Ok I have searched for several hours at work (yea Im a good employee) trying to find out as much info as I can about NA Rx8's vs FI ones. Basically I want to know what kind of numbers can I reach realistically going NA while still keeping basically normal reliability. I have read that poeple have gotten 210-215 wheel going NA and I wanted to know how that affected the reliability of their engine.

I also realize that this is not a straight line car, however what kind of times can I expect to get if I go the NA route, 1/4 mile and trap especially? How do those times compare to a similar amount of money going into a greddy kit?

Any advice or links to threads about this I may have missed would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

+20 HP for $2000 vs +120 HP for $8000

.01 HP per Dollar vs .015 HP per Dollar

There you go; you decide. Reliability is up in the air either way.

A new motor is 4K or so...

If you have to ask.... (you know the rest).

 

Fair enough...I guess next question while you are on is 70k miles on my motor already, If I drive it fairly aggressively how long would you estimate I have left on this motor? Assuming good maintainance and tune

 

according to my experience, from NA to Turbo, all depend on how you drive your car (crazy people don't care) and how you maintain your car in NA(just change oil, plugs, etc) or turbo(pay attention in details if something happens or not).

if you take care of the car, put premixture, have a good tunning, and drive accordingly, you will be fine. i drive my car for more than 10K miles (knock the wood), thats from freddy turbo to mazsport turbo. still, you have to do it right, not just slap the turbo in it.

you read threads about people install turbo who have a good tune, they are all happy. just more maintainning in turbo application than NA because coils are really big things in turbo application or also in NA.

just read more about why people blow their engine, what else they need to put the turbo, what are the side upgrades, how does it run with COBB or INT-X, what coils u should get, and why.

it's all depending on you, the driver's commitment and driver's habit

steven

 

Ok thanks...I'll keep reading. Im still debating since this will be my DD for the next year or so

 

It is doable as a DD - you just have to be that special kind of **** retentive owner.

 

Yup! True that!

 

Well I am that already haha...I just dont know what I want to do yet.

 

For me personally I'm going to attempt to get as much power as I can from N/A without FI and just sit pretty at that when I do. Maybe some years down the line i'll go with FI. But if all I need are some BHR ignition coils, new sparks, MM AP, cat back, mid pipe, and k&n filter + rb duct, sticky tires, and a short shifter to get the most power from N/A as possible. Then I'm all for it. Their expensive mod's but should still be less maintenance than a turbo.

 

I really want to know what kind of times I could get with those mods and the good driver mod, and what kind of whp I would be looking at?

 

i want a freddy turbo

 

You'd be looking at 210WHP(+/-5) with every N/A mod short of peri or bridgeporting..

 

i'd put money on your engine probably already being down 20hp from low compression and all the NA mods available will only bump it up to a new stock engine power levels

 

Yeah, without a porting of some kind you aren't going to break 210 whp NA. I recommend buying mods that improve the car NA and are required or helpful for FI as well. That way you are working your way up to a reliable FI car and improving the car until then. Midpipe, AccessPORT, short throw shifter, new wheels/tires (tires make a big difference) and BHR ignition will all be useful/needed for FI and give a nice boost to NA performance.

 

exactly what im doing to my NA

 

NA = smaller bucks that give you gains you can barely notice.

FI = bigger bucks, much better cost to power gain ratio.

If your components are solid, and your tune is good, and you aren't going crazy with the boost, FI can be as reliable as NA. You just need to keep an eye on things. If you are a "set it and forget it" kind of personality, you will eventually run into a blown engine from random crap such as a vacuum hose cracking or your lack of gauges preventing you from seeing your AFRs are off.

 

you DEF need to have a good tune as others have said...and as mysql said DO NOT slack on the gauges the more the better in my opinion so you can see every single part of your car and what it's doing....AFR is def an important one..a few vacuum hoses cracked or off could b a engine right there....

trust me keep searching TONS OF INFO on this site and other sites.....

 

Ughhh , who wants to stay N/A? Seriously? Maybe on a V8....but not on this motor. Id say satisfaction per dollar going FI is much better then staying N/A , probably wont even notice much of a difference going all out N/A. Yay i said N/A 4 times including this :P

 

You want to go fast get a motorcycle and more reliable than an FI RX8

 

Maybe put on all the NA you can, then feel how you like it. If you want a good bit more power later look at going nitrous with a nice 55 shot. With FI (turbo/SC) you will need to swap out some of the NA parts & you will compromise reliability. Even with the best tune & being crazy **** retentive, if you are not willing to sacrifice a bit of the reliability not to mention quite a bit of money (assume aa #, then add about 50% to that with the extra parts, tuning, etc.), I would not do turbo/SC.

 

Thanks for all the help... I am used to forced induction, my last car was blown :-), but it was piston so this rotory and apex seal stuff is all new...I have read Kane's write up like 12310924 times tho so I am trying to learn...

 

^ good for you :P , i dont see many boosted rx8's but that will change soon enough i think..

 

yeah I think i've read Kane's write up that many times and Mysql's writeups...acutually all of tehm ALOT...also been to school for Street performance stuff so I know a small amout!! haha ok a little more than small.....lots to learn for sure

 

you forgot nitrous. best bang for buck and it's only on when you want it. little to worry about too.

 

^ Then we can be like Fast n the Furious. VROOOMMM pshhhhhhh shifting through all 10 gears in 8 seconds. and pressing the turbo button