Track days and engine life
Discussion
dm46 said:
Which engines are better at taking a thrashing; 4 pot turbo or larger NA? I would suggest a less stressed large NA is better than a smaller blown 4pot.
I'd say one track mile is 7 road miles worth of wear & tear.
The most resilient are probably low rev force fed diesels and, before anyone knocks them, I've seen very impressive times set by the modern cars powered by the black stuff.I'd say one track mile is 7 road miles worth of wear & tear.
At the other end of the (rev) scale, Honda S2000's and Type R's seem unburstable.
I'd suggest that 100 hard trackday miles equates to far more wear than 700 gentle road miles.
Hello again!
Basically i asked if rotary ( rx8 ) engine is good and reliable for track days few years back..
Answer is: YES :P
Still owning that car, love it, its my daily driver as well! basic oil, filters, breaks change, 1x rear suspension, 2 x plugs and coils, clutch were changed and thats it in full 3 years on track days and daily driver!
just wanted to bump this thread because i still feel that rotary cars are very underrated and need love... and more....
Engine is rocking as new or even better. ( 5W30 )
There is absolutely nothing bad to say about RX8 from my honest experience in 4 years!
peace out.
Basically i asked if rotary ( rx8 ) engine is good and reliable for track days few years back..
Answer is: YES :P
Still owning that car, love it, its my daily driver as well! basic oil, filters, breaks change, 1x rear suspension, 2 x plugs and coils, clutch were changed and thats it in full 3 years on track days and daily driver!
just wanted to bump this thread because i still feel that rotary cars are very underrated and need love... and more....
Engine is rocking as new or even better. ( 5W30 )
There is absolutely nothing bad to say about RX8 from my honest experience in 4 years!
peace out.
Nice to hear! Looking at buying one as a second car, and spare track day toy. Lots of the rx8 problems seems to stem from failing coil packs=melted cat=increased back pressure= melted seals in the engine due to high EGTs.
If i would track one frequently i would replace the coils with BHR coils, and go for a metallic high flow cat(i will even for a street car if i buy one), and maybe run premixed oil. That seems to keep stuff going on the renesis.
How many miles do the car have now?
If i would track one frequently i would replace the coils with BHR coils, and go for a metallic high flow cat(i will even for a street car if i buy one), and maybe run premixed oil. That seems to keep stuff going on the renesis.
How many miles do the car have now?
Edited by CedricN on Saturday 18th March 18:46
Not trackday, but we get about a season out of a 1300 pre xflow, equating to about 500 miles before a cautionary refresh, which if ignored (or just unfortunate) ends up in a conrod through block kind of thing.
Modern engines and trackdays will inevitably shorten engine life, but unless the engines entirenlife is spent going to the redline in every gear, every gearchnge, off no onntrack, I wouldn't have thought it would make an enormous difference.
Modern engines and trackdays will inevitably shorten engine life, but unless the engines entirenlife is spent going to the redline in every gear, every gearchnge, off no onntrack, I wouldn't have thought it would make an enormous difference.
I have a RX8 which I use for track days and seems to soak up the punishment without issue.
I remember going to Blyton about 3 years ago and there was a chap there with a RX8 that had been fitted with a Volvo 2litre turbo lump.
He was saying what a great car it was and had solved the one weakness referring to the engine and how it would last a lot longer than mine with an original rotary in it.
Anyway just after lunch as I was circulating round a noticed his now smoking Rx8 parked up on the grass infield with waved yellows in close proximity.
Turns out it had oil surge and chucked a rod through the crankcase.
I did allow myself a little smile.
I remember going to Blyton about 3 years ago and there was a chap there with a RX8 that had been fitted with a Volvo 2litre turbo lump.
He was saying what a great car it was and had solved the one weakness referring to the engine and how it would last a lot longer than mine with an original rotary in it.
Anyway just after lunch as I was circulating round a noticed his now smoking Rx8 parked up on the grass infield with waved yellows in close proximity.
Turns out it had oil surge and chucked a rod through the crankcase.
I did allow myself a little smile.
Nissan in the 90's tested their 2.0 sr20 engine at 7.5k rpm for about 3 months solid/100k miles on an engine dyno under load. The engine was only stopped for oil changes at the required intervals.
After completing the test the engine was stripped and found to be in fine condition, all within tolerance.
I'm sure all manufacturers have similar durability testing.
I've used nearly all my cars on track and touch wood never had engine problems.
Incredibly the tuned but stock engine in my old Datsun has run at around 200bhp/litre for the last 7 years (touching wood!) I've owned it with mostly track use plus many years previous to that before my ownership. It gets used hard but never for too long and never at hot oil temps and probably gets more oil changes than necessary.
Oil degrades as it gets hot, I think this is where we need to be careful, also oil surge apparently can be more likely as the oil gets hotter/thinner.
And my next track day it's going to go..... BOOM!
After completing the test the engine was stripped and found to be in fine condition, all within tolerance.
I'm sure all manufacturers have similar durability testing.
I've used nearly all my cars on track and touch wood never had engine problems.
Incredibly the tuned but stock engine in my old Datsun has run at around 200bhp/litre for the last 7 years (touching wood!) I've owned it with mostly track use plus many years previous to that before my ownership. It gets used hard but never for too long and never at hot oil temps and probably gets more oil changes than necessary.
Oil degrades as it gets hot, I think this is where we need to be careful, also oil surge apparently can be more likely as the oil gets hotter/thinner.
And my next track day it's going to go..... BOOM!
CedricN said:
Nice to hear! Looking at buying one as a second car, and spare track day toy. Lots of the rx8 problems seems to stem from failing coil packs=melted cat=increased back pressure= melted seals in the engine due to high EGTs.
If i would track one frequently i would replace the coils with BHR coils, and go for a metallic high flow cat(i will even for a street car if i buy one), and maybe run premixed oil. That seems to keep stuff going on the renesis.
How many miles do the car have now?
Car is on 65000km right now....If i would track one frequently i would replace the coils with BHR coils, and go for a metallic high flow cat(i will even for a street car if i buy one), and maybe run premixed oil. That seems to keep stuff going on the renesis.
How many miles do the car have now?
Edited by CedricN on Saturday 18th March 18:46
just want to add that my rear suspension is gone again ( will be changed second time in 12 months ) Now iam forced to dig deep about this issue because i dont remember to read or hear anythings about this problem from other owners. If 1 track day a month have this effect on it then i am not happy at all.
peace out
My RX8 update 
Still own the car, 80.500km on clock atm.. My daily driver in small town in Ireland. I do not do track days any more since 2018, after i had to change my rear suspension for 3x ( what ever reason ). 3x oil change ( 5w 30 ) per year and revving to red on daily basis is what it keeps it in good condition. What i experience more is that more people are saying that its so unusual to see this car on the road ( only 20% of rx8 made are on the road at this time ) so happy days for me and with Cannonball Ireland accepted my car for 2013 and 2019 dont see any reason to not stick with it until i sell it for 100k ( haha or not.. )
My bottom line: its expensive for petrol/oil/insurance ( Ireland ), but i am in love
Still own the car, 80.500km on clock atm.. My daily driver in small town in Ireland. I do not do track days any more since 2018, after i had to change my rear suspension for 3x ( what ever reason ). 3x oil change ( 5w 30 ) per year and revving to red on daily basis is what it keeps it in good condition. What i experience more is that more people are saying that its so unusual to see this car on the road
( only 20% of rx8 made are on the road at this time ) so happy days for me and with Cannonball Ireland accepted my car for 2013 and 2019 dont see any reason to not stick with it until i sell it for 100k ( haha or not.. )My bottom line: its expensive for petrol/oil/insurance ( Ireland ), but i am in love
Edited by Canabo on Saturday 22 February 01:49
Canabo said:
My RX8 update
Still own the car, 80.500km on clock atm.. My daily driver in small town in Ireland. I do not do track days any more since 2018, after i had to change my rear suspension for 3x ( what ever reason ). 3x oil change ( 5w 30 ) per year and revving to red on daily basis is what it keeps it in good condition. What i experience more is that more people are saying that its so unusual to see this car on the road ( only 20% of rx8 made are on the road at this time ) so happy days for me and with Cannonball Ireland accepted my car for 2013 and 2019 dont see any reason to not stick with it until i sell it for 100k ( haha or not.. )
My bottom line: its expensive for petrol/oil/insurance ( Ireland ), but i am in love
Thanks for the update. Still own the car, 80.500km on clock atm.. My daily driver in small town in Ireland. I do not do track days any more since 2018, after i had to change my rear suspension for 3x ( what ever reason ). 3x oil change ( 5w 30 ) per year and revving to red on daily basis is what it keeps it in good condition. What i experience more is that more people are saying that its so unusual to see this car on the road
( only 20% of rx8 made are on the road at this time ) so happy days for me and with Cannonball Ireland accepted my car for 2013 and 2019 dont see any reason to not stick with it until i sell it for 100k ( haha or not.. )My bottom line: its expensive for petrol/oil/insurance ( Ireland ), but i am in love
Edited by Canabo on Saturday 22 February 01:49
What needed replacing in the rear suspension? Bushes? Ball joints?
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