slvrstreak

iTrader: (3)

Good to know...thanks keck
Yeah I still have it. Runs great but I wouldn't call it finished. Still need to finish the aero, data logger HUD, lexan, etc
Builder has been going through a lot the last couple of years and he's a close friend
Sadly it's been in the same shape for 3 years now. I run it occasionally but need to hurry up and finish it to sell
200- I like the picture at the top of this page hahaha

Striker-7

iTrader: (3)

Been a couple weeks, how's the progress on this?

RX-Tuner

Things are good Striker, sorry for the brief delay we've been quite busy building parts down here. I'm headed down to pick a coated unit up tomorrow and will have pic's in a day or so.

Quick question, would you guys prefer them in a powder coated finish or raw aluminum? I can supply either but we might get a better deal if we are coating multiple at the same time.

Striker-7

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, I can understand a volume discount. Problem is, what color(s)?

If I like what I see, I'd most likely go for raw aluminum, so I have the option of going with wrinkle-black or a hammered paint finish. Glossy paint seems way out of place in an engine compartment, but that's probably just me.

RX8inSTL

iTrader: (7)

Keck how are you liking that pulley kit? I also bought it and have not had any belt slip like I had before. I like the overall design and finish of the kit. Ive put around 2,500 miles on the car with it as well and have not seen any issues. The one piece crank is great as well although its a tight fit.

Ive made quite a few changes to my set up lately.

OtherSyde

Me too. I bought this kit (linked here) awhile back from Bennett Built, and had the unit repaired/remanned for about $750 at Kenne Bell and just got it back pristine, along with 2-3 years' worth of their special supercharger oil.

However, I can't tell what pulley I got with this kit - 8, 10, or 11 PSI. I just want to run 8 PSI, because I'm way more interested in longevity of the engine and I also don't want to do a bunch of various myriad upgrades/mods (fuel system, etc.) to support high boost. Is anyone with a better eye or more knowledge than me able to divine which pulley I have from the info/photos on Bennet Built's page?

Also, if it's a higher boost pulley, can anyone point me in the direction of those 6-band pulleys I keep seeing referenced in recent posts in this thread which supposedly remedy the belt-slippage problems? I think I might just buy an 8 PSI model of one of those either way, just so I'm good to go on the first install of my new supercharger system and don't have to deal with pointless down-time later on for upgrading it after the fact.

Insight here is appreciated, I'm definitely a total noob to FI, so I'm treading carefully.

RX8inSTL

iTrader: (7)

Hey Othersyde if you can measure your pulley I can check it with my 8 psi pulley I have. As for the 6 rib kit look up Ryan Rotary Performance. I have hit kit and have been happy with it. Im running the 8psi now. BTW I am also running the Kenne Bell Oil

OtherSyde

Thanks but I'm just going to order a 6-rib pulley wheel from Ryan Rotary myself just to be on the safe side


I do have a question on the oil thing though - with the Kenne Bell oil and your system set at 8PSI, how much do you fill up your oil reservoir to? On the dipstick I mean? Would 8PSI qualify filling it up to the "low boost" range?


Also, out of curiosity, how many miles were on your engine when you installed your SC, and how many have you put on it since? I'm just concerned about boost and my 13B's ability to handle it reliably... Is my completely stock, 59,000-original-miles engine able to handle 8PSI of boost reliably? Did you add any cooling mods, like for instance one of those aluminum triple-layer radiators like the ones Mishimoto makes..?


Also where did you get the cold-air intake? That sounds like something I would definitely need in the SoCal heat...


Thanks!

RX8inSTL

iTrader: (7)

Im sure you will be happy with the kit, remember you will need to source your own belt. I can get you the size of the one I use. I get about 75% coverage on the main pulley. As for the oil thing I honestly never knew there was a difference. I've been filling mine right in between the two lines. I do add more every now and then because of the blow back I accumulate in the catch can. My kit was installed at 14k I believe the car currently only has 23k on it. Ive driven it 8k of those miles with no issues but currently my engine is about 80psi average on both rotors. My cooling system is stock at the moment other than an upgraded heat exchanger for the SC system. The only issues I have are high oil temps under hard driving but I think lower temp thermostats will help that. I do also have a vented hood so that helps the OEM Radiator. The CAI is custom made by me. It would not be too hard to replicate though.

OtherSyde

Wow only 14k? Was it a rebuilt engine or were those original miles? I need to get mine compression-tested before I put my SC on, as well as dyno'ed beforehand as well - just for comparison's sake.

Anyhow, can you please PM me which belt to buy? I will order it, since I'm working on ordering a full set of the Ryan Rotary blue-anodized pulleys with the 8PSI 6-rib pulley right now.

My hood is a VIS Racing CF hood and heavily vented as well, so it should hopefully dissipate some of the heat better than the stock one, although I think with the uber-hot desert heat of southern Cali I'd better get that Mishimoto radiator while I'm at it too. What heat exchanger did you get? I know heat is the ultimate arch-nemesis of the rotary, so I want to mitigate that threat to the fullest extent possible.

keck03

iTrader: (2)

So i FINALLY got my car back from the shop doing the reman swap with a street port and RA superseals after 13 weeks. Its still in the break in period so my revs are below 4k. That pulley setup from Ryan Rotary Performance is awesome. I cannot believe how quiet it is. I had both the 8psi and 11psi pulley from Pettit. It rattled at idle from day 1 of my ownership. The previous owner put around 2k miles on it before he sold the car to me. I am hitting 7psi before I have to lift off the throttle for the break in period. And thats not even floored. Carl did an awesome job. I went with the 8 or 9 psi pulley size since I really want the next motor to last more than 20k miles. I had ordered 3 or 4 different size belts off amazon to give the shop since I wasn't sure what would work.

keck03

iTrader: (2)

Oh and in case either of you were wondering. My supercharger was installed at 24k. I bought the car at 26k. I went from stage 2 to stage 3 at 28k. I blew the motor at 43k. I did a compression check at 26k when I bought it and it was around 104-106. I did a compression check around 40k and was like 95-97.

I will take some pics when I get everything straightened out and after the motor is broken in to start really getting into the throttle.

I really could not recommend Ryan Rotary more. Every time I had a question, I messaged him through Facebook and got an answer within an hour. That's incredible customer service considering he is in another country.

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

i still want to see your old motor torn down besides the inside shots from when i scoped it

keck03

iTrader: (2)

I dont have any pics of that. Only pics of the reman getting ported and painted as well as the stamp of the "new" serial number and build date from mazda.

sonicsdaman

iTrader: (3)

give me(or 200) that pesky blower and your engine will last about twice as long

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

pfft sonic, i called dibs when i met keck and b4 either of us knew you

OtherSyde

Thanks for the info, I feel better about my engine maybe not exploding after 10k miles now, although it's already at 60k so it might not last as long as yours with an SC kit. I'll definitely be keeping mine at 8psi.


And I completely agree about Ryan Rotary. Carl Ryan has been extremely attentive and helpful in explaining everything to me in multiple personal emails, and even cross-referenced and tracked down the exact serpentine belt I would need for a full RR 6-rib pulley set, and then on top of that he went as far as ordering it ahead of time and is including it with the pulley setup when it ships (not for free, but that's fine - I would never have figured out how to cross-reference the numbers of a belt sold in the UK and get the right one shipped to me, and him volunteering to do the leg-work for a customer is outstanding). This guy knows his stuff and takes care of his customers. Really hoping he comes out with a full line of rotary accessories like Bennett Performance did - he'll be a major power player in our little pond.


Finally, I'm looking at this all-aluminum radiator from Black Halo Racing's online store - made by KOYO - to replace my clogged, decade-old factory rad before I get my SC kit installed. Anyone have any input on this, yay or nay..?

_

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

That Koyo radiator is well discussed on the forum ....

OtherSyde

I looked it up and there is mainly discussion of three KOYO radiators on this forum: The basic OE replacement with the plastic reservoir (wouldn't bother getting that one), the all-aluminum model for Series II RX8's that's super thick (48mm I think) which I obviously can't use since I have a Series I, and the roughly-OE-sized all-aluminum model for the series I from BHR's site. Everyone seems to be more or less happy with the all-aluminum BHR one, so I'm just going to get that one since I see no real advantages that any other models really have (barring the $600+ super-radiators that are huge and require significant modification to fit in the car) and I've seen no real complaints about this one.



I do have a more general question that I've been Googling for the last two hours with no real solid answer. Has anyone suffered a blown engine due to the 8psi of boost given by the Stage II Pettit setup? The official Pettit SC web site's product page claims that the Stage II/8psi kit can be installed on a stock RX8 and be reliable.... However, racing beat is a pretty trusted source among rotary forums and their article here states that once you go over 5psi of boost they recommend that you install low-compression rotors - but I've never heard of any supercharger owners doing this on the forums (I've searched). Is this just for strenuous racing applications? Or maybe this guidance is more for turbochargers?


Although finding many varying answers from many sources of varying expertise and opinions, I figure the only people who could really ultimately answer this question would be a thread full of experienced long-time supercharged RX8 owners. While I do realize any forced induction will somewhat reduce a Renesis engine's lifespan to some degree depending on different factors, in general, does the Stage II kit pose a serious threat to a healthy Renesis?

RotaryMachineRx

iTrader: (1)

Well, short answer..... there are plenty of turbo guys running 9-12psi on stock rotors. Personally I run 9psi and have for a couple years now after running 7psi for many. It's all in the tune.... I believe Slash and Brettus have run upwards of 16-20 psi on rx8 rotors and ethanol mix fuel.

I have 7 years and 40,000kms on boost and still running strong.

keck03

iTrader: (2)

I read through this whole thread. Several people had Pettit install low compression rotors when they blew their motors but it seemed to coincide with the release of the Stage 3 kit. It also looked like they were still sorting out the fuel and tune for it.

I installed the Koyo all aluminum rad with the recent reman. The coolant temps are a little better but not really night and day.

OtherSyde

Thanks for the non-flamey replies guys, I'm just trying to get a feel for what I'm getting into. I'm currently deployed on a missile cruiser somewhere off the coast of Shitfuckistan, so I'm gathering my shopping list of SC-related engine upgrades for when I get back to the States in 4-5 months and I just want to have everything I need and be as well-educated as possible.


I heard some talk of some kind of foam or plastic end-pieces that you're supposed to make yourself for the all-aluminum radiators because they don't come with them, or else they won't cool as efficiently... Did you do this? Or is the rad fine without those alleged insulating foam end-pieces?


That is awesome to hear! Who did your tune? MazdaManiac is currently my tune guy...
_
_

RotaryMachineRx

iTrader: (1)

The foam everyone is talking about is a black foam that is around the stock radiator; you'll see it when you get your bumper off. I believe it can be re-used with an aftermarket rad but take that with a grain of salt as I've never replaced mine, still using stock.

I did use MM for tuning my first go around but I found it painfully long to complete as you can only get one map/log done every two weeks and I was working on the road (aka away from home and my car). This was back in 2011 so maybe he has changed his system/tuning session schedule

After a bunch of mods (ignition, CAI, and installing an EBC to up my boost) I had another forum member who I could chat with regularly and was much more available to tune my car remotely the second time. If you already have an MM subscription though my experience with his tuning was positive, I can't really say anything negative; with remote tuning you are always at the mercy of your tuner's schedule. Being in San Diego though I imagine your options for tuning (if you ever wanted to do a dyno/street tune rather than remote) are much more available than mine are....

OtherSyde

Cool! Again, thanks for the info. Despite yours being turbo and mine going the supercharger route, I looked at your build thread and noticed our 8's have some things in common, like TEIN S.TECH springs, KONI Yellow struts, BHR midpipe and ignition setup, 18x9.5" wheels with 255 tires, COBB Accessport, GReddy SE exhaust, etc.


Did you upgrade your water pump to the Series II model, or maybe the RE-Medy model from MAZMART? I don't know if that's recommended for turbo setups or just for SC setups since turbo setups already have a big intercooler to help with cooling.


Also, do you find that your 255-width tires grip well enough for your forced-induction setup? I've been reading the wheel & tire subforums and people seem to agree that tires wider than 235 or 245 are pointless unless you need more grip due to higher power output, so I've been eyeballing 265's or even 275's with Rocket Bunny over-fenders (flares), but if 255's are good enough I might stick with them for a while.

RotaryMachineRx

iTrader: (1)

My tires grip very well, but I don't track my car. The only time I can spin the tires (outside of 1st) is if I'm trying to and I need to drop the clutch. The actual tire tread and compound are more important to tire gripping than the width though; a grippy summer performance tread is going to grip MUCH better than say an all season so I wouln't pay too much attention to the width. With your 20mm spacers and offset of rim your tires are poking out 5mm more than mine and I imagine you won't fit 265's or 275's without some extensive fender work or a set of coilovers and some camber...

And no I'm all stock as far as my tuner changing my fan settings to come on slightly earlier for cooling. Also going to be putting my vented hood back on this weekend which helps alot... Canada doesn't see the heat you guys down there get ha


Anyways, lets keep this thread to Pettit SC, PM if you have any more questions I always like chatting 8