Rx8 Guy looking for input
 

First thing I would like to say is if this thread was made in the wrong place, mods please move it! I felt this was the appropriate place but if it isn't then my apologies.
Here's a little background information:
I have the 4 port 4 speed automatic Rx8... i have kinda mixed feelings about it. (4 port 4 speed = slow. but still handles great~!)
After some poking around though, ive come to learn that there are rx7's that run 4 port rotaries. I know that though the engine doesn't produce as much overall HP as a 6 port (due to what i remember to be air starvation at high rpms?), it does produce slightly more torque. (all speaking NA here of course) additionally, i have heard there is a lot of potential in the 4 port rotary, and that it could produce more power and torque over the 6 port in FI applications due to a longer power stroke, is this true?
I was somewhat interested in making my car stick shift, specifically a 6 speed MT for additional efficiency, but i didnt know if it would be better to run a 4 port with more torque, or go for a full swap to 6 speed 6 port? I have many, many questions and any help would be greatly appreciated. I have much to learn and wanted to ask my questions from a pretty knowledgeable crowd. (a lot of people are ignorant about this kind of stuff on the rx8club)
Maybe thats being a little too hopeful lol, but i at least want to learn more and get the opinion from many of the people here on what i should do.

do yourself a favor, trade your auto in for a manual car.

i have been considering that route for a while now. one of my concerns though (well more of a personal conflict) is that my car has very low mileage; only 44k since 04. all the 8's im finding up for grabs in the area (within 200mi) have much more than that (usually about twice as much) or are also automatic. additionally i wont be getting a lot of money for my car if i sell it even with the low miles it has. yeah i could always rebuild, but the other parts of the car still have the same amount of mileage and i dont feel like spending a arm and leg to begin replacing additional hardware on the car.

im putting all possible options into deep consideration including simply trading, but i would also like to receive other options as well.

I would not even consider the swap, there is just no substantial advantage. Eat the difference and trade for a 6-spd model. If it's been taken care of a bit more mileage is not fatal.

^+1
that's what I would do!

Here is an overlay with a 6 port Rx-8 MSP with aux ports closed( a 4 port) vs aux ports open( a wired open 6 port).

Same tune, pulls were within 10 minutes of each other...

if you want more power from an 8, do what all other rotary owners do and add forced induction...

spending hours and hours for minimal gains is for the headbanger all motor guys, of which you obviously aren't with an auto..

I was in the same dilemma sold my 8, bought an FD. Don't get me wrong I loved my 8 just found the mods I did just were not give me the torque I was craving without going to a turbo or a SC. The SC would be my first choice, but an expensive one at about 6-8 grand said and done. Porting is another good choice!

whp and torque arent as crucial to me as a easy swap. im really only looking to get manual transmission and keeping my low mileage chassis. guess not though

the swap will get rid of the mushiness of the car in response but eventually even the manual swap will bore you.

when it does, ill do more mods afterwards.

heres likely a better, much more reasonable question.. would it make more sense to buy a little MT miata or something and have fun and mod and crap, while i keep the 8 for show/weekend? (until i can handle a full swap for some real power)

you'll be able to go much farther with a miata than an 8 if you plan on taking the car to the track.

comparing a 4 seater coupe to a go kart, apples and oranges. only drawback is people will think you are :gay: driving the miata around town.

maybe a stock miata. properly setup and stuff they're pretty badass. its a very fine line though so you gotta be careful lol

Miata is a great car .. and an amazingcar when modded . depending on what you do to it ..

OFCOURSE I WILL SAY THIS ABOUT THE MIATA! .. It loves to snap on you . short wheelbase will do that . very different compared to the lazy RX8 that you can drift around a corner .

alright lets say i go the route of swapping in a older more reliable rotary engine that will give me much more power...what kinda price am i looking at?

If you don't have $10,000 laying around, I wouldn't bother. You can pick up a nice FC turbo for like $2,000.

4 port to 6 port swap is useless as you'd have to go with a standalone ECU, and you're likely to loose some of the niceties of having a newer car. Trade it in for a manual, get a second car, or spend $10k.

The 6 port will always be better for an NA application as it gives you variable port runners. This helps keep your torque curve where you want it. In a turbo application where there's positive manifold pressure, it's not as important to have variable length runners, and more important to get as much air in as possible.

honestly get rid of it i had a 6speed 6 port rx8 with 45kmiles hks hypermax coils exhaust and intake it handled amazing but i knew if i wanted more power i needed to get smart. i bought an NA gxl fc and had it as my beater, sent money on that because with $500 i was able to make more progress thani would spending it on the 8. I ended up getting rid of it and bought myself another fc, a 10th ae....dont regret it got rid of the payments and outrageous full coverage... i do hwever miss the immaculate super clean feeling of new car... :(

that smelled like a city bus

IF i really wanted... couldnt i buy an engine, transmission, etc from/for a FC or FD for that price if not less, and get them placed into my vehicle? (would take some work obviously)
i would get more power out of the car, as well as the reliability of those engines over the RENESIS.

manual transmission, and some power yes. but nothing crazy, this will still be a car i use regularly.
The Rx8 (in my opinion at least), is the most reasonable for my use and appeals to my tastes more than the fc's and most (but not all) FD's.

I can understand that sentiment. That's why I have an 8 for a daily and I'm looking for a first gen for a toy. I'd agree that your best bet is to trade for a manual rx8 rather than the hassle of a swap, unless you really enjoy working on your car and want to do it for the fun of it. I'm pretty sure the computer is different between the auto and the manual and I'm not sure how much of the harness is as well.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

i do really enjoy working on the car. the ecu is different as theres additional injectors/intake ports as well as lower fuel cut-off with the auto. im sure i could find a totaled rx8 somewhere for under $3,000 (if im wrong, or likely wrong, anyone feel free to correct me).
i could move the majority of the components over myself, some id need some assistance but nothing major. the hardest part would be dropping the engine and trans, and re-programming my keys to accept the new ecu's anti-theft codes/signals.
ill figure something out :scratch: