Boingers

[Raymond C Drouillard]

>To the person claiming no significant performance or mileage benefit
from a
>rotary: (with aftermarket exhaust) 225 HP at the flywheel, naturally
>aspirated, in 1.3 liters of displacement in a 2500 lb. car. 18-25 mpg
>depending on driving style. The mpg is similar to a V8, as is the power,
but
>a 13B engine can be easily lifted by 2 men (about 300 lbs., with all the
>accessories still attached).  That alone is a significant advantage over
a
>V8. With attached turbo, rotaries are reliably running up to 400 hp on
the
>street. Mileage remains similar. Can you say that for a 400HP piston 
>engine?

I'm not talking about specialized racing applications, or even how many
people it takes to pick it up.  I understand that the power/weight ratio
is better than a four-stroke piston engine.  I'm talking about what sells
cars.  Go down to your favorite Mazda dealer and drive one.  Yah, it's
pretty fast and gets decent mileage.  Now, go to a Chevy dealer and hop
into a Camaro Z28.  It'll blow the doors of the RX7, and the mileage
still isn't that bad.  Now, go hop into a Saturn twin cam.  Much better
mileage and not too shabby on the performance.

My point is that the mileage/performance balance isn't significently (if
at all) better than the other cars you can buy off the lot.  If I have to
swap an engine, I might appreciate that it is lighter.  When I'm driving,
I appreciate the performance of the car as a whole.

There are some directly injected two-stroke engines on the drawing
boards.  I don't have the exact figures, but I would be willing to bet
(if I were a betting man) that the power/weight ratio of these
two-strokers will be similar to the Wankyl.  They won't, however, suffer
from the wierd-shaped combustion chamber and longevity of the Wankyl.

Ray Drouillard

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