I try to only run sunoco 94 octane... and as for driving hard?? Im not mean to the transmission or clutch... but I honestly cant remember the last day i drove it that i didnt go over 100mph... did i mention its a daily driver ;)

(praying every day I dont pass a cop)

Pretty much any time I drive it, I get hard.

Oh, wait, nevermind

As far as the car handling being driven hard, the sky is the limit. You might wear out a few bushings and stuff, but generally this car is tough.

The motor, as we all know, is different. Driving the motor hard will without doubt shorten its life, but that doesn't appear to be very important compared to how well the driver takes care of it. Warmup, cooldown, engine temps carefully observed, a knowledgeable owner can hammer them and still get great life out of them.

Dave

Let's see----Hmmm---Daily driver---- 20K miles in 6 months---- 3 speeding tickets----1 trip to the dyno with 4 WOT 4th gear pulls--- 1 Putnam Park Road Course Event ( about 3 hours on the track at mostly over 4K RPM)------- 3 Hours on the Autocross circuits at Rotary Revolution-------(2) 1/4 mile passes at Gateway Intl.---------(4) 1/8 mile passes at I-57 dragway. 18 miles to and from work each day over hellaciously twisty roads with elevation changes reminicent of Road Atlanta and 1 or 2 dailyWOT pulls through 2nd or 3rd gear to clear the carbon.

The engine seems to beg for more------ No abuse though, I change the oil and filter every 2K miles and have upgraded the fluids all around. I keep the WOT AFRs between 11.4 and 12.2 and the engine temps below 95C and the IATs below 52C even in 95 degree F. heat.

Yeah, I think the car thrives on action and there is little or no chance to carbon it up if you treat it like I do.

I highly disagree.

[QUOTE I keep the WOT AFRs between 11.4 and 12.2 [/QUOTE]


isnt that a little lean??? i keep mine around 10.8 (but i like a margin)

I thought it sounded a bit lean too. I think the 11:1 range is plenty safe and makes good power as well.

10.8 is excellent. A tad rich for my blood but safe as a baby in its mama's arms. At 10.8, you should get fair to good power with excellent longevity. At 11.4-12.2 I will get a little more power and slightly less longevity. At 12.5 you would expect maximum performance but pay the price in engine life.

I expect with all my constant tuning and keeping an eye on the monitoring systems, that I may get between 50 and 70K out of this motor @ a max of 12.2 (WOT 4 gear run at <30 degrees C) although usually I log AFRS in the mid to low 11's. I would guess you could expect less than 40K at 12.5 and more than 75K @ 10.8

i find myself taking the car out, just for the hell of it so i can feel better about driving it hard the other times i take it out, this way i am not driving hard everytime i drive it. Then again even then i tend to take it to the highway, cuz it just begs me to.

Did someone say "carbon lock?"

Well by god I think they did! :o: I'm gonna remember to keep mine under 5k from now on.

:withstupi


Hard is the only way I know how to drive my FD and She LOVES it :D

Better make it 3k. Boost is bad for the motor :D

:rlaugh:

Maybe we should disconnect our turbos altogether.

:rofl:

Seriously, Please send all carbon locked engines to me I am collecting carbon from abused rotaries for a "coal to diamond project" :beer: :weed:

All materials degrade more rapidly at higher temperatures. Even with a warmed up engine, and proper cool-down, driving it hard (=hot) will fail the seals faster. If you compare two identical FDs, the average life will undoubtedly be shorter.

You might be confused because there are many, many variables, the most important of which (IMO) is monitoring temperature as you drive and regular maintenance. Most drivers on this forum have made big reliability improvements that more than make up for how hard they drive it.

BTW, I didn't say pussy drive it. Carbon lock is NOT going to happen in my car. But driving hard is a little harder on the seals.

Dave

The rotary engine produces more heat than a conventional engine as it is, the seals aren't gonna last any longer or shorter amount of time based on how hard you drive it, it's gonna get hot, shit is eventually gonna break. It's a fact of life. Plenty of people drive their cars hard every day and they don't skip a beat. When it's gonna go, it's gonna go, regardless of wether or not you beat the hell out of it or not.

And of course monitoring the car is a huge part of it, no one said ream on it when you had coolant spewing out the bottom of the motor and intake temperatures similiar to volcanic lava.

As far as the reliability mods go, I should hope anyone on this forum for more than a day should have the sense to do them. I consider those to be practically stock, you're fixing the corners that mazda cut. No one said hammer your car when your radiator has a gaping hole in it.

You continue to pussy foot yours and be concerned about longevity (which wont be effected if you stay on top of things) and I'll continue to ream the shit out of mine, just how she likes it :)

$$$$$$$$ in bank ---> drive hard
$ ---> better be careful

:D