phee

iTrader: (5)

grinding gears on a test drive!?

F23A4

Sounds like what I've heard about the 6MT in the AV6, TL and Si.

Izzy-Type-S

iTrader: (1)

I usually shift very well...learned stick on a WS-6 Trans Am my dad had but this one was tight & shifting up and over to 3rd got me.

Dave_B

Yeah huh, but I'm not talking about speciality rotary race cars that have their rotarties rebuilt after a race. I'm talking about street cars. The facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine. It's gets dismal mpgs, has a short shelf life, and you'd best keep a couple of quarts of oil in your trunk because it burns oil like a 2-cycle. The advantages of the rotary simply aren't there.

Dave_B

You really need to get yourself to a local auto-x event and you'll see the truth revealed. My G35 is narrower, shorter, and lighter and has a more OEM advanced suspension setup plus it has larger, wider, and sticker rubber, and a full blown 350Z shock/spring setup. My G does surprisingly well on the auto-x for it's class and size, but it gets owned by milded modded Miatas, Mini Coopers, Civic hatch/CRXs, etc with half the power of my car. My G's biggest problems are size and weight. Miatas, Civics, and Minis tend to beat me by a few seconds. One of those cars with race-spec rubber would absolutely destroy me. The most impressive auto-x weapons? A prepped Evo. They defy the laws of physics.

e-dub

Yea huh, you can't rebuild the engine in a 24 hour race, thats my point! Rebuilding after the race is for the nascar guys. So how many rotary's have YOU owned and maintained? I have personally owned several so I'm posting on my personal experience. My first was an 83' that I picked up when I was 17 with 173,000 miles and thrashed it well like a 17 year old kid does, and it lasted well over 200,000 miles without burning " quarts of oil " and all the while getting 15+mpg's(not the best, but hey it isn't meant to be! it's a frickin sports car!). There are many advantages to rotary engine: -no blown head gaskets,-no worry about over-revving the eng,-low center of gravity,-lightweight,-compact,no-cams to change out, -no valves to adjust,etc.. I can keep going but the point is made. It's not the best engine in the world but it's definatly not the worst. You have not gave any "facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine" so quit spewing old wives tales and intraweb hearsay.

e-dub

If you can't find it..grind it!

F23A4

The Renesis in my best friend's 04 RX-8 (which he purchased new) has already been replaced via dealership (costing him a ton of $$$) and now that one is having issues as well. Bear in mind, he doesn't race his car nor does he drive particularly hard. (Admitted caveats: It is used for daily driving and it is a first year RX-8. I don't know if Mazda made any updates to the Renesis since then in order to circumvent the issues my friend has in his 04.)

Couple that with the fact the I've come across several RX-7 owners at the track, nearly all of whom have confessed that you pretty much need to be a mechanic specializing in Rotary engines (OR know someone who is) in order to own one.

sleeperblue

Having owned several early rotary cars (RX-3) and 1st gen. RX7) I can say that I have easily put over 150,000 and on a couple of RX-7s over 200,000 miles, and I don't drive like an old lady... Yeah, gas mileage sucks if you keep your foot in it. I never had any "oil" troubles with mine. I only blew one motor, but bouncing off the rev limiter every time will harm most any motor.
Properly built and maintained rotaries will last, and are perfect in the small light cars they power. not many 70 c.u.i. motors can keep up with most V8 motors. but power to weight is a major part in that and that is another story...

Izzy-Type-S

iTrader: (1)

Lol, I knew I'd get some support for grinding. I was with a friend who was cracking up in the passanger seat, I look in the rear view mirror at the sales guy crammed in the back seat who was not laughing.

e-dub

Sure, as with all engine types gasoline,diesel,etc. there will be the ones that let go. Does that mean that every car with this engine is going to self implode out of the blue?No. Does it mean that every piston engine ever produced will last forever and never let go?No.For every engine replaced there are plenty of others that last forever. It's just that there is only one auto manufactuer(besides aircraft companies) that mass produces these, so they(unlike everyone else) are under a microscope.

Dave_B

Well it's obvious you have a deep love for the rotary. I was referring to race rotaries and yes, they are typically rebuilt after race events or after a few thousand miles. That's pretty common for most any racing engine.

You're talking about 2nd gen RX's and I'm talking about 3rd and 4th RX's. The 3rd gen cars, while being some of the most sexy and best performing cars on the market, has dismal reliability. Don't play stupid here either. These motors were notorious for engine fires and wrecking apex seals. The Renesis? Ha! I personally know 4 guys with them and 3 of them have add the motors replaced. The cars go through a quart of oil every 300 to 500 miles and this is considered normal by Mazda and the nature of the Renesis. The Renesis, like many rotaries, has a history of flooding on warm starts. Many times the flooding can be so bad that the plugs have to be changed. Finally, MPGs in these cars, especially the Renesis, is dismal. We're talking about a motor with an effective displacement of 2.8 liters yet it sees NORMAL city driving mpgs in the 14 to 16mpg range. In the winter, knock another 1 to 2 mpg off that number.

Yes, I know rotaries and IMO, they're pointless and should have been shelved decades ago. I'll gladly take an RX........a FD LSX swap that is.

e-dub

Its late and I've had a couple of beers so I'll try to keep this short
Thanks for info Dave I didn't know that. Apparently my point flew right over the top of your head, moving along..
You didn't specify,so now some of them are fine,but others are bad?
Sure only 3?
blah,blah, blah you are repeating yourself.ITS NOT A FUEL SIPPING HONDA 4cyl WE KNOW THIS.
You should really lightn up and not get your panties in a bind, matter of fact with your vast experience, spread your wisdom all across the internets so that others may bask in your intellectual know how of this engine.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

haha liquid courage FTW