Rotus Project Build

[Jamie R]

Maybe Clive could impart some of his knowledge on here

I too never claimed to be an expert, but if a theory sounds logical I'll go with that.

Im with you Jon ! just floor it

[clive]

I would say that you already have long enough primary pipes for good scavenging anyway. From memory Mazda found that really long primary before being collected made better top end, however to keep the engine tractable what you have is great.

Beautiful pipe craft but please lose the cat, but if you really want one in the system a smaller outside diameter Hi-Flow cat could be used to get the pipework away from the inlet.

As you would know super heating the inlet mixture is never good as you always need the opposite, i.e. a cold dense mixture. Although expensive, Zicotech plasma spray coating will solve this for the manifold plus keep the engine bay cool.
Amazing stuff, even on the race cars turbo straight after a race you could put your hand virtually on the hot side of the turbo!   

Hope this helps         

[Jamie R]

Many thanks Clive

Time to put my kidney on eBay 😆😆😆😆

[re japi]

I think that exhaust pulses are really important in rotarys, as in 2 strokes. But for Renesis, you have to be math geniuos to figure out I quess. I havent seen any desent Renny DIY header tips. Well, just wing it, itl work 

As Jon said, but yeah but no but 

Btw, just realized that I didnt look Westys headers when I visited... 

[Jamie R]

Dashboard update !

Thought id ping some pics of the dash.

Retaining the stock instrument panel, but its being located in the centre like Minis. The bulkhead / dash on the Lotus in relation to the windscreen is very different from the RX8, hence I could fit the CAT behind the engine.......

....anyhoo, bored of exhausts for a while, we've done that to death.

I've made a "buck" or "pattern" from plywood, polystyrene, filler, wattle n daub, chicken wire, mud, dung, pig iron and anything else that I had lay around....

Next is to lay some fibreglass over it to make a mould, then ill be cast my own dash and hope that the clocks and glove box still fits.

Ignore the finish of the grey primer, its "brushed" trowelled on its some cystic primer stuff that you mix with catalyst to harden it. its all been blocked down now but don't have any pics of that.

[Jamie R]

Jesus,

Either my eyesight has improved dramatically or those pics are far too big!

[Jamie R]

OOOOoooooooo oh yeah I forgot..... Jon?

The LCD strip that shows time, outside temp etc that was housed above the stereo.....

Do I need to retain that for showing any error codes or diagnostic reasons.

I can house it in the centre console if need be.

Thanks in advance....

[boosted]

Nope not needed think its called the hvac panel.

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[Jamie R]

OK cool,

I must have misread something on the manuals where error codes appear.

Just so were on the same page and talking about the same component.........

[boosted]

Yep thats the 1 i was thinking off, does not display any engines codes...Hvac panel so fan speeds ac on/off temps etc...it can go in bin.

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[Jamie R]

Ace!

Even lighter again ! Every bit helps

Uncle Colin would be so proud lol

[re japi]

That dash looks awesome!  But seems that you made a little oops, steering is in wrong side

Btw, is axel widht and lenght same as in stock (rx-8) car or have you changed it?

Lähetetty minun E2303 laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[rote8]

Just caught up over the last day or twos posts . You guys are something else and fabrication skills are par excellence. Many years ago swapped many an engine in a variety of Fords but always a simple fit using their different engines and gearboxes with only engine mounts to worry about. Keep up the good work.

[Jamie R]

Thanks Jarno!

When the steering wheel is on the right side, its on the RIGHT side lol !

My axle width is stock RX8 front and back, a little wider on the back than the Lotus and a lot wider than Lotus on the front.

I need to make 4 new wings / arches to house the wheels.

Im going to run 17 x 7 steel wheels off a Hyundai Santa Fe (I think) which I purchased from some discount wheel website at £80 each. ( Im not sure if Im allowed to mention other companies on here, don't want Clive telling the newbie off lol)

They have the same offset, PCD and centre bore as the 17 x7 Alloys fitted to some RX8's. I don't know if some models had smaller brakes, but because I bought steel wheels, I have loads of clearance for the 231 bhp brakes and calipers.

Plus they are more in keeping with the original style of the car.

Ive altered the wheelbase front to back.

Because of the much larger wheels Ive increased the wheel base by 50mm over stock Lotus, so I didn't need to cut up the inner arches where my feet and pedals would be.

That said, even with the increase in wheel base, its still 100mm shorter than a stock RX8. So should be more responsive on turning into bends.

The pic below shows a CAD image of the original lotus chassis which I needed as a datum before I modelled up the new one, I needed to make sure the body would fit on the new chassis with minimal cutting to the shell.

The green wheels on the image are the original lotus ones in the correct position and the grey ones are the 18 x 8 from the RX8.

From that I can move all the suspension pick up points further up into the chassis as the centre of the wheel is further from the floor on the new wheels, and I was also able to lower the car without upsetting the suspension geometry.

[Jamie R]

Thanks rote8

Yes, I still have a passion for classic fords and yeah, identical bellhousing patterns does make engine and gearbox swaps easier.

I'll hopefully have another Anglia 105e one day, maybe even rotary powered.

But when Ive finished the Elan, I have another 2 motorbikes and a Morgan 3 wheeler replica to build........

I don't do TV of an evening and after 2 years my girlfriend has accepted the fact she is a shed widow lol