Yeah, and the changes were just going to back to what they already knew the Renesis needed. That is what bugs me. I agree for the most part on catbacks which is why I just had Magnaflow tips welded to my stock catback. But, I must admit for the prices I paid, I love my HKS catback and BHR mid pipe. There is nothing like a rotary at full song, when I ride in a stock 8 it just feels and sounds lame to me now

 

I agree completely with that. I bought a Borla for mine because I loved the sound. Screw performance, I just wanted it to sound awesome. I've got a RP Supercat sitting at home that's going to go on it too. Once again, for sound and not performance.

There's nothing like the sound of a rotary with a nice exhaust note at full song. I absolutely love it!

 

I installed a Borla on a local owners 40th and was instantly jealous. It is the perfect sounding exhaust for the 8 IMO. I hated my HKS with my catless SR midpipe, if I had not gotten teh BHR pipe I would have ditched the HKS.

 

This is my second RX-8 and this is my second Borla cat-back. If that doesn't speak towards how awesome the thing is then I don't know what will! It sounds perfect! My only complaint that it's just a little on the quiet-side so I'm hoping the RP Supercat will help with that. I don't want to go catless because it really makes make the car pretty raspy and I'm not a fan of that at all.

The HKS/reso-pipe combo sounds awesome from what I've heard on Youtube. It makes the car sound very naughty.

 

Yeah, I have supercat in my garage, it should make the Borla a bit louder without affecting sound too much. I have a rx7store.come resonated pipe that I tried with the HKS that still was too loud. The resonator on the BHR pipe is weird but it works, no raspiness at all.

 

there seems to be some confusion here, the warming up has little to do with oil and oil temp. It has everything to do with getting the iron side plates and aluminum housings up to the same temp before being too hard on it. which obviously would mean the oil is up to temp too.

I really am not interested in each persons habits, regardless if you warm it up sitting in the driveway while playing video games or if you gently drive it around town before you get on it. As long as you make sure the entire engine is up to temp.

a, but dont listen to me who has had more than 8 rotaries, rebuilt a few, ported a couple, tuned the so called non tunable Holley 600 on a stock port 12a that would burn damn near any NA engine out there, unless mad money was thrown into a V8 and had nearly 180,000 miles on the original 04 renesis. why would I know what Im talking about?

enjoy the engine fellas and quit being such pansy asses. Get a little FB attitude in you

and yea make sure you hit that 9,300 red line

 

Thank you for enlightening us. If the oil is at operating temps then so are the housings, rotors, etc. It's a little more complicated than that but I am sure you know that. Oh, and hitting that 9300 RPM redline in a Renny (which is really about 8800RPM if you are using the factory tach) does more damage than good. Eric Meyer has discussed this at length I believe. The Renesis does not make any additional power up there and sustained 9,000RPM+ running can damage things.

But hey you have owned 8 rotaries and rebuilt a few so I am sure you knew all that already .

 

So are you for the extreme babying or against it? If you're the type that is for it, then the fact that you're on your third engine shows that even this extreme maintenance doesn't help... Might as well just treat it like a normal car!

 

^ +1 My engine has been replaced at 69k and now I'm on 82k and no problems whatsoever after I've babied it. Before I had my engine replaced I used to treat it like my bitch, which might have caused my engine to go out. I know the rotary can take abuse but not all the time.

 

You obviously havent raced much at the strip.

go run your car, dont hold it to 9 G's, then turn around run it again and hit 9 and you tell me which numbers are better.

and they key word is sustained. You dont want to sit at 9, you want to hit it and shift. If you hold it the water pump creates cavitation and you dont move much coolant. Unless of course you get under drive pulleys and either file down the sharp edges on the impeller or buy an aftermarket high flow pump. Which I think would be Mazmarts?

God, this is why I rarely post on here, too many snively cry babies that think they know everything from others experiences.

get off the comp and go live life cowboy

 

The first engine lasted to 22k. No mods, 2-3 drag strip days. Oil changed at the dealer every 3k. Lost compression. 2nd engine lasted 74k (updated OMP flash) saw daily commutes of 70 miles or so, premixed for last 30k of life, red lined daily, never driven cold, auto crossed about once a month with regular oil changes, K&N filter cleanings, etc. Third engine is at 20k, SOHN, Mazmart OP mod, BHR ignition, and premixed since break in. I also have a Cobb tune, BHR midpipe, BHR Fuel Pump, HKS catback, etc., etc.

Is regular maintenance babying? I guess maybe my warm up habits are and washing the car a couple of times a week are. But either way, plenty of people who do not baby their 8's have had engine replacements.

Thanks for the life advise But I'm on the computer all day at work whether I'm here or not. I enjoy your posts so please don't get butt hurt, this is how other new rotary heads get educated (or mis guided depending on how you look at it).

Now,

The RX-8 is not a good drag car. But I have made weekly visits to the drag strip for the past 15 years of life in previous drag oriented turbocharged cars (GSX,WRX,Civic) . I ran close to the fastest 1/4 times on a stock RX-8 on this site and in San Antonio so save me your opinions about how to properly drag an 8. I have seen fully modded 8's run in the 15's consistently and mid 14's are rare but not unknown for a few of us that have posted up our time slips. Lastly, if you knew anything about the Renny water pumps you would know that Mazda changed the design of the impeller on the Renesis water pump and all remans come with this updated water pump. I have never heard of or seen data on 1/4 mile times being affected by cavitation. But of course very few RX-8's are drag driven seriously so I assume that is why. That said, the Mazmart pump and thermostat are great for dealing with heat issues on a road track. Thanks for the discussion, I love this stuff

 

I just got a used 2004 RX-8 this past week after having a ford focus for the last 8 and a half years... very low milage car, has 53,600k miles on it.

 

Great! Sounds like this is your first rotary. Did you get a history of what has been done so far and the manual in the glove box? I hope you read the stickies they have a lot of info. You are aware this is an oil injected engine so you need to check your dip stick more often.

 

Yep, first rotary. the car is like 200 pounds heavier than my focus, lol.

Just having a bit a trouble adjusting to a 6-speed after driving a 5-speed for 8 years, lol.

 

Pretty soon you won't be even thinking about that your brain will take that over. Please fill in more info on yourself ......US?

 

Congrats! Consider premixing and don't skimp on oil changes

 

So it sounds more like a crap shoot then in the end.... Regular maintenance is a given, but even those who baby the car (pre-mix, warm up routines, frequent ingnition bundle replacements, etc) aren't spared engine replacements either. Definite crap shoot!

 

It's a crap shoot in any car.


My RX-8's engine has lasted longer than the engine of my 2001 Toyota Corolla.


Must mean that RX-8s are more reliable than Corolla's right?




I am fond of relating our engine to our hearts. You can stay on a healthy diet, keep your weight in check, get regular exercise, get regular checkups with the doctor, and you can still die of a heart attack at 40. You can also drink a 6-pack a night, eat fast food for every meal, smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day, never leave your couch unless you have to and still live to be 80.

It's all about managing risks. For both your heart and your engine.

 

RIWWP: Don't think I ever told you this, but I love that quote in your sig... It helps me get over the fact that I switched from a 50 mpg diesel Jetta to a 13mpg rx8 hehe.

 

My wife complained once, and I sat down with her and tallied up her spending on shoes, purses, eating out, movie tickets, travel to see friends and family, etc...

I spend less in gas. Total. Including what I would have spent anyway if I had a high mileage vehicle. She doesn't complain any more

 

Well I look at it this way... If I get another TDI, it will need tuning and nozzles for performance upgrade. Minimum. Then if I want to do a 6 speed swap, get a sport suspension, upgraded stereo, upgraded headlights... Let's just say, that buys a lot of gas for the 8 that already has all that

 

No ****, my ex wife hated my hobby and always bitched about the money but I sure as hell never bitched when she wanted a bigger house, DB purse, expensive clothes, expensive shoes, etc. Now I can get what I want, when I want (within reason of course)

 

You are about to get 5 digits on your post count. Is that something you want?

 

Meh, I don't care about post counts. This site keeps me occupied between my duties

 

I just reached 130,200 miles on my 8.