4 ms·

The scrap metal isn't really worth all that much. Maybe the cat is worth something. I do agree though that it'd be great to be able to buy new high-performan

by elihu 5y ago

The scrap metal isn't really worth all that much. Maybe the cat is worth something. I do agree though that it'd be great to be able to buy new high-performance conversion motors for a reasonable price. (I'm working on an RX-8 conversion with a Netgain Hyper9. It's a decent motor, but 120 horsepower isn't a lot compared to the ~230 hp engine it originally had, or the motors that come in mid-range modern EVs.) On the other hand, a smaller, more powerful motor would probably need a lot of cooling. The Hyper9 is air cooled, and is supposedly about 96% efficient when it's in its optimal range. Sometimes it's nice to have things be simple. (The motor controller generally does need water cooling. It's not technically mandatory, but highly recommended.)

kingcharles 5y ago
How many death threats have you received for the "heresy" of removing the rotary engine from the RX-8?
- robin_reala 5y ago
  They typically remove themselves.
  - elihu 5y ago
    I wish that were literally true, it would have been a lot easier. Those engines are heavy (especially with the exhaust manifold/alternator/flywheel/etc.. hanging off it).
- elihu 5y ago
  None. I bought the car with a bad engine in the first place, so it's not like I threw away a perfectly good engine. (I even took the old engine to a guy that rebuilds rotaries; he took it apart and said there weren't any parts that were worth trying to reuse.) This is true of a lot of conversions: they aren't "destroying" a perfectly good ICE engine, they're salvaging a car that would otherwise be sent to the wrecker because it doesn't work anymore. I think the RX-8 is a great platform for conversion because it's a nice, reasonably modern car and they can be had for almost nothing if the engine needs rebuilding, or is too damaged to be rebuilt.
  - kingcharles 5y ago
    When I was heavily in the rotary scene back in the early 2000s people would get lynched for even hinting about putting a ICE block into their RX-?.
    - elihu 5y ago
      That may be true of some rotary enthusiasts still; I don't really know that many. I could see it being more of a thing with RX-7s, which are kind of rare and expensive. RX-8s aren't super common, but they're also not hard to find. And if the engines are due for a rebuild, they're sort of like old pianos -- people will practically give them away. Also, climate change is a thing. I'd expect more people are aware of that these days, and its hard to justify running such an inefficient engine even if they are admittedly really cool.
spike021 5y ago
Do you have the swap project posted anywhere? Would love to follow. I'm more in favor of a K-swap if anything but I've seen videos of an FD3S with some electric motor and it seemed pretty rad; I lack the details for it, though.
- elihu 5y ago
  I don't. I've been meaning to, just haven't gotten around to it. There's a guy in the UK doing a pretty similar conversion documented on Youtube. He's using a Leaf motor and batteries I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ACg1JTqtY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ACg1JTqtY

by elihu 5y ago

kingcharles 5y ago

How many death threats have you received for the "heresy" of removing the rotary engine from the RX-8?

robin_reala 5y ago
They typically remove themselves.
- elihu 5y ago
  I wish that were literally true, it would have been a lot easier. Those engines are heavy (especially with the exhaust manifold/alternator/flywheel/etc.. hanging off it).
elihu 5y ago
None. I bought the car with a bad engine in the first place, so it's not like I threw away a perfectly good engine. (I even took the old engine to a guy that rebuilds rotaries; he took it apart and said there weren't any parts that were worth trying to reuse.) This is true of a lot of conversions: they aren't "destroying" a perfectly good ICE engine, they're salvaging a car that would otherwise be sent to the wrecker because it doesn't work anymore. I think the RX-8 is a great platform for conversion because it's a nice, reasonably modern car and they can be had for almost nothing if the engine needs rebuilding, or is too damaged to be rebuilt.
- kingcharles 5y ago
  When I was heavily in the rotary scene back in the early 2000s people would get lynched for even hinting about putting a ICE block into their RX-?.
  - elihu 5y ago
    That may be true of some rotary enthusiasts still; I don't really know that many. I could see it being more of a thing with RX-7s, which are kind of rare and expensive. RX-8s aren't super common, but they're also not hard to find. And if the engines are due for a rebuild, they're sort of like old pianos -- people will practically give them away. Also, climate change is a thing. I'd expect more people are aware of that these days, and its hard to justify running such an inefficient engine even if they are admittedly really cool.

spike021 5y ago

Do you have the swap project posted anywhere? Would love to follow. I'm more in favor of a K-swap if anything but I've seen videos of an FD3S with some electric motor and it seemed pretty rad; I lack the details for it, though.

elihu 5y ago
I don't. I've been meaning to, just haven't gotten around to it. There's a guy in the UK doing a pretty similar conversion documented on Youtube. He's using a Leaf motor and batteries I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ACg1JTqtY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ACg1JTqtY