RX8 Engine in Rx7?
 

I dunno...

Just curious if anyone heard any details. I saw something on the net somewhere that said it may be possible to put the renesis in the FD.

I guess the low end torque sucks anyway...What do u guys think?

I'm sure it will be POSSIBLE, but is will likely require some involved customization. The Renesis is different in some fundamental ways from the 13B. Not to mention, I would guess the cost of getting one and installing it would be very high. I'm guessing it would probably be just as expensive as dropping a 20B in ($30k). Besides, from the stats, it appears that the Renesis engine is pretty peaky (S2000 peaky) and I prefer the wider powerband of the FD.

I talked to Dave at KD rotary this past week and he said he is going to look into whether or not the engine swap is feasible. He is getting a rx8 sometime soon from Mazda for product development. He also said that the engine was designed for turbo charging but Mazda didn't want to market the car with too much hp yet. I think they are trying to sell the car more as a reliable sporty family car, not a true sports car. Anyway he is lining up some manufactures to try and develop turbo or supercharger kits for the new rx8. If we are lucky maybe the new rx8 with a turbo in a 3rd gen. Give it time somebody will do it, just a matter of cost vs. performance.

That sounds real cool. I checked automobile magazine and they had a spot on future models. They said the RX8 WILL follow with a 2 door shortly after launch and that "Mazda will leave the Turbo option open if demand Warrants"

That engine swap WITH a turbo will crush a stock RX7 I think.

While the physical size of the Renesis will mostly likely fit in an FD, getting it to run properly is another issue.

"That engine swap WITH a turbo will crush a stock RX7 I think. " You're speculating on an engine that is not currently available to the public.

ummm....

Sorry I will try not to speculate again. Didn't mean to offend you.

You didn't offend me. It's cool. Sorry to sound like I took offense at your comment.

I don't think he is speculating. With 250hp NA and approx the same weight(or slightly higher), a turbo Renesis should have more than the 255hp of a stock FD. Sounds like it should be faster if geared similar to an FD. For comparison, how much hp and torque does the REW make without turbos?

well, a 89-91 13B made 160 hp, the 13B-REW has lower compression, so probably only 145-150 hp or so. Tack a few hp back on for advancements and probably 150-155 hp.

Pettit being located within a 20 min. drive, I have heard that they are working on a turbo for the renesis motor, and from what ive heard, its gonna be sick nasty! The '8 is gonna move. I hope the seats can be transferred to a FD tho...

I own a performance shop named "Energie Developments" we are developing turbos for the 1zz and 2zz engines. If he needs somone interested in doing a turbo on the rx8 I would be more then happy to talk with me partner about doing a kit.

I think I read something in another post about some guys at Mazda in Detroit having a couple RX-8's already. I also remember them saying something to the extent that it was pushing "only" 210HP ... anyone know if this is true? :(

my understanding is the auto tranny will only have 210hp, due to the high revving nature of the engine and the difficulty of getting an auto to rev that high. at least, that's what someone told me :)

It would be cheaper to make the 13B REW reliable than do a swap like that.

I'm excited about the possiblity of a Renesis fitting in the FD. and with thte 250 hp it produces in NA form , a turboed Renesis would be insane. but this is all just speculation until some one actually gets the physical engine to see what the deal with it is. so everyone just wait on it. We'll all know soon enough.

I think we need to understand that this new Renesis is an entirely different design when compared to the past Rotary engines. Though still a 1.3 ltr. its overall size is smaller and lighter. According to Mazda, this allows the engine to be moved back 60mm(2.4 inches) and 40mm(1.6 inches) lower when compared to the last RX-7. The intake ports are 30% more bigger. The 2 SIDE exhaust ports per rotor acheives twice the port area size of the old single exhaust port. This new design also eliminates port overlap and I think allows possibilities for some incredible hp gains thru future modifications. Though it's only rated at 250hp at 8500rpm... I wonder what it really is at near it's 10,000 rpm capability. Some may remember what the 1st Gen. RX-7 turned out to be while it was only rated at under 100 hp. I think the new RX-8 will be much more of a sports car than the RX-7 ever was... at least for now. Even if an RX-7 had a Renisis swapped in, it still wouldn't have the six speed transmission, 14 inch brake rotors w/6 piston calipers, suspension developed with 18"wheels, etc...
:)

I think this new engine will be bad ass, I just wish I could see into the future to know is Mazda (Ford) will really bring a 4th gen 7 over here or not

I don't want to slap down 30k on an RX-8, with it's somewhat "girly" S2000 looks, and then have a sweet new 7 come out a year or two later, that would SUCK!! I don't really want a 4 door car anyway

my guess is a 4th gen 7 will never make it over here, because Ford is calling the shots and they are geeks

"my guess is a 4th gen 7 will never make it over here, because Ford is calling the shots and they are geeks"

id say that if ford sees the car and thinks it has potential then they will pass it on to us. im sure those guys like making money and if there is a 4th gen (oh man, i get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about that) then im pretty sure that EVERYONE is gonna jump on it. we've been pretty starved wouldnt you say, and i think a lot of those civic dweebs are finally realizing that they're commutors are for driving the kids to school and arent worth pissing on. hehe. the rotary has been hyped up like crazy, especially when that horrible movie fast and the furious came out. all i know is that if any kind of word starts to leak then let me know so i can start saving now!!! :)

oh, if you wanna see fast, go to www.isitfast.com
go to videos. then click on F16vs.F1. it freaked me out. if you keep on searching there is a camaro z-28 getting stomped by a caravan and the baddest burnout involving a 1st gen. its crazy. i think the burnout is on page 3. just browse around. i think its marked like best burnout or something. i cant remember. it is awesome. makes you proud, hehe.

Someone needs to learn thier aircraft. The filename says F-16, the Title Says F-14, it is actually a F-18 one of the slowest jets the Navy uses.. an F-16 accelerates almost twice as fast as an F-18..
Very cool video link though..

whoa, whoa, whoa!!!! sorry man. im in army aviation not navy aviation. haha. sorry about the wrong name. i was typing all that from my memory. i still think its cool. did you see the burnout?

I think its fair to say the renesis and introduction of the RX-8 is the most important thing mazda has done since the introduction of the Miata (which some will argue saved the company). I don't agree that the RX-8 will be More of a sportscar than the RX7 is. The numbers are very good, the suspension, wheel size, etc is great. Until I see the RX8 pull a .97 on the skid pad, hit 0-60 in less than 5, and have top speed of 158 and lose the two extra doors, my bet is still with the 7 in terms of performance.

With that said when they put 2 doors and turbo charge it and get some torque in that machine I think it will be very untouchable. The intro of the RX-8 I'm betting if not successful will spell the end of the rotary. I believe it will be successful, I hope mazda did it right.

rotorbrain- thanks, those were some cool vid's... check-out this link, it has a whole bunch. Veilside GTR 0-300kph(186mph) dash in 13.72 seconds, fly-by's through Wangan Tunnel, Mr. Nagata's to name a few,were particularly incredible... http://www.exvitermini.com/


Respectfully... Mazda was nearly bankrupt in the mid-1970's in which the Japanese Gov't. saved Mazda... then in 1979 came one of the best selling sports car ever produced... the RX-7.
I think the mere fact that the RX-8 has 4-doors is your real hang up and to others as well. Understandably sports cars are considered as cars with 2-doors and to define the correct meaning of "performance" would be largely debateable. But clearly from an "Rotary design" point of view the Renesis in a 2 or 4 door will perform better than any Rotary ever produced... and, I'm not speculating, I'm just another die-hard Rotary enthusiast that truly understands the new design. As for low torque, the Rotary engines by design have always and will probably continue to produce low torque when compared to reciprocating engines. I too am hopeful it comes out right... because I didn't think it ever was right with the sequential twin turbo design. Because of the inherit low torque, was the reasoning for Sequential Turbochargers, but the Rotary's mid to high rpm characteristics, high heat and inefficiency of fuel combustion were fatal to turbochargers and the rotary engine itself. I think we need to understand that our latest rotary engine design is pretty much the same design from the early 70's. Adding turbos was great but the rotary was really in need of a totaly new design...a'la Renesis

-Sensei ;)