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Old 03-09-2022, 04:07 PM   #421
equ
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An rx-8 lacks torque - but for me - it would make a great daily driver with a stick. Something about that light weight, balance and smooth handling.
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Old 03-09-2022, 04:13 PM   #422
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An rx-8 lacks torque - but for me - it would make a great daily driver with a stick. Something about that light weight, balance and smooth handling.
Recognizing that I drive an E90 M3 (glass houses and all), I couldn't imagine driving something daily that gets such incredibly poor fuel economy for so little reward. A real engine would make such a difference.
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Old 03-09-2022, 04:14 PM   #423
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I'm not really clear why JV would want a BMW transmission for this, though. What's pushing you in that direction, JV?
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Old 03-09-2022, 04:24 PM   #424
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Quote:
Originally Posted by equ View Post
An rx-8 lacks torque - but for me - it would make a great daily driver with a stick. Something about that light weight, balance and smooth handling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick M3 View Post
Recognizing that I drive an E90 M3 (glass houses and all), I couldn't imagine driving something daily that gets such incredibly poor fuel economy for so little reward. A real engine would make such a difference.
I was okay with the RX8 15+ years ago. So much so that I briefly put a little effort into finding another one a couple years after that.

But it was a stick. No way I'd want to have anything to do with a slushie RX-8 unless it was to pull the engine and put something else in.

I defer to JV and what he's learned, but I'd imagine that almost anything else will put more weight on the nose and probably have a negative impact on balance. I don't think it would be that big of a deal, though. And the benefits of power and torque (and probably long term reliability) would more than offset.

I'm looking forward to seeing what it turns into.
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Old 03-09-2022, 04:29 PM   #425
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I'm not set on using an E46 6 speed, but it's the best option. The gear ratio spread is good, it's compact and relatively light, they are available for not very much money, and there is an existing solution to mate it to this engine. The other option is to do what the race car originally had which was an FD 5 speed. I like how those shift, but they are getting very hard to find and relatively expensive. An RX8 6-speed is also an option, however it would require a lot of custom work to make the shifter fit in the stock location. The idea with this car is to be a more streetable version of the race car
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Old 03-09-2022, 04:34 PM   #426
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I'm not set on using an E46 6 speed, but it's the best option. The gear ratio spread is good, it's compact and relatively light, they are available for not very much money, and there is an existing solution to mate it to this engine. The other option is to do what the race car originally had which was an FD 5 speed. I like how those shift, but they are getting very hard to find and relatively expensive. An RX8 6-speed is also an option, however it would require a lot of custom work to make the shifter fit in the stock location. The idea with this car is to be a more streetable version of the race car
Fair enough. I just wish it shifted a little better.
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Old 03-10-2022, 08:37 AM   #427
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Sure, same here. But it is the easiest solution that will work. I guess I wish I hadn't sold my last FD 5-speed. Those gearboxes shift well and I already have the clutch parts I would need. I don't love the gear ratio spread, though.
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Old 03-10-2022, 09:40 AM   #428
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Cool, good luck with this one!
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Old 03-20-2022, 04:24 PM   #429
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So, I borrowed a real-deal rotary compression tester and did a compression test on the gray car. Mid 7's across all faces on both rotors. That's not bad at all. A well-built broken in Renesis should do low 8's, and they start to have hot-start problems around the high 5's.

It has a stumble off-idle when it's cold, but it runs perfectly once it's slightly warmed up. Seems like the low-speed injectors might be a little unhappy, so I dumped an entire bottle of seafoam into the nearly empty tank, ran it for a bit and shut it off. I just took it to get fuel and it seems to run just fine.

Perusing FB Marketplace, it looks like I could pretty easily get $3500 for this thing so I'm going to flip it after putting new brakes on the front (I can't in good conscience have anyone drive this away with the brakes that are on it now). After digging into it, it's going to be a pain in the ass to convert this over to a manual - the brakes are wrong, the rear axles and hubs are wrong, and I need to find a bunch of other parts. I think it makes more sense to send this one on down the road and find a car that was a 6-speed to begin with and swap that.
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Old 03-20-2022, 05:44 PM   #430
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John V View Post
So, I borrowed a real-deal rotary compression tester and did a compression test on the gray car. Mid 7's across all faces on both rotors. That's not bad at all. A well-built broken in Renesis should do low 8's, and they start to have hot-start problems around the high 5's.

It has a stumble off-idle when it's cold, but it runs perfectly once it's slightly warmed up. Seems like the low-speed injectors might be a little unhappy, so I dumped an entire bottle of seafoam into the nearly empty tank, ran it for a bit and shut it off. I just took it to get fuel and it seems to run just fine.

Perusing FB Marketplace, it looks like I could pretty easily get $3500 for this thing so I'm going to flip it after putting new brakes on the front (I can't in good conscience have anyone drive this away with the brakes that are on it now). After digging into it, it's going to be a pain in the ass to convert this over to a manual - the brakes are wrong, the rear axles and hubs are wrong, and I need to find a bunch of other parts. I think it makes more sense to send this one on down the road and find a car that was a 6-speed to begin with and swap that.
Sounds like the smart choice. Unfortunately.
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