How many miles have you put on it? Have you gone through any engines?

 

After thinking on it, and reading up some more, I believe 9k is right. I was unaware the REW swap could be done and keep A/C, DSC, etc. With that factor in mind, I believe that is the best decision for me. I see no reason to limit myself to low boost and lower hp if I don't have to.

In the upcoming months I'll be getting this all started for the swap, anyone want a renesis motor? Only 70k miles, gently used.

I appreciate all the replies, and I didn't even get flamed.

 

Do keep in mind you're probably looking at a minimum of 10-12k. That's just to get a stock REW in. Plus another 4-5k for a turbo upgrade on top of it. Then when you start surpassing the limits of the fuel system, there's another thousand or two. The death of 9/10 of the REW builds I've seen has been in the budget department.

I've seen a couple of "kits", running between $1500-$2500 to help with the swap. Some look more complete than others. I don't think any of them work 100% out of the box without some fabrication.

It's been mentioned elsewhere, but if you could find one for sale, that's your best bet. Rather than trying to do the swap yourself.

 

All said and done, it's probably going to cost just as much as buying a brand new mid-range car. That's okay. It's going to be a fun project. Anyone can go buy a new corvette or mustang or what have you, takes time and patience to build something relatively unique.

I'll do some reading up on these kits you speak of, I'm just happy it can in fact be done, and done well. From what I've seen it can be integrated almost seamlessly.

I don't think I would buy one that's for sale and already done up. That means they got to have all the fun building it. I have almost as much fun wrenching on cars as I do driving them. I saw firecrans swap up for sale, very nicely done, but I couldn't fathom why you would put that much blood, sweat and tears into a build then just sell it off...I feel like there is more to the story there.

 

There's actually a lot of bullshit involved in getting the two systems to work together. It's possible, but I wouldn't underestimate the effort required in this department.

The nice part about just buying one is most of the grunt work is out of the way. There's always still more work that can be done. I'm sure any reasonably priced swap wouldn't be in 100% working condition anyway. Instead of focusing on computer problems, wiring issues, fitment, getting the accessories working together nicely (AC, OMP, etc.) you get to focus on the fun stuff.

 

We shall see. The builds I've seen don't seem to go in great detail as far as what was needed, mostly just a piggyback ECU that handles the engine, while leaving the RX8 ECU to deal with everything else, something along those lines.

 

Don't let me discourage you, I'd just hate to see someone dive head first into a project like an REW swap without having a pretty good idea of the actual work involved. I almost went down this road with my first RX8, it ended up getting wrecked right around the time I had the cash to buy the motor I was looking at.

10 years later, now that I'm really seeing what I would've been getting myself into. I'm pretty glad I never got the chance to pull the trigger on it.

 

1st engine. Installed the turbo at around 30,000kms on the odometer in 2010, now sitting at 80,000kms with the car running the best it's ever run. IMO the stock greddy between 7-9psi or an upgrade to the greddy turbo at 10-12psi can be pretty reliable *with a good tune*. Now I also only street drive my car, I don't track it and i've only had it at the drag strip 3 or 4 times.

Pretty sure he bought that car already REW swapped.....

 

These are general statements, so take them for what you will.

Dyno tuning is almost always best. During a day on the dyno, the tuner can hit every cell on the VE table and maximize your power/economy/emissions goals under every condition. Once that is done, the tuner can switch to ignition tuning with those same goals in mind. He is also there to notice drive-ability concerns, such as cold start idle up, AC compressor idle up, etc.

Remote tuning can produce results, but the tuner is left to infer things that are not shown in the data logs and interpolate/extrapolate fueling and ignition under many driving conditions. He also can't see drive-ability stuff, so he has to rely on verbal descriptions of what is happening and make near blind adjustments.

For ~$500 extra, I would rather have the former than the latter.

I think that is what 9K is getting at.

 

Fair enough, I'm not arguing that dyno tuning isn't better by any means.... was mainly stating that a remote tune can still run really well

 

Yeah I was mentioning BHR because I was under the impression that they did dyno/street tuning. Maybe not for FI I don't know for sure. Nonetheless, Charles is a knowledgeable dude and if he's in your area it would be at least worth a look.

 

Yes, Steve that is what I was saying, a remote tuner cannot see everything so if problems arise they are way more difficult to address and if they can't be resolved, and you live in an area where you cannot get things sorted, then you are screwed.

I mean even for me, I had to drive to Dallas, which is a 4.5 hour drive for the first tune and sifu drove from Houston twice before his was dialed in. That is why I have left my car be since being tuned right. A remote tune can go easily, but if it doesn't, it's a big issue, especially if the car owner is not very experienced. I have dealt with this with a lot of guys trying to help and it's nearly impossible to troubleshoot without seeing the setup in person, more so if they didn't do the install themselves.

The biggest issue with a turbo renny is that you have to be happy with 10psi and 300ish HP, unless you want to replace engines and deal with a ton of hassle. And I say this as a person who is very willing to deal with a lot because I love my RX-8. The Renesis is just not a good platform if you want 350-400WHP. But maybe the new Adaptronic modular ECU will change that.

Whether it is worth it or not is really a personal decision.

 

I'll be that guy...


For the money, you would be better served with an LS swap.

 

I've considered it, however it just doesn't fit the car in my opinion. From what I've read the extra weight does mess with the handling as well.

My previous car was an srt challenger with the 392. Had a tune, exhaust, etc. Was pushing about 500 hp to the crank. And you know what after a year I got bored with it. It was fast in a straight line, even for a 4100 pound car.

But it didn't have the feel that an rx8 does, the renesis feels amazing to drive. That's one reason why I was considering sticking with the renesis, just to keep that same feel. Though I doubt the rew is much different. From my understanding the renesis is a much better na engine than the rew is, just not as suitable for boost...

 

From a weight perspective, I've heard two opposite stories.

The first is pretty much what you said. The engine would upset the balance of the car far too much.

The other is the complete opposite. There is so much you can remove under the hood when stripping the engine bay that it's not nearly as much of a problem as one would think.

I have no idea which one is correct.

 

100%

 

My 2 cents on remote tuning .
I've done lots of it and had pretty good results . But unless the guy at the other end has some mechanical ability and doesn't mind spending hours and hours working on his car , it's kinda doomed from the outset .
Yes you are flying blind and it is extremely difficult if weird problems are occurring, but by following logical fault finding methods we get there most of the time .

 

You seem to have a good head on your shoulders; asking the right questions, listening to the experienced people who know, ignoring those who clearly have no idea, etc. Looking forward to your build.

 

Thanks, I'll do my best, and I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of wrong, dumb *** questions before it's all over.

 

Per the link I posted you can see that everything can be made to work together in harmony, but very few people have gone there and of those who have more often in a misguided way than not.

 

Firecrans car is a work of art, I'd like to run a similar set up. I'm reading up on the REW currently, what I find most interesting is that the vast majority of those that run that engine in the 7/8's don't use an OMP at all. Just premix.

It makes me think there must be a lot of internal structural differences that I'm not aware of, as I've never heard anyone do that with a renny, usually its a sohn and premix together...

 

BHR is local to me in AZ. Last time I spoke with him on this subject I had the impression he is not doing custom turbo install/tuning stuff anymore. Who knows? Maybe he might consider it on a case-by-case basis, but I don't think he is advertising those services anymore.

 

Killawatts;
Did you ever find a supplier for a new turbo kit or enough parts to make one?
I am looking into buying a low mileage 06 but would want to boost it and availability is looking limited.

 

I honestly stopped looking for turbo parts on the renesis once I decided that the REW swap would be the best option. What I listed in the first post is what I found.

 

Keep your eyes open on the FS thread for turbo kits. They come up every so often. Where in Alberta are you?