LS RX8 Build - Project Norito

[JohnnyTightlips]

More Stuffs

I did end up wrapping and sealing the headers. I want to try and keep the heat out of the car as I will not have AC anytime soon. This took a few hours and was gross. Wear some gloves and clothes that you can wash right away. Keep the wrap wet or else you will just breathe in glass all day. I was happy how they turned out and hope they hold up. The main issue with doing this is now when you work around them you need to be more careful and under the car can get fibers and crap in your face.





Intake Arrived

Stock LS6 intake


You will need to trim one side of the map sensor to fit on the intake.


Throttle Body - New Hitachi ETB0024 Fuel Injection Throttle Body - Gasket/O-Ring Included
Converter - For LS Throttle Body - LS1 / Truck Adapter 3 Bolt Intake to 4 Bolt 92mm
Bolts - STAINLESS STEEL LS1 INTAKE MANIFOLD BOLTS KIT For LSX LS2 LS3 LS6 CAMARO CORVETTE GM




Fuel Rails
Billet Fuel Rail Kit For OE LS1 LS6 Stock Intake Manifold 6AN + Hardware
Delphi GM 50lb/hr LS Truck Flex Fuel Injectors 12613412-8

It took me a while to find a rail that would work without needing adapters. I ended up with the one above. You can see the bolts pass through which gave me more room to work on mounting.

I made my own brackets out of L brackets and some spacers. It is very solid and I am not worried about it.


I also started to break down the wire harness I ordered and covert it to what I need.



Sad News

We had to say goodbye to my best friend of 14 years the other day. She was the best dog I could have ever asked for.

Sam 2011 - 2025

 

[Easter Bunny]

Damnit man it was a great update until the end ....

 

[Cfoldone]

I felt the same way. Your build progress is always something I look forward to because you are attempting something I can only dream about.
A loss of a loved one is a huge loss and I feel your pain. I hope your future is about all the great times your dog offered with nothing but joy.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Small Update: but tons of time and work

I have started digging into the wiring more. I have all the engine wires hooked up. I decided to ghetto wire them for now to check that all sensors are right and that things are behaving as they should. I will upload the excel sheet of how it all works once it does work.

I also got the engine to crank from the key so that is a great step forward. I ran 2awg from the busbar to the alternator and starter. I will get into more detail on that in a later post.

I went through the ebay harness and traced each wire I also put the proper ends on whatever needed it such as changing the injectors to ev6.


I have been using these Terminal Block 12-Position Strip 10 Amp 380 Volt White Screw Terminal Connector Dual Row Electric Barrier Block to test all the wires that are going to the haltech and other places as a temporary connection. I plan to fire up the motor this way and check all the sensors to make sure it is good before I clean it all up and make it nice.


It looks like a total mess but it starts to make sense if you take it one wire at a time. If I were to do this again I would probably just get the LS harness from haltech for a few hundred more but at the time I had no idea what I was doing or going to need and this will work fine and save me money.


There is a 4 pin "circled in yellow" on the fuse box that has a wire that feeds the starter for the OEM rx8. This sends 12v+ to the relay on the starter. It is a blue/yellow wire and like 10 awg. I used it to feed the signal to the LS starter. It works great as long as the clutch switch is working and you ground pin 5a on the rx8 ecu harness to bypass the immobilizer which no longer exist. There are also two other wires that come out of it and I have no idea what they do.

The green circles need 12v+ which I fed from the alternator as I already had a fat wire going to that and it is more or less how the rx8 did it as well. I broke down the factory cable feeding these and cut and put on my own ends for the alternator side.


Next step is to connect the ECU after I program all the wires and sensors in it properly and hope that it does not catch fire. Once that is confirmed working I can clean up all this wiring and shorten stuff.


Powah - still tons of work to do but getting there

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

She's Alive!

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Still a decent amount of stuff to do, exhaust, cooling, wire cleanup, vac lines, driveshaft but it is getting close. I will add more info when I can but most of the work lately has been wiring and testing. It is not super hard but it is very tedious.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Small Update:

This is just a quick update of what I had been doing and what I am now working on with lots of pics. I am at the point now where I need to figure out cooling and driveshaft and the car is ready to drive. I still don't have an exhaust but that does not stop the car from rolling around the block...

Fuel Stuff

I ended up running a 6an line from the mazda fuel pump to the front of the car. It took me a while to figure out a good route without getting near the exhaust. I ended up running it right next to the OEM line but then came up the frame rail into a flex fuel sensor then up to the rails. I put the fuel pressure sensor on the rail passenger side. I used evil energy ptfe line and it was pretty easy to work with and did not leak first try. I will probably replace the hose that connects the rails at some point so it matches but it works for now.

EVIL ENERGY 6AN PTFE Fuel Line Kit,E85 Nylon Braided Fuel Hose 20FT AN6 PTFE Fuel Line Hose(5/16Inch ID)






Intake "Intake Air Temp Sensor"

I modified the intake to put the temp sensor right on it. I am not sure if it will heat soak here or not but it will be easy enough to plug and move the sensor if needed. I drilled it out and then just used the sensor to thread in the plastic.




Non Insulated Butt Connectors Kit

This is what I used for pretty much all the wiring. Solder is not recommended under the hood due to it heating and cooling which can cause the solder to break over time. These worked great and feel very secure.




I used the ebay harness for a lot of the wiring and merged it with the haltech/ran haltech wires for cam and crank etc. I did not really like the wire size for the injector and ignition 12v "I am sure it was fine" so I decided to run 14awg for the ignition and 16awg for the injectors.



I have been slowly cleaning up wires and looming them. I also ran a fuse panel and relay in the old spot where the OEM ECU was. I am going to run the haltech inside the passenger footwell as I have heard it can overheat in the small rx8 bay. The fuse panel gets power with key on and provides 12v+ to everything that needs it. I will upload the wire spreadsheet when I am done with it. It all fits nicely and should look pretty clean when it is done.




Twisted blue and white is for the rx8 canbus to talk to the haltech so the dash and power steering work.

I guess a lot of people skip this step but I did want the reverse lights to work when so I found the Red/Yellow wire in the drivers side door well. When you give it 12v the backup lights come on.




Cleanup


I think I have everything wired in now but just got back from vacation and have not looked at it since. Still lots of stuff to do but getting very close to driving it.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Got a little bit of time this weekend. Cleaned up the wires, mostly done and got the top side of the radiator mounted. I need to make some brackets for the bottom and will likely mount them to the frame rails. I also found out the shifter I have sits too high and does not clear the trim. I found a better solution but need to see if I can return the one I have.




Wires Cleaned up


New Rad and some cutting/fabbing, I kept the stock fans and only had to trim them a little. It still gives me about an inch from the fans to the belts and I have room for the ac core when I want to put it back on.

 

[deldran]

Hey man, do you do any work for your real job?

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Hey man, do you do any work for your real job?

lol, don't worry about it

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Cooling Update:

Finished the cooling system. It ended up taking longer and more parts than I anticipated. I also switched most of the hoses to silicone as the heater hoses are pretty close to the exhaust manifold. The thermostat did leak and I could not get it to seal with just the rubber. I guess this is pretty common on LS builds. I ended up getting some Permatex rtv for water pumps and that sealed it. I did not go super heavy just enough to coat both sides.

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This is a rough drawing of how it worked. I had to buy some T's and Unions to get it all split apart. The 9/16 line fit the rx8 heater core perfectly. You might be able to use the OEM lines to save some money. The 9/16 also fits on the 5/8 barb without too much trouble. I did buy the LS swap hoses but they were crappy and collapsed with any bend so I went silicone and it fits way better.


These are some of the parts I used.

You could also use the OEM expansion tank but I got the moroso for 75$ with the cap on ebay and it fits nicer.

Moroso Catch/Overflow/Recovery Tank 1 1/4 Quart Capacity
Moroso Radiator Cap 12-16 lbs




I made a bracket for the expansion tank.




I ended up using my press to flatten teh OEM rx8 radiator supports and was able to make them work without too much work.



I bought a swivel thermostat but had to use water pump rtv to keep it from leaking.


I had this hose laying around and was able to cut it to fit for the top hose.


The bottom hose was one I took off the rx8 and made it work. I might have to find a new one as it won't clear the AC if I ever get that working.


These are the silicone hoses and 90 barbs coming out of the LS block.


I ran the hose for the steam port through the hole in the fender up to the front.


This is where it splits to steam port and top of the radiator.


I filled the system with distilled water and let the car idle for a min or two "it is super loud" and there were not any leaks. I plan to fill it with actual coolant once I have driven the car some.



The driveshaft just came yesterday so I will try and install that soon and hopefully it fits right. Once that is working I plan to try and do the exhaust myself which might prove to be a terrible idea but whatever.

 

[mangosmoothie]

This is way too well done for me.

I bet you're even going to have working AC

 

[Easter Bunny]

i was thinking the same thing, exhaust? i would put a couple of hundred miles on it before i bothered with an exhaust

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

This is way too well done for me.

I bet you're even going to have working AC

I would like to but right now the motor mount is in the way of the compressor and I have no idea where I would run the lines, space is very limited. I had looked into getting a high output alternator and doing an electric a/c compressor but that might be a next summer project. I did just order all the exhaust parts and I am hoping to get some time on that soon.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Updates:

I got a few things done and started.

I bought some hood struts off Amazon and they work perfect. The hood is AL so it is really light so it stays up no problem.
Autobahn88 Hood Lift Support Kit, compatible with 2003-2012 Mazda RX8 SE3P 13B MSP (Matt Black)




I also got the driveshaft installed and tested a few gears and it all seems to be working well.

The trans came with a billet yoke and then I did a little back and forth with https://www.actionmachineinc.com/ and they were able to get me sorted.

I was pretty worried about this but it ended up being pretty easy.



I worked with Bob Guzman and he told me exactly how to fill it all out. He said this setup should handle more power than the diff can support so the next project might be swapping to a ford 8.8 but that's another couple grand and is not going to happen anytime soon.





My A measurement was 49.75 and I did not have a B measurement as it was flush with the seal. This seemed to be exactly what I needed. I tried to lift the rear end up as you are supposed to have it loaded when you measure but the rx8 is not a truck with 100 feet of travel so it did not really change anything and the diff didn't really move.






I was able to use the OEM bolts without any issues.

Got my slow drain fixed "sorta" will be nice to have a shut off.


Got the trans tunnel sealed up. I used some sheet metal with some heat shielding on both sides and some of the OEM studs to bolt it down. Hopefully it helps keep some noise and heat out.



Going to see if I can get a shorter shifter from @Maisonvi but happy that my trim fits.



I also got started on the exhaust. Never done any real welding or metal work before so this has been interesting. It is going to sit pretty low but I don't really have a choice until I get a new rear diff and get rid of the power plant frame that connects the trans a diff. "future project" I am going 3" out each header into a single 3" back to the muffler where it will split to 3" on each side.

I decided to use mild steel which I know will rust but I don't really care as it is easier to work with "first time" "cheap" and I can paint it. Plus this car will never see any salty roads or anything so it should be fine until I get bored and do something else.

I got one side tacked up and it will go under the trans and merge with the other side to go 3" all the way back.
My little setup




I also got a valvetronic style muffler and welded some hangers to it.

I also picked up a resonator. Not sure if it will help with rove but this is all me just trying stuff so we will see.
LCGP 3" Inlet Universal Resonator, 3" Outlet 12" Overall Length Stainless Steel Performance Muffler, Polished, Straight Through Design, Deep Tone

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Some of the welds are prettier than others but I am happy with it being my first time.


Next step is going to be merging the pipes and tacking the rest all the way back then doing finish welds and painting. It has not been super hard just tedious and I hope it works well enough....YOLO

This is the kit I bought. I actually bought it twice as I needed more 45's and it was cheaper to buy the entire kit vs just 45's which was like 35$ and figured I might need more pipe. So far it welds up nice and the pipes slip right into each other.
3'' Mild Steel Custom Exhaust Kit Tubing Mandrel Bend Pipe Straight & U-Bend 16 Gauge Universal 8PCS

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The CX racing headers have a flat vband flange on them which was kinda dumb but I found some vbands on amazon that work with them. I ended up testing some welding on once since I had 4 and only needed 2.
3 inch V Band Clamp, 3" Universal Stainless Steel V-Band Bolt Clamp with Flat Flange for Exhaust Pipes, Muffler Ends Connecting(76mm, 1 pc)

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Rest of parts.

• 2PCS Exhaust Flex Pipe Stainless Steel Double Braid Long Heavy Duty 3''Inch x 4''Inch w/Ends 4'' inch Long
• LCGP 3" Inlet Universal Exhaust Tip Pack of 2, 4" Outlet - 5" Long, Stainless Steel Double Wall Angle Cut
  
• EVIL ENERGY 3.0 Inch V Band Clamp with Flange Male Female 304 Stainless Steel 4PCS
  
• 3 Inch Valvetronic Exhaust Cutout with Muffler Cat Back Exhaust System Valve Kit (Double Valve)

 

[Easter Bunny]

Mild steel will last way longer than you need it to

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Shes Alive!!!

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Got a decent chunk of time this weekend and decided not to waste it. It was a heat advisory every day so that was pretty neat and I sweat about 90 gallons but it was worth it.

It took me a while to figure out how to merge it all but after some youtube and messing around I got it.

I am sure it could flow nicer but this is what I got.


I broke the exhaust into 3 sections and it is all vband. I also painted it with high temp paint as it is mild steel. Most of the welds turned out nice but I had some that blew through and I had to chase which make it not pretty but it will hold.



The knock off muffler fit perfect.




I have never really welded before , this is mig with 75% Argon 25% CO2 and Blue Demon ER70S6 X .030. I was happy with it for what I needed. I probably could have use smaller wire to make tighter prettier welds but I just needed it to hold and this was pretty easy for a beginner.


High Temp Silver


Tips before I trimmed them back and tacked them on. I might look at 4.5" tips in the future but they don't seem very common and the only ones I found were diesel that were 9" long and would stick out super far. These tips were like 50$ and fell pretty nice and welded decent.

 

[Easter Bunny]

Good job on the welds

Should have left the tips long lol

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Maiden Voyage


Well the car works, she's a little ripper. It felt good and there was nothing super crazy. Exhaust sounds good out of the garage and it is not super loud in the cabin. It is fun to open and close it. I took it to the grocery store, gas station and the car wash. It seemed to be happy to be back on the road. I need to get 500 miles of clutch break in done before I am too hard on it so it will be my daily for a while.

 

[Easter Bunny]

Congrats. Need a fly by video

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Not a lot to report right now. Car has been running well. I plan to get a real tune at some point but it has been driving around town fine and I got it up to 85 and it did not wobble. I have a few things on the list but right now I am fixing up my van that I have neglected for years "suspension , brakes, muffler leak"

TO DO

• Real Intake so that the IAT sensor is not reading hot air all the time
• Alternator does not turn on unless I rev it "I guess it might need a 12v signal to kick it on"
• Fuel Pressure is at like 78 psi and 58 during wot, will be doing a real pressure regulator with return
• Clunk in the rear, I think it is a mix of the exhaust but also the passenger rear coil has a smashed sleeve at the bottom from the previous owner tightening it without aligning it properly so maybe it is moving. I have also not touched anything back there so it could need end links etc.
• Brakes, the brakes work but you can tell they are autozone special pads and discs. Would like to get EBC yellow pads and rotors.
• Wheels and Tires, the tires are all season and 7 years old, fine for messing around but def not something I trust. It has OEM wheels which have been beat to crap. These will need to be replaced before I do any sort of serious driving.
• Suspension is fine but very cheap coil over bumpy. I might just keep it for a season as a legit suspension is $$$$ and I am sure it would not bother me as much if I did not have the clunking in the rear.
• Oil Pressure, I was having what I thought was oil pressure issues but it seems like pressure is fine for the LS. I did end up removing the OEM thermostat from the rx8 oil cooler so now I only have the thermostat on the block. I am now running 5w40 and oil pressure is solid at temps around 240 and no upper end tick like the 5w30 was giving me at those temps.

I did have to modify the clutch pedal. It was pretty much right off the floor and there were no more threads because why would an expensive kit work right without a bunch of mods...... eat farts v8roadsters

This allowed me to preload it a little more so the pedal pushes it a little further which has fixed it and now I can adjust it to the spot I like. It is still closer to the floor but before it was so close that it barely wanted to go into gear and felt terrible.