I've been thinking about this the last couple of days, the only thing I can think of is it save weight which would be perfect for road racing.

From what I can tell so far, the put out less power, same gas mileage, and last just as long if not shorter then a engine with a crank rods and pistons.

 

where do you find a 1.3l car that put's out 200 hp?

 

So its more efficent? Where do you get a rotary engine is 1.3L btw

 

3 moving parts, high revving, light weight, compact, over 100hp per liter, simple. Nuff said.....

You find me a 1.3L piston engine that can claim all that, and then you can ask why!!! The closest thing would be a B18 ITR. 1.8L, 195hp. 1.3L, S5 n/a.....180hp. Don't think your puttin out 500hp in that 5.0L stock do ya??

 

Cool, now they make a little bit more sense

 

No, but if you put the same amount of work that some people put in those 1.8L engines, you can easily hit those numbers n/a, all it takes is good aluminum head, more lift and a better intake. Getting it to the ground is a whole different story

Besides, since when is racing determined by how efficent your motor is

 

compact and low center of gravity, allows optimum placement for weight distribution in the car

 

The key advantage of the rotary engine is it's size and weight. Very few engines can be placed in the front of the car, keep a 50/50 weight ratio, keep the gross weight of the chassis to around 2800 lbs, and have the potential for 400+ horsepower. That's why the rotary is a good platform for a lightweight canyon carver, autoXer, race car, etc.

Steve

 

THEY ARE JUST WAY MORE FUN!!!

 

I like the size and weight but most of all I love the high revs. Its great to go to 7k everytime with no worries, and 8k sometimes on accident

 

One of the reasons is you get 'adopted' by the Forum members.
They have absolute loyalty to the rotary.

 

true true

 

Yes, I think of all of you as more of my illegetimate children...

Steve

 

well in that case........

daddy, can i have some money to fix my tranny?

 

Drag racing (or any kind of racing for that matter) is ALL about efficeny. The most hp/lb is ALL that matters. 200hp will propel a 2600lb car faster than a 3000lb car faster. Lightweight and high power, that is the ESSENCE of racing.

 

Lol, I said ILLEGITIMATE children. You guys get NO cash!! Little money grubbing bastards!

Steve

P.S. Rico, don't forget chassis design, honestly, I think that's more important than high power, although weight could be included in chassis design, so maybe you were including it? =P

 

This forum is the most useful and supportive forum that I have found for any car. And Abecx I think it is cool that your asking real questions instead of just coming on and bashing us because we drive Japanese cars. If you do decide to keep your mustang try www.stangnet.com , my friends love that forum.

 

Um, Rico..

That's really simplifying..

Would you rather run an ultra efficient 2600lb car that runs 14.5 with 153hp per liter (forced induction) , or a pig of lump iron 3100 that runs 12.2 with 70hp per liter.. But that's 2+ seconds faster.

Me, I'd rather run 12.2 and not have to tell everyone how efficient my 200HP car runs. (btw, not a dig at you, I just get tired of everyone boasting about HP per liter)

Chassis design, weight distribution, TORQUE output, transmission gearing, differential type, etc, all have a lot to do with this, it's not just how effecient the motor is.

PaulC

 

They sound great and they're very easy to make more power - just open 'er up and port the snot out of it

 

www.howstuffworks.com

go to wankel/rotary engine. Towards the end of the article it has pro/cons. Pros heavily out weigh cons in my opinion.

 

Other stuff; Wide power band. Smooth power delivery. Compact which allows the car to be designed better.

Reliability seems to be as good or better than a similar piston engine, as long as it's properly taken care of.

As for that "How Stuff Works" page, one thing I found different was in a book called "The Wankel Engine: Design, Development, Application" circa 1971. It indicated there that the cost of manufacturing should be less than even the difference in the number of parts. I believe that assumes a proper infastructure in place and then comparing piston vs. wankel.

Couple problems regarding looking at the rotary engine itself: 1. Since the 80's, hp/L and technology have improved rapidly. The only way to do things fairly, would be to pick cars of similar years and then compare the merits of each respective engine. 2. Mazda has been on their own for many years. Piston engine technology is advanced by many companies which make use of other's developments. Mazda's small rotary R&D buget has a tough time matching the billions spent every year around the world. (not that they haven't done a hell of a good job)

 

Just to know what you have is different than what everybody else has. That is why I like them.

James

 

Yes I would definately say power/weight and also power/displacement. The Honda S2000 has the best power/displacement engine ever (250hp/2.0L). The 3rd Gen. Rx-7 has 255hp/1.3L with plenty of room for upgrade. Also less moving parts like Rico05 said, but i read somewhere that it was 8 moving parts. This way you can rev high and not have to worry about valve float or any other thing asociated with piston engines.

 

I like the fact that the engine is only 80 cubic inches and has the potential to smoke most V8s around! Plus, they are one of the most unique cars out there!

 

They compare n/a cars when they say hp/L. Its not fair to compare a done up S2000 to a stock 2nd gen though. The S2000 comes pretty much done up as much as it can be done and the 2nd gen had to be detuned, so it can get a way better hp/L value then the S2000.