Mazda Rotary 13B Swap in a Boxster

[tahleel]

Originally Posted by JAAY

I got an idea, since cost is an issue. Just buy and FD or and FC and keep the rotory motor in it. NO Fabrication needed.
Just my oppion.

I've contemplated a FC, but they are just way too outdated. A FD would be a nice option, but they're severely overpriced in my book. Its actually cheaper and easier to find a low mileage Boxster over a high mileage FD. Although the initial cost would be cheaper, maintenance would kill me on the Porsche. :dance: And thats a price that I'll have to pay.

Plus, a Porsche is just drop-dead sexy.

-Tahleel

[John V]

The RX-8 is a fantastic car. I spent the last couple years driving around the country in one for SCCA Solo competition. It never gave us a bit of trouble on the road. The owner had a problem with the coil packs early in the car's life - fixed under warranty. But otherwise, we hammered the ******************** out of that car for two plus years and it never stopped ticking.

Nevermind that it has a stiffer chassis and a far more advanced suspension than the Boxster.

... that said, the rotary, to me, is not a good "fit" for the boxster

Originally Posted by John V

Nevermind that it has a stiffer chassis and a far more advanced suspension than the Boxster.

Ya... Its not hard to have a stiffer chassis when you have a roof

[jordan986]

before I purchased my boxster i also was looking at getting a rx-7, 255hp in such a light car they really move but... they all seem to have cooling issues and the rotary engines as nice as they are drink gas like theres no tommorow. It also seemed when I was looking for one that even low mileage ones had already had rebuilds again as mentioned eariler apex seals crack due to over heating usually (very unreliable vehicles). If you are going to go through with doing this i would recomend you thow in an extra rad and if you are going for the twinturbo cooling will be even more of an issue.

even with all these concerns I would love to see this swap done the rotaries love the revs and sound soo nice (not to say the boxster dosent) but that would deffinatly be one unique porsche

[John V]

Main problem with the 3rd gen (FD3) is that the owners don't take care of the cars properly. They require frequent fuel filter changes and it's a very lengthy procedure to complete - so most skip it and the engines run lean and blow as a result. The cooling systems are also marginal and again, if they're not kept up it's bad news. Rotaries are not tolerant of overheating.

A few simple modifications to the FD platform, plus some common sense with regard to maintenance, yields a very reliable car. But most people just assume they're unreliable and stay away.

Yes, the fuel mileage does suck. No way around that.