RAGE91169

Has anyone finished there turbo or super charger kits as of yet. There are to many posts with claims of products and months later no show of the power where is my power. I hate seeing 350Z's, STI's, SRT4'sg35's and Mustang GT's knowing I can get my ahole spanked without them trying. I just want the 8 to be all it can be.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I know of a couple RX-8s that have no trouble dealing with stock versions of the cars you mention. Actually, these 8's I am thinking of will blow the doors off of those cars and do so on stock wheels and tires. There are plenty of upgrades available which turn the RX-8 into a respectable 1/4 mile performer and they don't even bother with FI to do it.

Charles

epitrochoid

some post that search picture...

your answer is NO. and even if there was, we wouldn't be into STi territory.

Fanman

I think Charles is in STi territory, and then some.

reddragonmd

He is using nitrous isnt he?

zoom44

yes

Fanman

Well, it's a power adder. Rage as of now there isn't a finished SC or turbo kit out there for the RX8. Petit & Blitz are the ones we hear about the most on the SC side with about 50 hp throughout the rev range. The Speedforce Racing/SSR Engineering turbo unit is what we hear from the turbo side. They are claiming 300 hp at the wheels. If true, that is MASSIVE. I would think an SFR Turboed car, IF it truly is 300 whp, and 210 lb.-ft of tq at the wheels would run with anyof those cars (stock). I just might be tempted, and they are only about a 150 mi. away from me. Damn, the dark side is calling me.

epitrochoid

stock sti's can run high 12's

reddragonmd

Id rather not have to throw nitrous on my car to have it compete in the 1/4 mile with cars that have minimal mods to go 11-12 seconds.

I think the point is without some form of forced induction (i personally consider nitrous a form of FI, even if it isnt in the "true" sense of the word), the rx8 cannot realistically compete in the acceleration factor of overall performence.

did i word that politically correct enough? :D

Fanman

You are quoting a very optimistic time for the STi. Most tests show that it is a low 13 sec. car (13.1 to 13.4). Have high 12 sec. been done...yes. It's kind've like that S2000 that once ran 13.66 stock, or that M3 that ran a 12.6 stock. One person in a a few hundred does it, and that becomes what everybody can do. With a 65/75 shot I'm pretty sure Charles is in the 12's.

reddragonmd,

You are pretty much SOL if you are looking for the RX8 to compete with the 350Z, EVO, or STi in terms of straightline performance. This engine is like a 4 cyl engine sans turbo/SC. It's closer to an S2000 than a VQ series 350Z. Even with a rumored enlarging of the ports for the MS RX8 they are looking at 255 hp, 170 lb. ft. of torque. Short of strapping on a SC or Turbo it will not compete with the cars mentioned above. It's better than the Lancer (regular 4 cyl. engine), but not as robust as a EVO (hi-po 4 cyl w/turbo). There are tradeoffs to each car. In the EVO/STI you get a great/powerful engine & good suspension, but the rest of the car is atrocious. They are to the Japanese crowd, what the Mustang/Camaro are to the american car crowd.

Icemastr

Correct me if Charles has posted some time slips or even said he is in the 12's but I I am pretty doubtful that he is in the 12's with a 75 shot of nitrous. When my 93 RX-7 was makign 350 at the wheels I only ran a 12.6 on street tires and not for lack of drag racing ability. I might not be a great drag racer but thats one of the better times over on the RX-7 board. IRS and the 8's lack of low end torque take away from the cars ability to cut excellent 60 ft times needed to get that low of an E.T. frankly I would be pretty happy hitting a mid 13 on street tires with a 75 shot in an RX-8 and maybe making high 12's with some slicks.

Want to beat an SRt4, 350Z, and Mustang GT? Quit racing on the streets and hit up an SCCA event.

epitrochoid

go on and throw the STi in there too, and a z06, cobra R...alot of the people that own those cars cannot drive them in an autocross

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

On October 30th I will be affirming those low 13's I have told all of you about in the past. Just to clarify things, I have the following mods on an otherwise stock, fully-loaded, GT model:

1) Bonez cat-removal midpipe w/resonator
2) Borla cat-back exhaust
3) SR Motorsports flywheel and pulleys
4) ACT Extreme Duty clutch set
5) Racing Beat swaybars and springs
6) Zex nitrous system w/55 h.p. jets installed
7) Goodridge stainless brake lines
I had an R.E. intake on it until last week when I became curious as to just how much, if any, improvement it was offering.

To date, my best time has been recorded on a G-Tech as 13.322@109 with stock wheels and tires. I am fairly positive that with slicks I could break into the 12's since I am getting absolutely no traction in first gear and mostly through second. This is why I am pleasantly surprised at how amenable the 8 is to certain upgrades or mods. I am also very confident that switching to the 75 h.p. jets will get me into the 12's with stock rollers. If there were a way to convey to all of you the way my car pulls hard from 6K to 9K, besides letting y'all drive it, I would do it. Suffice it to say that those in my area who own the feared STi's, Evo8's, and the other reputed RX-8 killers, are not all that they are cracked up to be. A good friend of mine with a 325 dynoed whp Evo8 is very impressed with the performance of my car, so far, and neither of us can wait until next spring when I do a few more things to it.

One thing that puzzles me is the seeming scepticism expressed by some of my fellow RX-8 owners regarding the performance of our cars. All I can say is that I have had a great time this past Summer shocking the Hell out of Mustang, Camaro, GTO, Evo8, and WRx/STi owners by walking away from them in various comparison opportunities. I can only hope the rest of you have the same luck I have had so far.

Charles

Snoochie

Man Charles you're just a beast. Did you do those mods in that order? I like all of em cept the exhaust. Was it worth it? Oh yeah and are you gonna do the ecu route at some point?

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Beast? Is that a compliment? Just kidding.

The first thing I did was the Borla cat-back and the rear swaybar. Then I did the Rotary Extreme intake. I am still undecided whether or not the intake did anything for me. I'll be swapping back and forth during the test-and-tune on the 30th to see what happens. Each of these mods has their own characteristics. Here they are;

1) The cat-removal is typically worth 20 h.p., or so. The sound is a bit louder than most would like but the gain is worth it to me.
2) The Borla is a nice-sounding unit and well-engineered. I wish I could compare it to the Racing Beat system at no expense of my own.
3) The flywheel, clutch, and pulleys were done at the same time so I cannot comment on them individually. However, it is my opinion that these also contribute largely to my 14.1 e.t. without the nitrous.
4) The clutch becomes necessary when using nitrous. If I were to do it over, I may have stuck with the street version instead of the Extreme Duty. The extreme pressure plate is pretty darn heavy.
5) The swaybars and springs are nothing short of awesome for the price and ease of installation. The rear bar eliminated wheel hop under most conditions, even with nitrous.
6) The Zex kit is also another awesome-for-the-money mod. With thoughtful and careful installation and use, you cannot beat the simplicity. Even the 55 h.p. jets make quite an impact, somewhere around a full second reduction in the 1/4 mile e.t. and 10 m.p.h. gain.
7) The Goodgridge lines make for much better feel and fade control of the brakes. I'll be replacing the clutch line asap.

The ECU/EMS is next on my list. I don't think I will be able to effectively accomodate the 75 h.p. jets without it. I have tried 110 octane fuel as a detonation controller but to no avail. I may have not been detailed enough in my efforts but, just the same, I'd rather wait until I can re-map the A/F ratios and timing to deal with the 75's. I have the next four phases of upgrades/mods thought out and then I will begin to consider the engine internals and stuff like a street-porting job.

Charles

epitrochoid

someone told me if you have a nitrous tank and you have an accident, your insurance company wont cover you...there any truth to that?

truemagellen

some companies yes...probably Geico, I f_cking hate Geico

if you are using a radar detector they won't cover you either (they own a laser gun company)...plus they have those annoying as hell commercials

epitrochoid

yeah, i ****** hate geico too...i have liberty mutual, anyone know for sure?

Snoochie

Yeah beast is a compliment. Just means you're that intense.

So you'da stuck with the stock clutch set-up? Do you drive everywhere without the cat? That'd be fun to do but sounds a little bit too loud. Would the Borla or Racing Beat exhaust keep it the quietest? What do you do about the O2 sensor? Also I got the Green Air Filter for the gas mileage and the lack of trust for aftermarket intakes. But I've heard that the stock filter is actually better is that true?

Yeah sorry I turned this into the Snoochie asks Charles questions thread but, whuteva I do what I want.

BaronVonBigmeat

Err wait...Charles, you're using the stock ECU with no piggybacks or anything? (Isn't that sort of bad when you're adding O2 to the combustion via nitrous?) Anyway, can't wait to see what you run with a well-tuned ECU...maybe the Wolf replacement they are working on?

Also, have you had any transmission problems yet?

red22

I bought a K&N air filter 4 my 6MT and it takes a while for the car computer to know that its sucking up more air but you cant go wrong with a K&N air filter. I'm happy with mine

Fanman

There have been quite a few RX8's that have had idling issues with this unit, and dynos done on this upgrade show only a few hp at the high rev range. A power adder, but not cheap, and not a whole lot. Please don't show the dyno from their website (showing 8-9 hp gain). many people on this board can show their dynos with 2-3 hp gain, and only on the top end.

rotarygod

Back to the original post. Why does anyone care whose car is faster? If you mod your car and beat them, what are you going to do when they mod theirs and beat you??? There is ALWAYS a faster car.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

After Rotarygod's comment, I am just glad that I derive my masculinity from other things. I am not afraid to race anyone because losing is not an insult to my ego. It is all in fun, for me. A well-tuned or modded car is what it is and to do anything less than compliment the builder/driver of such is immature. Of course, there are others who would say that to modify the RX-8 is, in and of itself, an immature thing to do.

Charles

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I was not saying that I would have, or even could have, stuck with the stock clutch. I meant that I may have replaced my stock clutch with one a little more streetable instead of the Extreme Duty version that I have. Managing that one is a bit of a pain, but I guess I'll have to wait until the next replacement to try another one. It should be noted that even the Extreme Duty model from ACT has an Exedy disc that looks an AWFUL LOT like the factory disc. It is the pressure plate that makes the biggest difference, most the time. My cat has been removed but I still have the factory pipe in case I need to re-install it. The sound takes a minute to get used to but even my girlfriend likes it now. My guess between the Borla and RB exhaust is that the RB would have a more mellow and street-friendly tone. Both my O2 sensors are in place but I have a CEL all the time, now. Been that way since I got the intake. I don't know about the stock filter vs. other filters but, if I the factory intake is better than the R.E. I had in it's place I should run better than 13.3 with a fresh tank of nitrous. I'll comment on that later when I have results. I got a "wet" nitrous system so as to avoid issues with the ECU. Adding 55 h.p., so far, has gone very well. With the ability to tune for higher levels with a new ECU I can prep for the 75 h.p. shot. The reason others have had trans problems, while I haven't, I believe comes from driving technique. It is my belief that the RX-8's transmission does not like the bang-shifting because it has highly sensitive synchros designed for smooth road-race-type shifting as opposed to drag race styles. I used to find myself frustrated with the stock trans until I began to relax my shifting efforts. Now, quick shifting is a breeze. It also helps to have a light flywheel. If anyone would like more detailed info, feel free to p.m. me.

Charles