Saela

iTrader: (1)

Rebuild time?
Ever since I got her, she smoked quite a bit on start up, but it would go away after a minute or two, so I kind of just ignored it, as most people treated this as normal. Recently, she's been smoking quite a bit whenever I rev her anywhere past 5/6k and she's even worse when I take her to redline.
Does that mean the coolant seals are gone? Are there any other possibilities that I'm missing out on? I want to avoid doing a rebuild until my summer break starts, because school is still my main priority right now, so is everything going to stay together for that long?

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

It could be coolant seals or oil control rings on the rotors. The higher rpm smoke lends me to believe oil rings. Is the exhaust white or dark? Do you have any oil at the exhaust tips? Are you loosing an coolant? If your not loosing any coolant then I stick with oil rings.

Saela

iTrader: (1)

Exhaust is white, and my coolant is remaining relatively steady...
I haven't checked for oil at the exhaust tips, but I will the next time I take her out. The more I think of it though, the more the O-rings make sense. Surprised I didn't think of this.
I've heard that the 12a motors are pretty resilient, do you think I could keep her running like this for at least 6 more months without destroying my housings?

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

If it's a oil ring it should be fine as long as you keep the RPMs intake and don't rev to high. Make sure you check the oil level every fill up and add oil when needed.

Saela

iTrader: (1)

I'll remember to do that.
Quick thing though, I've always been told that you should redline every time you take a rotary out, is that true? Or it simply just necessary to not turn off the car until its warm?
Also, sorry beforehand for being a rotary n00b, I'm still learning

KansasCityREPU

iTrader: (9)

You don't need to reline to keep the engine healthy. It is true you should let a rotary come up to temp before shutting it off though.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

The smell of the smoke is usually a dead giveaway. Oil smoke and coolant smell completely different.

Saela

iTrader: (1)

Never smelled burned coolant before, but a quick google search shows that I'm not smelling coolant right now. Wouldn't have thought of searching up the smell of the smoke, thanks for the advice .

LongDuck

Something interesting to think about is that when the Oil Control Seals on the centers of the rotors go out, they allow high pressure oil from the eccentric shaft to work it's way into the intake path of the engine - viola! extra lubrication for your apex and corner seals!

This is a coincidence of Oil Control Seals going out that it helps to protect the engine through greater lubrication where it matters - but as the other guys said, keep a close eye on your oil level. It will suck through an impressive amount of oil to make that 'Spyhunter' smoke effect out the back.

I'm looking at an engine swap now that things have cooled off from summertime for exactly this reason.

SolarAbby

iTrader: (1)

Don't tell Snoop Dog he is in second place.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

No problem; Heated AF has a sweet smell, where burning oil is a bitter, sort of biting smell.

Once you've smelled hot antifreeze a few times, you recognize it instantly. I've caught small coolant leaks in the engine bay just from the smell walking by the car, before they were large enough to drip on the ground. Nothing else smells quite like it.