Last I knew about the t-stat was that Rick Engman was working on a 180 for the RX-8. I guess the only way to see what's going on would be to call Paul and see.

 

Also, I’m running a 170F thermostat on my R100 that I purchased from NAPA a while back. I think it was NAPA brand thermostat # 2 or # 3. It is the same configuration as a stock thermostat for a 2nd gen 13B (I have a 2nd gen 13B aluminum housing on my R100) but rated at 170F. Is the RX8 thermostat similar or same configuration as a 2nd gen?

I did a quick search and found a 160F thermostat for 86-88 2nd gen Advance Auto part # 13396. But as I stated above, I'm not sure if is compatible (size/shape) with the RX8.

 

No aftermarket or swapable thermostat (other than oem) is available at present--i posted about that over 1 yr ago and we searched and searched.
If you do not have mazmarts water pump yet---get it.
On the thermostat at present about all you can do is drill a small hole in the face to help a little when it is closed. remember the thermostat does not control engine temp once it is open. So a 180 degree therm will not let your car stay at 180F--only the cooling system will do that.
I would do the pump 1st. Therms are easy to change.
oscd

 

Can you just remove it all together if your in a warmer climate OSCD?

 

No advised, the car needs to reach certain temps.
oscd

 

I also would advise others to be careful when swapping thermostats as the PCM may react strangely. Gasoline engines tend to run best at 180 degrees, btw.

 

Not sure about the RX8 but I was told to always run a thermostat on my previous 1st and 2nd gen, RX4 and currently on my R100. I was told that the water pump will not circulate the antifreeze (will cavitate) and much of the fluid will flow thru the bypass hole co-located in the thermostat housing area.

 

Thanks everyone for their feedbacks. I'll stick with the OEM thermostat and BHR's radiator for the moment but always open to suggestions.

 

I guess some old school hot rodder tricks just don't work anymore....

 

Well, the RX-8 thermostat has a very low lift and a very late full-open temp.
Optimal temp on a rotary is actually a little closer to 205°F.
It has a very small window of "optimum" compared to a piston motor.

 

I guess this one of the veryyyyy small benefits of living in the UK.

Cooling is rarely an issue.... 8(

 

Hey Juan what size maf pipe is that? 87mm?
Sweet set up man.
oscd

 

OSCD

I'll post my MAF pipe measurements tomorrow.

 

FYI if you are planing to meth your SC.

I was getting CEL code PO300 "random misfire" at full throttle/100% meth spray/high rpm and stock plugs gaped at 35. This happened not all the time but most of the time. Once I got of the throttle the engine felt a bit erratic for a few seconds too. Today I made a couple of changes, drove the car in “like you stole it” mode and no PO300 CEL code no matter how hard I tried. First, I grounded my coils strait to the battery ala OSCD and second I changed my leading plugs to a set of NGK R6725-11.5 that I had in my stash of plugs gapped at 32. I added a washer because they are a bit longer than the OEM. Racing Beat recommends 10.5 but I don’t have a set of those. I kept the OEM trailings at 35. I know that the plugs are a bit to cold but I don’t use my RX8 to drive around town. Most of my driving is highway speed or AutoX.

 

Grounding your coils doesn't do anything.
I'm not sure about the plugs, though.
Those are really cold. If you have a misfire, colder plugs should only make it worse (if there is any effect at all).

Did you disconnect the battery when you did the coil grounding? If so, its likely the ESS profile reset that stopped the misfire.

 

I did not disconnect the battery at all nor did I change the meth settings (also, same gas in the tank). Believe me when I tell you that I tried more that 10 times to make the CEL flicker or to get a Pending CEL code. I understand what you said about the grounding but I also noticed that throttle changes were less (almost not noticeable) when the cooling fans kicked on while in idle than before.

 

Interesting.
Just remember - the coils have the best ground in the world: the spark plugs.
Its the power circuit that is lacking.
The coil ground is just a reference for the ignitor.

 

Yeap, I know.

BTW, I got a hold of a buddy of mine that owns an EVO. He looked at the RX8 ignition/coils configuration and noted that it is similar to his EVO. He was having problems with spark blow out and ended up making his own (of the shelf) setup. Now he is running 575 on race fuel. The attached dyno sheet is on 93-octane pump gas. He is going to do some research and get back to me soon.

 

^^nice!!

 

Sweet---thanks for the info. Curious --what did the water/meth bring your a/f's down too or was there any affect? Running 1 or 2 nozzles?
i am thinking of going to the barless plugs with 2 washers.
I am also thinking of building an engine with a small porting job, #3 seals etc
collecting "parts" now.
Also thinking of setting my ecm back to Cam to have a soft rev cut at 8.2 done.
Nice work man--saw the pics from the meet--sweet ride.
oscd

 

Oh by the way --i have figured out a way in which the RB revi filter, horn/screen and mafpipe can be used on our application. Interested?
oscd

 

i think a lot of peeps would be interested OSCD...as lots of people are runnin with the revi in an NA engine....

if you have pics that would be awesome too....i will be glad to post them if you want to email them...

thx

 

I actually think i have learned how to post pics--i did it successfully on another thread! my entire family celebrated.
oscd

 

welcome to the club of hosters!!!

 

I for one................would be interested in seeing this and hearing about it.

And the easiest way to post pics, is to select "manage attachments", then select "browse" on the window that pops up and point it to where you have the picture stored, the click "upload". From there it's just closing that other pop up window and "submit reply" on the original window.

Yes, this makes a small attachment in the original post, but people can then click on it to see the photo in it's original size. I usually make them 8x10 before putting attaching them, but 5x7 is okay as well. You of course can host the pics on some other site/server, but the above method is easier in my opinion.