fietguy

oh i couldn't agree more, i see a trend going N/A, lets just make the displacement just a wee bigger...if 1.3L can make 238 horses, does your projected 3.2 make around 500 natural horses?

who wants boost? we want power now!!!

Fanman

Also, we have only ourselves to blame. The twin turbos were semi-reliable until we (car enthusiasts) began strapping more & more aftermarket parts to the car. In stock form most of the hi-po cars are pretty reliable, it's just that the aftermarket is getting so big these days. If they did come out with a 300 hp, small turbo RX7/8, how long before people would be turning up the boost, or strapping on larger turbos.....my guess not long.

Ajax

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!


Just thought I'd be a tool.

Butt Dyno

Let sleeping threads lie.

john

-8-

how was this thread even found??? It started in 2002?

Senseny

There is no reason a Mazda installed and warranted(whoever manufactured) single turbo or supercharger couldn't be a part of the renesis's future. A change to the rotor face would change compression and possibly displacemant and a lower amount of boost could keep the hp at a decent number that allows some semblance of reliability (at least compared to highly modded 7's of all gens). The issues of emissions and fuel economy would be a solvable in an FI Renesis, where three rotor applications would definitely fail in even getting to the US market. Mark my words, FI will make a return in conjunction with the rotary, or else Mazda will have to copy the Lotus Elise's model (extreme weight reduction) to keep up with current performance specs of the top line sports cars of the world. BTW, I don't have a prob with the Elise's model, as unless the next 7 really impresses with its numbers, I am definitely going to think about an Elise when my current note is paid.

rx7&rx8

Have you seen pictures of the Elise's passenger's seat? It's 3/4 size of the drivers seat with a smaller footwell. Better have a small girlfriend (or none at all)...

Senseny

I could care less about the passenger seat, my wife is smaller than me (and hopefully always will be) by far and the Elise embodies all the things today that the FD did 10 years ago. Hopefully over the next few years Mazda responds with a 4th gen, no compromise rotary.

himitsu

The car that won the LeMans Endurance Race had 4 rotors and no turbo...

So Id say, yes turbo will take some of the reliability away.
The RX7 was quite a troublesome car, while the enthusiasts may have different opinions on this, the facts remained that it is a troublesome car, for the average joe at least.

T-von

No this is not neccessarily true. This all depends on what series 7 you are talking about. You guys have to remember that here in the states, we got the Red Headed step child versions of the 3rd gen(series 6 versions). Mazda (being the first to ever offer a sequential turbo system in a production car) odviously was going to have some reliability problems with that initial set-up. The series 7 & 8 were vastly improved with the much needed improvements to the vacuum system(which was the most unreliable part of the series 6 versions/US versions). Look at the Ford focus when it first came out(doesn't that car still have the recall record?). Just think how bad things would have been if that car was only available for a couple years in a particular market? Even that car has now proven itself to be reliable just like the series 7 & 8 have proven themselves. In the end, no manufacturer is perfect because thay all have to learn by trial and error.

rx8spiritR

but, rx8 is still a trouble car , it's the only new car that have so many problem so far. none of those piston car have problems. but the rx8 does, at least i have never heard of any flash from Nissan/Honda. but still it's a great car, and it will become legendary. I LOVE MY 8.

T-von

rx8spiritR, you have to look at this with a more open mind. Nissan/Honda will use a specific engine in more than one of their vehicles. Those engines have been in service for many years and have already had the bugs worked out of them when they get put into newer vehicles. Trust me Nissan & Honda have flashed their engines as well.

A flash isn't anything major. Like I said before.... "no manufacturer is perfect because they all have to learn by trial and error". The Rx8 is a completely brand new car and has no reliability history, therefore Mazda will have to fix any problem that "will" surface so overall the car eventually becomes more reliable. All manufacturers go through this phase. Thats why I used the Ford Focus example. That car was a POS when it first came out. Now it's a really good car for what it does. Any completely brand new vehicle will "always" have problems in it's first few years of production. This has nothing to do with it being rotary or piston powered.

apaul

Agreed. The MX5 Mazdaspeed boys seem to have it sorted out..try it...you'll love it, rotary or not.

paulg

In fact one of the decisions in buying an RX8 over say a Mini CooperS was long term reliability. The Cooper S has a supercharger. I was thinking how the car would be in say 5 years. Most likely at one point you would have to replace the supercharger(would wear out just like a turbo would). The Rotory also does not have pistons to worry about,as in the resulting damage if a timing belt breaks. I have spoken to people who have RX7's that have over 250,000 miles without a rebuild yet. So I would hope Mazda would stay naturally aspirated. I owned a WRX for a short will. It had great performance but I hated the turbo lag and the heat soak in the summer.The RX8 is no torque monster but even in its break in state right now,it feels better off the line then the WRX.

zoom44

holy ...... what the hell.... this thread started 2 years ago got resurrected this year and now, 6months later, again. nice

9100RPM

Properly engineered turbos are reliable, responsive and give that kick that a NA engine can't. I love turbos. My argument was that we have already seen two turbo RX-8s in OZ ; one with about 220 kW and the other reported as have 270kW. There have been no question of reliability just fantastic increases in torque and response. These are things that even the most one eyed RX-8 owner will agree is missing from the Renesis engine.
Dear Mr/MS Moderator I'm not baiting anyone just stating the fact that in OZ we have done this already and I want one from the factory!9100RPM[U]

zoom44

actually you are missing part of the story there. the company that did the first OZ one that i think you are talking about actually blew their engine and i believe have decided to not continue with a production for-sale kit. They decide that they could not make the boost they wanted to with this motor and make it reliable. as for the Mazda Australia one: it is an exact copy of the first. The execs at Mazda Aus borrowed the first company's car and just carbon copied their efforts. Also since they havent actually done anything besides bolt it on and push it into the Car Show it hasnt actually been proven to be even drivable let alone reliable. They made some vague promise to bring it to some other event later for reporters to have a chance to drive, but so far they have not done so to my knowledge. Mazda Australia have also stated there are no plans to sell this to the public either as a package or as a bolt on kit. So, really, no one in australia has reliably turbo'd an RX-8 yet either.

Rex4Life

Whatever Mazda does they need to put more power in the Rx-8. The cars hp simply doesn't compete with other modern sports cars.

I love the rotary and the Rx-8 styling, it fits my needs. I've been driving 7's for 16 years now and and someday I hope to get an 8, maybe I'll get a used one in a few years.

I've personally installed a S4 turbo engine in my 84 GSL-SE so I know a few things about turbos. Personally I feel a SC would be a better selection for the Rx-8--good low end torque would be great for street driving. Somewhere in the 300-350 hp range should be sufficient. If the boost is kept down to about 6 psi the engine reliability should still be pretty good. But then again, the rotary is optimal for using a turbo since it has such high exhaust gas velocity--so either way let's get some more power.

Just FYI, the S6 suffered mostly from an overly complex twin sequential turbo system with a myriad of vacuum lines. Even the freakin ECU did too much. And yea, Mazda tried to eek too much power with too little cooling--a very bad combination.

Oh and I hope you guys don't have primary/secondary fuel injectors, S4 to S6 ALL start having problems with secondary injectors coming online--seems to be a problem in the ECU design.