebird forums and they basically just told me if I want a v8 bird, sell this one and get a v8 bird. I think to really wrap my head around whats involved in an engine swap in general I should probably see if I can find some good youtube videos of people doing it just to see what steps they have to go through to accommodate the change and then evaluate what I am working with here, how the rotary mounts up compared to how the 3.4 mounts up and what all would have to change and have a hard think about if whats necessary is within my set of skills. If I dont think I can even get things mounted up safely anything else that needs doing becomes irrelevent.

Hey guys I desperately in need of your help again. I currently own a 2005 rx with around 115,000 miles on it. Something really weird has been happening lately. This is the second time this has happened but I start the car and like 1-2 min later while driving the dashboard will get lit up for all the warning lights. The wheel will get super hard to turn. Last time I pulled over and restarted the car and it went away. Today I was trying to go about a 100 feet to my destinations and the dash cleared without a restart. Just curious if you guys have ever heard of this. It’s sounds to me like it could be a computer issue but I was just at my mechanic and he noticed nothing when scanned. I have no codes either that come up. Please help!

Loose battery connection?

Agree check battery, but also go over various grounds to see if you have corrosion on connections or the straps themselves.

I will definitely check it out thank you for the idea.

Thanks for mentioning I will get that checked out.

Actually checked this morning and I the battery looks okay to me. Properly attached and fairly clean. I wonder what else could be the cause of something like that. I recently had an oil change and the air box filter was changed. This happened once before all that. I recently forgot to remind my mechanic. Idk 🤷

When we had our R3, I once had a weird electrical issue. Battery terminals seemed tight and clean. I loosened, re-seated, and re-tightened them anyway. Problem went away after that. FWIW.

@10KRPM 's suggestion to check the ground straps/wires is also a good one. If you can, pull them, clean the mating surfaces and fasteners really well, and reconnect them. Or, better yet, replace them preventatively (you'll spend on parts but might save on labor).

The strap type terminal ends stretch out over time and can get loose even if the bolts are tight.
I shimmed mine with post caps before replacing them with top nut wedge terminals.
I really like these.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...0be45a8446.jpg
I'm

Thank you ver much I will check it out.

Key Fobs
 

I have a question about my key fob. Are these interchangeable? I've seen different ones for the same year. I even remember some have the slim "credit card" style. Here are my fobs...can I change them to a different style?
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...ae0c63567b.jpg
or am I stuck with these?

I think you're stuck unless you go to the stealership and get new ones.

I'm confident, but not sure.

I bought a switchblade key remote for my '04 years ago, but I can't find them anymore.