Hello all you rotary nutters!

[Modified Dave]

Dave Pratte here. As my username suggests, I write for Modified Magazine and was actually the guy who wrote Phil Sohn's recent cover story. I'm also an avid racer (you can read about my most recent racing experience here: http://tiny.cc/dcnYC ). Although I've never owned a rotary-powered vehicle, I was lucky enough to test drive AutoExe's RX-8 at Fuji Speedway in Japan a few years ago and was blown away by how well it handled. It wasn't the most powerful car I've ever driven, but coming from a Honda background I really enjoyed revving it out to 9k rpm and the superb handling balance really left a very positive impression on me.

In fact, having recently completed a Infiniti G35 project car for Modified Mag, I am now planning on buying and building a RX-8 as a new project for the mag. I'm currently shopping for a '05 GT, though to be honest I'd prefer cloth seats and no sunroof so may end up going with a base model instead. Or maybe I can find a GT or Shinka without a sunroof (not too sure if that's a possibility).

If any of you have advice about RX-8 shopping (keep in mind I don't want to spend more than $15k, so no R3 for me) or what sort of build you'd like to see in the magazine (I'll also post all the product test results from the build on this forum), I'm all ears.

Looking forward to learning from everyone here on RCC and contributing what I can once I start my own rotary adventure.

[angelofragnarok]

Dave,

Welcome to the RCC! I just read the article on Phil and it was inspiring journalism! Being the owner of a 1984 RX-7 that is still stock and running, I am very happy that you did an exclusive on rotaries. It seems to be once in a blue moon that someone actually delves into rotary technology for a magazine, and considering how many people actually own rotary-powered vehicles it's almost an injustice to ignore us.

As for the RX-8 w/o a sunroof, I do not believe that is possible with a Shinka. If you are looking to buy an RX-8 online and wish for a price under $15k, I recommend buying an automatic. Most hot sites such as ebay and usedcars.com have AT for thousands less than a MT RX-8.

Also, on a personal note my first car is my current car, an '04 RX-8 winning blue with a MT and sunroof. So I'm pretty new to the rotary world as well. Hopefully if you have any questions the people here can answer them for you.

Zamir

[Herblenny]

Awesome! Welcome Dave!!

[Max777]

Welcome!

You should do an FC3S project car, no magazine has within the past 10 years (that I know of) and it will satisfy a lot of the people that want to see more "affordable" builds...

[Whizbang]

FB left in the closest lol

[05rex8]

welcome to the forum!
I am looking forward to your rx8 build

[Modified Dave]

Max777, that's actually a really interesting idea that I hadn't considered. The FC is a great car that I've loved since I was a teenager (many years ago...lol), and it would be a lot of fun to build one. I'll have to give it some thought, but I do love the modern comforts and amenities available in the RX-8. I'm also amazed how affordable '04 and '05 RX-8s are given their original sticker price, so although it may not be as affordable starting point as a FC (or a JDM RHD FD, which I can buy locally for about $7k) it's a great bargain for such a modern sports machine.

Angelo, I've got to have a manual gearbox. This car will be track-tested from Day 1 and used for some autocross and street class Time Attack (and maybe even some drifting), so an auto trans really isn't an option. If I can't get a manual without a sunroof, I'll just have to find a carbon fiber roof panel that I can use to delete the sunroof. Less mass up high on the chassis is always a good thing and I'll need the headroom when wearing a helmet at the track.

[Whizbang]

15000 in an FB. Dear lord. You can find a good car for 1000. Honestly i would run out of ideas around 6000.

[ZGN]

Welcome Dave to the forum. Thanks for helping promote RCC!
Great job on Phil Sohn's cover story!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[Modified Dave]

Thanks guys. I'm thinking about bringing the new project car down for the Deals Gap event if I find what I'm looking for before then.

[Herblenny]

Originally Posted by Modified Dave

Max777, that's actually a really interesting idea that I hadn't considered. The FC is a great car that I've loved since I was a teenager (many years ago...lol), and it would be a lot of fun to build one. I'll have to give it some thought, but I do love the modern comforts and amenities available in the RX-8. I'm also amazed how affordable '04 and '05 RX-8s are given their original sticker price, so although it may not be as affordable starting point as a FC (or a JDM RHD FD, which I can buy locally for about $7k) it's a great bargain for such a modern sports machine.

Angelo, I've got to have a manual gearbox. This car will be track-tested from Day 1 and used for some autocross and street class Time Attack (and maybe even some drifting), so an auto trans really isn't an option. If I can't get a manual without a sunroof, I'll just have to find a carbon fiber roof panel that I can use to delete the sunroof. Less mass up high on the chassis is always a good thing and I'll need the headroom when wearing a helmet at the track.

I think 8 would be better as a build up car for Modified Mag than FC.. I say this because you'll have far larger community and wider range of demographics getting into 8s than FC (also FC's, you'll have to choose from NA vs. FI and most products have been developed over the years vs. newer 8 market where new products are made currently). And I know more people who has an 8 are the ones who need more info vs. FCs.. Most FC owners can find information about them fairly easy.. where as 8's, its kind of a cluster fuck... especially when it comes to FI.

Far as I know, if you are looking for base 8, you should go with 05+. 04's minus GT had single oil coolers... and if I remember, 05's is when all the models had dual coolers. I definitely recommend dual oil coolers on any rotaries... More so than upgrading your rad.

I hope you get your car before DGRRX and hope you could make it over!

[all_rotor_or_no_motor]

i read ur aticle nd thats how i joind this site nd i agree with every 1 id lik 2 see a nice build up on the rotary power. id like 2 see an old school project or feature.if it wasnt for the old school there would be no new school nd also becuse of me owning a nice 82 rx7 gsl

[05rex8]

Originally Posted by Herblenny

I think 8 would be better as a build up car for Modified Mag than FC.. I say this because you'll have far larger community and wider range of demographics getting into 8s than FC (also FC's, you'll have to choose from NA vs. FI and most products have been developed over the years vs. newer 8 market where new products are made currently). And I know more people who has an 8 are the ones who need more info vs. FCs.. Most FC owners can find information about them fairly easy.. where as 8's, its kind of a cluster fuck... especially when it comes to FI.

Far as I know, if you are looking for base 8, you should go with 05+. 04's minus GT had single oil coolers... and if I remember, 05's is when all the models had dual coolers. I definitely recommend dual oil coolers on any rotaries... More so than upgrading your rad.

I hope you get your car before DGRRX and hope you could make it over!

all USDM 6 speed MT 8's have dual oil coolers; even the base models
the automatic 8's have the single oil cooler as well as the JDM 5 speed and 6 speed MT

[Modified Dave]

Interesting stuff. So as long as it has a manual gearbox, it should have the dual oil coolers? I'll have to visually check when I start test driving cars after the holidays. Sounds like an '05 GS with cloth seats, no sunroof, and a manual gearbox will have the dual coolers and should therefore be a good starting point. Will most likely end up with an '05 because there's a ton of them for sale around here right now for $12-13k with nice low mileage, whereas the '04s all seem to have quite a bit more miles. It's not exactly prime time to sell a car like this in Toronto, but there's still a surprisingly good selection of '04 and '05 to choose from. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Phil, I've gotta say, I am intrigued by the idea of doing a Rotrex blower on the 8, mainly because I installed a Rotrex on my EG Civic race car and it made a ton of power (went from 240whp to 412whp). Would be interesting to see how the Rotrex works on a Renesis by comparison, and if you read my story about the Rotrex install you'll see there's a lot to like about it as a forced induction approach. Low heat, low engine loading, no chance of an overboosting booboo, etc. Anyway, feel free to check out the install and dyno test story here:

http://www.tune2win.com/index.php/pr...all_dyno_test/

Does anyone make a Rotrex-based supercharger kit for the 8, or will I have to fabricate my own mounting bracket?

[RotorDad]

Welcome to the site, I look forward to see any rotary powered projects. Congrats on working for a great mag.