In order to get more bottom end would rather:

a) Buy a turbo kit for about $4,000 and pay another $1,000 or so for install and tuning? In the meanwhile void your Mazda engine and drivetrain warranty.

b) Do the common mods available now... intake, exhaust and ECU... maybe a flywheel also. Not void your warranty... wait until it expires and then FI that bad boy.

c) Spend a little more for new tech intake and exhaust with tuned ECU, flywheel, etc. that claim to improve low-mid power. After the warranty period is up.. FI.

d) Get the new tech intake and exhaust, etc. Play wait and see... if the mods satisfy, stay N/A, if not... consider FI at some point in time.

 

I would do:

Power mods:
drop-in filter (green sounds good)
full exhaust
ecu
pullies
flywheel

I think these would put me real close or over 230 whp and I'd be happy with that

Handling mods:
Full Mazdaspeed suspension (shocks, springs, sway bars, strut bars, underbody braces)

Visual mods:
Mazdaspeed Nose and mirrors
Factory app package for the rest

Maintenance mods:
Synthetic engine, tranny and diff oils (Royal Purple)
Evans NPG+ with low pressure conversion
High-Temp synthetic brake fluid

 

I dont think that you would get that much HP out of those mods, add the intake and the canzoomer and you probably could

 

I mentioned an ecu there, you missed it? I'm not sure I would go with canzoomer or e-manage, I like how you can fine tune with the e-manage but also like the ease of a set map with the canzoomer...

I'm thinking that with the e-manage it would be better as I can fine tune for my specific mods.

 

I agree with RG. The ECU and light flywheel are the way to go first. Let's keep in mind this is a thread excluding intake and exhaust to come up with more creative ideas.

I've seen Aluminum and Steel replacement flywheels both claiming to improve engine response because the the center of mass is closer to the center of rotation. So my question is will the Aluminum be better than a well designed Steel flywheel? My concern with Aluminum is the metal fatigue. Even though they have hardened steel teeth I would be worried about all the Low Cycle Fatigue of continually spooling it up and down. Would a Steel flywheel, that may weigh more, perform just as well as long as it was designed with most of the mass far enough inboard that the moment of inertia is the same? Is this possible or are the strength to weight properties not there? Are there Titanuim flywheels out there that would be the best of both worlds...+$$.

Thoughts on flywheel design...

 

Speed magazine mentions a Carbon Fiber flywheel for the MSP RX-8 but I think it's a typo

 

On my RX-7's I have had both the aftermarket steel and aluminum versions. My favorite is by far the aluminum and it is what I currently have on my 1st gen RX-7. Both units are an improvement over stock. The aluminum is just more of an improvement. The car revs much faster. It is racecar quick by comparison to the stock flywheel. This is very noticable in acceleration as well. There are no issues with a change in gas mileage. If it does change, it goes down beause the car is so much more fun you are flooring it everywhere. It isn't a good choice for drag racing but neither is the RX-8. For drag racing just keep the stock one. Most close drag races are won or lost at the starting line.

The aluminum does not have any issues with fatigue. They have replacemable friction surfaces which make them very good for long term use. The teeth only get used at startup for a few seconds and even then at a low rpm. Otherwise they are just spinning freely. Any flywheel should not be taken over 10,000 rpm though as this is where they start to get dangerous.

 

Just curious... why shouldn't flywheels be taken over 10,000 rpm? If so, what do F1 racecars use? What about your average 1000cc and below motorcycle (15k redline!!)? I know that a motorcycle is a bit different technology and the gearbox is entirely different... but the F1 racecar?? AND with the 8 reving to 9,500rpm... 10,000 is you have a limiter cutter (JDM piggybacks)... isn't this dangerous?

 

That was definitly a typo.

 

Thanks for the definition on that one RG. I'm guessing you'd have to precision balance a flywheel over 10K or make it out of stouter stuff because it starts to creep?

 

A race car or a motorcycle are totally different. Manufacturers don't typically worry about car flywheels spinning over 10000 rpm because no street car revs over that. I'm not saying that you can't take one over that. Manufacturers just don't recommend it. Stress increases exponentially with an rpm increase. At really high rpms you run the risk of a flywheel or clutch exploding if there is alot of stress on them at that point. If you are this high in rpm you are probably racing and putting alot of stress of the car. If you want to run one this high it is extremely advisable to use a ballistics scatter blanket or shield so that flying metal fragments don't pierce your floorboard and potentially sever your legs. I personally like knowing my feet are attached and fully functional.

Race cars have components that are desinged for these stresses. F1 cars idle at 7000 rpm and rev to about 18000 rpm. I definitely wouldn't try that with any street car. Motorcycle components are much smaller. There is far less inertial stress on the same materials at the same rpms. Since they are smaller in diameter, their weight is concentrated much closer to the rotational center. Inertial loads also go up exponentially with distance from the rotational center.

 

Thanks RG... it was actually the answer that I expected.

 

How about plug wires from Nology or Autoexe?

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/i...844d87d3422c5b

 

Read this whole thread..... https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...light=ignition

 

Thanks for the link to the thread. Still unlclear to me what if any benefit there is to just the plug wires alone.

 

As I said in the other thread about plug wires with ground built-in... nothing prove via dyno, etc. But the but dyno and my ear say there's an improvement. NOTE... this comes from my experience with them on a motorcycle.

Quicker, stronger response, stronger, stable idle.. more torquie. Where I couldn't pull wheelies with out a lot to WOT, now I could pull them easily under partial throttle (only a 400cc bike).

These gains are similar to what all the different manufacturers claim as well. Thus what gains, if any, should be perfectly clear. The question is just, do you actually get any gains and how much...

Nology Hot Wires...

Nology HotWires are the most technologically advanced ignition wires available. HotWires create the most powerful spark possible. HotWires are engineered with a special built-in capacitor, exclusive only to HotWires. This revolutionary design allows energy from the ignition coil to accumulate in the capacitor until the voltage at the spark plug electrodes reaches the ionization point. At that split second point the entire power of the stored spark is discharged at once, creating a spark 300 times more powerful. The result is faster, more complete combustion, and most importantly, MORE HORSEPOWER that's 100%. Smog Legal.

 

The capacitor feature sounds intriguing to me. The logic and results on their website sound solid. Can someone back this up with personal experience in a car? I've heard arguments that drag racers like a slower burning flamefront so they have a longer power pulse rather than a shorter one? The Nology concept is counter to that theory. The website says to call about getting them for the '8. Has someone tried these out.

 

Only on my 400cc motorcycle. There are people on the SVRider forum who have also tried it on their 650cc and 1000cc bikes. Everyone reports similarly... low-end torque is noticiably stronger. I'd do new plugs at the same time that I install the wires.. in order to get full effect.

 

For Plugs... FEED says something about having high performance RX-8 only plugs...

 

After looking under the hood today at where the plug wires are positioned I think it would be easier to swap out the flywheel than the spark plugs...

 

According to comments by Mr. Fujita (FEED), NGK has released iridium plugs for the RX-8 (which are different than the iridium plugs used in the RX-7). They cost 3600 JPY each and he recommends #10 Trailing and #9 Leading.

He also mentioned in terms of maintenance, if you're going to run your RX-8 hard, the first thing to worry about is the transmission. He believes that the syncros are weak and will wear out after several thousand km of abuse. His advice is to let the transmission warm up before putting it through the paces, and change the oil to Narashi(?) type transmission oil.

HKS is also releasing RX-8 type plugs and at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2004, promises to be releasing more RX-8 parts (as they are mvoing more into the rotary world).

 

Maybe Narashi is the Japanese name for "Royal Purple?" :D

 

Could be. I can't get a translation of it other than "Narasimha " and "Narasimhan" as a person's name.

Either way, I'd say as soon as you can, drain the stock oil and put in quality synthetic transmission oil.

Also SEVERAL of the different shops (RE Amemiya, Knight Sports, FEED...etc.) offer special "rotary oil." Runs about 8,000- 12,000 JPY and many are 100% synthetic or half synthetic.

 

That was a joke. :D

 

yeah.... I kinda thought that. But I am serious thinking that its some kind of synthetic tranmission oil or a PFTE lube...