Rotary Engines - Why YOU Should Love Them, Even Though They SUCK WheelHouse
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Date: 2019-10-24
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Comments and reviews: 10
John Burns
Mazda have done promising research on HCCI ignition for its SkyActiv-R rotary engine project using research from its SkyActive 2 program. They have removed the need to locate the spark plug outside the combustion chamber to allow the rotor to sweep past. Mazda solved this in the SkyActiv-R rotary project. Rotaries generally have high compression ratios giving the design easy adoption of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI. It looks like the next Mazda rotary will not have a spark plug and be HCCI ignition. Fuel consumption will match piston engines and when used at a constant speed genny as in a hybrid, outperform piston engines with all the advantages of low weight, small size, super-smooth, simplicity, etc. The expectation will be that the engine will be introduced in 2020, the 100th anniversary of Mazda. Looking good. Rotaries are better suited to constant speed, high efficiency genset applications rather than direct drive via gearboxes. In that application piston engines cannot compete. Rotaries are better suited for series-hybrid cars being much superior than piston engines. Direct fuel injection and laser ignition will improve the Wankel considerably when introduced. The problem of unburnt fuel in the exhaust will be eliminated improving emissions and fuel consumption. The engine performs very, very well in fuel consumption and emissions running at a 'constant speed' turning a generator - its most efficient sweet spot. Wankels lose efficiency dramatically when they are revved up and down as when directly driving a car. The engine has a vastly superior power-weight ratio than piston/crank engines and is about one third of the size and weight of a piston engine for a similar power output. All these positive attributes combine to make a superb range extender, when the wheels are turned by electric motors. If a car is plugged in each night and uses grid power to run most of the time, then wear on these units will be negligible. As the engine is only periodically used, the life of the engine is greatly extended. Also newer metallurgic techniques are being used to make the engines. Even when batteries are depleted, the Wankel can provide enough electricity to power the car and still be economical. It takes only 25 to 30hp to propel a large American car down the highway at 70mph. Yet they put engines in them that can output 150 to 200hp. Most of that output is for acceleration and heavy loads. Highly inefficient. The great thing about a series-hybrid is that the generating engine works totally independent of the demands of the electric driving motor, enabling maximum efficiency when running. This means the generating engines can be greatly downsized. The battery acts as an energy buffer to give acceleration boosts. Mazda announced a rotary in a hybrid will be available in 12-18 months.
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Mazda have done promising research on HCCI ignition for its SkyActiv-R rotary engine project using research from its SkyActive 2 program. They have removed the need to locate the spark plug outside the combustion chamber to allow the rotor to sweep past. Mazda solved this in the SkyActiv-R rotary project. Rotaries generally have high compression ratios giving the design easy adoption of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI. It looks like the next Mazda rotary will not have a spark plug and be HCCI ignition. Fuel consumption will match piston engines and when used at a constant speed genny as in a hybrid, outperform piston engines with all the advantages of low weight, small size, super-smooth, simplicity, etc. The expectation will be that the engine will be introduced in 2020, the 100th anniversary of Mazda. Looking good. Rotaries are better suited to constant speed, high efficiency genset applications rather than direct drive via gearboxes. In that application piston engines cannot compete. Rotaries are better suited for series-hybrid cars being much superior than piston engines. Direct fuel injection and laser ignition will improve the Wankel considerably when introduced. The problem of unburnt fuel in the exhaust will be eliminated improving emissions and fuel consumption. The engine performs very, very well in fuel consumption and emissions running at a 'constant speed' turning a generator - its most efficient sweet spot. Wankels lose efficiency dramatically when they are revved up and down as when directly driving a car. The engine has a vastly superior power-weight ratio than piston/crank engines and is about one third of the size and weight of a piston engine for a similar power output. All these positive attributes combine to make a superb range extender, when the wheels are turned by electric motors. If a car is plugged in each night and uses grid power to run most of the time, then wear on these units will be negligible. As the engine is only periodically used, the life of the engine is greatly extended. Also newer metallurgic techniques are being used to make the engines. Even when batteries are depleted, the Wankel can provide enough electricity to power the car and still be economical. It takes only 25 to 30hp to propel a large American car down the highway at 70mph. Yet they put engines in them that can output 150 to 200hp. Most of that output is for acceleration and heavy loads. Highly inefficient. The great thing about a series-hybrid is that the generating engine works totally independent of the demands of the electric driving motor, enabling maximum efficiency when running. This means the generating engines can be greatly downsized. The battery acts as an energy buffer to give acceleration boosts. Mazda announced a rotary in a hybrid will be available in 12-18 months.
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Dharma Rotary
you dont need to push in so much more money in the wankel /rx8 development, its just the potential owners are getting more unreliable and dumber and dumber every year, you just wait and see what they will do with the Rx9. big rocket science to understand and make daily out of a wankel. bunch of swap experts, they will put the Bmw supra crap in it before the warranty expires. If Mazda really wants to sell Wankel cars angro, should start first engineering some Skyactiv spaceship containers to deliver the cars to Kepler-452b, more chances there to find real driver/owners for them and not just 'holders'' on registration, on this planet. dangerously out of stock.
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you dont need to push in so much more money in the wankel /rx8 development, its just the potential owners are getting more unreliable and dumber and dumber every year, you just wait and see what they will do with the Rx9. big rocket science to understand and make daily out of a wankel. bunch of swap experts, they will put the Bmw supra crap in it before the warranty expires. If Mazda really wants to sell Wankel cars angro, should start first engineering some Skyactiv spaceship containers to deliver the cars to Kepler-452b, more chances there to find real driver/owners for them and not just 'holders'' on registration, on this planet. dangerously out of stock.
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Zachary Strickler
I love my RX-8 and when I take it to shows it usually does get a few comments about it being a rotary, which makes me happy I will never forget this young kid who freaked out when he saw it. My cars no show car and needs some pretty massive paint work, but he was very excited to see the car. It's nice to see the next generation still holding on to the excitement that a rotary engine causes. One guy was explaining to his wife who clearly was into cars, how the engine in my car works, and when she was finished her eyes lit up and she was talking about how cool and unique it was.
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I love my RX-8 and when I take it to shows it usually does get a few comments about it being a rotary, which makes me happy I will never forget this young kid who freaked out when he saw it. My cars no show car and needs some pretty massive paint work, but he was very excited to see the car. It's nice to see the next generation still holding on to the excitement that a rotary engine causes. One guy was explaining to his wife who clearly was into cars, how the engine in my car works, and when she was finished her eyes lit up and she was talking about how cool and unique it was.
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GrumpyFox
I believe Mazda confirmed the return of the Rotary Engine for 2020 that would be very small, and used as a supplemental power source for a hybrid car. Which sounds great. Smaller, less power, and less use, should lead to better longevity and reliability. I'm a boxer engine fan. I'd never get a car that doesn't have a boxer engine I love them so much, but I think the rotarys are cool as hell too. It's just something different that people stick with and believe in.
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I believe Mazda confirmed the return of the Rotary Engine for 2020 that would be very small, and used as a supplemental power source for a hybrid car. Which sounds great. Smaller, less power, and less use, should lead to better longevity and reliability. I'm a boxer engine fan. I'd never get a car that doesn't have a boxer engine I love them so much, but I think the rotarys are cool as hell too. It's just something different that people stick with and believe in.
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Gavin Mann
The rotary is definitely better than the piston. placing a rotary into a largely piston-driven world results in people not knowing how to build them properly. Idk why there's this constant downplay throughout this video of oh, man there's sure some better routes to build an engine, but these people who just like doing it the weird and worse way just have their hearts in it. A 13b rx7 is a phenomenal car, and a phenomenal engine.
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The rotary is definitely better than the piston. placing a rotary into a largely piston-driven world results in people not knowing how to build them properly. Idk why there's this constant downplay throughout this video of oh, man there's sure some better routes to build an engine, but these people who just like doing it the weird and worse way just have their hearts in it. A 13b rx7 is a phenomenal car, and a phenomenal engine.
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ZeroCooly
Rotary pros: small, more power dense. rotary cons: what is gas and oil but flames out the exhaust? also, rotaries are more popular among aeronautical gear heads, brand new rotaries are still made for planes, because you simply can't get anything more power dense and fast spinning than an all aluminum block rotary. (gas fed that is, jets and other more power dense flight methods don't run on gasoline, or petrol, or e85)
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Rotary pros: small, more power dense. rotary cons: what is gas and oil but flames out the exhaust? also, rotaries are more popular among aeronautical gear heads, brand new rotaries are still made for planes, because you simply can't get anything more power dense and fast spinning than an all aluminum block rotary. (gas fed that is, jets and other more power dense flight methods don't run on gasoline, or petrol, or e85)
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1423 171
Because Gearheads like things that have terrible reliability but are unique like italian cars and rotariesAlso the rotary has had AN OBSCENE amount of time and money into the rotary engine It's literally 107 years old and the OHV engine is only 10 years older if you looking at Gasoline engines and patent dates so honestly, You can't really act like the rotary is some underdog it's just inferior
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Because Gearheads like things that have terrible reliability but are unique like italian cars and rotariesAlso the rotary has had AN OBSCENE amount of time and money into the rotary engine It's literally 107 years old and the OHV engine is only 10 years older if you looking at Gasoline engines and patent dates so honestly, You can't really act like the rotary is some underdog it's just inferior
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Trek2m
I have a 2002 mazda protege lx with a wankel engine and it runs almost as good as the day I bought it and it has never burnt oil it runs so clean every time I go to get it smogged they compare it to a hydrogen engine. Mazda wants to buy it back they say its the only one still on the streets I love my car I am its one and only mechanic and its never blown or wore down any seals.
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I have a 2002 mazda protege lx with a wankel engine and it runs almost as good as the day I bought it and it has never burnt oil it runs so clean every time I go to get it smogged they compare it to a hydrogen engine. Mazda wants to buy it back they say its the only one still on the streets I love my car I am its one and only mechanic and its never blown or wore down any seals.
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matt dyer
Rotarys are great engines when in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Premix the fuel, and redline it often. A family friend had a 2004 rx-8. He was a Mazda tech and had over 250k miles on it when he passed. What made that impressive is the fact the the engine had never been opened up. It finally blew an apex seal at 283k miles.
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Rotarys are great engines when in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Premix the fuel, and redline it often. A family friend had a 2004 rx-8. He was a Mazda tech and had over 250k miles on it when he passed. What made that impressive is the fact the the engine had never been opened up. It finally blew an apex seal at 283k miles.
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Eddie Van Buskirk
There is a small group of people that are putting the wankel into small planes. They state because of the consistent speed you maintain while flying alleviates most of the problems encountered in a car. The reduced weight is one of the reasons the plane application makes sense and it can operate on pump gas instead of AV gas.
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There is a small group of people that are putting the wankel into small planes. They state because of the consistent speed you maintain while flying alleviates most of the problems encountered in a car. The reduced weight is one of the reasons the plane application makes sense and it can operate on pump gas instead of AV gas.
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