has anybody done this swap?
if so how complex is it ?

 

I know it has been done. There is pictures somewhere, as far as anyone on this forum who has done it, im unaware of anyone.

I think it would be a cool swap and if its not a insane amount of work I might look into it because I am going to work at a Mazda dealership and I may be able to get a deal.

And if im correct I think the renesis engine was something like $7-8000...

 

There is a 7 with a Renesis in the city I live in. He got one of the prototype/test engines I think. I've heard it's putting out around 135-140kw at the wheels. I think the biggest problem was the height of the throttle bodies,you also have to convert the fly by wire throttle cable back to normal cable type.

 

Sorry for the hijack.. but..
That fly by wire instead of seems like a bad idea from the get-go to me for some reason. Has anyone Terminator3? The robots or whatever they are were able to control the cop cars with remote control apparrently! If you ask me, cars are a little too controled by computer and not enough by drunk drivers. No thanks- I want good ol manually operated cars till a good full proof automated system is perfected-which is impossible. The first person to die in a automated car accident will put a end to that.

 

^^^ lol thats the most on topic post i've seen in my life!

 

Uh.....

Anyways, here's an article on a renesis swap. They even fitted the centre console and gauge cluster too!

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...1&postcount=40

 

there we go, thats a badass car if you ask me. Im gonna search a little bit, but im wondering why this swap is so uncommon?

 

I guess there are many other swaps that are better - and not to mention a lot cheaper than an Rx-8 engine. 7k is a lot of money, you could use that money for a cool swap such as a 13rew and still have a lot of money left over in the end.

 

i concur this swap is pretty crazy from a financial perspective.. 7k motor into a 1k (at best) car?
but it would be DAMN sweet.

and fly by wire isnt as bad as people will have it out to be. a proper fly by wire system will never apply more gas than nessicery, only back off the throttle to control wheelspin, and POSSIBLY assist rotation through a corner. GM and BMW have been putting "traction control" in cars for years, where a computer applys any on of your four brakes when it thinks you need some help, and it damnwell works! (just makes the car slower.. you're always dragging your heels through the curves)
a fly by wire system will be properly designed to not cause potentially hazerdous conditions, and will assist any driver in avoiding them.

furthermore fly by wire can be used to rev limit the engine when you're knobbing about and miss a shift (into neutral... if you hit reverse nothing will save you)

but personally, id rip that **** off... it makes the car heavier, and it will be of no use in a first gen without all the associated sensors

 

i will stick to cables. my luck a fuse or wire would melt and no throttle.my opinion

 

I know I know, its hijacked a little....
There was a simialer argument back in the early days of automobiles. When first changing from cable operated brakes to hydraulic brake system as the primary mover.

The difference to me on throttle and the braking system to control spin/acceration of the engine is that it takes out the ablity of the driver to manipulate the characteristics of spinning wheels and jamming the throttle fast if the person needs to. There lies my delmna

 

Hmmm, I can't read Japanese too well, what part came off an FD?

Seems I was right about those simply being Nissan Z fender flares, though

 

I was watching a TV show today about Electro-Magnetic Pulse Weapons (made very popular through movies like The Matrix) and when they said "you probably wouldn't be able to drive your car" I laughed.

Everyone else on the road would be grounded. At the very worst, I'd have to pick up a new ignition coil from out of town IF they are affected. No expensive computer replacements for me. I'd be driving down the freeways whilst everyone else's cars are totally grounded pending thousands in repairs.

I love the simplicity of carburetors.

Jon

 

Where did the $7000 number for a Renesis come from? You can buy every single new part for one from Mazda for $5500. A used 6 port can be had for around $2500 and a used lower power 4 port can be had for under $1000 if you know where to look. Why would you want to keep the RX-8 throttlebody. Use a conventional tb and a standalone ecu. That's easy.

Use the Renesis block but everything in front of it use the 1st gen parts such as pullies, front cover, water pump, etc. The 1st gen front cover will give you the engine mount. That takes care of that. The front cover actually has changed slightly. This is the first time since the 70's that they haven't lined up completely. There is one bolt on the front cover that doesn't line up with a hole in the front housing of the Renesis. It is about an inch off. You will need to do a little cutting and welding in this one little small spot to bring the mounting hole over to where it should be. It's actually not as complex as it sounds. You should be able to then use a GSL-SE oil pan unless they changed some bolt holes their too. That wouldn't be as difficult to fix if there are differences though. You'll just need to fab up an exhaust. If you want to make it easy, buy an OBX header off of ebay for $250. Swapping a Renesis into a 1st gen wouldn't be nearly as hard as it would be to swap into a 2nd gen.

 

My primary car (a 2005 Scion tC) is throttle by wire. It is very smooth and I love it. It is a little slow when I punch on the gas, but not really that noticable.

I do think that throttle cables are better on older cars, mainly those with carbs. That way, you can "feel" what is going on with the carb and engine. You don't get that through the wire, but then again, you don't need it because the computer is controlling the engine. Just my .02

 

Well first and foremost that was hear say, I remember someone telling me that they costed about that much. And as far as the price of $5500, what does that end up being? Close to $7k Canadian, the best bet to get started for a project like this would be to get a written off RX-8 (rear damage) for like 8-10K if it was doable... Then you could steal: the seats, engine, 6 speed, shifter, and tons of other goodies!

 

what about if your running from the cops or something like that and they know some way to interrupt the circuit between your gas pedal and the throttle body? what then? but, other than that, i'm sure everything will turn more efficiently if the throttle is also controlled by the computer.

 

^^^ oh I hate it when that happens!

 

Does this happen to you often? Sounds like you really know your stuff about running from the cops and having them try to disable your engine.

Simple fix for that....DRIVE LEGALLY!!!

 

i think the thing about the renises swap, is that in order to make everything work properly you need to swap over all the gauges and possibly the center consol. something about how the computer works or something. thats why its a pain, and so uncommon. just wait for the 1.6L rotor motor.


~Steve