RX8 Performance Question

[Cue]

I'm having troubles trying to locate this information...

I'd like to know more info about this car...

1) What type of HP/TQ gains is this car capable of with available bolt-ons, and even A/F management... no turbo's

2) What are the fastest reported QM times at stock, and modded (without turbo's)


I love this damn sexxy car (specially the new R3), but the 232HP/159TQ just really annoys me....

 

[altspace]

Sorry, sounds like the RX-8 is not for you if high power is all you are looking for.

 

[Cue]

Okay??... Anyone on the forum that can Answer my questions??

 

[jmsj578]

I didn't answer this one because I have no idea. Somehow, I think someone bought a car he isn't satisfied with? I know. I know. Some are never happy with what they have; but, I did look at the HP before we bought our car. It was bought for my wife; so, racing wasn't part of the picture. The test drive proved that it's not overly powerful; but, it's ample enough for use in traffic and looks nice. That works well for my wife.

Have you considered buying a RX-7 to play with? With that, you can load it up with add ons, or completely replace the engine with a nice LSx engine. I've had one of those with a LT1; and, it was neat. The cost wasn't too bad, either. Besides, do you want to void your car's warranty, already? Just curious.

I'm not trying to pull your chain. I just look at the RX-8 as a nice family car with some differences. Others will disagree, of course.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

Plain and simple.. bolt ons on a rotary.. means no hp gains. There really is not much to be acheived with the stock engine and no turbo/supercharger

air intake (no real gain)
exhaust (biggest gain maybe 25hp)

unless u either crack the engine open and port it
run an aftermaket EMS so u can actually tune the car
add turbos or supercharger

you really wont get alot of power.. its heavy, being a side port engine even if u do a port job on the motor you wont be able to acheive any overlap so any REAL potential gains will be far from possible..

this engine.. the renises is an EMISSIONS rotary engine.. it was not made to be a FAST car.. quick yes, nice driver yes but this is not a strait line car.. its great in the corners and fun to drive.

 

[Cue]

Thanks for the reply.... I didn't purchase this vehicle, but the time is coming when I will be replacing my wife's car, and the RX-8 is a posibility. Not that she won't be driving fast or anything, but depending on the vehicle we get, I'd probably just let her drive the CX-7 and I drive whatever we get.... most of the time.

The thing is, I love the look of this car, but if it's barely, if at all, faster than my CX-7, I'd be pretty disapointed.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

well I recommend u go drive it.. beat on it and see what u think.

 

[jmsj578]

Or, you could let her drive the RX-8, instead of you. My wife picked her RX-8, not me. She drives it. I drive it, from time to time, to clear out any carbon buildup. Otherwise, she's in control. With that, your wife may not have the need for the extra performance you want. She may be totally happy with it, as is. If you insist on being the main driver, the RX-8 may not be the choice for you. You really do need to test drive one to see if it fits.

By the way, Consumer Reports tested the RX-8 against a Nissan Z and found the RX-8 to be the better car, overall. Granted, the Nissan had more power; but, the ride would beat the driver down. The RX-8 is more nimble, comfortable, etc. It's even recommended by CR, now. The '04-'05 had their problems, though.

Again, if you want performance in a rotary, go back to the RX-7. That is where the action is, for racing and such. The RX-8 will make a nice family car.

 

[Cue]

I drive it, from time to time, to clear out any carbon buildup.

lol.... it's OK, we're on the forum, I think you meant to say "When I feel like high-revving a rotary cause it feels and sounds so damn cool"...

Anyway, I used to own an 2nd gen RX-7, and I must it admit, it was the funnest car to drive. Rear wheel, with good handles. I would want to drive the car quite a bit as well. I don't like sticking to one vehicle if I don't have to... mix it up a little. And same with my wife. She likes driving cars, as well as my CX-7 from time to time.

 

[Chibana]

If you go to Racing Beat's website, they give realistic power gains for most of their parts. It's not true that you won't see *any* gains, it's just that Mazda has already done as much as they reasonably can do to eek every bit of power and torque out of the Renesis. The gains you get from aftermarket parts will be small, and often at the expensive of noise, which doesn't bother many of us "enthusiasts," but would put off many typical buyers. With the RB intake and exhaust bits, and an ECU reflash from RB (or the COBB AccessPort), you can see some reasonable gains, but they will come at a high price (and will be at high RPM, where the car already has decent kick).

I am hoping to order an R3 later this year, but I've already given up on the idea of the car ever being truly fast in a straight line. Where it shines is on curves and at the track, which is where I plan to take it once a in a while. Eventually maybe I'll do a Pettit Racing supercharger, but I'm not sure that I want to put the engine at such increased risk.

 

[jmsj578]

lol.... it's OK, we're on the forum, I think you meant to say "When I feel like high-revving a rotary cause it feels and sounds so damn cool"...

Nope. It's her car. When I need to hear an engine wind up, I get "Little Red" out of the garage. I love the sound of a V8, myself. I may drive her car once a month, or so. Besides, she won't let me, anyway. She cries when I use her gas. (lol2)

Anyway, I used to own an 2nd gen RX-7, and I must it admit, it was the funnest car to drive. Rear wheel, with good handles. I would want to drive the car quite a bit as well. I don't like sticking to one vehicle if I don't have to... mix it up a little. And same with my wife. She likes driving cars, as well as my CX-7 from time to time.

I know you'd like more power; but, take it to a winding road to have fun with it. It has ample power for that; and, it handles nicely through the curves. As I said, it beat out the Nissan in reviews. BTW, I forgot the mention the six speed shifter is smoother than the one we had in our '06 Miata. One would think they would be about the same; but, no. The RX-8 has a slick shifter. Nice short throws, too.

As for the second gen RX-7, mine was a '90. I liked that car; but, my favorite is still the FD. I wouldn't kick out another FC, though. It was a nice car to drive. The 365whp delivered by the LT1 engine helped with that. One of these days, if my wife will let me, I may purchase that FD. I need to let the economy come back, though. My play money accounts have taken a beating in the market.

 

[altspace]

well I recommend u go drive it.. beat on it and see what u think.

Exactly. The 8 is a unique car. Take it through its paces and you'll know if it is right for you. Only way to find out.

 

[jmsj578]

Exactly. The 8 is a unique car. Take it through its paces and you'll know if it is right for you. Only way to find out.

If you could rent one for a day, or two, that would be ideal. A test hop is OK; but, a couple of good days with one will clinch or break that desire to have one. It's hard to do that with a salesman in the car with you, unless you go to a dealer that will turn the car over to you, for a while.

 

[Cue]

If you could rent one for a day, or two, that would be ideal. A test hop is OK; but, a couple of good days with one will clinch or break that desire to have one. It's hard to do that with a salesman in the car with you, unless you go to a dealer that will turn the car over to you, for a while.

I've already purchased 3 cars now through the same salesman. 2 mine, and 1 was my brothers. With my brothers, we bought an MS3, and the salesman had no problem with us flooring it and taking turns at 40-50mph (turnoffs). He may not let me take an RX8 on my own, but I know for sure I can do whatever on a test drive... It's been snowing off and on here for the last couple of weeks, so I still have to wait a while til the roads are good.

 

[jmsj578]

I've already purchased 3 cars now through the same salesman. 2 mine, and 1 was my brothers. With my brothers, we bought an MS3, and the salesman had no problem with us flooring it and taking turns at 40-50mph (turnoffs). He may not let me take an RX8 on my own, but I know for sure I can do whatever on a test drive... It's been snowing off and on here for the last couple of weeks, so I still have to wait a while til the roads are good.

Same here. I did a test drive of a '90 Ford Probe. I was just about ready to order a new '91 Probe LX and just wanted to see what a couple of other dealers had first. The salesman said I could do what I wanted on the test drive. By the time I got him back to the showroom, I'm sure he regretted telling me that. I scared the crap out of him; but, I needed to know the price of the turboed car was worth it. It was. We got a really good deal on the car and kept it for nine years. My wife really liked that one until I bought a Mustang GT for her. She likes her Mustangs.

The RX-8 isn't for everyone. My wife likes her car; but, she likes it for the styling.

 

[Bose]

Well like it's been said, turbo/supercharge is the only way for big gains really. With a good tune it's not that much more of a reliability issue.

Bolt ons just don't do much, but I still buy'em. And don't worry about getting beat by everything in a strait line, cause you don't. I beat a CX7 the other day no problem.

It's not a monster no, but it does have enough to have plenty of fun with when it calls for it. The only way to truly tell is to jump behind the wheel and give it a go.

 

[Chibana]

But how do you know whether you have a good tune? A good tune is important with any engine, rotary or otherwise, but as Jim Langer just told me in an email today, it's even more important to get it *just right* with a rotary. I really want to put a Pettit Racing SC on the RX-8 I buy, but I'm more than a little scared to do it!

 

[Bose]

A good tuner will be able to get you a safe tune. I don't know enough to give you specifics, but you need a good air/fuel ratio something like 14.7:1 at idle and like 11.5:1 at wide open throttle you don't want to go much leaner than that. Also making sure your LTFT and STFT are within the right parameters for idle, cruise, WOT. But I don't know enough about everything that goes into tuning. The guys at Pettite know their stuff pretty well and I'm sure they would be willing to help you out in your quest for knowledge.

 

[Chibana]

Racing Beat has very good technical articles about the specifics of tuning the rotary engine. It's more complicated and risky than with piston engines. I'm hoping that I can just trust Pettit Racing (or MazdaManiac if I go with the AccessPORT), but that still makes me nervous. According to Racing Beat, anything over 5 psi is risky, regardless of tune, at the stock compression of 10:1.

 

[Bose]

Pish posh. There are plenty of people who are boosted and none push less than 7 psi. the average is usually 8-9, but there are a few who are running 12, 13, and I've seen 16 psi, none of them have blown and engine due to solely to boost. The person pushing 16 psi is at 420 rwhp and like 350 rwtq and still going. It's not as big of a risk as it was once thought, MazdaManic has been tuning with the AP since it came out, and has a great reputation for his tunes having a good balance of power and reliable tune. I believe he has maps for the Pettite SC, but I'm not 100% sure though. I know Racing Beat has a lot of experience and I'm not trying to discredit them, it's just I have seen/heard otherwise.