Whats so bad about Rotarys???

[REVLIMIT]

The only problems I have with the rotary motors is that they cant produce torque for crap. Also they have the power of a weak motor yet they get the gas mileage of a high hp big block chevy. O_o

[driftfreak]

i was getting good mpg in mine 150mileson a tank...but that was on the autobahn doing 120+mph for hours on end driving cross germany

[Ghost of Duluth]

Well my take on finding a middle aged womans car is kind of tainted. My first FD was a 93 touring and I got it for 9000 in 98. It was an auto with 142,000 miles on the original engine, turbos and wiring harness. That is RARE!!!!! Now fast forward to my current one. 3rd engine (bad) second set of turbos, and second wiring harness. Difference? One was owned by a lady in Fla and one was driven like it was made to be. Now let's look at the way Fd's were usually treated when purchased.

In the early 90's when they cam out, they were 40k+. That is some serious hoggage for 93. So what people did was take these cars and stick them in their garage for sunday drives and a little fun. Since most of the people who could afford them, didn't know about them they didi the following. Went out to their garage, started their car, jumped right into it and took off. While you can do this with a piston car, you CANNOT do this with a rotary, especially an FD. So you started to see cars with 25k Or lower coming into dealers for engine replacements. Fast forward to current times. To know the longevity of FD motors simply check the Auto Trader. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that 95% of them are sporting new engines and turbos. Why? Cause they blew em up. Now all of these perps aren't taking them to the track and wearing them out or street racing them. These are normal people like your grandma. Well maybe like my grandma who still drives 85 on the backroads.

I also look at my days as an Automotive claims adjuster for Easycare and AAA. Rotaries, while rare to see claims on, came in for one thing and one thing only, Engine replacement. And every time it was engines, turbos and 90% of the time, the wiring harness. Now these are cars right out of factory warranty. If i'm not mistaken, Mazda extended the factory program to 50k too on the FDs. You can hold an FD motor together but you ain't gonna keep it long if you giving it hell.

Also, yes, a stock one is especially gonna have problems non-modded. Simply for the highly inferior cooling system on them, the poorly designed twin set-up and the inability to vent underhood heat. All that adds up to one cooked a** motor if you do anything more than light driving. Melted waste-gate diaphragms, cooked harness and cracked hoses are common on the cars. Going to a single turbo makes a world of difference both in HP and reliability.

Phew im winded.

[Nismo]

Amen

[SDRotary]

Originally posted by REVLIMIT
The only problems I have with the rotary motors is that they cant produce torque for crap. Also they have the power of a weak motor yet they get the gas mileage of a high hp big block chevy. O_o

i get 20mpg with 160rwhp

[DriftingShadow]

my friend's FC gets like 22mpg

[sid]

nothing

bad owners give rotarys a bad name. My FC was great except the previous owner was a slob and killed the engine before I knew enough to spot a lemon. but this sort of swap has been addressed on http://www.miata.net alot. I think its the perfect swap. Im not sure but you may need to have a new drive cut. PJ bonafacio has a carbed rotary miata and its pimp with a capital P.

http://community.webshots.com/s/imag...5RaTyDJ_ph.jpg

and also from what Ive heard the balance isnt ruined. the rotary isnt *that* much lighter but also it sits over the front axle not behind it like the 7 so its still really close to 50/50 if not nearly dead on.