hvguy wrote:air cooled oil leaking engine < 12a rotary that weighs half as much but makes 4 times the power.
lol but the 12a will only last 1/10 as long
Eh, Aircooled VW engines don't last as long as you might think. If you beat the shit out of them and drive them like most people do you will get 100k miles, most people get around 150k miles before rebuilding, there have been reports of 200K+ miles on engines that are taken care of. The nice thing about the aircooled engine is that it is simple to rebuild, and it can be done cheaply as well. I've been told locally that if you know what your doing you can trash your engine for 100k (while doing basic maintence) and then pull it out, inspect the case, rebuild it and have it back together driving in 1-2 days depending on experience. There is guys out there that can pull a engine in 15-20 minutes and rebuild it in a hour though just for the record.
The only reason I don't care for the 12a very much is that it requires water to keep things cool.
like I said the beatle motor will still last 10 times longer. If you beat on a triangle motor it will die very very quickly if its making some horse power its even worse 100k is like max life for a well maintained rotary
Sounds like a typical response from somebody without any knowledge of the rotary.
Its just like any other engine. If it in fact didnt last, and was very unreliable.... they wouldn't have put it in a production car. My engine has 190k and im just now doing a minor rebuild. But im only replacing a side seal I broke. The apex's are in good shape, and none of the springs are warped.
The rotary is just like any engine- If you dont take care of it, you end up killing it. And most of the explosions you see are on the track when they are doing a 10 minute burnout, or they are running 200lbs of boost with nos.
hvguy wrote:air cooled oil leaking engine < 12a rotary that weighs half as much but makes 4 times the power.
lol but the 12a will only last 1/10 as long
Eh, Aircooled VW engines don't last as long as you might think. If you beat the shit out of them and drive them like most people do you will get 100k miles, most people get around 150k miles before rebuilding, there have been reports of 200K+ miles on engines that are taken care of. The nice thing about the aircooled engine is that it is simple to rebuild, and it can be done cheaply as well. I've been told locally that if you know what your doing you can trash your engine for 100k (while doing basic maintence) and then pull it out, inspect the case, rebuild it and have it back together driving in 1-2 days depending on experience. There is guys out there that can pull a engine in 15-20 minutes and rebuild it in a hour though just for the record.
The only reason I don't care for the 12a very much is that it requires water to keep things cool.
like I said the beatle motor will still last 10 times longer. If you beat on a triangle motor it will die very very quickly if its making some horse power its even worse 100k is like max life for a well maintained rotary
Sounds like a typical response from somebody without any knowledge of the rotary.
Its just like any other engine. If it in fact didnt last, and was very unreliable.... they wouldn't have put it in a production car. My engine has 190k and im just now doing a minor rebuild. But im only replacing a side seal I broke. The apex's are in good shape, and none of the springs are warped.
The rotary is just like any engine- If you dont take care of it, you end up killing it. And most of the explosions you see are on the track when they are doing a 10 minute burnout, or they are running 200lbs of boost with nos.
lololololololol so yours has NEVER been apart before you owned it? I have seen rotorys blow apex seals on the track at least five times and this is without nitrous, making under 400hp, over adequet oil cooling systems, and fresh aftermarket apex seals. Yes they are just another motor but piston engines own rotarys as far as reliability goes it dosent take a rocket scientist to figure that out. They are just like a 2 stroke motor they can make shit tons of power but have to be rebuilt all the time. Why do you think there are so many ls1/lt1/l98/l31 fd's and fc's running around?
the major weaknesses in the wankel rotary is poor fuel efficiency, poor low end torque and very bad emissions. it is essentially similar to the 2 stroke bike engines. the high wear-n-tear on apex seals is another drawback in my book but the rotary engine is barely 50 years old guys.
our typical vertical 4 stroke has about a 100 years head start on it. mazda has already developed a hydrogen consuming rotary and is currently being tested on japan's streets. it's more ideal for this alternative power since its intake, combustion and exhaust chambers are essentially separate just in its design.
there's power in the higher rpms (over 5500 i believe) to 10k. but it consumes oil as it burns fuel. yeah, they aren't the most typical user friendly and durable as our 4 strokers but i think as the years go by they maybe the dream engine just in design and given enough time like the 4 stroke.
dr.occa wrote:the major weaknesses in the wankel rotary is poor fuel efficiency, poor low end torque and very bad emissions. it is essentially similar to the 2 stroke bike engines. the high wear-n-tear on apex seals is another drawback in my book but the rotary engine is barely 50 years old guys.
our typical vertical 4 stroke has about a 100 years head start on it. mazda has already developed a hydrogen consuming rotary and is currently being tested on japan's streets. it's more ideal for this alternative power since its intake, combustion and exhaust chambers are essentially separate just in its design.
there's power in the higher rpms (over 5500 i believe) to 10k. but it consumes oil as it burns fuel. yeah, they aren't the most typical user friendly and durable as our 4 strokers but i think as the years go by they maybe the dream engine just in design and given enough time like the 4 stroke.
i like both for their existing advantages.
I agree with this I dont hate the rotary and I have considered using one but the reliabilty factor is what made me stop looking into it. Hopefully mazda can mak a better one that holds up longer becuse the power to weight owns.
Indeed it is like the 2 cycle, kinda. In the sense that it consumes oil to keep things oiled. Since this is my first rotary-ill see what kind of hell i can put it through before it gives in.
I found a guy with a brand new garrett T25 that im thinking of putting on either of my engines.
Ill probably put the rotary in my drifter to gauge its performance while drifting, but at the same time, put my 4ac with its newly found lower end and turbo it.
Ill post pics and such when its all said and done.
CBR_TOY wrote:so rotary's are good motors then? i thought about putting a 24b into my 86....
really, i'd give rotaries a bit more time before converting to it. true that there are far fewer moving parts but you may experience more down time than you're already accustomed too and you will be going through gas & oil even faster than you're use to as well.
great power in the upper registers of rpm (like your crotch rockets) but no torque below 5k and nothing but guzzled gas dripping down both sides of your mouth onto your shirt (poor gas consumption).
Oh well-
Just FYI, I decided not to trade my black corolla for the cressida like planned "the guy is taking forever and dodging my calls" So im headed out tomorrow to go pick up my 88 GXL in trade for the corolla.
Running and driving, just needs a new throw out bearing.
