Dusterbd13-michael said:
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
The hpde and track day goals will put a lot of heat in them, so its more of an "eye toward the future" thing. But at the moment, based on weight at 2017 challenge and google of rx8, they're almost exactly the same. Id actually expect the spring rates to be close enough to try too!
Yeah, I think stock rx8 everything up front would be a huge upgrade.
Also, to put this little nugget in your brain, rx8s have factory carbon fiber driveshaft that uses a ford front ujoint (1310?) and slip yoke. I forget the length but when Ian and I were looking at drivetrain swaps, it was close. 350z have carbon shafts to look into as well.
Not sure what rear your running but you may need to budget for a different swaybar. I'm going to guess your CG will be a bit higher then the front cg of an RX8 so you may need a pretty stiff bar to keep your rear suspension happy.
When mixing and matching suspensions things to look out for that can have unintended consequences are, Roll Center heights, wheelbase changes (Change Ackerman), and Vehicle CG. Just need to keep these in mind as your selecting parts. If you bring the matched Front and rear over it's generally a little easier to ensure the result will be happy.
In reply to nocones :
I have no qualms about upgrading front swaybar and springs.
Rear is planned to remain leaf springs and sliders with the 8.8 at this time. It has the explorer rear sway bar with a leaf pack that felt right at the time built from explorer and amc leafs.
Im unsure of how to look into, or even measure the things youre talking about if im honest. Hell, im not sure what they would feel like from the drivers seat either.
But i would guess that an ls swapped rx8 would have a similar cg of an ls swapped amc spirit, along with Similar weight and wheelbase. Track width matched tbe explorer rear!
Edit: wheelbase is 10 inches shorter on the spirit.
Clearly Mazda used the AMC Spririt as an engineering benchmark when creating the RX-8.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
Clearly Mazda used the AMC Spririt as an engineering benchmark when creating the RX-8.
If you want a world class car, copy one.
If you want an rx8, copy an amc.
I need to find a way to word that into a sticker on the amc....
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
Dusterbd13-michael said:
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
The hpde and track day goals will put a lot of heat in them, so its more of an "eye toward the future" thing. But at the moment, based on weight at 2017 challenge and google of rx8, they're almost exactly the same. Id actually expect the spring rates to be close enough to try too!
Yeah, I think stock rx8 everything up front would be a huge upgrade.
Also, to put this little nugget in your brain, rx8s have factory carbon fiber driveshaft that uses a ford front ujoint (1310?) and slip yoke. I forget the length but when Ian and I were looking at drivetrain swaps, it was close. 350z have carbon shafts to look into as well.
Hmm...
Have to see how long a Saginaw four speed is. If i can make that work, it would be AWESOME.
Would an IRS from a Lincoln Mark 8 be an upgrade from the leaf springs in the rear? The track width should be similar to the Explorer 8.8 you already have. Should be pretty easy to find in a junkyard.
Question and a comment!
Question:
Can anyone with an NC or RX8 measure the width of their car at the front tires? Aka, from outside of front tire to outside of front tire, what's the width? I see track width and can guesstimate based on stock offset, but still curious to see..
Comment:
After some facebooking with Quasimofo, I wanted to bump this back up since it's good information. Though it looks like the RX8 and NC share general geometry, there does appear to a difference in the subframes themselves, with the NC having a little more of a "flare-out" to the rear wingtips, compared to the RX8. I don't have one to measure but will try to post measurements if I do get one!
Rx8:
NC Miata:
