Satisfaction with turbo mods
06-30-2007, 08:34 PM
#26
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What does tuning our cars consist of exactly? Does that involve taking it to a performance racing shop and giving them specifications? Or do need to purchase new parts/pieces, upgrade/replace anything before boosting? Do you HAVE to have your car reprogrammed n such?
06-30-2007, 08:51 PM
#27
jersey fresh
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What does tuning our cars consist of exactly? Does that involve taking it to a performance racing shop and giving them specifications? Or do need to purchase new parts/pieces, upgrade/replace anything before boosting? Do you HAVE to have your car reprogrammed n such?
06-30-2007, 10:11 PM
#28
RX-8 = Japanese MG
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Rotaries need FI to be fun and drivable. Torque is a good thing.
I don't need to downshift on the freeway to accelerate and pass people.
Also, it is way more fun to drive hard around the twisties in the lower gears...you can actually do 'in like a lamb and out like a lion' instead of having dreary sluggish acceleration.
I'm sorry, but even going nuts with an NA build, you will not get a fraction of the gains of a turbo, especially torque.
I don't need to downshift on the freeway to accelerate and pass people.
Also, it is way more fun to drive hard around the twisties in the lower gears...you can actually do 'in like a lamb and out like a lion' instead of having dreary sluggish acceleration.
I'm sorry, but even going nuts with an NA build, you will not get a fraction of the gains of a turbo, especially torque.
06-30-2007, 11:02 PM
#29
the smartest move IS gettin it properly tuned by a professional. In some piston cars you can get away with a little error in the tune, but with a rotary one minor mistake will cost you your engine. If you plan on putting the money into a turbo investment def have a pro tune it properly before you even drive it.
My plan is fool-proof!
06-30-2007, 11:10 PM
#30
Rotards Unite!
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Glad someone posted this thread. I intend on buying the Greddy kit once I pass 10,000 miles. As much as I love this car, the stock power does leave a bit to be desired at times. Still is probably one of the most fun cars I've driven stock though.
07-01-2007, 02:19 AM
#31
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/so-you-wanna-tuner-100333/
07-01-2007, 03:06 AM
#33
Power!!
To me pro's are people that understand both the theory and the practical application and take both to the next level because of it. Anyone that has only one or the other is just hacking around.
07-01-2007, 09:08 AM
#34
Downhill Touge FTW!!
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I am also very glad someone posted this thread, there are very few if any threadsof people documenting their installs and giving feedback a week, a month, and three months later.
I basically joined this forum to get the feel of the FI aftermarket and what the people in the community are doing to pump that aftermarket up.
I know that the community is new...but i was/am a little dissappointed..
All that is really needed is more feedback. The peole are here, the mods are out there but they are rarely talked about in depth(when it comes to performance mods).
It sounds as if there are at least half a dozen or more people who have some kind of direct experience with fi'd 8's. And i wonder if those all have left all of their initial and than more experienced impressions here for others to learn from.
I basically joined this forum to get the feel of the FI aftermarket and what the people in the community are doing to pump that aftermarket up.
I know that the community is new...but i was/am a little dissappointed..
All that is really needed is more feedback. The peole are here, the mods are out there but they are rarely talked about in depth(when it comes to performance mods).
It sounds as if there are at least half a dozen or more people who have some kind of direct experience with fi'd 8's. And i wonder if those all have left all of their initial and than more experienced impressions here for others to learn from.
07-01-2007, 10:07 AM
#36
Expectations are everything....
If your expectations are too high, you will never be happy with any kind of FI.
Think of the work it takes to increase displacement on an old school piston engine, boring, stroking, hotter cams, new pistons, new valves, lifters, intakes, carbs...yada yada yada yada!!!! IE, it is a LOT of work. FI increases virtual displacement... it is a hell of a lot easier than the old school way, but it ain't easy.
If your expectations are too high, you will never be happy with any kind of FI.
Think of the work it takes to increase displacement on an old school piston engine, boring, stroking, hotter cams, new pistons, new valves, lifters, intakes, carbs...yada yada yada yada!!!! IE, it is a LOT of work. FI increases virtual displacement... it is a hell of a lot easier than the old school way, but it ain't easy.
07-01-2007, 09:47 PM
#41
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Well I hate to be the contrarian here but if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't. Basically I was one of the first to get the kit, and the Greddy was a very bare bones (at the time). The term bolt on is a fallacy. Basically pulled the fuel management for something far better, got a lot of accesories to improve the reliability, & had it tuned by some of the best tuners in the country (& was running it at 6.5 psi because the wastegate spring was defective) & it still blew the engine. There are some mitigating circumstances as the 04's had a problem with the engine so I don't know if that might have been a contributing factor. Also the original kits had the EManage Blue which was dog ****, the EManage Ultimate is supposedly better, not to mention Greddy has corrected some of the problems the initial version had. If you think you are getting into it for just the cost of the kit & the install don't even think about it. Set aside a good $5000+.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have done the 55 shot Zex nitrous kit (& had it tuned).
Or just stepped up (which wasn't available then) to the Mazsport kit which is twice the kit the Greddy is.
I loved the feel of the extra power when the kit was on. Truly I wish the RX8 came like that from the factory, but the kit was just a mess & compromised the reliability of the car which when it breaksdown becomes the #1 priority (i.e. pain in the ***) to you.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have done the 55 shot Zex nitrous kit (& had it tuned).
Or just stepped up (which wasn't available then) to the Mazsport kit which is twice the kit the Greddy is.
I loved the feel of the extra power when the kit was on. Truly I wish the RX8 came like that from the factory, but the kit was just a mess & compromised the reliability of the car which when it breaksdown becomes the #1 priority (i.e. pain in the ***) to you.
07-02-2007, 04:15 AM
#42
Seen my car keys?
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I hope no one else FI-s their 8. It makes mine more exclusive.
That, and I'm tired of listening to ppl winge cos they screwed up their cheap install, or didnt think they needed to tune the car.
I mean, what dumbass just bolts a turbo on a N/A car and expects to not have to tune it? Thats like going skydiving and thinking you can save on the hassle of a parachute.
For the record, mine took half a year to build, cost a bootload of cash and left me with the most incredible car I've ever owned.
I broke nothing.
Its over 8000km now since being FIed and is thrashed EVERY day.
It had hours on a dyno with the most experienced tuner within a 1000km radius to get just right.
It uses shitloads more fuel than stock and I don't care cos its fast as hell.
I would never go back to N/A, even if the motor blows tommorrow.
That, and I'm tired of listening to ppl winge cos they screwed up their cheap install, or didnt think they needed to tune the car.
I mean, what dumbass just bolts a turbo on a N/A car and expects to not have to tune it? Thats like going skydiving and thinking you can save on the hassle of a parachute.
For the record, mine took half a year to build, cost a bootload of cash and left me with the most incredible car I've ever owned.
I broke nothing.
Its over 8000km now since being FIed and is thrashed EVERY day.
It had hours on a dyno with the most experienced tuner within a 1000km radius to get just right.
It uses shitloads more fuel than stock and I don't care cos its fast as hell.
I would never go back to N/A, even if the motor blows tommorrow.
07-02-2007, 04:18 AM
#43
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07-02-2007, 08:33 AM
#44
Apexing at Oak Tree
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Right there with ya. Mine turbo is getting installed as we speak but I've gotten some additional stuff to help in cooling.
Koyo Radiator
Setrab Oil Coolers x2 (each is about twice the size as stock) with custom ducting to Mazdaspeed front nose
Larger intercooler
custom head shield wrapping around around coolant lines and oil line running to turbo
Mazsport Intake for GReddy turbo kit
I spoke with my installer for hours about all the details of FI before deciding to do so. They've done a ton or work for 20 years on rotary cars. They analyzed a number of blown 13B engines that were boosted and 9 out of 10 times the single issue was heat/charge temps to the engine. So the goal is to keep it as cool as possible under the hood and in the pipes.
Koyo Radiator
Setrab Oil Coolers x2 (each is about twice the size as stock) with custom ducting to Mazdaspeed front nose
Larger intercooler
custom head shield wrapping around around coolant lines and oil line running to turbo
Mazsport Intake for GReddy turbo kit
I spoke with my installer for hours about all the details of FI before deciding to do so. They've done a ton or work for 20 years on rotary cars. They analyzed a number of blown 13B engines that were boosted and 9 out of 10 times the single issue was heat/charge temps to the engine. So the goal is to keep it as cool as possible under the hood and in the pipes.
07-02-2007, 08:46 AM
#45
RX8 HA HA
Well I hate to be the contrarian here but if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't. Basically I was one of the first to get the kit, and the Greddy was a very bare bones (at the time). The term bolt on is a fallacy. Basically pulled the fuel management for something far better, got a lot of accesories to improve the reliability, & had it tuned by some of the best tuners in the country (& was running it at 6.5 psi because the wastegate spring was defective) & it still blew the engine. There are some mitigating circumstances as the 04's had a problem with the engine so I don't know if that might have been a contributing factor. Also the original kits had the EManage Blue which was dog ****, the EManage Ultimate is supposedly better, not to mention Greddy has corrected some of the problems the initial version had. If you think you are getting into it for just the cost of the kit & the install don't even think about it. Set aside a good $5000+.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have done the 55 shot Zex nitrous kit (& had it tuned).
Or just stepped up (which wasn't available then) to the Mazsport kit which is twice the kit the Greddy is.
I loved the feel of the extra power when the kit was on. Truly I wish the RX8 came like that from the factory, but the kit was just a mess & compromised the reliability of the car which when it breaksdown becomes the #1 priority (i.e. pain in the ***) to you.
If I had to do it all over again I probably would have done the 55 shot Zex nitrous kit (& had it tuned).
Or just stepped up (which wasn't available then) to the Mazsport kit which is twice the kit the Greddy is.
I loved the feel of the extra power when the kit was on. Truly I wish the RX8 came like that from the factory, but the kit was just a mess & compromised the reliability of the car which when it breaksdown becomes the #1 priority (i.e. pain in the ***) to you.
07-02-2007, 08:59 AM
#46
RX8 and a Truk....
I hope no one else FI-s their 8. It makes mine more exclusive.
That, and I'm tired of listening to ppl winge cos they screwed up their cheap install, or didnt think they needed to tune the car.
I mean, what dumbass just bolts a turbo on a N/A car and expects to not have to tune it? Thats like going skydiving and thinking you can save on the hassle of a parachute.
For the record, mine took half a year to build, cost a bootload of cash and left me with the most incredible car I've ever owned.
I broke nothing.
Its over 8000km now since being FIed and is thrashed EVERY day.
It had hours on a dyno with the most experienced tuner within a 1000km radius to get just right.
It uses shitloads more fuel than stock and I don't care cos its fast as hell.
I would never go back to N/A, even if the motor blows tommorrow.
That, and I'm tired of listening to ppl winge cos they screwed up their cheap install, or didnt think they needed to tune the car.
I mean, what dumbass just bolts a turbo on a N/A car and expects to not have to tune it? Thats like going skydiving and thinking you can save on the hassle of a parachute.
For the record, mine took half a year to build, cost a bootload of cash and left me with the most incredible car I've ever owned.
I broke nothing.
Its over 8000km now since being FIed and is thrashed EVERY day.
It had hours on a dyno with the most experienced tuner within a 1000km radius to get just right.
It uses shitloads more fuel than stock and I don't care cos its fast as hell.
I would never go back to N/A, even if the motor blows tommorrow.
It's not a matter of 'if', imo, it's a matter of 'when'.
07-02-2007, 10:08 AM
#48
Everything breaks. Everything. There are more N/A cars going in for new engines every week. You take how much you enjoy driving the car multiply by how much you get to drive the car and you compare that to how much you had to pay for everything. You either wind up satisfied or not. You could do a $20k turbo build and install on the car and pop the engine 200 miles later. There are no guarantees. Granted, if you are able to put a lot of experience and knowledge into the engine bay in the form of the people who work on your car and back them with the components and quality that severe power adding demands, the odds of getting 30k, 50k, 100k before "round 2" is much better. Your drivetrain is subject to two sources of abuse - the driver and the power. Drive as best you can (not as fast you can) and make the power as cleanly as you can.
And at the end of the day, you just have to be happy getting what you get, NA or FI.
And at the end of the day, you just have to be happy getting what you get, NA or FI.
07-02-2007, 01:38 PM
#49
RX-8 = Japanese MG
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Everything breaks. Everything. There are more N/A cars going in for new engines every week. You take how much you enjoy driving the car multiply by how much you get to drive the car and you compare that to how much you had to pay for everything. You either wind up satisfied or not. You could do a $20k turbo build and install on the car and pop the engine 200 miles later. There are no guarantees. Granted, if you are able to put a lot of experience and knowledge into the engine bay in the form of the people who work on your car and back them with the components and quality that severe power adding demands, the odds of getting 30k, 50k, 100k before "round 2" is much better. Your drivetrain is subject to two sources of abuse - the driver and the power. Drive as best you can (not as fast you can) and make the power as cleanly as you can.
And at the end of the day, you just have to be happy getting what you get, NA or FI.
And at the end of the day, you just have to be happy getting what you get, NA or FI.
I am on my second FI Renesis engine (the first one popped very quickly), and wouldn't have the car any other way.
Now, when the BMW 135i comes out, I might reevaluate my automotive motives and go the Bimmer route. Until then, the 8 in FI trim rocks hard.