Engines

[Gregor 4,846]

Interesting show on "The History Channel"  ENGINES

[Gregor 4,846]

Wonder why the Wankel rotary engine didn't take off.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

4 minutes ago, Gregor said:

Wonder why the Wankel rotary engine didn't take off.

 

The propellor may not have been big enough to provide adequate lift!  

 

I've read over the years that combustion chamber sealing proved to be a bigger engineering challenge than expected.

I don't believe they ever really 'solved' that issue.

 

 

[Gregor 4,846]

Apparently someone is still using them.

Wankel Rotary

 

[squonk 41,150]

They burned oil like a Vega!

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

Three raisons:

1: the APEX seals worn pretty fast. Mazda's had to get these new every 60k miles. and because they are the piston rings of rotary's it is quite a operation getting those replaced. 

2: they indeed use quite some oil causing bad emissions and couldn't pass the newer emission standards.

3: they only made power between 5-9k rpm, contributing to horrible gas mileage.

[pacer 3,173]

I bought my little bride an RX7 in .... what? - mid/early 80's anyho, she LOVED that thing (didnt impress me all that much) Kept it 3-4 yrs with no problems - course she prolly didnt put 30k or so on it. Eldest son got one and he ALSO loved it, after he sold it, grumbled about 'why did I sell my RX???" mumble, mumble.....

[Gregor 4,846]

1 minute ago, pacer said:

I bought my little bride an RX7 

I use to buy my little bride things. That was a long time ago. I can't now.  She's not little anymore !

 

Just kidding....Just Kidding.

 

 

[sparkie333 265]

8 minutes ago, Gregor said:

I use to buy my little bride things. That was a long time ago. I can't now.  She's not little anymore !

 

Just kidding....Just Kidding.

 

 

 

I guess if you wished her to know ---you will tell her that

[sparkie333 265]

14 minutes ago, pacer said:

I bought my little bride an RX7 in .... what? - mid/early 80's anyho, she LOVED that thing (didnt impress me all that much) Kept it 3-4 yrs with no problems - course she prolly didnt put 30k or so on it. Eldest son got one and he ALSO loved it, after he sold it, grumbled about 'why did I sell my RX???" mumble, mumble.....

 

I know sad'sad'sad-- but it's gone now----

[Chaz54 57]

1 hour ago, Gregor said:

Wonder why the Wankel rotary engine didn't take off.

Like Maxwell-8 said, the biggest reason was due to emissions

[Gregor 4,846]

2 minutes ago, Chaz54 said:

Like Maxwell-8 said, the biggest reason was due to emissions

I 'spose it might be similar to a 2 cycle.

[Maxwell-8 4,277]

39 minutes ago, Gregor said:

I 'spose it might be similar to a 2 cycle.

I know these days, when owners replace the apex seal, the run it for the first tank or 2 on a 2 stroke mix

[WheelHorse520H 708]

1 hour ago, Maxwell-8 said:

I know these days, when owners replace the apex seal, the run it for the first tank or 2 on a 2 stroke mix

Interesting, I didn’t expect to go on here this evening and all of a sudden know anything more about rotary engines than I did before. @Gregor are hinting to something WH related here? Maybe a rotary powered tractor if some sort?

Edited December 5, 2021 by WheelHorse520H

[Gregor 4,846]

26 minutes ago, WheelHorse520H said:

Maybe a rotary powered tractor if some sort?

I have already been looking for an engine.

 

Impressive for it's size, but does not give a cost. I think this could be squeezed into a .........  And it says 4 cycle. 

 

 

Rotary Engine

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by Gregor

[WheelHorse520H 708]

13 hours ago, Gregor said:

 

Impressive for it's size, but does not give a cost. I think this could be squeezed into a

It is impressive for its size, that thing is tiny for 75 h.p.

[Gregor 4,846]

After watching this video, I now understand much more about how a rotary engine works.

 

Rotary Engine

[Tuneup 1,433]

It's the required oil injection to maintain the seals. People today have to remember to top-off the oil frequently and, given the idiots of today that think a car runs forever as long as they put gas in it, the seals wear even worse. Ever seen those videos where it takes a screwdriver to coax the oil from the pan? Who ever thought we'd be here today? I guess that's the rant for today.

[Gregor 4,846]

31 minutes ago, Tuneup said:

given the idiots of today that think a car runs forever as long as they put gas in it,

When my son got his license, we bought him an extremely nice Nissan Maxima. A lot of miles, but the car was almost perfect. We paid for the car and insurance. It was up to him to maintain it. He not only thought it would run forever with gas in it, he thought it would run forever as long as it had oil in it, regardless of how old that oil was. If you have ever seen oil that has "gone away", it's a lot like hot water. It does nothing as far as lubricating anything. He never changed the oil, it blew up. I guess I should have been keeping closer tabs on it. My bad.

[RED-Z06 2,221]

Wankles were neat, there were wankle chainsaws, wankle push mowers, but they didnt last, hard to start, hard to tune.  Absolutely no low end torque and gulped gas.  It was, at its peak..a novelty engine.

[Tuneup 1,433]

Yeah, you need to drum info into kids' heads. Still, mine will go a little long on the oil changes since it's an hour to my house to get them done. I built some wooden ramps that makes it easy for them. My youngest's 01 Mustang has 140K on it so the front end is squeaking. As always, I'm the go-to guy. Control arms, ball joints, struts, rear shocks, etc. What a royal  pain - and that with no rust (not like my teen days in NJ) and my back gave me fits for 3 days. I did the left and he watched. He did the right. Even had to move the rack to get at a bolt. Rides silent. My suggestion was that he get a newer one but he's as lost as me when it comes to older machinery. My Honda 550 just turned 43, and his Kawi, 41. It's sitting now in the garage with its carbs in pieces on my bench. The middle is due to arrive with his 18 stang which the dealership topped-off in its final warranty inspection. I upgraded to the excellent yellow Ford anti-freeze and they topped it with the non-compatible green junk so it's flush time...dealers. Hey all, let's not forget about the Suzuki RE5 Wankel. Worth a few bucks today.

[lynnmor 7,308]

Arctic Cat made some Wankel powered snowmobiles, talk about slow!

[RED-Z06 2,221]

14 hours ago, Tuneup said:

Yeah, you need to drum info into kids' heads. Still, mine will go a little long on the oil changes since it's an hour to my house to get them done. I built some wooden ramps that makes it easy for them. My youngest's 01 Mustang has 140K on it so the front end is squeaking. As always, I'm the go-to guy. Control arms, ball joints, struts, rear shocks, etc. What a royal  pain - and that with no rust (not like my teen days in NJ) and my back gave me fits for 3 days. I did the left and he watched. He did the right. Even had to move the rack to get at a bolt. Rides silent. My suggestion was that he get a newer one but he's as lost as me when it comes to older machinery. My Honda 550 just turned 43, and his Kawi, 41. It's sitting now in the garage with its carbs in pieces on my bench. The middle is due to arrive with his 18 stang which the dealership topped-off in its final warranty inspection. I upgraded to the excellent yellow Ford anti-freeze and they topped it with the non-compatible green junk so it's flush time...dealers. Hey all, let's not forget about the Suzuki RE5 Wankel. Worth a few bucks today.

My dad was, and still is handy but i always had a knack for diving into something I had no business diving into and figuring out how it worked, fixing it, and putting it back together...which is handy when you're poor.  I boughy an 03 Z06 in 2019, lower miles, ran great...8 months later the trans lost first gear sitting at a light. So...i ordered a used trans off ebay, jacked the car up as high as i could, pulled the rear suspension, diff, trans out as an assembly (its all in back) and swapped in my good trans, and bolted it all back up.  Shops wanted $2500 labor...plus $3500 to rebuild my old trans..i got out of it for about 16hrs and 1200 bucks...runs out real nice.

[RED-Z06 2,221]

1 hour ago, RED-Z06 said:

My dad was, and still is handy but i always had a knack for diving into something I had no business diving into and figuring out how it worked, fixing it, and putting it back together...which is handy when you're poor.  I boughy an 03 Z06 in 2019, lower miles, ran great...8 months later the trans lost first gear sitting at a light. So...i ordered a used trans off ebay, jacked the car up as high as i could, pulled the rear suspension, diff, trans out as an assembly (its all in back) and swapped in my good trans, and bolted it all back up.  Shops wanted $2500 labor...plus $3500 to rebuild my old trans..i got out of it for about 16hrs and 1200 bucks...runs out real nice.

Test drive went...really well.  This was coming to the top of 4th, hits 5th at 150 on the nose...top of 5th is 181.

[Tuneup 1,433]

Too much fun. I'm the same way, though my dad could only add STP to a car - limit to his tech knowledge. I got my 'talent' from Mom's father. I have had my Suzuki Bandit to 138 and that was enough for me. I prefer a twisty track where there are no deer to interrupt my good time  and when the bike decides to swap sides, I can safely slide along to a stop. Sometimes, crashing can be fun. Nice job on the Vette!