Legendary Rotary Engines
The Mazda lines of rotary engines were first put in production in early 1961. Expanding on the idea from Felix Wankel, who had the first production engine in 1957, the trusty yet powerful engine has been an oddity from day one. Compact and lightweight, this type of engine looks like no other piston propelled engine of any variation. Find someone to work on them is a whole other challenge too. Thankfully, all of the bugs have been worked out over the years, and the rotary engine is as reliable as the day is long. Although not in production anymore, buy any RX-7 up to 2007 and experience this power plant for yourself.
What makes the rotary design is the combustion chamber. In a conventional piston powered engine a cylinder, crankshaft and piston are connected together to produce power. The rotary uses a triangle shaped rotor in an oval housing. Simple in design, the only thing in common with a reciprocating piston engine is the four cycles or strokes. Intake, compression, power, and exhaust cycles all take place in an up and down motion of a piston within a cylinder in a conventional engine. These same four cycles are accomplished in just one rotation of the rotor within the housing. Instead of having one power stroke every other rotation of the crankshaft, the rotary engine has a power stroke with every revolution. This equates to stunning power figures from a two or three rotor engine of very small displacement.
As expected, the rotary engine has fewer moving parts. With fewer parts within an engine, reliability is further increased. The less there is, the fewer things will fail, and this also equals to a lighter weight. Light weight high horse power engines are the key to a high performance vehicle. Fuel economy numbers are also on the upper end, as these engines are very economical to operate. Winding one of the units to red line is a pure joy to experience. Thanks again to fewer parts; the rotary engine can spin very high with no worries of anything blowing up. The RX-7 sports car is an ideal choice for this type of power plant and has amazed many street builders with its simplicity in design and performance. Impressive is just one way to describe the rotary engine.
Just because this is a different design not on the beaten path, one should not shy away from purchasing a sports car with this type of engine. The production run has been quite long, and quality maintenance manuals are available to maintain this little jewel. Parts should not be an issue; the local auto parts store, dealership, and even the salvage yard are all good sources for needed items. Take your time, follow all of the instructions, and your rotary engine will be maintained in top operating form at all times. Service is the key to any engine, and scheduled maintenance will keep it going even further.
The rotary engine is indeed an odd power plant. Own one and separate yourself from the crowd.
