With used frisbee twins prices falling into just above $10k range

OldGray320i said:

Doing a little more reading on the FT86 forum, seems that bad throw out bearings and even the occasional spun rod bearing is not terribly unusual. 

It amazes me that throw out bearings go bad with anything other than very high miles.  I recently replaced the throw out bearing in my RX-8 at ~60k miles.  My impression is that a throw out bearing can be "bad" for quite some time and still function.

Regarding overall reliability, usually the interesting cars are less reliable than the boring ones.  I suspect the 86 is better than most interesting cars.  :)

The reason RX8s aren't more popular for swaps is that the car's electronics are an engine swapper's nightmare. There are aftermarket harness kits for some engines, you can either use one of those or basically ditch all the stock electronics and go full standalone + custom gauges.

I wonder if they appear less reliable because the attract a certain kind of "driver." Grandma in her beige Camery doesn't shift at redline.

GameboyRMH said:

The reazon RX8s aren't more popular for swaps is that the car's electronics are an engine swapper's nightmare. There are aftermarket harness kits for some engines, you can either use one of those or basically ditch all the stock electronics and go full standalone + custom gauges.

Can we expect the Frisbee electronics to be any better/easier for swappers? The newer platform and the fact that it's a Subaru powertrain in a Toyota chassis make me think that it's just as likely to be a headache for swaps as the RX-8.

If it were me, I'd buy an LS donor, use the ECM and keep as much of the original wiring as I could. For those with larger budgets, GM will sell you a crate LS with all of the electronics needed to put it into a donor chassis. You might even be able to retrofit the stock GM gauges into the Toyobaru with some effort. Or use a RacePak or aftermarket gauges. Hotrod guys do it all the time.

But on the RX-8 front if rotaries are reliable when caned to within an inch of their life repeatedly whats wrong with the renesis in a track car?

What happens to the great driving dynamics if that much horsepower/weight is added to the car? What all will need to be changed? Engine/tranny/differential/brakes/tires?

D2W said:

What happens to the great driving dynamics if that much horsepower/weight is added to the car? What all will need to be changed? Engine/tranny/differential/brakes/tires?

Probably the same as the V8 Miatas?

STM317 said:

GameboyRMH said:

The reazon RX8s aren't more popular for swaps is that the car's electronics are an engine swapper's nightmare. There are aftermarket harness kits for some engines, you can either use one of those or basically ditch all the stock electronics and go full standalone + custom gauges.

Can we expect the Frisbee electronics to be any better/easier for swappers? The newer platform and the fact that it's a Subaru powertrain in a Toyota chassis make me think that it's just as likely to be a headache for swaps as the RX-8.

If it were me, I'd buy an LS donor, use the ECM and keep as much of the original wiring as I could. For those with larger budgets, GM will sell you a crate LS with all of the electronics needed to put it into a donor chassis. You might even be able to retrofit the stock GM gauges into the Toyobaru with some effort. Or use a RacePak or aftermarket gauges. Hotrod guys do it all the time.

Seems that the nut has been cracked by a few people. The front sway bar was the last hurdle to be cleared by the FRS LSx swap crowd. Link to a thread that covers the gamut of CanBus solutions for FRS LSx swaps.

I dont promise that any are cheap.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116595

Drove a Frisbee for the first time ever last week at an autocross after my Miata broke leaving tech inspection. I have to say, I could get used to the FR-S life. Great seats, great shifter, fun to drive. After driving a 1.6L Miata for so long, the Frisbee feels like it has all sorts of power. Definitely on the list of replacements for when I get rid of the Miata