poacherinthezoo

Most often it's referring to a remanufactured engine from Mazda. These are essentially a grab bag of new and used parts, but are suppose to be within spec (however, this isn't always the case and parts that should be tossed in the trash are sometimes reused).

Sometimes people go the rebuild route to avoid the hit-or-miss nature of remans, but this is heavily dependent on having a rotary specialist type shop in close (enough) geographical proximity, or having the cash to travel/ship the car/engine to the shop of your choice.

wominute

My rx8 2005 as almost 210,000km on the original engine and it runs great with lots of power still. I would make a tune up if i were u(plugs..wire...coils..) might solve ur problem

Ross69

I have a 2004 manual. Had the 1st engine replaced on 80k and the 2nd engine has just gone now at 184k ..... very sad....Need to decide what to do now. New engine, try and have it re-engineerd or replace with a piston engine...... love this car but it might be time to put her to sleep ..............

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

Reading through some of the older responses in this thread has been comical.

Of course, not *every* engine is going to have issues at *exactly* the same time...but you can take the majority and form an average lifespan estimate from that.

I have probably seen as many rx8s/engines here as anyone at this point (save for mazda's reman facility) and possibly mazmart so I think I can call myself qualified to give an assessment.

It's been my observation that most rx8 engines begin to have issues in the 80-100k mile range. Some begin having issues before, in the 50-70k mile range. I have even built a 34k mile engine before, and I've seen a few cars that were on the third engine by 90k. Those are not as common, and most make it to 80-100 before having issues. I have also seen several cars make it beyond 100k on the original engine. I have personally seen a couple go to 145k or so, and I've known a couple of guys who got 160k or so on the original. Again these are not as numerous as the group that has issues at 80-100 but they are out there in lesser numbers. For every 1 of the original engines that runs well >120k miles and every 1 engine that failed <70k, there are probably 7 or 8 others that made it to the average 80-100k range.

1.3_LittersOfFurry

iTrader: (4)

--
Third Engine died @125k on the ODO. Rebuilt engine goes in today.

(Thanks to the guy above me, I got exactly what I wanted too. )

Joe154

So after years have passed, what do you have to say about the car?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

He moved on to a BMW, M3 I believe.

Tanro

The **** are you doing to pop 4 wankels.... I've not killed but one and owned half a dozen different rx cars. I just swap them to v8....

To be clear I owned the following with the following mileage at time of sale/swap

SA - 136k 12a sold (I put 12-15k on it)
FC - 189k 13b sold (I put around 20k on it)
SA - 144k 12a swapped to 302 then sold
FC - 233k swapped to 350 then sold.
S1 RX8 - 134k currently pulling stronger than any other wankel car I have ever owned despite being much heavier. Smokes a bit with cold starts, but not consuming much oil or any coolant. Horrific mileage but it sees at least 4 8.5-9k shifts a day. And gets pushed past 5k regularly. I love the wankels, but I hate their quirks (heavy oil consumption, premix, shutdown procedure, warmup procedure, poor fuel mileage, low torque figures). If I was still into forced induction I would supercharge my car (procharger or something similar as I know supercharger kits made for these cars are very few and far between) until the wankel popped and then go 13b-REW.

However I just get tired of 93 octane, boost leak tests, and extra maintence associated with boosted cars. Simple, reliable v8 for me. Which page 1 chapter 1 of the gearhead handbook is v8 in the front, stick in the middle, gobs of torque through the rear.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for bumping the thread to let us know.

ceadie83

I have a 08 AT with almost 95k. I'm looking at 04 MT that needs an engine or at least a rebuild.. Will the AT engine work in the MT car? I ask b/c I know there are differences between the two but I am unsure if they are engine related or harness/ECU related...? Any suggestions? Thanks!

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

If the question is just using only the engine block between the two, both your 08 AT and the 04 MT use exactly the same engine block. They are directly swapable.

However, if you want to swap transmissions too, then there is a detailed thread on what it would take to swap them:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-spe...t-swap-151684/

ceadie83

Nope, I want to keep the 04 MT exactly the same, just swapping engines so the MT is running then parting out/selling the 08 AT. Thanks!

Chenster

Great to hear. I've been looking at used RX8 and they've all been pretty high mileage. This puts me at ease.

ceadie83

Also, I know the AT's have a slight HP difference.... Is this is the engine itself or the harness/ECU? I'd like to regain that loss back if possible by swapping the AT into the MT... Is this possible?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

The difference between a 2004-2005 AT vs 2004-2005 MT is a combination of the engine (4port vs 6port), the intake (no APV) and the transmission (higher drivetrain losses, can't handle the revs)

The difference between a 2006-2008 AT vs 2006-2008 MT is almost entirely the transmission. The engines are the same. There is still no APV, but it is a very very minor impact in the power. If you were to overlap an AT and MT dyno plot on the same dyno on the same day, both 100% healthy, you will see that up to 7,500rpm the AT's power line will lag slightly behind the MT's from drivetrain losses of pushing all the ATF around. Then at 7,500 the AT has to shift where the MT's power line continues climbing until it peaks around 8,300rpm. Power = Torque X RPM after all (basically), so holding a torque to a higher RPM results in a higher power number.

So in order to get the power difference back, you have to go through that swap thread to move to an MT.


You can flash the ECU to raise the rev limit and it gives you a bit of the difference, but drivetrain losses from fluid are RPM dependant, so the rate of loss will dramatically accelerate and cut into the gains, and you will do so at the cost of transmission health because the fluid is simply not designed for that kind of heat.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

To be clear, you can run a manual trans behind an auto engine block, but you cannot run an auto trans behind a manual engine block, even if they are both 6 port.

The rear iron is cast differently on auto vs manual engines. They are internally identical but externally not.

The manual trans bellhousing has a location for the starter to be installed. The auto engine/trans put the starter in a completely different place, the engine and the trans share the mounting flange for the starter. So the auto rear iron has a hole for the starter that the manual rear iron does not have. Thus, you can not run an auto trans behind a manual rear iron.

You can however run a manual trans behind an auto rear iron. You will have an extra ear or 2 that don't get used and you will have an extra hole/gap where the automatic starter should have gone, but that wont hurt anything or stop you from bolting the manual trans (and it's starter) up normally.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Thanks RR, I was unaware that the rear iron is different.

Is this true for all series1 engines? Any idea if the series2 engines are the same way?

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

I dont know that much about the S2, but I find it unlikely mazda would redesign the transmission/bellhousing/starter/rear iron layout for a 3-model-year run only, when the same design was used from 93-08.

Yes, there are 3 rear irons (and thus, unique engine block assemblies) for USDM S1 engines: 04-08 6 port manual; 04-05 4 port auto; 06-08 6 port auto.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

You can see the differences here.

Manual rear iron:



Auto rear iron with cutout for starter to bolt to the side:

Rot8ingAroundYou

I own a 04 automatic with 93k miles on the original motor. I'm the only owner my car has ever had. If you buy any car as unique as the Rx8 without learning anything about it, then you basically deserve whatever issues it gives you. I feel that just about 90% of any "issue" that the 8 may give surely could've been prevented with the maintenance that the 8 requires. Hence the phrase, "preventative maintenance". All I've done is change the plugs every six months, coils once a year, air filter once a year, put a strong battery in it(I use Optima redtop), tranny flush every two years, clean maf sensor once a month, never fill with gas below 93 octane, check/top-off oil every time I fill up and finally, drive the absolute hell out of it. I sort of think 8's are like kind of like gold-diggers...give them what they desire, and they'll give you nothing but fire!

Ps. It wouldn't hurt if you actually learned how to work on your own car immediately after a purchase. Trust me...your wallet will thank you! Plus, you'll need all the extra money that you saved on shop fees to quench the thirst of an rotary. -Officially finished

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (3)

You'll be back in about 10-20k more miles to tell us about your developing hot start and compression problems.

musclecarconvrt

Sadly, my turn has come to submit to the realities of the life limitations of my 2004 Renesis. My first engine made it to 146k miles before an internal coolant leak turned it into a steam pump. Not being able to afford a brand new or rebuilt one, I replaced it with a lower mileage 2006 engine that had 66k miles on it. At 138k miles on the replacement engine (218 on the car) it spit out an apex seal while rowing through the gears on an on ramp at about 4500-5000k rpm just last week.

I love my car. It's been my daily driving, silly grin inducing friend for 11 years now, but it just will never be a high mileage award winner.

Rh+positive

Great car but alot of mechanical issues. You will hear claims of people having the original motor for 200k... and see horror stories here even people who are following proper maintenence and driving procedure go through 3 motors in less than 35k miles. Realitys a bitch

New Yorker

Isn't it, though? Except the reality is that original owners who do all the following…

• check engine oil every other fill-up
• keep oil topped off
• use 5W-20 non-synthetic oil
• change oil every few months or few thousand miles
• wait for engine to warm up before driving off
• wait for engine to warm up before turning it off
• redline engine regularly
• don't mod their engines
• don't use engine additives
• use premium fuel
• make sure car has all ECU reflashes

…don't have lots of mechanical issues. Show me someone with a "horror story" and I'll show you someone who broke one of those rules. Or someone who is not the original owner of the car and is now paying for owner neglect sins of the original owner. It's not hard to properly maintain an 8; but the simple rules must be followed.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Your experience is based on what? 40,000 miles driven over ten years ? Talk to me when you are at 143,000 and then we will see how reliable your original engine was. It's easy to have your point of view when you own an RX-8 you barely drive.