RX-8 40th Anniversary

just hit 70k miles with the original motor! started premixing and here soon I'm gonna get the dash replaced by finding a junkyard rx8 or buying a new dash for around 100$ here.. now I have a couple of questions.. Is there a governor on the car? Google wasn't very helpful in my days of searching, I want to try and get a faster 0-60 with a quicker acceleration response.. would that require a "tune" and get rid of the governor? I don't want a HP increase as it is already fast enough.. just faster acceleration also, what is the quickest you guys have gone from 0-60 in a rx8? I do have a manual transmission too.

CaymanRotary

Roughly 6 seconds ish for 0-60 mph. For me it happens right at the top end of 2nd gear. There is no limiter, faster acceleration only possible with forced induction. There are ways to get faster throttle response however. Lightweight flywheel being one improvement.

RX-8 40th Anniversary

no limiter huh?? crazy! i shall look into that though.. faster throttle response might even satisfy me as well! thank you!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Most cars don't have an acceleration limiter? Many have a top speed limit but it sounds like that's not the problem you're looking to solve.

​​​​​​If you want to accelerate faster either remove weight or add power. Little bits help but maybe not noticeably so: cat removal, lighter wheels, interior removal, lighter battery, etc. 20 pounds here and there adds up.

UnknownJinX

You want more acceleration without any HP increase... Uh, well, Loki is right, you could remove weight, but if you want to keep it daily drivable there isn't too much you can do.

NA mods get very expensive and will get to diminishing returns very quickly on an RX-8. At some point it just makes more sense to get it turbocharged.

As for 0-60, I never tested it because there are better cars for that if that's what you are after, like a Mustang. Realistically, mid-6s will be about right.

RX-8 40th Anniversary

Hmm, maybe a turbo might not be a bad idea if I look into it, definitely will remove weight though maybe! also- would street porting be anything I should consider? I know I've already started a thread but it just got me confused, but from what it seems a street port is not as bad and will help with reliability as well as a slight hp gain.. Google is very confusing so sorry for any misinformation

CaymanRotary

Turbo isnt great in this car. Honestly better to supercharge it. Keep in mind that both options are very expensive and only add marginal HP for the cost and can shorten the lifespan of the engine even with proper tuning. Other upgrades to the cooling system will also be necessary.

Street porting is viable on this car but it's the exhaust porting that is more important. The intake ports are actually really good from the factory but it's the exhaust porting that is the complete mess with this engine design. The RX8 is a high compression engine and uses a very restrictive exhaust port setup for what I assume is emissions reasons.

With a wider exhaust port and a more free flowing exhaust system you can make a bit more power and coupled with a solid rebuild you would have better than factory power and acceleration. Add with it the lightweight flywheel and that should be enough. You should be at around 210 wheel horse power just leaving it NA which is plenty for such a small car unless you are racing.

UnknownJinX

As I mentioned, for a street-driven car, there is little you can do to really remove weight. Things like forged wheels aren't cheap.

Porting work could be worth it when your current engine is dying and you are looking at a replacement keg since you are gonna have to pull the engine out anyway and the work can be done on the replacement engine before it goes in. I can't see the point of taking a healthy engine out, port it, and then put it back in, though. The cost is too high for the level of gain.

Personally, if I have to pick, I would still pick turbocharging. Rotary gives you so much free energy in the exhaust. Renesis isn't great for it but as long as you aren't greedy and you have a good tune, I can't see why not. If anything, I would rather focus on low-end torque since that's what the car needs.

I wonder how streetporting affects low-end torque. Again, that's the weak point of this car, and a bigger flow area isn't exactly great for low-end torque.

RX-8 40th Anniversary

hmm okay.. well I guess when the engine dies I'll get the exhaust port modified! I'll probably still think about the turbo, but honestly I think just the exhaust modification might be enough, in the mean time I'll do some actual proper exhaust piping for my rx-8! or heck even a light-weight flywheel replacement when it goes out!

i was also offered to watch this video to "really" get an idea