Yeah, I hear that's the only criticism of the cars - not enough out of the engine. But that can be remedied, can't it? Or can it not? I haven't seen a lot of mods for this new Wankel engine. And there isn't much weight loss to be had with these cars, IMO, as they weigh in at about 2700 stock.

So, know of any tried and true engine mods?

Miata are not interference engines, so a broken timing belt or missed shift shouldn't be a problem. The miata uses an iron block and the bottom end was built for a turbo, so the bottom end is supposed to be really sturdy. One of the selling points of a miata is supposed to be the durability/reliability. And they are cheap to work on.

I agree, a miata would be a great DE car.

How about a Porsche 914? Great handling,cheap and durable with relatively low maint. costs.

Pettit Racing makes a supercharger kit, I was down there one day and Cam (the owner) took me for a ride in the shop demo car. It made for a much quicker car.

The RX-8 is making about 230HP which for a non-turbo rotary is pretty good. Especially considering the weight of the car. They are like the S2000 no real torque but what they lack there they make up ten fold in handling.

Bone stock RX-8's are running 14 second flat 1/4 miles so the acceleration is not horrible, once you get them moving, like the S2000, the power is not a huge issue.

You have to remember, usually when I get to drive other peoples cars it right after I get out of my RX-7. I mean I took a guys C-5 Z06 for a spin once and felt it was slow. The only other car I have ever driven that I felt was fast like my car was a 320RWHP supercharged Miata. If I closed my eyes I would have sworn I was in my car, it was just like it, even the front right tire lock up under hard braking. :rolleyes:

Yeah, but a miata handles as well or better, and doesn't cost as much to maintain. 914s are still Porsches with the parts prices to match.

All great stuff, Jim; thanks! Just as is the case with the S2000, many regular track guys also like the RX8. The only caveat is the slumping sales, which some have attributed to the less than stellar MPG of the car, and the lack of low end. One of the RX8 forums posts monthly sales of the RX8, and they've been going down steadily since January. It may be a good thing in the immediate, but in the long run, I hope Mazda doesn't cancel the RX8 or any models akin to the RX8 afterward. :(

I'd definitely buy a Miata before a 914. It's a much better car. I'd even bet a Miata could hang, performance wise, with a 914-6, if given the chance.

UPDATE:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1157150021.jpg
New exhaust, header, muffler.
Dual Crane Hi-6 ignition controllers
Crane ignition coils
Racing Beat plug wires
New fuel pump
Holley fuel pressure regulator
Fram HPG-1 fuel filter with new HPGC-1 cartridge (zero time)
fuelports.com (Paul Morrison) fuel sample port
Braided lines and AN fittings for brakes, oil, and fuel
1979-1980 five-speed transmission (zero time on rebuild)
Limited slip differential w/ 1:4.44 final drive
1983 four-wheel disc brakes
Tilton brake bias valve
3” brake cooling ducts
Full set of Hawk Blue pads (zero time)
8-point roll cage with NASCAR-style driver door bars
Cobra drivers racing seat
Corbeau passenger racing seat
G-Force five-point harness (both)
G-Force drivers window net
Quick-release steering wheel
Fuel Safe 15 gallon fuel cell
Four-panel “wink” rear-view mirror
Racing Beat front strut-tower brace
Front caster/camber plates
Front and rear urethane bushings
Rear spherical bearings
Rear panhard bar
Tokico adjustable coil-over front shocks
Tokico “Blue” rear shocks
Eibach springs
One set of Revolution 13” x 5” (4” x 114.3mm 4-lug) with Hoosier R3S03s mounted
One set of steel wheels (painted white) with Toyo RA-1 rain tires mounted
3 sets Hoosier R3S03s not mounted
Spare 1980 transmission (history unknown)



How's all that sound, Jim?

It sounds good and I know where I can get you a killer fron swaybar for that car.

Call this guy and talk to him, he has been racing 1st gens since the 80's.

JR - 772-343-0510

Tell him I sent you. He has my car in his shop right now and knows tons about the 1st gens. i.e. what trannies, rear ends, manifolds ar ethe best and he probably has them laying around.

The only thing you did not touch on was the engine. How long since the last rebuild?

Unfortunately, the engine is an unknown factor.

It is a 1983, 12A engine. The current owner of the car is not the original builder and only knows for sure that the engine had 35k original miles on it when it went into the car in 1992. 1992 was the original build of the car into a race-only vehicle, so we can assume that it has had 14 years of ITA/IT7 competition. The current owner does not believe it has ever been overhauled.

I know these little rotaries can last a long time. But even if this one needs an overhaul soon, I understand that they are realatively inexpensive to build.

As a comparison, my 911 has been competing with the same stock oem engine since 1994. Currently it has over 120k miles - nearly half of which are track miles.

Just another point of data, my partner and I ran a 1st gen rx7 in NASA for 3 years. We build the car to Prosedan/Pro7 specs ( we ran both classes) from two donor cars and ended up with a mid pack capable car. The engine had 140k on it when we install it in the car. We experienced no engine DNFs. At the end of the third year engine started to smoke a little at high rpms. We ran the HPDE as well as the races during the race weekends. The only thing we went through were brake pads and rotors, tires, gas and oil. A bulletproof car.

Flying Mazda


http://www.racegarden.com/video-show.html?video_id=4

(after-holiday bump)

The key to a cheap rebuild is to do it before it breaks. If it lets an apex seal go your looking at big money for a new housing, endplates and possibly a rotor.

The good news about owning a Mazda and racing it?


MAZDASPEED

You get up to 50% off of parts for the car. I just bought some engine parts and a rotor housing for my engine. Mazdatrix sells it for $590 and I paid $350 from Mazdaspeed.

I would seek out a good competent Rotary mechanic. Have him do a compression check on the engine and then pressurize the cooling system and do a leakdown check on it. That will tell you if you have a failing coolent o-ring, this is a common part to let go on an older engine.

It is not uncommon for a non turbo rotary to hit the 300K miles mark street driving. Track engines can get many many years of trouble free miles too.

Good luck it sounds like a well sorted car. Any racing history results that you know of.

The car has all SCCA logbooks since it was first tracked in 1992.

Now for the numbers...

$5000.

In your opinion, is this good, average, great, or getting screwed?

It would costs you 3X that to build one at least.

If the engine will hold for 1-2 more years then yes.

A good rebuild will run you $1200 to $2500 you can spend more if you want but that should build you a tight engine that will last many years. This is also counting on the 8 major parts being within specs.

The car is only going to be run in approx 4 to 6 DE events over the course of the coming year, so I expect it will hold up. It seems to run strongly right now.

However, I am looking into having the compression and the coolant system checked as you suggested earlier.

Also, I may be able to pick up a second car for the cost of an overhaul. This second car was recently totalled in a race, but the engine and trans each had less than one season on fresh overhaul. I'll be following up on that second car this afternoon.