What about the Wankel Engine??

[piledriver]

Anyone has something to tell about the Wankel Engine???

something in favour, or against...

I think it is a good engine...

[cobrapower]

I think that the Wankel engine, is quite a design. Rotary engines are very good once you can engineer out the problem of low fuel economy. (first engines had terrible fuel economy). For example, one of the few Japanese cars that i like, the RX-7 had the rotary engine, i think that it provides an ample amount of power to work with and allows for some decent work to be done to the engine.

[Kudosdude]

Click here for wankel details.

[piledriver]

To me, this rotary engine looks great!
With the nowadays technology, the early encounterd problems such isolation and others, can be easily solved...
With such compact size so much horsepower can be developed.... and with less vibration and much more reliability...

[Kudosdude]

With the nowadays technology, the early encounterd problems such isolation and others, can be easily solved...

LOL I wish it was that simple !!!
It has taken a VERY long time to develop the rotary engine. It's one of those designs that looks fantastic on paper . . . but as with all things it is NEVER that simple.

Hats of to mazda for sticking with it.
Tuning a rotary is ridiculously difficult . . . bring on jet turbines that's what I say

[piledriver]

Originally posted by Kudosdude
LOL I wish it was that simple !!!
It has taken a VERY long time to develop the rotary engine. It's one of those designs that looks fantastic on paper . . . but as with all things it is NEVER that simple.

I know it´s not so simple or trivial the development of such engine or upgrades for it, and I do that it costs a lot...
But I think a technology like this, must be researched because of it advantages...

And I don´t think a engine that has about 200 hp/ litre needs turbos or superchargers or anything else...

[DSM owner]

I think it's currently useless. The only advantage it has over a 4 cycle reciprocating engine is weight and it's not a big difference. Putting a Ford 302 into a n/a second gen RX-7 increases weight by about 100 lbs, yet increases power by about 100 hp and increases torque by almost 200 ft lbs. The Ford will be more reliable, cheaper, and last longer. If you put a 302 into a turbo RX-7 the weight increase will barely even register.

[piledriver]

Originally posted by DSM owner
I think it's currently useless. The only advantage it has over a 4 cycle reciprocating engine is weight and it's not a big difference. Putting a Ford 302 into a n/a second gen RX-7 increases weight by about 100 lbs, yet increases power by about 100 hp and increases torque by almost 200 ft lbs. The Ford will be more reliable, cheaper, and last longer. If you put a 302 into a turbo RX-7 the weight increase will barely even register.

A big advantage is its reliability, because the slow movements of the inner parts of the engine and the low vibration, thanks to the only rotor that gives the motion...

[DSM owner]

Originally posted by piledriver
A big advantage is its reliability, because the slow movements of the inner parts of the engine and the low vibration, thanks to the only rotor that gives the motion...

Um..... the cars that have come with rotaries in the past have had very poor reliability. In all previous Mazda RX models, the apex seals (they are like piston rings for a rotary) wear out quite frequently(under 100,000 miles, alot of the time). It's over $1000 just for the parts when these break, and if you're paying someone else to put them in the price is outrageous. Meanwhile any American V8 or Japanese 4, 6 cylinder can go 200k miles with no internal engine work.

[piledriver]

Originally posted by DSM owner
Um..... the cars that have come with rotaries in the past have had very poor reliability. In all previous Mazda RX models, the apex seals (they are like piston rings for a rotary) wear out quite frequently(under 100,000 miles, alot of the time). It's over $1000 just for the parts when these break, and if you're paying someone else to put them in the price is outrageous. Meanwhile any American V8 or Japanese 4, 6 cylinder can go 200k miles with no internal engine work.

well, everything I said before is based on theory, because I´ve never seen a rotary engine before... just read about it...

[Kudosdude]

Don't believe all you read, especially if it is from the Mazda website. (P.S. Every-one should have driven a non-turbo wankel at least once, it's more important than your first drive in a Ferrari IMO)

[Rob]

Originally posted by Kudosdude
Don't believe all you read, especially if it is from the Mazda website. (P.S. Every-one should have driven a non-turbo wankel at least once, it's more important than your first drive in a Ferrari IMO)

What's so special about driving a wankel engened car?

[piledriver]

Did you see that the RENESYS rotary engine of the Mazda RX-8 is the best international engine of 2003??

[206_HDi_WRC]

The wankel rotary engine is simply a masterpiece of automotive engeneering.
However, some of the presente rotary engines still remain with the problem of high consumption of oil, as also fuel.
The rotary engines have a smoothly sound but when it takes to rev's highther their sound like a beast.
Rotary engines can support high rpm's near to 8500rpm's is the maximum till now.
The rotary engine is fitted with 2 rotors in eliptical shape.
Each one of the 3 faces o f the rotor can have nearly 700cc in maximum depending in the size o f bore and stroke, which allows to produce a high amount of power with less cc.

[DSM owner]

Originally posted by 206_HDi_WRC
The wankel rotary engine is simply a masterpiece of automotive engeneering.
However, some of the presente rotary engines still remain with the problem of high consumption of oil, as also fuel.
The rotary engines have a smoothly sound but when it takes to rev's highther their sound like a beast.
Rotary engines can support high rpm's near to 8500rpm's is the maximum till now.
The rotary engine is fitted with 2 rotors in eliptical shape.
Each one of the 3 faces o f the rotor can have nearly 700cc in maximum depending in the size o f bore and stroke, which allows to produce a high amount of power with less cc.

Rotary engines don't have a bore or stroke......

I don't see how consuming alot of fuel and burning oil makes it a masterpiece of engineering...