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rx8 engine swap front wheel drive

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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 01:31 PM
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rx8 engine swap front wheel drive

Fist Im sorry I dont actually own an rx8 I own a Hyundai Accent but I do want to do an rx8 engine swap. My question is

Does anyone know if there is any front wheel drive trasmissions that can be used with the rx8 engine?

The reason I ask is because of my weight distribution of my car and the racing I am interested in I want to keep my car front wheel drive. I want the rx8 engine for its 10 thousand rpm redline capabilities.
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 01:53 PM
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You will need ridiculous amounts of skill but you will most likley have to create yoru own bell houing and attach it to the FWD transmission of choice. This will cost some srious $$$, not to mention getting the ECU to run it, tunning, custom mounts, Custom.............everything. It might be cheaper to get a miata and swap the 8 engine and drive train with a custom driveshaft into it. A Miata would also be lighter. Not to say it can't be done just time and MONEY$$$(lots of money)
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 02:06 PM
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oh boy, this is gonna be expensive.

You mention you're going to be racing the car, wouldn't it be better to sell the Accent and buy something lighter? The miata idea sounds more feasible.
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 02:08 PM
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as others posted, I think if u will be racing and like the engine, the miata is a great platform, it will be cheaper, and its wayy lighter
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 02:13 PM
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You will have some interesting oil pressure issues, too...
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 03:03 PM
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Originally Posted by wizzle
Fist Im sorry I dont actually own an rx8 I own a Hyundai Accent but I do want to do an rx8 engine swap. My question is

Does anyone know if there is any front wheel drive trasmissions that can be used with the rx8 engine?

The reason I ask is because of my weight distribution of my car and the racing I am interested in I want to keep my car front wheel drive. I want the rx8 engine for its 10 thousand rpm redline capabilities.
Sell the Hyundai...get a civic...

Hyundai's suck...

Oh and learn to drive...FWD sucks for racing...

And one last thing...


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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by eviltwinkie
ROFL LMAO !!!!!
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 07:25 PM
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For the money you could buy a car with RWD
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 09:46 PM
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forgot to post.

Seriously, is this a joke or something? a Hyundai "Accent" guy came up here to ask if he can make a RWD car into FWD for Racing ?

I mean wtf ?

It could be done of course. but ... for racing ?
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 10:13 PM
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Originally Posted by nycgps
forgot to post.

Seriously, is this a joke or something? a Hyundai "Accent" guy came up here to ask if he can make a RWD car into FWD for Racing ?

I mean wtf ?

It could be done of course. but ... for racing ?
of course its a joke...hyundai and racing...what else did you need?
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 11:31 PM
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i think i got it. he wants to keep the accent exterior and change all the techniques beside the Hyundai FWD??? i had a hyundai before, and i know someone does racing with accent, but...wtf?
by the way, doesnt miata have a normal piston engine??
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 11:36 PM
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with Accent ?

I mean, with Accent ? Racing ? can you even mix them both in the same sentence ????

*sigh*

people these days are really really creative ... in terms of joke making ...
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Old Nov 19, 2007 | 11:48 PM
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Originally Posted by philsbluerx8
i think i got it. he wants to keep the accent exterior and change all the techniques beside the Hyundai FWD??? i had a hyundai before, and i know someone does racing with accent, but...wtf?
by the way, doesnt miata have a normal piston engine??
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 09:29 AM
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oh yeah and you will probaly have to use a Honda FWD tranny as many other FWD tranny's won't tolerate spining anywear near 9000rpm. Seriously do the rx-8/miata swap.
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 12:04 PM
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Thanks

Thanks for the reply from everyone,
The reason I wanted to stay with an accent is because I could drop its weight below 2000 with me in it but I did not realize the miata was so light. On the other hand if I can get 240ish hp it should literally fly.(8.3hp per pound) Now im looking at the motor from the dodge srt-4 (A855). Secondly I took the accent to an on track driving lessons. I did do one of the worst there but only marginally. When I say that I mean it every straight away I would get smoked but in the turn I almost ran into the back of other cars.(Cadillac CTS to be exact)

The reason I want to keep it fwd is for taking corners faster. My thought processes is if I have 85% of my weight on the front tires I should be able to even out my weight by applying the gas the right amount. Basically instead of being newtons b^*ch, I could pull my car through corners. If inertia says I should go straight in a turn how does it make sense to add more power to the direction of straight, instead I can put all my power in the direction I am going.

The reason I said high rpm is so I dont ever have to shift in corners


Thanks for the responces
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 12:15 PM
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FYI - reason FWD have issues with tracks is because tires can only do one thing at a time - so you cannot accelerate out of an under steer situation.... it will just keep on sliding.
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Kane
FYI - reason FWD have issues with tracks is because tires can only do one thing at a time - so you cannot accelerate out of an under steer situation.... it will just keep on sliding.
Exactly. Tires only have a limited amount of traction. That traction can be used for acceleration, braking, and/or turning. Increasing power to the front wheels will not give you any more cornering traction. Applying more power in a turn will always make a front wheel drive car understeer more. Applying more power in a turn to a RWD will help it turn more (assuming dry pavement) - this is because the front tires are being used to turn the car and the rear tires are being used to accelerate it.

When you caught the CTS in the corners, it is because you were driving your car a lot harder than the driver of the CTS, not because your car has better cornering characteristics. I've never driven a CTS, but from what I've read about them it is fair to say that given two equal drivers (both in skill and aggresiveness level), a CTS will blow away an Accent in the corners.

The reason you see a lot of people racing FWD, IMHO, is because FWD drivetrains are almost always less expensive than an equivalent RWD drivetrain. I believe that is why Acura has been able to undercut Lexus, etc on price in their segment of the market. We have an 05 TL that we purchased new for a lot cheaper than a comparable Infinity, BMW, Lexus, etc. Plus the TL has a lot of stuff on it standard that are options on the others. It is a great car, but when it comes to performance driving it won't match the RWD competitors assuming equal suspension tuning, power, etc. Now if they put their SH-AWD on the next TL and TSX, those have the potential to be really mean machines, as long as they keep the weight down.
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 01:15 PM
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Definitely an interesting swap idea...if you do it come back and let us see some pics...
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 04:37 PM
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three words "left foot braking". go to a parking lot and practice this technique. trust me, it'll help you out big time.

Also put wider rubber up front. This has been proven to work well with FF and some AWD cars with the proper suspension setup of course.

Take this advice with a grain of salt though. I'm far from an expert and I'm just going off what I've read and seen.

I'm not sure if the rotary would be a good swap IMO. It would DEFINITELY be a first. I think it would be better to look towards a Honda engine like the K24. Revs high, good power, and TONS of mods for it. Of course, you may want to look up some rally companies that run Accents for other paths and possibilities and also tuning shops based in Korea. I was just there last year and was shocked at some of the Hyundai's I encountered.
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Old Nov 20, 2007 | 06:24 PM
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Since I have every doubt in my mind this will ever happen but am extemely bored, your contact would be advanced adapters who could most likely hook you up with what you need....but I hope you have $$$.
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Old Nov 21, 2007 | 12:06 AM
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Originally Posted by wizzle
Thanks for the reply from everyone,
The reason I wanted to stay with an accent is because I could drop its weight below 2000 with me in it but I did not realize the miata was so light. On the other hand if I can get 240ish hp it should literally fly.(8.3hp per pound) Now im looking at the motor from the dodge srt-4 (A855). Secondly I took the accent to an on track driving lessons. I did do one of the worst there but only marginally. When I say that I mean it every straight away I would get smoked but in the turn I almost ran into the back of other cars.(Cadillac CTS to be exact)

The reason I want to keep it fwd is for taking corners faster. My thought processes is if I have 85% of my weight on the front tires I should be able to even out my weight by applying the gas the right amount. Basically instead of being newtons b^*ch, I could pull my car through corners. If inertia says I should go straight in a turn how does it make sense to add more power to the direction of straight, instead I can put all my power in the direction I am going.

The reason I said high rpm is so I dont ever have to shift in corners


Thanks for the responces
Wow...so lost...so living a lie...its almost sad really...
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Old Nov 21, 2007 | 12:13 AM
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rofl keep us updated

post pics

lots of pics
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Old Nov 21, 2007 | 09:58 AM
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Wizzle, have you ever driven an RWD car hard? There's no comparison in hard cornering under power. Of course if the RWD car isn't sporty and has poor weight distribution, you'll end up fishtailing, but it's still a totally different feel from FWD. FWD cars just understeer like crazy.
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Old Nov 21, 2007 | 10:16 AM
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Originally Posted by wizzle
Thanks for the reply from everyone,
The reason I wanted to stay with an accent is because I could drop its weight below 2000 with me in it but I did not realize the miata was so light. On the other hand if I can get 240ish hp it should literally fly.(8.3hp per pound) Now im looking at the motor from the dodge srt-4 (A855). Secondly I took the accent to an on track driving lessons. I did do one of the worst there but only marginally. When I say that I mean it every straight away I would get smoked but in the turn I almost ran into the back of other cars.(Cadillac CTS to be exact)

The reason I want to keep it fwd is for taking corners faster. My thought processes is if I have 85% of my weight on the front tires I should be able to even out my weight by applying the gas the right amount. Basically instead of being newtons b^*ch, I could pull my car through corners. If inertia says I should go straight in a turn how does it make sense to add more power to the direction of straight, instead I can put all my power in the direction I am going.

The reason I said high rpm is so I dont ever have to shift in corners


Thanks for the responces
That would only be true if you had infinite traction. If you did AWD would be the undisputed best setup. The reason RWD is favored is becasue we don't have infinite traction and making the front wheels pull the car and turn limits how much turning you can do. In a RWD car the front wheels only turn and the rear wheels push the car through the turn. This means that the front wheels can use 100% of their gripping force to turn and the rear wheels can use 100% of their grip to make the car go. In FWD the grip while cornering has to be balanced with the acceleration grip. The faster you go the more obvious this becomes. Did they explain any of this(or somthing like it) at your track driving school? If they didn't go to a different one.
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Old Nov 21, 2007 | 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by wizzle
...

The reason I said high rpm is so I dont ever have to shift in corners
...
Everyone else has already spoken to the other points of this but I hadnt seen this mentioned..

Even with the high RPM redline, you still want to be in the powerband which will require shifting in corners. Unless you enjoy bogging down the engine on the track you will have to shift / rev match.. The wide RPM range isnt the cure all to technical driving.

One thing I noticed when tracking that street driving never really clicked was the need for a short throw shifter. I had never really seriously considered it until taking several corners at once. Improving your shifts might be a better solution than increasing your RPM range.
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