Some pics of my rear mounted turbo build for my RX8

[Rearmount 8]

Almost a year ago I decided that I wanted to boost my RX-8 and I wanted not only a boosted car but for it to look very stock that you couldn't tell that it was boosted till I got on the gas. After several months of researching and getting parts and getting all the fabrication done, it is almost completed.

The guy to thank for this is Dave at a local speed shop in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I wanted the turbo to be a rear mount and I wanted it to have it's own oiling system mainly because I didn't want to tear into the engine just yet seeing that it is in pristine condition and the stock oil pump is crap above 9k and I didn't want the extra stress of pushing oil that far back. I wanted to have just the basic of gauges in the car but hidden to keep that stock look. Even when you pop the hood and look in the engine bay it looks like nothing was done to the car.

The charging tube is not in these pics but I will get some of it also. It is all back together now and just waiting to finish tuning. I will have some engine pics here in a few days. I don't have any here on my cpu and will take some more and post if anyone is interested. Please let me know what you think. This has been a very long project for me and very near and dear to my heart. I am just waiting for when I get this on the road.

[Rearmount 8]

Some other pics. Here is the gauge pod, formerly the cup holder. I never used it for cups anyway seeing I never ate or drank in it. Which was quite tough seeing it was my daily driver for three years. Then kids come along and change that all up lol.

Yes those are the stock exhaust tips that the wastegate on the drivers side and turbo exhaust on the passenger side is going into. So from the rear with the bumper on it looks like every other 8.

[05rex8]

very cool
What are the specs on the turbo?
How much power are you looking for?
What is your engine management?

I would be interested in some dyno sheets on this setup.

[Kane]

I like it! Hampton Roads huh? That makes 4 blown RX8's here that I know of.

[Rearmount 8]

The turbo is a 60 cold 80 hot T4 turbo that I got off of a friend for next to nothing which started this whole thing. For power I would be happy to see 300 at the wheels but I'm keeping my mind open on that. I'm only boosting at 11psi.
For engine management I'm using the Greddy Emanage blue and when it gets tuned I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully it all works out good.
Oh the injectors were upgraded to spit out at 750 p2 and 780 secondaries. There is this place called Injector-Rehab out of New Jersey that was able to open up my stock injectors to flow to those specs. I decided to go this route being that the car and engine only had 17k on it at the time of the build and they cleaned and balanced all six injectors as well.

[05rex8]

Oh yeah those guys are great; I used them to rework my p2 injectors. They flow 850cc now.

I'm surprised you are bothering with the emanage blue, that thing has had limited success with our car. I am using the cobb accessport to flash tune my turbo 8. Nothing is better for this car right now IMO. Of course if you go this route you will need someone who is experienced with the accessport software for tuning. It's a must to nail down injector scaling and MAF scaling with it.

Kane, who posted above is a flash tuning guru if you have any questions about it. I'm nowhere as near knowledgeable as some of these guys. ;)

[Mobius]

Wicked project!

Something I've always wanted to know with rear mount setups, what do you have for resonators/mufflers (if any) before the turbo? I can't see anything in the pictures.

Just saying, you're doing things to make it look stock....... right up until it starts.

I ran my car with an open exhaust for a little while, I can't imagine driving like that.

[Rearmount 8]

As I said I will keep you posted on how it runs after the tuning. The guy who is doing it is very familiar with the blue and rotaries so I'm quite confident in his abilities. I used the blue cause I practically got it for free so why spend $800 if I don't need to if I can get this to work. So I figured why not, if it doesn't work then I will go a different route.

It doesn't have any resonators/mufflers but with the exhaust going directly into the turbo it quiets it down enough that it sounds almost like stock (almost) at idle and low rpm's. Now when I stomp on it all you would hear is the turbo.

[Mobius]

It doesn't have any resonators/mufflers but with the exhaust going directly into the turbo it quiets it down enough that it sounds almost like stock (almost) at idle and low rpm's. Now when I stomp on it all you would hear is the turbo.

You don't say. I wouldn't have thought that the turbo would make that much difference. The length of the exhaust before the turbo must muffle quite a bit. Any turbocharged car I've heard in person with either an open downpipe or an exhaust cutout was very loud at idle and cruise, and you couldn't hear a difference when the wastegate opened. Even a TT rear mount C6 Vette was much louder than stock.

[TitaniumTT]

Oh yeah those guys are great; I used them to rework my p2 injectors. They flow 850cc now.

I'm surprised you are bothering with the emanage blue, that thing has had limited success with our car. I am using the cobb accessport to flash tune my turbo 8. Nothing is better for this car right now IMO. Of course if you go this route you will need someone who is experienced with the accessport software for tuning. It's a must to nail down injector scaling and MAF scaling with it.

Kane, who posted above is a flash tuning guru if you have any questions about it. I'm nowhere as near knowledgeable as some of these guys. ;)

I would argue that nothing is better than MoTeC's plug and play M800 for the RX8 :D

[Tech B]

I second the ditching of the e-manage blue for a cobb accessport.

Those welds are probably going to break if you run the car hard, why not take it to someone who can professional tig and have that little bit of work done?

[speedjunkie]

I have some concern about the filter placement...namely being near and rear of the rear tire that will most likely be tossing stuff right on the filter. Also, that it's mounted right next to the exhaust, but with airflow across there that will probably be alright anyway. I'd just be worried about picking up crap being that close to the road.

I've also heard RX-8 guys swear by the Cobb Accessport.

This is a cool project though!! I love innovation.

[Kane]

Either the Cobb or the Hymee for tuning are my .02.

The issue is that the car will unlearn anything you do to it with the blue, which is something only the RX8 does - so some of the old school guys don't know about that. The fact is regardless of your tune - dozens of engines have been blown due to the Emanage Blue.

[Rotr8]

I second concern over the filter location, not only road debris but direct heat from the exhaust. I have a friend that did the STS remote mount on his VR6 and couldnt make a decent dyno until he built a heat sheild between the two...

[05rex8]

Either the Cobb or the Hymee for tuning are my .02.

The issue is that the car will unlearn anything you do to it with the blue, which is something only the RX8 does - so some of the old school guys don't know about that. The fact is regardless of your tune - dozens of engines have been blown due to the Emanage Blue.
+1 million

this is a very important post right here

Trust us on this one...emanage blue was one of the first to be used on turbo rx8's, namely with the greddy turbo kit. Then it went emanage ultimate, interceptor-x (rewired microtech), hymee protuner and cobb accessport.

The rx8's have worked the best with the protuner and accessport; which both are flash tuners allowing use of the stock pcm. Years of research and many blown engines on the piggyback systems have proved these to be the worst option for the rx8.

Of course you will still need a tuner who is knowledgeable using the flash tuners. I encourage you to look into this. I know you got the emanage for practically free, but there is nothing cheap about turbocharging an rx8 if you want it reliable.

[Rearmount 8]

With the filter placement, the exhaust by the filter is just for the wastegate. The actual exhaust is going out the passenger side. There is a shield covering it but it's just not in the pics and it's tough to see in the pics but it is tucked up in there pretty good where with the shield it would be hard pressed for anything to get up on it.

I really appreciate all the concerns on the AP. This is something that I will seriously look into. I know that I definitely don't want to deal with a blown motor but with the AP I personally never got a warm and fuzzy with it I guess that because I've never been a fan of reflashing I've always prefered piggybacks or standalone. I actually prefer to just get a carb and tune it that way personally.

[Max777]

I actually prefer to just get a carb and tune it that way personally.

That's what my friend said when he bought a carburetored FC3S drag car...

That bitch never ran right after the conversion...

[RotorDad]

Rear mounted turbo for the RX8, hmm I like it. The welds on the piping do look a little on the rough side, but as far as the system design thumbs up.

[Mawnee]

Nice build! I almost did a rearmount but ended up building a topmount instead. Looking forward to your results :)

[spence15]

I think I'm going to be undergoing a similar setup. Won't a rearmount fail any visual test if you need emissions testing?

[jonni44]

^^^ hey spence lol i see youre over here too looking into this rear mounted turbo.

Anyway, Im wondering what happens when it rains? Im not a turbo expert but I do know that when the turbo gets really hot and cold rainwater gets put on the metal, it warps. Am I worrying about nothing or is this something that is really an issue?

[Kane]

Unlikely at best... otherwise all turbo's would crack because even an engine mounted one can get wet when it rains.

[Rearmount 8]

Just an update, I've decided to go with the COBB. So there is a bit of a delay while I try to sell the emanage blue and purchase the access port. I had a feeling it wouldn't have worked but I was still kinda hoping that at least one thing would go right lol. I would love to get it up and running before the 20th so I can go to the Central VA Mazda meet.

Kane, I'm coming from va beach wanna caravan if my car is up and running?

[Kane]

Yup - we are trying to set something up in Williamsburg - with the folks in Norfolk meeting up down there then meeting the rest of us in Williamsburg.

Did you check the 8 club by chance?

[Rearmount 8]

That was where I heard of it and I've been following it on facebook. I didn't know about the caravan already set up I will have to get in and check it out. It seems like there will be a pretty good turn out for how cold it has been.

[Kane]

Werd man.

If you need tuning help LMK - I have an extra VIN on my flash tuner - I can at least get you on the road.

[Rearmount 8]

If your serious about that you would just have become my new best friend!

[Kane]

Swear to god.... I have 2 vins that I will never use unless I get victims local to me.... HAHA

[NycDriftKing]

Ap ftw.

[Kane]

I am heading over there in about an hour to check it out.

[Kane]

Looking good man! I sent that email to Mark today so hopefully we will hear back soon.

Fix that intake and we're in business.

[Rearmount 8]

The intake is in the works and I am standing by for Thursday.

[Kane]

Ok let me know when the intake is all done man!

My car had an issue so I'll dyno it next week - and I haven't heard back from Mark yet - but hopefully soon.

[Rearmount 8]

What happened? If you need a hand let me know. If you don't hear from Mark by Thursday I'm free all day Friday Saturday evening and Sunday before 3.

[nuke0907]

I like it! Hampton Roads huh? That makes 4 blown RX8's here that I know of.

i know of 6.
you, me, rudi, derek all have turbos.
vice_grip(Dan) and jskup1(John) have Petit SC's.

[Kane]

i know of 6.
you, me, rudi, derek all have turbos.
vice_grip(Dan) and jskup1(John) have Petit SC's.

But as of now... who is fastest? LOL

[Rearmount 8]

Well my AP should be here any day now and then get this girl tuned and running right before you leave Kane so we can take her out for a spin!!

I will post more within the week.

[Dazed and Rotarded]

very nice.. just picked my 8 up and giving alot of thought to pulling my stocker and swap'n for the rew and a microtech. who know's..

[Rearmount 8]

Just an update as to how things are going, after much deliberation and failure I decided to pull my P-1's and put in something a little more reasonable so I can get this thing going. As of right now I can get it started and running real rough and that's about it. I've gone through a set of plugs and one of my lines for my oil tank in the back has sprung a leak but that aint a big deal. Just get the company who made it to cut and put a new fitting on there.

When it does start up she sounds awesome. When the new injectors get here, hopefully Monday, I will throw them in and try it again. Hopefully I have some better luck cause during this whole project I feel like I've been ice skating uphill the whole way but it has been fun at least. It's so close I can taste it.

Will post videos when it gets running.

[greyrx8]

how did your engine management get set up?
i'm thinking about doing a remote mount to mine too but im not sure if the mass air flow set up would still work or if i would have to switch to a manifold pressure set up?

if you could give some info on that stuff that would be great

[greyrx8]

essentially im wondering where your mass air flow sensor is now or if it was omitted all together like some turbo kits do

[Rearmount 8]

My mass air flow sensor is still in roughly the same position. Coming off the turbo to the intercooler is a 2 1/2" piping into then out of the intercooler. Then it enters the engine bay through the airbox location then stepped to a 3" and then is stepped up to 3.5". The 3.5" section is a straight pipe with no bends about 11" with the MAF sitting right in the middle of it.
Underneath and along the drivers side of the car is a nice little slot that the tubing was able to be tucked up to so it is out of the way and wont get damaged. Doing the tuning is slow going at the moment due to some financial issues so it has been placed on hold for a bit. Sucks for me.

Hopefully this answers your questions. If you have anymore or would like to see something specific let me know.

[85'12a-Blake]

1

[greyrx8]

rearmount8 i pm'd you asking more about the MAF and your ecu setup

[Rearmount 8]

Yeah I replied back hopefully answering your questions.

[9krpmrx8]

Nice, How is it running?

[junnyhda]

Nice job in the Rearmount Turbo. I will like to konow how many horser power you have at the tire. Thanks and good luck with your project.

[diabolical1]

Doing the tuning is slow going at the moment due to some financial issues so it has been placed on hold for a bit. Sucks for me.
this was about a year ago ... how is it going now?

[stinksause]

Yeah ... update?