Which is better?

[Malachi]

Rotary engine or cylinder?

[FocusZTS]

Originally Posted by Malachi

Rotary engine or cylinder?

that depends on what you like and what you are using it for


also depends on preferences

[68 Vette]

It all matter what you are looking for, for durability and for high dyno numbers a cylinder engine is the way to go due to the size of most of them. Also after one or two pings a rotary is done, it detonates and you have to rebuild the whole thing. Rotaries are also horrible on gas due to them needing to run rich to avoid ping which means alot more fuel dumped into the engine then a conventional cylinder engine.

Hope that helped you out

[Chris-B]

piston all the way baby!

i do love those rx7's though

[turbo15]

Yea depends on your upgrades and what not. But off the bat.....+1 for pistons

[nismoron]

Rotaries are capable of phenominal power outputs from really small displacement. BUT big power in small packages like to come out in undesired places. Like the problems descibed above, they are also notorious for bad apex seals. They need rebuilding all the time. But when they run, they RUN!!!

Go pistons (not the basketball team)

We are thinking of putting a 20B three rotor in a 240sx just for the hell of it. Probably not though. We dont feel like working on it all the time. They guy wanting something different is really hard on stuff!!!

[thedguy]

In short, rotaries aren't bad, they got a bad rap because of mostly bad tuners (with the whole being ticking time bombs), and pistons are still damn good, they sound good, and can make shitloads of power. This is an arguement/debate that will never end, sorta like imports vs domestics, it's all a matter of opinion.

long version
I like both myself. The rotary is very smooth and while torque is very limited, it makes very flat torque curve. An N/a MAZDA rotary can last quite a while and for the most part is quite hard to break. Turbo's on the other hand are more like ticking time bombs if they aren't tuned by someone who knows what they are doing.

I've seen a case of 1 guy that in the passed for 4 years go thru an engine each year, only spending about 2 months being able to drive it, and the rest of the year rebuilding (and going bigger than before). I've also seen FD's running 450+hp on 2 rotor engines that have been going for 4 years and punish the car (drifting, drag racing, and road racing) and has had no problem with the engine itself, just goes thru trannies and diffs from all the power. I've also tacked to several guys with over 400k miles on their n/a's, all they did was follow the proper maintenance schedule. A rotary isn't a 22R it can't driven with out coolant for 40 miles with a head so badly warped coolant drains out of it faster than it can be poured in (happend to a friend of my bro's).

They also do suck down a lot of gas, besides running rich, they jsut aren't fuel effecient. They make great power for the size of the engine, just not fuel effecient. Personally I think a lot of that is because there has been more companies over an extra 50+ years developing piston engines, and only 1 coming up with any real innovations on the rotary (mazda). The engines are also just a lot less complex, which also makes them a bit hard to get quick/easy/cheap hp out of short of forced induction.

Piston engines have the advantage of being a lot more fuel effecient given the amount of power they make, but aren't as smooth running. And don't quite make the wide torque curves Mazda rotaries do (although i've seen exceptions to the rule, like a well tuned Honda vtec). Piston motors have come to the point where some are nearly impossible to break (Toyota 20/22R for example), and can be fairly light. Considering their complexity it's kinda suprising, this also benefits them for making cheap easy power. Making the engine breath better is easier by changing the cams (equivelant on a rotary = porting), both can benefit from headers and intake, it's a bit easier to raise and lower the compression, Displacement is a lot easier to get thanks to there being so many manufactures of engines, rotaries can only realisticly get between 1litre and 2 litres, pistons anything from 600cc upto nearly 10 litres without costing a fortune (maybe).

Also unless your really into rotaries, u'll find that a 6,v8, v10, or v12 sounds a lot better. I personally think some of the sweetest sounding engines are v10's (Carrera GT) and Inline 5's with a turbo strapped to 'em.

-Dustin

[nismoron]

Yeah! What he said!

You are coorect in everything you said. I am not a rotory fan, but they are very intriguing. And they sound WICKED!!! I think they are the best sounding engines when modded!

[Malachi]

Thanks a lot guys, that really narrows my choice for my first car

[thedguy]

What are your list for your possible first car Malachi? Might I recommend a 1st gen RX-7, they are cheap, even in really nice condition, lite, handle well, and still has quite a large aftermarket for them.

[new_formula_S2K]

please close this thread before it becomes and endless debate.

[68 Vette]

Malachi what are your current choices for your first car, and about how much money do you make or will your parents pay for insurance and gas? You also have to look at these factors when purchasing your first car.

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by new_formula_S2K

please close this thread before it becomes and endless debate.

It hasn't become one, so far everyone has pretty much agree'd. I say don't close it unless there are any hostilities, right now we are just wanting to find out what Malachi is looking at for a 1st car.

Anyway, as Vette said, definatly consider how much the insurance and fuel consumption bills. You might want to think about getting a car your not to worried about wrecking, cause chances are it's gonna get wrecked (not trying to insult you or anything, it's just what everyone has told me, and everyone I know). And if it's cheap enough that u don't care, just get liability insurance. Saved me a crap load of money, I couldh have a Turbo FC or my old tercel and on liablity it doesn't make a difference. Also considering moving to a very rural area, I went from Anahiem California to BFE missouri and my insurance literally went in half.

[nismoron]

Also look at maintenance costs. Who will work on it and if not yourself, how much will it cost. Rotarieas are hard to find people to work on them. Some piston motors are expensive as well. Parts for our Z32 300Z cost almost double what they cost for a similar part on a 240sx. And to buy performance parts, you have to buy twice as many!!! 2 turboes, 2 manifolds, 2 BOV's, 4 cams, etc, etc.

Nissan 240's are good cars, and cheap to work on. lotsa parts available. Toyota Corolla twincams are great too, just a little hard to find. Just remember, you dont have to get the baddest car in the world. You have your whole life ahead of you. I now have the baddest car I've ever owned and I'm 33. Next one will be even badder!

[Malachi]

i got 3 choices
1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S
1992 MR2
1988 rx-7

thats it for now, i;ve found some prices between 3000 to 5000 and my parents say they can afford it. After that i'll work to pay off the stuff i need

wow this discussion really did become crazy