Aaron Cake

Funny. Inaccurate, but funny.

It would have more funny if the author made fun of the real faults with the rotary instead of the artificial ones though.

Tough-guy

Tom-Guy

What faults are you thinking of? In my mind anything that's an oil burner by design is failure on multiple fronts.

rsmith2786

Reciprocating engines are designed to burn oil. I know its not the same but they are designed for oil flow through the valve guides. Just being an *** :P

Tough-guy

So I take it you are not a fan of two-stokes?

Tom-Guy

Compared to a 300 whp rotary, a two stroke is emissions friendly.

Tough-guy

OMG LOL. Don't you think you are blowing the hatred for rotaries a little out of proportion?

Aaron Cake

The actual faults with the engine would be things like an inefficient combustion chamber shape, hard to avoid intake/exhaust overlap (Renesis excluded), necessity for an oil cooling system, simplicity (simplicity means that there is a greater chance of a failure being a catastrophic one), lack of development compared to piston engines, fuel inefficiency, etc. Things like that which are fundamental to the design of the engine. Rather then the typical rotary complaints which stem more from poor tuning and mistakes when modifying then anything else.

I don't really understand the concern about oil consumption. I just overfill my oil by 1 quart (unlike a piston engine this won't cause aeration) and it's fine until the next oil change unless the car is heavily beat upon.

See, what's nice about a rotary is that they are very reliable and very easy to make power with if you know what you are going. There are few engine which don't need to be built internally that can go from 146 to 400+ HP with only bolt ons. Take a 150HP piston engine and build it for 400HP. You're replacing basically the entire engine by the time it's done (I'm generalizing a bit but at the very least it would be crank, rods, pistons, cams, valves, probably head(s), etc. etc.). Want a 400HP rotary? Bolt a turbo onto a stock block, fuel it properly, and you're done.

Tom-Guy

The stock oil burning system on a rotary is insufficient for 400+, most get oil mixed in the gas like a two-stroke. Failure by design.

I can make a 100% stock internal 400 whp Honda engine that outlasts and of the local 400 whp rotaries (some went through an engine a week). I would have to crack it open to hone out some more piston-wall clearance, but all stock. There are quite a few other engines that are similar, but a Honda is the only one I've done it to.

b18.

Having more than a residual amount of uber low octane oil in the charge is pretty fail imo too.

I still love me a wankel.