Note for people asking about swapping the silver RX8's headlights to the blue one, the blue RX8 is an R3, so looks like the headlights are different/revised. While the rear lights seem to be the same.
All S2 Rx8’s are the same from Sport to the R3 so they could have used the headlights from the silver one but I’m glad they didn’t because they didn’t look that great to begin with lol
Ben: it’s a budget build so I don’t want to buy a $500 headlight. Also Ben: buys headlight, buys a whole other car, buys $2000 coilovers (maybe free bc sponsor), buys brand new radiator
Mark is the best addition to this show. Really, the whole crew you have is first class. I also get pretty fired up to get out in the garage and work on my projects after watching first thing on Saturdays; a day which im often plagued with procrastination and laziness.
I know it’s been said before, but I must say it again. I love the production that goes into each video. When Mark said “this is for the music you’re gonna be listening to later” to then hear the same beat afterwards made me smile. Thank you to all the G&G crew who has kept us entertained❤️
The engine off the blue one should get a rebuild+longetivity upgrades and for us to see what it entails and have it ready once the engine off the silver one inevitably fails too😅 😅
So glad to see an RX8 getting revived instead of being thrown at a junkyard! These are some of my favorite cars ever made, and this is probably one of my favorite series' on this channel (especially with the Eclipse every other week) Keep it up!
That cold air intake won't make any noticeable difference. I would recommend using RX8Club as a reference for any modifications before you make them. Factory intake is actually the best intake you can use on an RX8. Also, many owners tend to run 10W40/15W40 conventional/mineral oil nowadays for better lubrication of the apex seals.
I was told you cant do that unless you delete the omp. And they dont make delete kits for s2’s. 5w20 is what the factory calls for so thats my best option for now
@@GearsandGasoline While Mazda do recommend it, many rebuilders won't even warranty their work if you don't use 10W40 minimum, some allowing semi-synthetic but never fully synthetic. To run fully synthetic you should install a SOHN adapter that will inject clean 2-Stroke oil instead of oil from the sump. You can instead premix 2-Stroke when you fill up the tank, but still recommended to use conventional/mineral oil in that case. Kudos for sticking with the Renesis by the way! EDIT: Another important thing to remember is that Mazda added an additional oil injection port on the Series 2 Renesis to allow for more apex seal lubrication. This extra port is even more reason to not use fully synthetic without a SOHN adapter.
@@GearsandGasolinesohn omp adapter is your friend here. Gives you a plate to replace the windshield fluid reservoir with two smaller reservoirs, one for the windshield fluid and the new one for 2 stroke oil that will be fed directly to the omp as opposed to it drawing crankcase oil. Then, you can run whatever oil you want in it.
I had an RX8 years ago. It lasted from 55k when I purchased it to 190k when it ceased to start. Can't lie, I kinda loved that car. Handling was great, coupe + 2 design worked with my smaller kids. I just didn't have the mechanical know how to properly maintain it, but it was a fun car.
how much are rotary engines w/a core charge? there are a few rotary specialists so rebuilding or buying a rebuilt renesis isn't too difficult especially when you give them the "bad" engine that can be rebuilt/honed sold again
If you want to do accurate compression testing on a rotary, you should probably get a rotary compression tester. A normal piston compression tester will read lower than the actual compression and will not necessarily be consistant. Also, "We are trying to do a build on a budget" and still buys an entire addtional parts car 😂
YES! I couldn't be happier knowing that it's keeping the soul of the car! I admit that it'll never be the fastest car but the potential is there to get a little more out of it and the entire platform is just so amazing to push to it's limits. Maybe not while drifting lol, but a car like that around a track will make cars triple the price need a good driver behind the wheel or get left behind. I somewhat recently bought my dream RX-8 and I've been having insane fun with it. I hope you guys get your time and moneys worth and drive it like crazy! My only (slight) concern was seeing it started and then revved crazy. If treated that way it could cause premature failure of the coolant seals amongst other things and seeing as the last engine had that problem as well I would keep an eye out on it. I would also recommend waiting 5 minutes after the car says it's warm since it's known to lie and still be 20-30 degrees off from normal operating temp. Outside of that I'm curious to see what the new compression numbers are like in comparison to the last engine. I looked at my chart and seeing only 60PSI and a running engine blew my mind lol. My manual '05 Shinka is currently holding around 90PSI averaged throughout all 6 rotor faces and the OMP is kicking so good I smell like oil for hours after even 10 minutes of it running lol. Hope to see more content made with the RX-8 and possibly some follow up videos with real feedback from the experience as to maybe help with all the bad reputation orbiting this beautiful platform (unless it sucks and you hate it lol, though I would still like to see and hear about the problems you guys run into in the future).
Been a rotary guy since 91. You guys shouldn't have swapped that flywheel as the factory flywheel has the counter weight built into it and drilled to match the balance of the internal rotors. Rotary comes with 5 different rotor weights (A-F) so defending on the rotors paired together, the factory will drill to balance the assembly. You guys just swapped that balanced flywheel not even knowing what the internal weights are from either engine. You may get lucky if both engines are "C" weight, otherwise your rear bearings will get extra wear.
fun fact, 150.000 miles is actually totally doable without a rebuild (with a fuckton of luck and care). Someone on the dutch rx8 forums is at i think about 147 000 miles as of last year on the original engine and its still driving. Mind that this is also on a series one so a series 2 should be able to totally do it after all the improvements mazda made to the engine. (not that its typical but it definitely is possible)
Id second this. Its not uncommon for the rx8s to see 120-150+ thousand miles. NA rotaries tend to last a fair bit longer than their turbo counter parts. Turbo Fcs and FDs would need to be rebuilt around roughly 100~k (A little lower for the FD, a smidge higher for the FC, but close enough to this for either example). NA FCs for comparison were known to regularly hit 140-170~ k miles before it was rebuild time. RX8s seem to follow suit- Seeing around 120-150~k miles for a rebuild. Not to say this Rx8 WASNT rebuilt, but it wouldnt be surprising either.
If I had a nickel for every time Ben fixed his rotary vehicle by buying another rotary vehicle, I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice
@@GearsandGasoline I know that pain lmao. Trying to get my Marketplace barn find FC running. I want to rebuild the stock engine, but I might just have to spend $3.5-4k on a new 13B
That's the shock Ben. They put the extra long top hat for compression travel... Poorly designed coilovers take way total length and upset the cars balance. The bc racing does it too. A proper rx8 rear coilover woild be inverted to keep the total travel. It's why the rx8 is superior to the s2000 or frs or GD in terms of rear suspension. I'm sure FA valved the shock right but I'd ask for a custom set of full length..
It seems that many shock manufacturers just adapt their NC MX-5 kits for the RX8 to save money. This causes the suspension to run out of droop travel under braking and cornering, but doesn't affect the low and slow crowd that often buy economical coil over kits.
Make sure to use only Mazda's FL22 coolant, some other coolant will damage the coolant seal. The RX8 does not have to run a conventional oil ,synthetic is just fine. S2 RX8 cannot run a SOHN OMP adapter due to the revised OMP design.
The production quality is so good. This is top top top tier RUclips content. I did not feel the need to skip any parts, which is rare. Great job, love the rx8
I'm probably preaching to the choir but when it comes to rotary happiness, make sure to do the external oiling mod, pre mix the fuel, and when starting rotaries, make sure they're fully warm before turning them off lest they flood!
The background music in the first part of the video reminds me of gran Turismo menu music and I'm totally here for it 🤣❤️ Also, mark is such an absolute unit... best addition to the channel since I started watching you guys 🤘🤘🤘
17:01 Nooo! Don’t use 5w-20! Hell don’t even use 5w-30! The oil that Mazda recommends for the rx8 (or any rotary for that matter) is too thin! Every single rotary shop that I talk to tells me not to use it, because it’s so thin that it effectively lubricate the seals inside the motor. Less lubricated seals = less compression + hotter temps. Worse case scenario, you can overheat and blow out a coolant seal, and then all of a sudden, no more motor. Ask me how I know. Every single shop tells me 10w-30/40 minimum. However, if you go to Walmart, in their Oil section there something called “Mobil Delvac 1500 Super”. It’s 15w-40 and Rotaries love it. And yes, the Oil metering pump will still work. The shop I go to runs 20w-50 in their OMP’d cars and they all run completely fine. I recommend you change the oil weight immediately to prevent anything from happening.. if it hasn’t already.
I hate to break it to you, but the OEM that has put millions of dollars into testing an engine is gonna know what generally works for most climates. It's fine for most people, but yes you can improve wear slightly by using a slightly thicker oil like 10w-40 in hotter climates. It's not "too thin" though. It's perfectly fine. The main wear component when using a thinner oil has been documented to wear the rotor bearings too much, and not "seals". If you are gonna race your engine and track it, then yes you should use a thicker oil for the higher average oil temperature that you are going to create. But for every day driving, 5w-20 is perfectly fine.
Sorry to hear Advance doesn't sponsor you anymore. I can understand why they're going through a hard time tho- every chance I've taken to go there, I've had a bad experience.
For everyone saying "Why didn't they just use the silver car for this or that, or just use the blue car as the doner" etc etc etc. It's because the Blue car is an R3/Spirit Type R. Which is a really rare model of RX8.
i work at advance, very sad to hear we’re not sponsored with you guys anymore but this company is going through a terrible time. big fight between the frontline and corporate, but that shouldn’t interfere with there business practices between customers/youtubers but they allow it to because corporate is full of old geezers. anywho hopefully a auto company picks you guys up again soon regardless of who it is i’ll be shopping with them!
Biggest heat issue is the exhaust port design, that is meant to essentially stay a bit hotter to more fully burn fuel in an attempt to pass EPA regs. The cold air intake may actually lean it out without an appropriate tune, especially at cruise RPM. The Renesis is kinda picky on what you can do with it. As for oil.... you wanna get your hands on Idemitsu Rotary Blend. Only thing I recommend other than specific Klotz blends.
The r3 has special headlights but it's cosmetic. They swap over. But..... I understand it's a budget build. But as a rx7 and rx8 owner. Why not out a lightweight flywheel and clutch in the newer engine install. The rx8 makes a giant improvement using even the cheap ebay brands 10lb flywheel. Being N/A the rx8 was maxed out intakes and exhaust don't do much . But lighter flywheel, lighter pulleys are nice with that 4.77 rear diff.
Ah you guys should have cleaned the intake manifold valve while the motor was out! Definitely a good preventative maintenance thing, and something that requires the motor to be pulled. Can completely change how these cars perform. Also, rather than changing the radiator, the better move for cooling is an ECU reflash to lower the temp that the fans kick in (both high and low speed).
Should be running 5w40 minimum really to prolong bearing life, if you use a external feed for the Oil meter pump then you can use synthetic in the sump and 2T for the OMP
Nice video! When you guys replace parts with new parts, it triggers my OCD when you don't clean the part you're attaching the new part to. Like the radiator fans, or the brake rotor shield or the brake caliper bracket. Clean that stuff up! Argh!
Get rid of that 5w20 oil and run a minimum of 30 weight, ideally 40 weight & above is recommended for bearing longevity. Every single engine I opened up that ran on 20 weight had scrap bearings. Regarding omp metering just premix @0.5oz/gal fuel with a JASO FD or ISO-L-EGD 2-stroke oil and forget about it
12:03 with Bilstein shocks, that is not a big concern. Mine are… I don’t actually know how old exactly (200.000 km maybe) but they are still completely fine.
@@WaterDispenser Makes sense. And it works for them, so all good. ^^ I just wanted to let others know, if they buy a car with low mileage relatively fresh bilsteins, it’s probably not necessary to change them.
I'd definitely recommend running atleast 10w30 oil. And getting a sohn adapter so the oil metering pump will inject clean 2 stroke oil and help with carbon build up
Awesome video as always. Mark for all the work you're doing on both car you deserve a raise you always go above and beyond for your friends. Keep up the great work both the RX8 and the Eclipse are so awesome.
Thanks for making my Rx8s value go up with this channel!! Run the OPM rez and you can use synthetic oil. It’s only because synthetics don’t break down and cause you to have massive buildup on your exhaust ports then they break off and scar your plate and seals.. I have had 6 of them and two race cars (one I still track) they are amazing cars once you do the secondary air pump delete, fan relays, thermostat and exhaust. Also I don’t premix unless going to the track (or my race car is only premix and standard oil) I run synthetic and use imitu in my rez for my street cars. My last rx8 I had 144k highway miles and never premixed, used synthetic and had amazing compression the day it sold (I use the rotary tester) History lesson: The EPA made Mazda run them at 222degrees for emissions and cut a oiler out on the S1. The S2 has better oilers and 3 of them bjt the economy sucked so bad in 09-11 they lost their asses so they cut them. Side note: if you have lower compression cut it off by cutting the fuel you’ll never flood the engine again. (Old guy tech)^😅
It’s nice to see someone work on an S2 RX-8. Not many of those left. One thing to note about the radiator. I suggest putting foam on the bottom and sides to match the factory radiator to get proper airflow at lower speeds. Without the foam you will get a decent amount of airflow around the radiator.
@gearsandgasoline you can use Idemitsu 10w30 racing oil as well. Its a synthetic oil formulated for Rotary engines. My best friend uses it in his series I RX8 with no driveability problems. He still has his original Oil Metering Pump @ 140k miles *edit* he also uses Idemitsu Premix religiously. Good compression for both rotors, he warms up the car properly, redlines the car at least once a day and has upgraded oil coolers. It is also daily driven. He is living proof that the RX8 *CAN* be daily driven reliably, but you *HAVE* to understand how to maintain it.
Never swap, always rebuild. Engine on these are usually abused, especially related to oil and corrosion. High rev without warmup is a killer on crank. Rotary Resurrection in TN will fix it for value, quality, and on time. Only catch is you must ship car on given time or send whole engine in a create ahead of time. The man is busy and doesn't let cars is around
Make sure you clean the hub surface before putting the new rotors on. If the hub is not fully even you could get warped rotors quite quickly. Love the content!
My car has a low compression limit of 101. I have 75 across all 4 and the car still runs pretty good. I have a built engine to for it but well, it's winter here in PA!
Did a few road trips in my high school friend's R3 RX8. Was a blast. From Cleveland Ohio to dayton a few times and back. You found a gem. Hope it treats you well. Consider me jealous AF lol
That RX8 of yours is beginning to grow on me. The colour pops, and all of the nice fixes you've done have added some new life to it. Certainly prefer it to tall Ben's rust bucket, even if it is faster.
NEVER use aftermarket oil filter in 2009+ RX-8, the engine has 2x oil pressure and blow the relief valve open in older filter designs. Only use specific OE filter rated for the higher oil pressure.
Hey, if you do decide to get a motor, get one from Kurt Roberts or Dave Atkins I have had 4 rx8's they are fun, just have to maintain them. Good luck with your swap and projects I have done this swap three times. Do the OMP delete and. It will run great. They last for about 199k then rebuild. Most people don't know how to maintain them well. They are lots of fun.
I assume they bought the other car for parts I bought a used engine for my my 04 with a video of compression done with an actual rotary tester. I've used the car as my daily driver for 2 almost 3 years now and have even tracked it. Still runs strong! Only issues Ive had were some coolant hoses braking and flat tires. My car has a sohn adapter so I can run any type of oil synthetic/Conventionall(Castrol Gtx for me) 10w40 in the cold weather and 20w50 in the hotter months. These cars just need frequent oil changes(I do 2k miles) and make sure your ignition system is in good shape I hope he replaced his coils plugs and wires with some good factory Rev C coils or BHR Also even a little premix with 2stroke oil will help keep it alive longer
The only thing I suggest right off the bat is running thicker oil; has been mentioned in comments section already, but I cannot stress enough the fact that 5w20 is TOO THIN for the bearings! I've had my RX8 rebuilt and have been running 10w40 in the cold temps and 20w50 in hot summer temps (Chicago area). 20w50 might be overkill for daily driving, it is basically molasses and you can feel the engine not having as much fun free revving, but if you don't want to deal with changing oil viscosity every time, just run 10w40 all year round. Before my rebuild, I jumped on the thicker oil too late (GOD knows what previous owner did to my engine), and I blew up the motor in a way nobody would have thought was even possible. I came to a coast at a stoplight, let go of clutch pedal and popped it in neutral to wait for the light and my motor blew right there. Stationary gear turned into a cactus and part of the rotor chipped as well; bearings went too. Problem? Too thin oil for too many miles. Amazon and Walmart can still get you 10w40 conventional oil from Castrol. Again, if you don't feel comfortable running that thick of an oil, at least move up to a 5w30 minimum, or a 5w40.
I love you guys. You make Saturday morning the best. It's like waiting for Scooby doo to come on the weekend when I was a kid. ❤❤❤❤ Keep up the good work
In Australia, this model is known as the GT. it is the most desirable model Rx8. The red the white and the blue are the top three colours,and most expensive to buy.
That other engine might be alright you just need to take it out for an absolute flogging. And prior to that put like 2 or 3 hundred ml of atf down the spark plug holes and spin it over a little bit and let it sit for a couple days then start it up and send it. Thats what I did with mine as it was left sitting in a paddock for about a year. All the seals in the motor get stuck and doesn’t make much compression.
Ask that attention on the headlight .... meanwhile that oil cooler is also trashed, and should be replaced. Good call on the radiator. 5w oil is a mistake.
Man I wish I could afford to road trip with a random car ... hit some mountain trails ... just have fun ... love the road trip videos . Swing through the Mississippi coast
14:20 you know that the engine will run hotter with more air. thats not why its called cold air intake. the fuel is what cools it down if you richen the mixture.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Working on an Eclipse and an RX-8 back-to-back has me wondering if Mark's therapy is covered by his employer. 😂
The Bens seem to like suffering
@@ApexwithDavin... is it suffering if it's therapeutic? they seem to enjoy it and enjoy it even more when issues/problems are solved.
Mark laying down on the Docs sofa "AND THE HE BOUGHT A FUCKING NOTHER ONE!"
I feel BetterHelp coming on as a sponsor
@@K03sport It's called masochism.
mark is goated for working on both cars. glad he's actually enjoying taking the challenge of reviving these cars
best mechanic on the world
@@inxainnnonyoutubeEdd China is goat
He gets paid?
Greatest of all timed?
Dsm and rotary 😂. Literally my life. It's hard.
Mark is such a role model, dude's working on a rotary and a built 4G63 at the same time!! hats off Mark!
Note for people asking about swapping the silver RX8's headlights to the blue one, the blue RX8 is an R3, so looks like the headlights are different/revised. While the rear lights seem to be the same.
The silver rx8 also had poor condition knockoff headlights
Are the r3 headlights different in shape from the base model facelifted rx8s?
I had to make sure before I asked this question about swapping out the headlights thanks I thought they looked different
@@tobylarrison4826Maybe it’s cause the different bumper?
All S2 Rx8’s are the same from Sport to the R3 so they could have used the headlights from the silver one but I’m glad they didn’t because they didn’t look that great to begin with lol
Ben: it’s a budget build so I don’t want to buy a $500 headlight.
Also Ben: buys headlight, buys a whole other car, buys $2000 coilovers (maybe free bc sponsor), buys brand new radiator
I also didn't see a new clutch kit ? Weird
Dude could of used the headlight off the other rx8 too Lmao
Pretty sure that was a used taillight. He could likely make his money back if not more by parting out the silver car (which most RX8 owners do).
Still spent less than Ben spent on the eclipse
@@GearsandGasoline The referee is saying that was below the belt
Mark is the best addition to this show. Really, the whole crew you have is first class. I also get pretty fired up to get out in the garage and work on my projects after watching first thing on Saturdays; a day which im often plagued with procrastination and laziness.
I know it’s been said before, but I must say it again. I love the production that goes into each video. When Mark said “this is for the music you’re gonna be listening to later” to then hear the same beat afterwards made me smile. Thank you to all the G&G crew who has kept us entertained❤️
My old Rx8, i had for 9 years, had the engine still with good compression when i sold it with 148k miles. They most certainly can last that long.
The engine off the blue one should get a rebuild+longetivity upgrades and for us to see what it entails and have it ready once the engine off the silver one inevitably fails too😅 😅
Built for boost
Port it and turn it into an extend port while it pulled apart.
So glad to see an RX8 getting revived instead of being thrown at a junkyard! These are some of my favorite cars ever made, and this is probably one of my favorite series' on this channel (especially with the Eclipse every other week) Keep it up!
Sad because so many ended up there because of the engine
That cold air intake won't make any noticeable difference. I would recommend using RX8Club as a reference for any modifications before you make them. Factory intake is actually the best intake you can use on an RX8.
Also, many owners tend to run 10W40/15W40 conventional/mineral oil nowadays for better lubrication of the apex seals.
agreed... 20w is way too thin... bye bye bearings!
I was told you cant do that unless you delete the omp. And they dont make delete kits for s2’s. 5w20 is what the factory calls for so thats my best option for now
@@GearsandGasoline While Mazda do recommend it, many rebuilders won't even warranty their work if you don't use 10W40 minimum, some allowing semi-synthetic but never fully synthetic. To run fully synthetic you should install a SOHN adapter that will inject clean 2-Stroke oil instead of oil from the sump.
You can instead premix 2-Stroke when you fill up the tank, but still recommended to use conventional/mineral oil in that case.
Kudos for sticking with the Renesis by the way!
EDIT: Another important thing to remember is that Mazda added an additional oil injection port on the Series 2 Renesis to allow for more apex seal lubrication. This extra port is even more reason to not use fully synthetic without a SOHN adapter.
@@GearsandGasolinesohn omp adapter is your friend here. Gives you a plate to replace the windshield fluid reservoir with two smaller reservoirs, one for the windshield fluid and the new one for 2 stroke oil that will be fed directly to the omp as opposed to it drawing crankcase oil. Then, you can run whatever oil you want in it.
As Ben said, there is no SOHN adapter option for s2 as the oiling system is completely different. Still, 10w-40 is the best weight to run.
I had an RX8 years ago. It lasted from 55k when I purchased it to 190k when it ceased to start. Can't lie, I kinda loved that car. Handling was great, coupe + 2 design worked with my smaller kids. I just didn't have the mechanical know how to properly maintain it, but it was a fun car.
Just needs a K series and it would be perfect.
@@Powersproductions130I doubt he had the money for that
@@nashanthename1886 well he did say years ago, it could have been when k's were a dime a dozen
190k sounds like it gave you everything it had, great car
how much are rotary engines w/a core charge? there are a few rotary specialists so rebuilding or buying a rebuilt renesis isn't too difficult especially when you give them the "bad" engine that can be rebuilt/honed sold again
not gonna lie,anytime i watch gears and gasoline i'm motivated to go work on my car
It’s -8 today in Denver, wish I had a heated garage so bad rn 😭
Thanks for not lying..
any time i see them use the lift, i remind myself to sit my ass down
@@Dylanbforthree is 1 degree in pueblo and i wish i had a garage
If you want to do accurate compression testing on a rotary, you should probably get a rotary compression tester. A normal piston compression tester will read lower than the actual compression and will not necessarily be consistant.
Also, "We are trying to do a build on a budget" and still buys an entire addtional parts car 😂
Sometimes a complete running rx8 that has been thrashed is half the price a running 13b... plus they needed a lot of incidentals.
YES! I couldn't be happier knowing that it's keeping the soul of the car! I admit that it'll never be the fastest car but the potential is there to get a little more out of it and the entire platform is just so amazing to push to it's limits. Maybe not while drifting lol, but a car like that around a track will make cars triple the price need a good driver behind the wheel or get left behind. I somewhat recently bought my dream RX-8 and I've been having insane fun with it. I hope you guys get your time and moneys worth and drive it like crazy! My only (slight) concern was seeing it started and then revved crazy. If treated that way it could cause premature failure of the coolant seals amongst other things and seeing as the last engine had that problem as well I would keep an eye out on it. I would also recommend waiting 5 minutes after the car says it's warm since it's known to lie and still be 20-30 degrees off from normal operating temp. Outside of that I'm curious to see what the new compression numbers are like in comparison to the last engine. I looked at my chart and seeing only 60PSI and a running engine blew my mind lol. My manual '05 Shinka is currently holding around 90PSI averaged throughout all 6 rotor faces and the OMP is kicking so good I smell like oil for hours after even 10 minutes of it running lol. Hope to see more content made with the RX-8 and possibly some follow up videos with real feedback from the experience as to maybe help with all the bad reputation orbiting this beautiful platform (unless it sucks and you hate it lol, though I would still like to see and hear about the problems you guys run into in the future).
Been a rotary guy since 91. You guys shouldn't have swapped that flywheel as the factory flywheel has the counter weight built into it and drilled to match the balance of the internal rotors. Rotary comes with 5 different rotor weights (A-F) so defending on the rotors paired together, the factory will drill to balance the assembly. You guys just swapped that balanced flywheel not even knowing what the internal weights are from either engine. You may get lucky if both engines are "C" weight, otherwise your rear bearings will get extra wear.
fun fact, 150.000 miles is actually totally doable without a rebuild (with a fuckton of luck and care). Someone on the dutch rx8 forums is at i think about 147 000 miles as of last year on the original engine and its still driving. Mind that this is also on a series one so a series 2 should be able to totally do it after all the improvements mazda made to the engine. (not that its typical but it definitely is possible)
Id second this. Its not uncommon for the rx8s to see 120-150+ thousand miles.
NA rotaries tend to last a fair bit longer than their turbo counter parts. Turbo Fcs and FDs would need to be rebuilt around roughly 100~k (A little lower for the FD, a smidge higher for the FC, but close enough to this for either example). NA FCs for comparison were known to regularly hit 140-170~ k miles before it was rebuild time.
RX8s seem to follow suit- Seeing around 120-150~k miles for a rebuild. Not to say this Rx8 WASNT rebuilt, but it wouldnt be surprising either.
If I had a nickel for every time Ben fixed his rotary vehicle by buying another rotary vehicle, I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice
When motors cost $3500 and parts cars cost $1300, you gotta do what you gotta do!
@@GearsandGasoline I know that pain lmao. Trying to get my Marketplace barn find FC running. I want to rebuild the stock engine, but I might just have to spend $3.5-4k on a new 13B
That's the shock Ben. They put the extra long top hat for compression travel... Poorly designed coilovers take way total length and upset the cars balance. The bc racing does it too. A proper rx8 rear coilover woild be inverted to keep the total travel. It's why the rx8 is superior to the s2000 or frs or GD in terms of rear suspension. I'm sure FA valved the shock right but I'd ask for a custom set of full length..
It seems that many shock manufacturers just adapt their NC MX-5 kits for the RX8 to save money. This causes the suspension to run out of droop travel under braking and cornering, but doesn't affect the low and slow crowd that often buy economical coil over kits.
Yeah FA isn't the best choice for these cars
Underrated cars. Supreme handling that shames nearly anything.
Lol
Lol
Lol
agree, awsome handling.
Should do a, 13B Rew turbo engine conversion in it. Well that's what I would do, if I was doing a Mazda RX8 project.
Make sure to use only Mazda's FL22 coolant, some other coolant will damage the coolant seal. The RX8 does not have to run a conventional oil ,synthetic is just fine. S2 RX8 cannot run a SOHN OMP adapter due to the revised OMP design.
Subbed for the Rx8, I still have mine and it’s the cleanest in town but I’m working on making it better.
The production quality is so good. This is top top top tier RUclips content. I did not feel the need to skip any parts, which is rare. Great job, love the rx8
I'm probably preaching to the choir but when it comes to rotary happiness, make sure to do the external oiling mod, pre mix the fuel, and when starting rotaries, make sure they're fully warm before turning them off lest they flood!
The background music in the first part of the video reminds me of gran Turismo menu music and I'm totally here for it 🤣❤️
Also, mark is such an absolute unit... best addition to the channel since I started watching you guys 🤘🤘🤘
I've always used Shell Rotella oil. It's for diesels but works great for Rotary's. It's widely used in the Rx-8 community.
Mark has been such a great addition to the team. Not just his technical knowledge and skills, his chemistry on camera is great too.
17:01 Nooo! Don’t use 5w-20! Hell don’t even use 5w-30! The oil that Mazda recommends for the rx8 (or any rotary for that matter) is too thin! Every single rotary shop that I talk to tells me not to use it, because it’s so thin that it effectively lubricate the seals inside the motor. Less lubricated seals = less compression + hotter temps. Worse case scenario, you can overheat and blow out a coolant seal, and then all of a sudden, no more motor. Ask me how I know. Every single shop tells me 10w-30/40 minimum. However, if you go to Walmart, in their Oil section there something called “Mobil Delvac 1500 Super”. It’s 15w-40 and Rotaries love it. And yes, the Oil metering pump will still work. The shop I go to runs 20w-50 in their OMP’d cars and they all run completely fine. I recommend you change the oil weight immediately to prevent anything from happening.. if it hasn’t already.
I hate to break it to you, but the OEM that has put millions of dollars into testing an engine is gonna know what generally works for most climates. It's fine for most people, but yes you can improve wear slightly by using a slightly thicker oil like 10w-40 in hotter climates. It's not "too thin" though. It's perfectly fine. The main wear component when using a thinner oil has been documented to wear the rotor bearings too much, and not "seals". If you are gonna race your engine and track it, then yes you should use a thicker oil for the higher average oil temperature that you are going to create. But for every day driving, 5w-20 is perfectly fine.
Sorry to hear Advance doesn't sponsor you anymore.
I can understand why they're going through a hard time tho- every chance I've taken to go there, I've had a bad experience.
Expect noticeable drop in quality in the future
Was this announced anywhere?
@@ChrisWalksFast it is in the youtube chapters
@@DuBstep115 Ehhh I'd more just expect less "big" content. Quality was always there, but road trips, new builds ect are $$$
@@nolo2484 I'd be happy to see more car stories and video essays on car culture
the music in this episode is awesome!!! excited to see the rx8 and eclipse get built!
For everyone saying "Why didn't they just use the silver car for this or that, or just use the blue car as the doner" etc etc etc. It's because the Blue car is an R3/Spirit Type R. Which is a really rare model of RX8.
i work at advance, very sad to hear we’re not sponsored with you guys anymore but this company is going through a terrible time. big fight between the frontline and corporate, but that shouldn’t interfere with there business practices between customers/youtubers but they allow it to because corporate is full of old geezers. anywho hopefully a auto company picks you guys up again soon regardless of who it is i’ll be shopping with them!
Biggest heat issue is the exhaust port design, that is meant to essentially stay a bit hotter to more fully burn fuel in an attempt to pass EPA regs. The cold air intake may actually lean it out without an appropriate tune, especially at cruise RPM. The Renesis is kinda picky on what you can do with it.
As for oil.... you wanna get your hands on Idemitsu Rotary Blend. Only thing I recommend other than specific Klotz blends.
The r3 has special headlights but it's cosmetic. They swap over.
But..... I understand it's a budget build. But as a rx7 and rx8 owner. Why not out a lightweight flywheel and clutch in the newer engine install. The rx8 makes a giant improvement using even the cheap ebay brands 10lb flywheel. Being N/A the rx8 was maxed out intakes and exhaust don't do much . But lighter flywheel, lighter pulleys are nice with that 4.77 rear diff.
Ah you guys should have cleaned the intake manifold valve while the motor was out! Definitely a good preventative maintenance thing, and something that requires the motor to be pulled. Can completely change how these cars perform.
Also, rather than changing the radiator, the better move for cooling is an ECU reflash to lower the temp that the fans kick in (both high and low speed).
Should be running 5w40 minimum really to prolong bearing life, if you use a external feed for the Oil meter pump then you can use synthetic in the sump and 2T for the OMP
We usually run 15W-40 or 20W-50 in these engines. They love it.
That only works on a series 1 that you can fit a Sohn adapter on.
Nice video! When you guys replace parts with new parts, it triggers my OCD when you don't clean the part you're attaching the new part to. Like the radiator fans, or the brake rotor shield or the brake caliper bracket. Clean that stuff up! Argh!
Get rid of that 5w20 oil and run a minimum of 30 weight, ideally 40 weight & above is recommended for bearing longevity. Every single engine I opened up that ran on 20 weight had scrap bearings. Regarding omp metering just premix @0.5oz/gal fuel with a JASO FD or ISO-L-EGD 2-stroke oil and forget about it
12:03 with Bilstein shocks, that is not a big concern. Mine are… I don’t actually know how old exactly (200.000 km maybe) but they are still completely fine.
They have to put Fortune Autos on every car as part of their sponsorship
@@WaterDispenser Makes sense. And it works for them, so all good. ^^
I just wanted to let others know, if they buy a car with low mileage relatively fresh bilsteins, it’s probably not necessary to change them.
Had a 04 rx8 manual for 13 years. It was the best. !! 😊
Glad to see you guys are keeping the 13B. Also mark is a nice addition to the team.
If you do a roadtrip with the RX8 I have a 93 Eunos Cosmo with a 13b-re for tall Ben for a road trip.
Blown away by how much you fixed in one video, amazing stuff!
I'd definitely recommend running atleast 10w30 oil. And getting a sohn adapter so the oil metering pump will inject clean 2 stroke oil and help with carbon build up
im so happy to se a new video from you, makes my day
Do enjoy that the music with your vids is not the same as all the other YT channels, top work.
Rotary's are my Favourite engine because they naturally rev High and are very smooth!
Awesome video as always. Mark for all the work you're doing on both car you deserve a raise you always go above and beyond for your friends. Keep up the great work both the RX8 and the Eclipse are so awesome.
Rx8's are so criminally underrated.... They look amazing, sound great, handling is awesome.
Thanks for making my Rx8s value go up with this channel!! Run the OPM rez and you can use synthetic oil. It’s only because synthetics don’t break down and cause you to have massive buildup on your exhaust ports then they break off and scar your plate and seals.. I have had 6 of them and two race cars (one I still track) they are amazing cars once you do the secondary air pump delete, fan relays, thermostat and exhaust. Also I don’t premix unless going to the track (or my race car is only premix and standard oil) I run synthetic and use imitu in my rez for my street cars. My last rx8 I had 144k highway miles and never premixed, used synthetic and had amazing compression the day it sold (I use the rotary tester) History lesson: The EPA made Mazda run them at 222degrees for emissions and cut a oiler out on the S1. The S2 has better oilers and 3 of them bjt the economy sucked so bad in 09-11 they lost their asses so they cut them. Side note: if you have lower compression cut it off by cutting the fuel you’ll never flood the engine again. (Old guy tech)^😅
It’s nice to see someone work on an S2 RX-8. Not many of those left.
One thing to note about the radiator. I suggest putting foam on the bottom and sides to match the factory radiator to get proper airflow at lower speeds. Without the foam you will get a decent amount of airflow around the radiator.
Let’s goooo finally another rx8 build ! Can’t wait to get to work on mine
It's making me want an RX-8 now. It sounds so good in the end clip of you driving.
No one does rotary any more glad to see this work its nice to have a garage and good friends
@gearsandgasoline you can use Idemitsu 10w30 racing oil as well. Its a synthetic oil formulated for Rotary engines. My best friend uses it in his series I RX8 with no driveability problems. He still has his original Oil Metering Pump @ 140k miles
*edit* he also uses Idemitsu Premix religiously. Good compression for both rotors, he warms up the car properly, redlines the car at least once a day and has upgraded oil coolers. It is also daily driven. He is living proof that the RX8 *CAN* be daily driven reliably, but you *HAVE* to understand how to maintain it.
Never swap, always rebuild. Engine on these are usually abused, especially related to oil and corrosion. High rev without warmup is a killer on crank.
Rotary Resurrection in TN will fix it for value, quality, and on time. Only catch is you must ship car on given time or send whole engine in a create ahead of time. The man is busy and doesn't let cars is around
Gears and Gasoline road trips are the best, stoked to see what the next one is going to be!
More of this please! I was waiting for so long to see it run!
Although there is an oil metering pump, still premix!! Doesn’t have to be nearly as high of a ratio as if the pump is deleted but still is important
Make sure you clean the hub surface before putting the new rotors on. If the hub is not fully even you could get warped rotors quite quickly. Love the content!
semi synthetics should be fine assuming minimal or no PAOs. 5w30 is recommended over 20 btw.
Run at least 5-30 or 0-30. You can also run an Sohn adapter that adds a premix reservoir so you can run synthetic
If you love doing it, keep doing it. Life is fragile. Tell someone that you love them. When you put love into the car, it rewards you. Godspeed.
My car has a low compression limit of 101. I have 75 across all 4 and the car still runs pretty good. I have a built engine to for it but well, it's winter here in PA!
Did a few road trips in my high school friend's R3 RX8. Was a blast. From Cleveland Ohio to dayton a few times and back. You found a gem. Hope it treats you well. Consider me jealous AF lol
Thx for keeping another classic on the road
That RX8 of yours is beginning to grow on me. The colour pops, and all of the nice fixes you've done have added some new life to it. Certainly prefer it to tall Ben's rust bucket, even if it is faster.
Im so glad ya’ll still have the escort. I need more zetec content
NEVER use aftermarket oil filter in 2009+ RX-8, the engine has 2x oil pressure and blow the relief valve open in older filter designs. Only use specific OE filter rated for the higher oil pressure.
The throwout bearing sound never goes away in my experience. Was always just super loud.
i remember being 15-16 looking at these for my first car luckily i did some research on the rotary engine and wised up before that happened lol
My OCD is making me just want to clean all that debris off the oil cooler. Great video as always.
I had 3 rx7's one was turbo 460hp at the wheels .... you just fall in love with them
Hey, if you do decide to get a motor, get one from Kurt Roberts or Dave Atkins I have had 4 rx8's they are fun, just have to maintain them. Good luck with your swap and projects I have done this swap three times. Do the OMP delete and. It will run great. They last for about 199k then rebuild. Most people don't know how to maintain them well. They are lots of fun.
I've heard "roadtrip" atleast 2x on this build...hope we'll have another one! More power boys! =)
I assume they bought the other car for parts
I bought a used engine for my my 04 with a video of compression done with an actual rotary tester.
I've used the car as my daily driver for 2 almost 3 years now and have even tracked it. Still runs strong!
Only issues Ive had were some coolant hoses braking and flat tires.
My car has a sohn adapter so I can run any type of oil synthetic/Conventionall(Castrol Gtx for me)
10w40 in the cold weather and 20w50 in the hotter months.
These cars just need frequent oil changes(I do 2k miles) and make sure your ignition system is in good shape
I hope he replaced his coils plugs and wires with some good factory Rev C coils or BHR
Also even a little premix with 2stroke oil will help keep it alive longer
Best series from GridLife, both Eclipse and RX8 builds ❤ good to see You working on cars guys.
The only thing I suggest right off the bat is running thicker oil; has been mentioned in comments section already, but I cannot stress enough the fact that 5w20 is TOO THIN for the bearings! I've had my RX8 rebuilt and have been running 10w40 in the cold temps and 20w50 in hot summer temps (Chicago area). 20w50 might be overkill for daily driving, it is basically molasses and you can feel the engine not having as much fun free revving, but if you don't want to deal with changing oil viscosity every time, just run 10w40 all year round. Before my rebuild, I jumped on the thicker oil too late (GOD knows what previous owner did to my engine), and I blew up the motor in a way nobody would have thought was even possible. I came to a coast at a stoplight, let go of clutch pedal and popped it in neutral to wait for the light and my motor blew right there. Stationary gear turned into a cactus and part of the rotor chipped as well; bearings went too. Problem? Too thin oil for too many miles. Amazon and Walmart can still get you 10w40 conventional oil from Castrol. Again, if you don't feel comfortable running that thick of an oil, at least move up to a 5w30 minimum, or a 5w40.
Valvoline VR1 has a conventional and a synthetic variety. Both are 20w50. Just btw
If you're planning on road-tripping that R3, hypermiling is your friend (got nearly 270 miles on one tank with my old S1 RX-8 once)
I love you guys. You make Saturday morning the best. It's like waiting for Scooby doo to come on the weekend when I was a kid. ❤❤❤❤ Keep up the good work
In Australia, this model is known as the GT. it is the most desirable model Rx8. The red the white and the blue are the top three colours,and most expensive to buy.
Congratulations Gents. 👏🏻👏🏻
It is a cool looking car 😎
That other engine might be alright you just need to take it out for an absolute flogging.
And prior to that put like 2 or 3 hundred ml of atf down the spark plug holes and spin it over a little bit and let it sit for a couple days then start it up and send it.
Thats what I did with mine as it was left sitting in a paddock for about a year. All the seals in the motor get stuck and doesn’t make much compression.
Okay fine... I approve of this swap. 😂 I was scared there for a while. Lol
Oh yea! Can’t wait for the roadtrip video of this car.
Gears and Gasoline is one of the only channels on RUclips that I watch at normal speed. Everyone else gets 1.5x.
Just a suggestion, could dry ice blast the underside of the car and then re-coat it to prevent rust
S2000 for the parts run was my fav part
Ask that attention on the headlight .... meanwhile that oil cooler is also trashed, and should be replaced.
Good call on the radiator.
5w oil is a mistake.
Man I wish I could afford to road trip with a random car ... hit some mountain trails ... just have fun ... love the road trip videos . Swing through the Mississippi coast
Yes! 7 am est realse time instead of 9 am. Thank you!
14:20 you know that the engine will run hotter with more air. thats not why its called cold air intake. the fuel is what cools it down if you richen the mixture.
Rotary Resurrection could've rebuilt your original keg for cheap. Look them up! They specialize in rebuilding RX8 engines.
Why don't you use the headlights from the silver car?
I like the teasing of a potential roadtrip with the Eclipse and RX8. It sounds like a really fun series to watch.
I sold off my 19", too rough on road. Got OE 18s and coated gun metal. 18" also has better tire selection.
I really hope you and Ben Lin going to make another trip to put to test those @rx8 and Mitsubishi Eclips when its done.
Like that sonic gray pearl civic in the background. Nice car my wife has the hatchback civic in that color.