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Written by Patrick Rall
LS1 power makes the Mazda RX-8 a far more respectable sports car than it’s original limp-wristed Rotary engine.<br />While flipping through the used car listings on the San Francisco we came across one of the few fast examples of the Mazda RX-8 in the US. How do you make an RX-8 fast? You install an LS V8, of course.The Disappointing RX-8When compared to American performance cars, many Japanese performance cars are fairly lackluster, but the RX-8 was a particularly big flop in the US market. Following in the footsteps of the last Mazda RX-7 with a powerful twin-turbocharged rotary engine, the naturally-aspirated RX-8 was considerably less powerful than its predecessors, but it was also quite a bit heavier.As a result, the RX-8 was far slower than the FD RX-7 and the marketing angle of the extra functionality of the small rear door hardly made up for the lack of performance.Fortunately, like so many other Japanese sports cars, real performance is only an LS-swap away and the current owner of this 2004 RX-8 took the measures to convert his Mazda into a far-more-interesting machine.LS Power in an RX-8From the outside, this bright yellow Mazda looks like your average 2004 RX-7. It has tinted headlights, aftermarket wheels and all of the brand badges have been removed. It lools like the kind of car that would get gapped by most stock half-ton trucks. However, this Mazda 4-door coupe would be a tough race for many vehicles on the road trucks, or otherwise.Under the hood is a rebuilt LS1 bottom end fitted with ported and polished 243 cylinder heads. The engine has all new valvetrain components with an LS6 camshaft, Hooker headers, a custom intake and a tune to bring everything together.Power from that built LS1 is sent through a TR6060 manual transmission from a 2015 Camaro with an LS7 clutch and flywheel, a custom steel driveshaft and new axles.Finally, this RX-8 is fitted with a set of Tein coilovers, Enkei wheels wrapped in Hankook tires and a bright yellow wrap. Though, obviously, the real story here is the engine.Best of all, this 2004 Mazda RX-8 is available for sale now in California. As the Craigslist post states, this is a ready-to-drive sports car, not a project-in-progress, so anyone looking for a turnkey Mazda with LS power might want to plan a trip to the San Fran area. #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 20%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ <br style="clear: both" />
Date written: April 27, 2018
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 11669
LS1 power makes the Mazda RX-8 a far more respectable sports car than it’s original limp-wristed Rotary engine.<br />While flipping through the used car listings on the San Francisco we came across one of the few fast examples of the Mazda RX-8 in the US. How do you make an RX-8 fast? You install an LS V8, of course.The Disappointing RX-8When compared to American performance cars, many Japanese performance cars are fairly lackluster, but the RX-8 was a particularly big flop in the US market. Following in the footsteps of the last Mazda RX-7 with a powerful twin-turbocharged rotary engine, the naturally-aspirated RX-8 was considerably less powerful than its predecessors, but it was also quite a bit heavier.As a result, the RX-8 was far slower than the FD RX-7 and the marketing angle of the extra functionality of the small rear door hardly made up for the lack of performance.Fortunately, like so many other Japanese sports cars, real performance is only an LS-swap away and the current owner of this 2004 RX-8 took the measures to convert his Mazda into a far-more-interesting machine.LS Power in an RX-8From the outside, this bright yellow Mazda looks like your average 2004 RX-7. It has tinted headlights, aftermarket wheels and all of the brand badges have been removed. It lools like the kind of car that would get gapped by most stock half-ton trucks. However, this Mazda 4-door coupe would be a tough race for many vehicles on the road trucks, or otherwise.Under the hood is a rebuilt LS1 bottom end fitted with ported and polished 243 cylinder heads. The engine has all new valvetrain components with an LS6 camshaft, Hooker headers, a custom intake and a tune to bring everything together.Power from that built LS1 is sent through a TR6060 manual transmission from a 2015 Camaro with an LS7 clutch and flywheel, a custom steel driveshaft and new axles.Finally, this RX-8 is fitted with a set of Tein coilovers, Enkei wheels wrapped in Hankook tires and a bright yellow wrap. Though, obviously, the real story here is the engine.Best of all, this 2004 Mazda RX-8 is available for sale now in California. As the Craigslist post states, this is a ready-to-drive sports car, not a project-in-progress, so anyone looking for a turnkey Mazda with LS power might want to plan a trip to the San Fran area. #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 20%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-2 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */ <br style="clear: both" />
Date written: April 27, 2018
More of this article on the LS1 Tech website
ID: 11669
