-apex seals
-rotor rings
-housing gaskets
now that that’s covered, let’s talk about the good things
was wondering if anyone up in here has owned one. i’m really fascinated by the engineering.
please share any experience. thanks
My boss has an RX8, but she drives it like a girl so it is alway’s in the shop.
It seem’s that carbon buildup can make it throw a code.
yeeeee, not really talking about the renesis though
2 of my friends have them, there junk, and slow. and no one knows how to work on them.
no torque burns lots of gas
the rotary is only good if youve spent the last 10 years of your life devoted to learning how one works and how to maintain it.
otherwise itll just end up like 90% of the rotaries on this planet, stuffed into some puerto rican drag car, where they belong.
light, powerful and elusive.
i like the rotary, there are a few healthy examples running around.
more and more everyday though, cars that were once rotary powered are starting to get the V8 thrown in.
its a picky motor, doesnt react well to AFR fluctuations, doesnt react well to extreme climates, doesnt react well to common lubricants.
if you have the passion to be passionate about something that wont have any compassion for you, get a rotary powered car.
if you like being able to get to point b reliably, stay away.
[QUOTE=OMG Its Weasel;2146648]the rotary is only good if youve spent the last 10 years of your life devoted to learning how one works and how to maintain it.
[/quote]
well, everyone starts somewhere
if you have the passion to be passionate about something that wont have any compassion for you, get a rotary powered car.
sounds right up my alley
let’s keep the input coming, guys. whether good or bad
thanks
i could see myself trading that powerband for torque
as long as you have interest in any given subject, you will learn. it’s never an incapability of learning, but rather a loss of interest.
the way i’ve always seen it, anyways
if you have the passion to be passionate about something that wont have any compassion for you, get a rotary powered car.
thats deep you must have owned one before am i right?
no, but i know many rotards, two of my childhood friends own rotary powered cars.
also, parts are getting harder and harder to find, mazda (if youre going with an RX7) keeps apex seals on stock and thats about it.
thrashing a rotor housing is a lot more of an issue when you blow up a rotary as well. there is no overboring the walls and using larger rotors, once you score the housing its toast. one pissed off apex seal can end your whole motor.
[QUOTE=OMG Its Weasel;2146723]no, but i know many rotards, two of my childhood friends own rotary powered cars.
also, parts are getting harder and harder to find, mazda (if youre going with an RX7) keeps apex seals on stock and thats about it.
thrashing a rotor housing is a lot more of an issue when you blow up a rotary as well. there is no overboring the walls and using larger rotors, once you score the housing its toast. one pissed off apex seal can end your whole motor.[/QUOTE]
yeah, there’s several rotary specialists in the area.
you can still get the full seal kits from mazda. they are roughly 1300$ though, so a newb to the rotary doing a rebuild would not be a good idea.
i’m aware of the extremely precise clearances.
aftermarket support for rotaries has really grown in these past few years. the information obtained through the pains of trial and error have made for a much more reliable engine. rotaries are making a comeback. bigtime. i’m just really fascinated by the wankel. it’s beauty in simplicity
7 moving parts. Should be easy right? Fuck you Felix Wankel.
LOmfL! :werd:
Honestly, they’re not as bad as ppl make them out to be. It’s all about being anal about maintenance. And about the rotor housings, generally as long as you don’t drive the car with the apex seals blown (even though you can), or any other seals (there are indications…mainly different colours of smoke…loss in power), you’re generally okay. In most cases you don’t need to change anything BUT seals. And parts aren’t THAT hard to find…there’s motors for sale all the time. Also, you have to make sure you run the proper oils & what not, and perform any reliablity mods (mainly cooling for turbo models, but there are other mods, such as deleting the oil metering pump & running premixed fuel instead). It’s definitely a high maintenance motor, but if you talk to actual long time owners, they will tell you that the rx-7 is the most reliable car they’ve ever owned. So I say if you like it, go for it, just make sure you do your research.
let me re-blanket my last posts with this: if you take proper care of anything, it will last. rotaries are no different.
one of my friends has nearing 200k on his TurboII FC, his father owned it before he did and owned two prior RX7s as well. if they could they would own only rotary powered cars. they are rotards to the N’th degree.
to be honest, i never meant any of what i said to be dismaying, i see you defending against what i was saying, i hope my nay-saying doesnt turn you away from them at all, they are amazing machinery.
its usually the previous owner(s) that already killed most rotaries before they become a project cars motor.
if more people followed the stringent maintenance schedule, rotaries would probably gone much farther than they have so far.
i say do it. they are the most rewarding motors to make big power with. even if you keep it low-key. even the flat powerband of the NA motors is a welcomed change from the hig revving small motors of today.
I had a series 3 FB rx7 a few years back, was a beater but was a fun lil 2seater, murdered flat black. Quick lil thing, similar to a miata I would say. Only had it a few months and resold it for the same I paid for it.
I used to own one back in the early 90’s…streeported, dual side draft carbs, racing beat suspension etc etc etc…
This bitch was n/a, a dd, and fast as fuck!..then it was stolen and stripped! The fastest car at our local track (8th mile) is a old Datsun with a boosted rotary ran a 5:20!
Yes they are a lot of maintainence and require a bit of experience, but just like anything else, if you take your time and do it right! You WILL have a lot of fun!
Most people (in my experience) who talk shit about them, have never owned one, or are afraid of them!
[QUOTE=OMG Its Weasel;2146978]let me re-blanket my last posts with this: if you take proper care of anything, it will last. rotaries are no different.
one of my friends has nearing 200k on his TurboII FC, his father owned it before he did and owned two prior RX7s as well. if they could they would own only rotary powered cars. they are rotards to the N’th degree.
to be honest, i never meant any of what i said to be dismaying, i see you defending against what i was saying, i hope my nay-saying doesnt turn you away from them at all, they are amazing machinery.
its usually the previous owner(s) that already killed most rotaries before they become a project cars motor.
if more people followed the stringent maintenance schedule, rotaries would probably gone much farther than they have so far.
i say do it. they are the most rewarding motors to make big power with.
even if you keep it low-key. even the flat powerband of the NA motors is a welcomed change from the hig revving small motors of today.[/QUOTE]
haha. no worries at all, man. i hear ya. all good. i’m sure you’re much like me and can appreciate the levels of engineering behind any vehicle that makes it to the showroom. whether it be for their triumphs or their faults
it’s the internet. and i not only expect criticism from all aspects of the spectrum, i embrace it.
i’m one of those borderline OCD cases, so i think this may be right up my alley.
there’s a tonne of good information out there and i’ve learned a bit in this short period. still loads of research to do yet before i even think of getting into one.
i think they just got a bad rep. probably from when higher production vehicles like the fc started reaching above 100k. prior to the internet and information that is now so readily available, and much more developed.
i dunno. i just find something so cool in an engine with a rotating piston that’s essentially a 2 stroke. a beautiful piece of geometric engineering.
i guess i just want to move onto something different. and this is definitely different. and i like that. maybe that’s what draws people towards them
Three things I know for sure about the FD RX7:
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The pre-cat is cast iron and is basically a giant heatsink in your engine bay. It leaves a lot of heat trapped in your engine bay after you shut off your car. What’s that bad for? It’s bad for anything that is rubber. Seals, hoses, etc.
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The pre-cat tends to go out at 60k miles. That is, the honeycomb in side starts to fall apart. The particles will flow their way outwards and clog the main cat. Then you have a motor that’s basically choking to death and will eventually self-destruct on you.
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The radiator isn’t up to the task of cooling. Something to do with making it pass emissions in the U.S. and the Japanese changing it out. The ones in Japan had an efficient radiator. I’m not 100% on the reason, but get a new radiator if you do get one.
I’ve had a friend that’s done nothing but the regular maintenance and drove one of his Miata’s to somewhere around 230k miles on the stock rotary. He bought his 93 r1 with 26k miles and instantly ditched the pre-cat to get rid of the heatsink and upgrated to a mishimoto radiator. It’s been taking abuse for about 75k miles and he’s selling it because he just finished building his Civic.