Rotary vs. Piston engine

Hello to all,
I have a question to ask all you rotary engine fans. Why is the rotary engine better than a piston engine(if it is), and what makes it better? I am trying to learn all i can about rotary engines because i would like to purchase an RX-7. I'm 16 years old and i figure the sooner i learn it the better i'll be able to take care of my 7. And for all you who are sayin " another damn 16 year old who's gonna rice out an RX-7." I hate those kids (who dont appreciate a good car when they see it) as much as you do. Any and all help reguarding rotary engines, maintainance, and care will be GREATLY appreciated.
:smile:

I hope you have a pretty deep pocket as they will nickle and dime you to death untill you get it running good. I would suggest an NA opposed to the turbo, becuase it will most likely last you longer and that way you can learn about it. When that one decides to go, then you move up to the Turbo as you will have more knowledge and be better equipped for taking care of it. I will reply more later after I have new tranny and exhaust installed.

caz fuckin im drunk and um yega

Thanks, and what gen. non turbo would you suggest. or which year has the strongest most reliable engine?

any first gen or a na 2nd gen

2nd gens have an easy swap to turbo engine later on if you wish

na's arent too expensive to upkeep, the only hting more costly is you have to change oil more oftern

13B's out of all the second generation is by far the best bang for your buck.

Also as Drftk1d stated they make for an easy Turbo swap at a later point.

I am currently in the midst of doing a TII swap on my 1986.

I would suggest going with a Fuel Injected version of the 13b, as I was never a fan of the Carburated one.

Oil changes are more frequent. But, at the cost of an oil change, it's fairly cheap up keep.

General Maintnance as any other car. Be sure to clean your air filter, and spark plugs (or replace them) on a semi regular basis.

If you live somewhere cold, be sure your Zero Start Assist Fluid is occasionaly topped up.

Change your plug wires once and a while to keep everything up and running in sync, top transmission fluids.

That's about the basic of maintnance on the FC.

What makes a Rotary better then a piston? What makes a Mazda better then a Toyota. It's all preference really.

In the long and short of things. Rotaries you don't have to worry about killing a valve, or putting a connecting rod through the block. But you do have to worry about how you drive it when it is cold.

Remember with these cars, the harder you are on it when it has not heated up, the shorter the life span of the car.

Also, installing a fuel cut off switch would be a good idea, as it helps keep the motor from flooding. They are a rather pickey car, some will flood more easily then others.

If there is anything else, just drop a line. I'll be glad to help you out the best I can.

Great. thanks a lot.

acutally all of the 13b's in the rx7 in the US were fuel injected

GTUs :D

That basicly a TII without the motor in it :P

www.howstuffworks.com
There you will find a decent discription of how it works.

There really is no "one is better than the othere" answer for you. They both have there strong and weak points to them. A rotary is alot of fun, and like any othere car it will break and cost you money. So make sure when your buying a 15+ year old car that you have some money on the side to fix things.

Thanks, and i was at howstuffworks.com earlier, and that gave me TONS of info. Im so excited to learn even more! thanks again to everyone. Just one more thing, are there any good books on rotary engines you think i could get at the library?

The second gen Rx7 is a great car. I’m 19 and I own an 88 NA it's a great car despite all of the quirks you have to learn when dealing with rotaries. The car is an absolute blast to drive! It’s also a great car to learn how to dive on as well because it doesn’t fight with you while you’re driving. The Fc reacts in a very predictable way to every input you give it. During cornering, braking and accelerating the car is easy to control and it never feels as though you need to force the car back into line if it starts to do its own thing.

My other car is a 94 camaro z28 and I would much rather go tearing up the back roads around my house in the piston challenged rx7 than my v8 any day.

Ps. as it was mentioned the NA is the better starting point both for a new driver and some one new to rotaries. But I must warn you this WILL leave you craving power of the TII. Also the car is seriously deprived of torque.

Good Luck

meh

if you want torque get a truck :P

So, is the acceleration pretty poor on the 2nd gen N/A's?

The acceleration of a na FC is nothing to brag about. There not slow, but there definetly not fast.
There designed to handle, not go balls out fast.

I've got no complaints about the acceleration, as it doesn't matter mustang to maro, I'll always get you in the corner...

Cool. great info guys. i read the 0-60 is about 7.7 seconds. it could be worse, but if the handling is what the rx-7 is made for, im sure it makes up for the lost torque in the handling department.

They do handle exceptionally well. But that's the chassis, not the engine. And the chassis can handle a lot of torque and power without upsetting the handling, it's that good.

Since you've been to howstuffworks, a more detailed site I like is this:

http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com/index.php

Lots of detail, not just on how it works, stock, but also how modifications affect it.

Thanks Chris, great site!

I agree with them, gettin an N/A is probably good, I know from experience. I am 16 and I have had my 91 N/A for almost a year and I love it!!! This is my first car, and I don't think I'll ever sell it until I have too. It does handle really well, and personally I like the acceleration, but that's probably because I've never really driven anything faster, haha! good luck and I hope you enjoy your RX-7 when you get it!

Very unique sport car. People will be looking at your pretty RX-7 and hear that sexy hum and whine of the rotary. =)