rx8wannahave

It is well documented I don’t have much experience with Turbo’s and I’ve tried to look into pretty much every possible way to increase NA HP. As you start adding up the price (minus NOS, which to me is as dangerous as Turbo…forgive me if I’m wrong about that) for NA mod’s it becomes painfully obvious that you spend almost the same amount of money and you get only slightly more power.

To generalize and give a basic outlook of what I mean: (give or take some $$)

Intake = $300
Catback = 650
Highflow cat = $500
Header (one day…) = $700
ECU (Inter-X for now) = $1,800
Tuning = $250

Total = $4,200 (again, a basic amount…not Biblical people)

In an ideal word, you are talking about probably 30whp tops. Without the Inter-X it would be $2,150 but you probably would lose 10-15whp from the 30whp total also. About $900 more and you could get a Greddy Turbo.

I didn’t add porting (which I’m not 100% sure I know what it is but something about polishing the intake/exhaust/internals/etc/?? of the rotary) which would add more money and give more power, but still not on par with what a Turbo setup would give you.

I must conclude, as of today, that the Greddy Turbo is honestly the best bang for your buck power upgrade for the RX8.

Sadly for me, a 3-rotor is too difficult and/or expensive to be a serious consideration especially since I’d rather that it be a Renesis 3-rotor. Also, I’m like dmp on the turbo thing…I want a car that will last me a long time while making more power…all of that, while not worrying about boost and all the other potentially bad things that could happen with a turbo setup.

Sooooo…to end my blabbing, I was told about this and I wonder what you all thought about it? I know it’s normally for race engines but their prices don’t seem to bad. While this still might not be a better bang for the buck HP product than the Greddy turbo I thought I’d at least bring it up.

Note: I did a search for ceramic rotor and very little came up. Also, I'm very happy with my RX8's power but who wouldn't want to make a great product even better.

Ceramic Internals

I just wanted to see what the more experienced and rotary brains think about this. I’m a newb too all the aftermarket stuff (and rotary) so I need all the help I can get to understand this stuff. I’m not planning on doing much to my 8 until it’s paid off but there is no harm and learning as much as I can so in the future I make the best decision.

By the way, is porting possible with this hypothetical ceramic internal rotary? Just to make sure I understand...what exactly is porting if I have misunderstood what it is.

Thank in advance for the knowledge!

Spin9k

Looks like they'd last longer in serious race use(?) Surely more durable...keep more heat in the combustion chamber...but as to much power improvement...prob not for the major engine work and expense required.

Have you been following this???? ..... again pricy...but it IS a real product getting REAL results on customers cars NOW! I'd love to be down in AU to have this possibility

http://www.dnamotorsport.com/ProChar...8_Kit/RX-8.htm

http://www.rotormaster.com.au/subPage.asp?cid=50

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ht=rotormaster (long but enjoyable daydreaming about 100 extra RWH)

...maybe someday they'll bring it here...

Red Devil

In my opinion, porting is the best thing you could in conjunction with an Interceptor, or an equivalent ECU upgrade.

I see you in numerous threads talking about NA power all the time. Just how much power are you looking to get to the wheels? For the money you're talking about spending, I think FI is the way you should go. If you want to spend your listed amount of $4,200, I imagine you'll be very upset when a tuned Greddy turbo makes you look like you're standing still.

And there's no reason to be afraid of FI, and if you want simplicity the Pettit or Axial flow may be the way to go. Just go to a competent, reputable rotary shop and they'll do the job the right way. My 87 FC Turbo's original engine lasted 150K before it needed to be replaced and that was running at ~8psi. If taken care of and done right, I don't think longevity is an issue.

I get the impression you're looking for the magic bullet that simply isn't there at the moment, and may never be.

rx8wannahave

Spin9K...why couldn't you buy their kit and install it now? Wow...650HP out of a 2 rotor....WOW! I don't need that much power...but it's still VERY impressive. If they had a smaller unit making 300whp (a little more) that would be a super product to look into.

Red Devil, if it was NA power I'd be happy with 250whp...if I went Turbo I'd be happy with 300whp. It's my lack of experiance with the rotary and turbo's that really scares me away from them but as it stands today it seems Turbo's or SC's are the only way to go.

Nubo

Power is power, whether you're optimizing the NA or adding forced induction. The question is how much power can the engine/drivetrain handle vs. how much you want. At a certain point you're looking at modifying the internals to *handle* the power in addition to the power-*adding* mods. Being satisfied with the stock power is the cheapest option . If I wanted to spend time and money on it, I'd look for a supercharger solution. The hell with turbo lag.

Spin9k

You mis-read...the turbo is capable of feeding an engine to that level...but our 8 is 'only' given enough boost to get 200kw...(268HP) so it's a very mild boost level....for reliability and driveability (650hp might just flip us lol) I'd imagine.

rx8wannahave

^lol, OK...I was wondering what that would do to the Renesis and rest of the RX8...might just blow it up.

Nubo...yes, being satisfied with the stock power is the cheapest...lol. I'm not greedy, 250whp would be just fine.

It's probably best I just shut up and worry about this once I'm ready to do something about it.

Spin9k

Every (very) little bit counts for sumthin.... So the accumulated gains from:

CAT Back exhaust
Canzoomer
tuning Canzoomer
elect sys grounding kit
elect sys voltage stabilizer
Hi-Flo Air Filter
smaller diam tires
100 lb overall weight reduction
28lb sprung weight reduction w/lightweight wheels/rotors

must be worth..hell maybe 20Hp...how many was that still to go lol????

BaronVonBigmeat

Personally I'd wait until the Megasquirt came out, from the sounds of it you'd have something that works as well as the Interceptor X, at least for N/A use. (How much is a MS setup, a couple hundred bucks?) And forget about a header, unless somebody surprises us with a big breakthrough. Maybe a flywheel or 4.77 gear instead. Yeah, a shorter gear will reduce engine life slightly and use a bit more fuel. So will F/I.

Or just wait for the Petit kit. That's probably going to be the most straightforward, problem-free way for someone who doesn't want to tinker with fixing all the issues inherent to the Greddy setup. I think they're saying 250 whp, but when it's right off idle and continues for most of the RPM range, that's probably enough. In the meantime, get a weekend/evening job to pay for it.

Red Devil

I think 250whp NA is a tall order. Maybe if you get rid of the accessories like AC and everything else, but even then you might have to get into some radical porting.

The Speedsource cars aren't even running at 250whp.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

you have a real penchant for wasting time on things you can't afford/won't work ...

rx8wannahave

^I don't think it's a waste of time to learn and ask those people that know more about the rotary engine what they think about something. I can't stress enough that I'm a newb to the rotary so I don't think it's a waste of time at all.

I'm sorry you think it's a waste of time, but please don't add to my so-called wasted time with your unhelpful comment.

It’s better to “waste” some time now, then waste my money later. It’s called research…learning, asking those who know more…etc…

rotarygod

I have spent an awful lot of time experimenting with different setups on intakes and exhausts on rotaries. I've spent alot of time doing different types of porting. I've spent alot of time playing with turbos, superchargers, ecu's etc. I've spent alot of time researching things to see how they work. All of this takes time and money and I've made nothing back off of it. I don't consider it a waste of time. I've learned many things and have had fun doing it. I wasted more time and money just rushing into things that others said to do. Now that I know alot of the things I've learned, some the hard way some the easy way, I can help others not make the same mistakes and waste the money that I did. I just don't see the issue with learning about things that interest you. I wasted more time in school on topics that didn't interest me.

There's more to doing something than just how much it costs. What you get out of it and how much you enjoyed it means far more. You just can't put a price on that.

Asmoran

+1

Although really I was hoping for a classic RG epic novel on the subject of ceramic housings :D

Spin9k

+2

Obtaining knowledge is a journey, not a destination, and the sights along the way are half the fun, no matter how lost you are.

rx8wannahave

+3.....yeah

yiksing

+++++++++ rep

Sometimes the destination is not as fruitful as the journey there.