i was talking with a friend who asked me last night what could the rotary engine be compared to in terms of piston engines. i honestly didn't know what to say, so now i'm kind of curious? how many times does the rotary engine fire with each full rotation?

 

6 for one full rotation I beleive, that's counting from the time one of the apex seals gos all the way around

 

Usually considered a 6 cylinder from what I know

 

There are so many answers to this question. However, it is commonly classed with a 6 cylinder in the racing world.

 

breathes and fires similarly to a 2.6L 4-cylinder (2 power pulses per "crank" revolution)

but the power stroke lasts about 270 degrees of eccentric shaft rotation vs 180 deg for the piston engine

 

I thought it was 2.6L 6Cyl it was compared to?

 

I'd go with the 2.6L 4cly as we lack the torque...

 

Each rotor goes through the full 4 stroke (otto) cycle 3 times in a single rotation, one for each face of the rotor.

The output shaft rotates 3 times for each rotation of the rotor.

See http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com