RX8 lightening & alternative swap candidates?

RX8s are hitting the used car dealerships now that their apex seals are going out, and with the cost of importing a Toyobaru being equal to what you guys would pay for a new C6 ZR1, I'm starting to wonder if these could be a good alternative. There are 3 problems I'd have to sort out:

1. They're heavy. How light can you get these things?
2. The rotary is too costly for me to maintain, and we don't have many American cars down here so swapping in an LSX makes about as much sense as swapping in a classic Porsche engine. There is a decent selection of Jap engines to choose from, maybe 3SG(T)E (BEAMS)?

I really started thinking about it when one showed up to this weekend's autocross, they corner nicely and aren't that big...

GameboyRMH wrote: There is a decent selection of Jap engines to choose from, maybe 3SG(T)E (BEAMS)?

The MZR as seen in the 2006+ Miata would be the obvious choice. The RX8 and the NC Miata probably share enough underpinnings to make it happen with just factory bits. The big 2.3 that Mazda used in just about everything would be a good starting point.

Any other Mazdas share that engine? NCs are rare to nonexistant down here.

Where the heck do you live where there are no LSX and no late model Miatas? Sounds like Purgatory.

Barbados. We do have 2 LSXs but they're in two Corvettes that are in use.

closer to hell than that, I think

It's surprisingly easy to swap in an S2000's engine.

I'd throw anothe rotary in it. They're not THAT hard to keep happy.

Haha sure feels like it in terms of car ownership.

Rotaries won't be junkyard-friendly. There's only 1 FB, 2 FCs, 1 FD, 1 Cosmo and less than 20 RX8s going around.

Oh and only 3 S2Ks which are all driving.

They're really not hard to keep happy. My ex's newer Accord burned far more oil than my RX8 did...

Okay, we need to look at this like an episode of Junkyard Wars from back in the day:

Take stock of the inventory at hand. What IS available? What is common, everywhere and available? List trucks, cars, suvs....

aircooled VW engine. There has to be at least 20 of those available down there.

Any Japanese econoboxes or sub-$20k sports cars are generally easy to find (apart from the typical rare ones which are vanishingly rare). We get JDM-only models like the AE111 and Allex/RunX too. Japanese lorries and pickups, mostly easy to find except for the really good ones - Hilux/Tacoma, Land Cruiser (FJ-series), Patrol (utility pickup). Vitaras, X-trails and Korean SUVs are easy to find.

DaveEstey wrote: aircooled VW engine. There has to be at least 20 of those available down there.

Hahaha no there's like 5.

GameboyRMH wrote: Any Japanese econoboxes or sub-$20k sports cars are generally easy to find (apart from the typical rare ones which are vanishingly rare). We get JDM-only models like the AE111 and Allex/RunX too. Japanese lorries and pickups, mostly easy to find except for the really good ones - Hilux/Tacoma, Land Cruiser (FJ-series), Patrol (utility pickup). Vitaras, X-trails and Korean SUVs are easy to find.

Ahhh....

You could pull off a swap I've been interested in: Suzuki V6 from the Vitara/Grand Vitara. Find the 2.7 from the Grand (or XL-7 if you get north american naming), and mate it to a manual out of a 2wd 2.5L. Grab all computers, including the gauge cluster.

180hp, 180 ft-lbs, 300ish lbs engine.

There's some people around who have swapped these engines into older model Vitara/Sidekick/Trackers, so there is a small bit of info on the engine itself.

There's also the 1UZ that could be swapped, people think it might fit, but I don't know of any documented swaps.

VQ from a Nissan?

their apex seals are not going out, its various clearance issues with seals in there causing low compression. Everyone always blames the apex seals because they don't know anything about rotaries...

I'll admit I'm no rotary expert.

Wouldn't it be cheaper or at least easier to use the RX8's gearbox with the Grand Vitara's V6 than to swap in the Vitara's gearbox as well? An adapter plate is less work than a gearbox swap...

Easiest swap would be the MZR. Use an NC Miata subframe and it'll bolt in. Can't comment on hood clearance although I do know of at least one that was done in the UK. Guy got sick of the rotary...

The engine is also known as the Duratec. It's used in lots of Fords as well as Mazdas.

Oh I might be able to get one of those from a Focus or Ranger. Focuses aren't too rare here, I'll have to see how common this engine is in them.

Alright let's say I can get this MZR, I could get a trashed-engine RX8 for cheap and drop one in. How about the lightening? Any cheap way to get the weight of one of these into Toyobaru territory or better?

Edit: Just searched and this very thread is the top result. I can't be the first person to think an RX8 could do with some lightening, could I?

GameboyRMH wrote: Oh I might be able to get one of those from a Focus or Ranger. Focuses aren't too rare here, I'll have to see how common this engine is in them.

I'm glad you mentioned that- check the ranger first. I could swear that I've seen the World Ranger on more of the islands than the North American version. Make sure it's really an MZR.

Note 2- I'm not 100% that they are the exact same block- if the mounts are different for RWD vs FWD. The Focus version should fit a lot easier under the hood. Should.

Then recommendation- any duratec Mazda 6's around?

The all aluminum V6 is very light, and is a nice motor. The 3.0l, I mean, since it was also used for the Lincoln LS and Jaguar.

We have some Mazda6's, don't know what engine's in them but they have twin exhaust. I'd want to keep the displacement down though or the insurance will be insane. I'll consider 3L but no more.

I think that the MZR with the NC cross member (shipped from the US is need be) would be the easiest/ cheapest way to make the 8 move (Good thought all those before me). Plus you can start out with a ranger block (I hear people swap those into miatas) and upgrade to the miata head later on. The trans is the same right? As far as weight lightening, you are probably looking at the normal stuff (sound deading, seats, etc...) I would guess that a fair amount of weight is in those reverse opening doors. If you want to start removing safety equipment, the door bars I bet are damn near 100 lbs.

Oh and for all the people saying that rotaries aren't that hard to maintain, maybe if I found one in decent condition it wouldn't be, but they sure are bad on gas and that's like $7 a gallon here. That combined with the cheapness of one with a dead motor is the motivation for a swap.