Well after several days of hard work the new (new to my car) 13B is in and running. I bought a 28,000 mile 2004 13B out of a roll over from auto wrecking yard in Bakersfield. Fired first try and after warming up took it for a drive. Runs great. 8500rpms no problem. Temp stayed in middle, oil pressure good. Will drive it a few miles today and change oil and filter just in case. Core charge of $100 but too many spares to send back to them. Engine came with everything but alternator and starter. I was shocked at the price of spark plugs. $25 at O'Reilys!! The old plugs worked just fine. Any advice would be welcome. My first Mazda.

 

Yep, the sparkplugs for the rotary are a bit unique. Welcome aboard! Suggest you read up on rx8help.com, it has most of the introductory info.

​​​​​​At 28k I expect the engine is in decent shape, make sure you have fresh or known-good coils and catalytic converter so that whatever killed your first engine isn't still in the car.

 

The first engine died because the owner didn't take care. He over heated and blew seals. Rather than rebuild it was less expensive to do the swap. I got the car with the blown motor for money he owed me.

 

You made the right decision. Forget all that rebuild nonsense and just swap in a known good engine. Glad that it worked out well for you. Ignition system components are expensive for this car because of its unique engine. Definitely should think about swapping in new coils, wires and plugs. Well done.

edit: Also look at upgrading your cooling system and ensure your exhaust and cat are flowing freely with no obstruction. If the cat from the wrecked RX8 isn’t damaged I would scoop up that part as well. They are about $2,000 if you want a new one.

 

Thank you, Cats are illegal to sell in California. EPA wants you to buy a new one..Exhaust flows fine..I did put in a new water pump and it seems to cool just fine. Yesterday I warmed it up and drove about 10 miles on country roads and temp didn't get up above normal. Everything seems fine. Ran it up to 8500rpm in 4th gear and ran out of road. Good acceleration. I am impressed at how good it performs. My first drive in a Mazda. Car has 59,915 miles and needs tires but all in all a great ride. May also replace struts. Tires first to find out how much they will help. Right rear Cooper has tread showing. What do you think of HanKook performance tires? Any suggestions.

 

Definitely dont cheap out on tires this is a performance car. It's very well built, near 50/50 weight distribution, solid chassis and everything. Definitely stick with brand names and Hankook's are perfectly fine. I run Michelin sports.

 

I'd suggest monitoring temperature with an OBD gauge, like an UltraGauge, or with a reader. The dash gauge doesn't move from normal until you're flirting with seal failure: 230+
Hankooks are good tires, are you planning to track at all or just street?
Glad you like it.

 

TRACK or STREET? Good question. As of right now just making it a good driver. Struts, tires then we'll see. Thanks for all the help.