How much rpm is too much?
09-21-07, 01:21 PM
#1
How much rpm is too much?
From the motorsport history part of Mazda's site
I've heard of gyroscopic problems in aircraft using radial engines, but never in a car. Would this make a car harder to turn in one direction and faster in the opposite?
The engine in the article was made in 1976, were the rotors much heavier at that time? Since then, we've had engines with more rotors and spinnig faster, and I haven't heard of this problem coming back since.
In a bid to improve the engine, Mazda started full-scale development of the racing 13B engine with peripheral ports. Mid-development, it was discovered that the rapidly spinning rotors were creating a small gyroscopic effect that adversely affected the handling. The team overcame the problem by redesigning the moving parts to make them as light as possible, changing to a dry sump (a lubrication system that supplies the engine with oil from the oil tank), and mounting the engine closer to the ground.
The engine in the article was made in 1976, were the rotors much heavier at that time? Since then, we've had engines with more rotors and spinnig faster, and I haven't heard of this problem coming back since.
09-22-07, 09:12 PM
#2
No distributor? No thanks
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It would to a small degree, but not much. The german ME-262 had a hell of a time turning at full throttle and cracked the pylons - first time anyone ever really came across problems like that.
Maybe Mazda was trying to hide some problems somehow, but I don't see gyroscopic effects being an issue at all....
Maybe Mazda was trying to hide some problems somehow, but I don't see gyroscopic effects being an issue at all....
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