LS RX8 Build - Project Norito

[JohnnyTightlips]

Update:

Fuel System: Complete
Parts

• 5/16" (8mm) x 6" (150mm) In Tank Submersible Fuel Corrugated Flexible Hose Line for Fuel Pump Assembly E-85 Safe Compatible
  
• Aeromotive 13129 Regulator, EFI Bypass, Adjustable (2) -6 inlets, (1) -6 bypass
  
• EVIL ENERGY 6AN PTFE Fuel Line Kit,E85 Nylon Braided Fuel Hose 20FT AN6 PTFE Fuel Line Hose(5/16Inch ID)
  
• EVIL ENERGY 6AN Male Flare Bulkhead to 5/16 Hose Barb Fuel Tank Fitting Adapter Aluminum, Black
  
• I also used random other fittings "you can figure it out"

I put the fitting on the top hat but after the fact I should have put it on the other side as the fittings are too tall and I had to rotate it to get it to not hit the seat cover. Works fine but just a heads up.


I trimmed the return hose a bit to get it into the basket and it seems to like it as I was able to set 58 psi and it is stable.

This is pure overkill but I had this piece of AL sitting around and it worked to mount the FPR. You could probably hang the motor off this mount.

It's all back together and no leaks.


Alternator:
When the car first started up the alternator was working but after a few weeks it would do this weird thing where it would only work after I revved the car to 2k and then it was fine. Well a few weeks later it just stopped charging. I ordered and ebay special and it seems to work great. It has enough amps to run 3 of these cars so I should be fine.

Parts

• BLACK ALTERNATOR HIGH OUTPUT 300AMP FOR CHEVROLET SUBURBAN TAHOE 1500HD 2500HD seller: high-quality-parts

Intake:

Parts

• Airaid AIR-100-400 UBI (U-Build-It) Intake Kit
  
• 2@ Tandefio 90 Degree 4 Ply Elbow Coupler Length Silicone Hose 0.2 Inches/ 5 mm Thickness Silicone Pipe Intake Pipe with T Bolt Clamps for Turbo Intercooler Intake Piping (4 Inch)
• Some random Spectre air filter "idk it was in a box of crap I had"
• Maybe this? Spectre Universal Clamp-On Air Filter: High Performance, Washable Filter: Round Tapered; 3 in/3.5 in/4 in Flange ID; 6.719 in (171 mm) Height; 6 in (152 mm) Base; 4.75 in (121 mm) Top, SPE-8131, Black

I was able to make a heat shield to keep the radiator/motor/oil cooler heat away from the intake. I also got the IAT sensor close to the filter. Car seems happy and the Intake Air Temps are more accurate to what the engine is actually seeing now and not just heat soak.




Bonus:

Used some license plates to make a heatshield where the fuel and brake lines get closer to the exhaust.

 

[Mazdasloww3]

How much did you end up paying for your driveshaft? Not sure if I want to go 8.8 off the bat or just get the swap working first with the rx8 diff, mainly due to timeframe. Cost of having to do a custom driveshaft twice will probably determine which route I go. Really appreciate how well you've documented this build so far.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

How much did you end up paying for your driveshaft? Not sure if I want to go 8.8 off the bat or just get the swap working first with the rx8 diff, mainly due to timeframe. Cost of having to do a custom driveshaft twice will probably determine which route I go. Really appreciate how well you've documented this build so far.

Thanks for the reply, it was 458$ shipped and worked perfect. I will be uploading my wiring info soon too.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Wiring - it's fun!!

This seems more complicated than it is. One wire at a time and after 1 million hours it will all come together. If something seems odd or does not make sense it is possible I fixed it but forgot to update the spreadsheet. This wiring will pretty much get you pointed in the right direction for an swap but even more so for an LS swap. I have never done this before but I took my time and was able to work through it.

I have not double checked the wiring but the car is working only thing I have not totally got working is cruise control but maybe someday. It is the attached excel file.


This is the Deutsch connectors I used for the connections to the RX8 and here is the paper cheat sheet. I might clean this up at some point for people but it should all be here.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Update:

Not a ton of tinkering going on lately. I have been going through and e-tune from https://www.evans-tuning.com/tuning and he has been super good to work with. It cost 500$ and I can't complain. We are pretty much done with the tune and the car feels great and oem to drive. I was going to tune it myself but there is just too much to learn about the haltech to get it dialed and I don't have time or desire for that. He also left the tune open so I can tweak as I desire. He really cleaned it up so it is smooth all over and feels OEM.

We have ran into one issue that is causing me a little grief. The Accelerator Pedal Position sensor is noisy. This causes it to think I am pressing the pedal when I am not which can cause it to stop idling because it thinks I want to drive but then falls on its face for a second because I am not actually pressing the gas.


I did check it with engine off and key on and it reads correctly so I am guessing it is some sort of interference with the OEM/My wiring. I plan to re-wire it directly from the ECU to the pedal so that it does not have to go through the oem wires and stays out of the engine bay as the ECU sits in the glovebox. Hopefully this cleans it up and should not be crazy work.

Other than this issue the car has been really good. Clutch feels nice and the car is a ripper. Super happy with the valved exhaust. If the pedal was working right I could see driving this all day every day even on a long road trip, it just works and is happy. When the pedal was right I actually kinda forgot I was driving it and it was just like a normal oem car which was a pretty cool feeling.

Things still to do.

Stereo
Suspension
Brakes
Clunk in rear
New Tint

 

[Easter Bunny]

so is the next step twin turbos or a supercharger?

 

[Enki]

U-Haul trailer full of NOS bottles.

Edit: 1500 dry shot.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Fixed it​

The haltech harness comes with a 4 pin can connector which is the same connector as the wideband controller so I had it plugged into that. Well turns out you are supposed to break out the 12v+ and Ground as the 4 pin on the ecu uses sensor ground and the wideband needs chassis ground.

Once I changed the 12v+ and Ground all the sensors had a much cleaner signal and the throttle no longer bounces. Haltech support actually helped me find it as they notice in the logs that the noise gets much worse when the widebands were heating up "drawing more current". I let my tuner know and now we are cleaning up the idle and around town driving.

I am pretty happy it was an easy fix and glad that this is the only real wiring issue I have had after doing all this work and this being my first time.

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

so is the next step twin turbos or a supercharger?

Boost would be a good time but it has enough power right now to be really fun to drive and not go directly to jail.

 

[Enki]

Are you even really having fun unless you have at least two jurisdictions and three helicopters chasing you?

 

[JohnnyTightlips]

Smol update:


The OEM stereo was trash and made bad noises. It has been a min since I looked at the stereo scene and I thought things might have changed a bit but they haven't. I looked at the nice brands like Sony, Alpine, Pioneer and they are all a rip off for what you get. I am sure they have about 35$ in these 600$ head units. I decided to take a gamble on the china unit. It seems to work great and actually sounds way better than expected. It has built in steering wheel controls for resistance based buttons which is what the rx8 uses so I did not need to spend 60$ more on a steering wheel control box.

Overall I am super happy with it. You can email them and they will send you an updated flash file to use as the boot screen wallpaper of your choice. I plan to do that at some point too. The install kinda sucked as you gotta mess with the hvac buttons and it is pretty tedious.

Next steps are to get rid of the Bose amp and speakers as I can tell they are on their way out. I plan to get a 4 channel and tap into the OEM speaker wires but this is not super critical right now as the current setup is working.

Backup camera seems to work well and I ordered a holder for it.

• 3.5mm Microphone HD Voice Assembly Car Radio Mic Replacement for Kenwood Boss JVC Sony Jensen Alpine for Car Vehicle Head Unit Enabled Stereo DVD GPS (9.85 Feet Cable)
• Metra Electronics Mazda Rx-8 2004-2008
• SJoyBring 7" QLED Double Din Car Stereo - Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, 240W 4.2CHN, SWC, Bluetooth, FM/AM Car Radio, 2 Subwoofers Outputs, Backup Camera
• Car Reverse Rear View Backup Camera For Mazda RX-8 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

 

[Easter Bunny]

Looks clean