Posted on 02/24/2013 9:18:11 AM PST by taildragger
Check out the video, the engine is small, model airplane size via the use of the propeller to give it a load, but it runs.
Wankels are notorious for lack of thermal efficiency, but to keep all the heat in and turn it into motion via ceramics could be a game changer.
Think about it;
* Omnivorous
* Smooth
* Small in size.
* It is uncooled, but is it unlubricated (?)
Their website: http://www.creinc.us/
And why hasn’t THIS one caught on?
http://circlecycleice.com/page9.php
If what they say in the video is all true, that would be a game changer.
The cost of the engines will also affect their applications.
Wife owned a ‘73 RX2 coupe when we first met.
That little car would fly !
I had a car with a Wankel engine. It had really poor performance. Mazda won a lot of endurance races by turbocharging their Wankels. There have been a lot of improvements in turbocharging over the last twenty years. Maybe they can make it work now. The car didn’t get great mileage, either.
I had an RX2 also!It was great - small, manueverable, great handling and plenty of power! It did need to be tuned often, and we learned to do it ourselves as the local dealership didn’t seem to be able to do it right. We did replace the engine once, but the rebuild wasn’t done well and we only got about 25k miles out of it.
I would think the main problem with a ceramic Wankel would be the same as with every other ceramic engine prototype - as long as they work they’re great, but a small accident can crack the engine and it becomes worthless.
The ‘73 sported an enormous 4 barrel carburettor and a stomp on the foot feed would consume mass quantities...
The important thing is whether the new engine design can incorporate a turbo encabulator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7G7xOG2Ag
I would assume that crankshaft alignment is critical on this.
I had an early 80s rx7 5 speed and pushed it past 100k with no problems. I loved that car. It was a sad day when someone ran a stop sign and tboned me. I lost a car and my girlfriend broke up with me because I checked ithe car before I even looked at her. I only grieved for one of those losses...
I have 2 RX7s with over 175,000 miles on each. Best car I ever had and I have had over 20.. Bought my first RX7 because a friend of mine had one which he abused but it held up unbelievably.
They do not do well if one lets them sit idle over 3 weeks, especially if they have many miles on them.
Sounds like the rotor seals are a weak point.
test drove a used one back in 76?,very peppy car;but my banker said “buy an American car and I will write a loan...”
Nice info; thanks for posting it.
Does this mean it will get decent fuel mileage?
Otherwise, what’s wrong with the way they are now?
Let me fill you in on some decades-old news.
It's true that the early rotaries had trouble past about 50,000 miles (including my RX-2) but that problem was solved around 1978-79 by replacing the old rubber seals with ones made of teflon. Mazda even replaced the seals in my RX-2 with teflon ones and the car went on to live a long and exciting life. My RX-7 was built with teflon seals from the factory and it never had a problem. Mazda has "got it right" on their rotaries for at least the past three decades.
As of 2013 Mazda no longer has a rotary in its line-up, the RX-8 having been phased out about a year ago due to fuel economy issues inherent with rotaries.
As for this ceramic rotary, I don't know that Mazda has a thing to do with it, so your remark about hoping that they "got it right this time" seems odd and misdirected.
Ditto to what you say. After having the engine rebuilt twice at their cost (and our out of transport for a week each time) I gave up and bought a regular engine car.
Ceramic engines are more durable. They don’t wear out nearly as fast, so if they can get it right, you could probably go 500,000 miles easily enough.
He said he made sure he carried motor oil to pour down the carb if he thought a starting problem was related to leaky seals.
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