A newb's question...
 

What sets a Rotary Engine apart from the others? Is it higher top speed? Faster Acceleration?

Short answer: Rotary engines are set apart from piston engines because they have rotors and the rotating assembling moves in one direction.

Long answer: Check www.howstuffworks.com, click the auto stuff section, then engine stuff, click rotary engine and then the piston engine articles, learn. :p: Also a look over the stickies in the 2nd generation section is worth your while too.

Hope this helps.

just an all around better ride

more power out of a small displacement, the engine is smaller than other piston engine, so it can be mounted lower, so the gravity center i dropped to achieve better handling and stuff like that. the engine is also light. rx7 are light cars, my 12a 1st gen weight 2335lb. those baby can rev up to 9k rpm from the factory too. with proper seals and porting, they can easely reach 11k rpm wich is hella fast. engines have alot of potential. rotary have made their prooff in racing application, being less prone to failure and being more durable than conventional piston engines. and the rotary itself is dope when you start playing arround.

I understand the actual mechanics of the engine, just not what makes it better... but thanks for the website too, I'll check it out.

Thanks, that helps a lot.

Another question... What are the drawbacks of the engine? I would think that acceleration is slower...

not every Joe the mechanic can work on those engines
lacks of torque in n/a versions,
needs to be reved to stay healthy.
large carbon deposite use to happens after times
some say the engine's life is short, but it always depends how you take care of it. in fact, some poeple buying rotary engine powered car dont know shit about rotary, they do routine maintnance like they would do on a regular piston engine, beat the shit out of the car, and blow the engine. then they sell their Fc cheap and bitch rotary engines owner because they had bad experiences.
the engine is more prone to heat. exhaust gaz are hot, more money have to be spend on the exhaust system. cost alot to fix if you dont know/want to work in the engine.
acceleration isnt poor at all. those engines rev faster than most piston engine.
heat can become problematic on turbo car.


nothing to realy worry about.

Acceleration is dependant on gearing/power to weight ratio. To some, a rotary may be slow to accelerate, but keep in mind that most turbo rotaries can easily run 13 second quarter miles, and the FD's (3rd gens) can run 13's stock. To me, that's not very slow.

The main drawback as far as power is concerned is that they have a very linear powerband; as the RPM's go up, the HP goes up. The drawback is that they have pretty weak bottom end power, but keep in mind that you typically launch (when racing) at >6500rpm.
The other drawbacks are that they consume a small amount of oil for lubrication (approximately 1 quart every 3000 miles). And the last drawback are the apex seals. If you're running a turbo car (where detonation can quickly become a problem) they break relatively easily, mostly due to bad tuning. Conversely, they are very resiliant to detonation. Don't take that as being weak; how many other 1.3l engines have you seen that can produce in excess of 500hp for any amount of time on mostly stock internals? Those apex seals hold that 500hp.....

They're a totally unique engine unlike anything in the world. For their size, they can produce the most power of anything in their class. They only have 3 rotating parts (excluding oil pump), and 38 seals; only 6 of which typically cause any problems. In other words, many, many less parts to worry about versus a piston engine. Simplicity and power in a very small and lightweight package.

double post... feel free to delete this post, mods.

howstuffworks was where i learned about them. really interesting the first time you see how they work.