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does everyone in the world hate rotary engines?


sloth69mustang

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
638
City
central OH
Vehicle Year
97, 97, 91, 69
so after i build up the ranger a little bit i was going to build a miata with a 13b-rew engine(third gen rx-7 engine) in it. but all the research i have done on the swap seems to catch a lot of people giving all people crap for wanting to build a rotary for a miata. so i figured i would ask people that know about cars but arent hardcore into the street car scene to see what you guys think.
 
I've seen some pretty nasty wankels over the years. I think the question you need to ask yourself is what do you want the car to do. If you just want it to go like bat outa hell in a straight line then I would say put a small block v8 in it, it will also be probably the most robust option. If you want to retain the inherent good handling of the miata then weight becomes an issue so a turbo four or a wankel would be a better choice. I personally would go for a turbo four due to a better choice of motors and easier and cheaper to work on.
 
or if you want to shift at 15 or 16000 build a balls to the wall wankel
 
It's not exactly a conventional engine. Which throws people off and makes many of them leery towards it. I've run into a similar issue talking about the TTB (as I'm sure many of us have), it takes a bit of understanding to appreciate it.

I too have seem some pretty sweet wankels around. I would start first by talking to people who have actually driven/modified a wankel.
 
yeah. i am going to make it a daily driver that can handle. probably do a little auto crossing with it or some road track racing but i am sure 300hp miata would be an ok daily driver. as long as i stay out of the turbo gas mileage shouldnt be too bad. and those 13b-rew turbos dont really spool til like 4000 rpm anyway. close car friends say go for it. but of course people online say different. but thats usually bc they dont understand the engine or are scared of it lol. and i want something different. nobody around here has a 13b-rew slammed in a miata. just a couple turbo 4 bangers which are still pretty bad ass miatas but nobody with a rotary yet
 
Don't let them talk you out of it. They are easy to build, and far from expensive.
 
i know you have to rebuild them like every 30k but i did hear they are superrrrr easy to rebuild. my best friend is a super mazda guy. he is the one that talked me into do the swap. but i wouldnt mind rebuilding the engine over every winter bc the ranger with lockers, 6" lift and 35s should make an ok winter truck :D
 
Yeah, the only problem with those rotaries is that they don't have the longevity. They run like a raped ape when built, and they can rev pretty high, but they tend to shred bearings and blow up young if you beat on them.
 
adsm08 said:
Yeah, the only problem with those rotaries is that they don't have the longevity. They run like a raped ape when built, and they can rev pretty high, but they tend to shred bearings and blow up young if you beat on them.
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problem is i have only owned fords. so i only know how to beat on cars. 69 mustang with a 351c and now my ranger. and i drive the sh** out of both of them. but i am not scared to get my hands dirty every winter to rebuild it.
 
Cool. A ranger with a mazda tec rotary twin turbo engine in it. I can just see it already. I have had dreams my whole life of putting one into a 34 ford highboy dearborne duce coupe. It would be a rollerskate!

I have had two rx-7's in the last 20 years and yes they are very easy to rebuild yourself.
 
GoodOld85BlueBalls said:
Cool. A ranger with a mazda tec rotary twin turbo engine in it. I can just see it already. I have had dreams my whole life of putting one into a 34 ford highboy dearborne duce coupe. It would be a rollerskate!

I have had two rx-7's in the last 20 years and yes they are very easy to rebuild yourself.
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dont hate maybe i will put one in my ranger........ nope that will never happen. only thing going in my ranger is a 347
 
I can't say about the newer rotary engines but the early ones had serious wear issues with the rotary piston tips, those 3 points where the rotary piston meets the wall of the piston. I have no idea what that part is called. Can't call it a ring =>

In any case I am not sure if its going to have enough torque to push a ranger around without revving the crap out of it.
 
Nhaz said:
In any case I am not sure if its going to have enough torque to push a ranger around without revving the crap out of it.
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it was a joke i wasnt really going to put it in a ranger. only thing i will put in a ranger is a 347.
 
I have a 1975 RE-5 and a 1979 RX-7 they both still run just fine
 
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