Rotary Wonder

[Tunnelcat]

Even though no car uses this engine right now, it's a fascinating piece of machinery. It still doesn't look like it should work though.

[youtube]6BCgl2uumlI[/youtube]

[Ferno]

no car right now? you really should do more research, lass.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014 ... icles.html

[Duper]

It's called the Wankel engine. ^_^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine
Pretty nifty.

[Tunnelcat]

no car right now? you really should do more research, lass.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2014 ... icles.html

Oh, I meant in any NEW production cars. The last Wankel put into a Mazda was in 2012.

http://jalopnik.com/5921410/the-last-ma ... been-built

[Spidey]

Piston engine goes…boing…boing…boing…but the Mazda goes…hummmmmmm….

[Tunnelcat]

I've driven a few Mazda RX-7's in the past and they did go "hummmmm". I was a weird sensation, but those engines really accelerated when you stomped on the gas. They were smooooth about it too.

[Isaac]

Wow, those apex seals look like the whole system depends on them and take the most stress out of all of them. And also look like the most fragile part. For that it looks as though it's not designed to wear out or age well.

[Duper]

really no different than cylinders. I thought the same thing though. This is where your material tech is critical.

[Tunnelcat]

Wow, those apex seals look like the whole system depends on them and take the most stress out of all of them. And also look like the most fragile part. For that it looks as though it's not designed to wear out or age well.

Unfortunately, those apex seals were usually the first to fail, especially early on. Plus, even though the materials in those seals had largely been improved over the decades, there still had to be some intentional oil leakage to keep ALL the seals on the rotors lubricated sufficiently, so it was difficult for this engine to pass modern emissions requirements. The Wankel also suffered from a lack of low end torque. It was sure spunky once you got it wound up however.