The following press release is from Mazda Japan about the RENESIS winning the International engine of the Year award, for the 2nd year in a row! This is just the latest in the string of awards the RX-8 and RENESIS has won.

See RotaryNews.com for the press release

 

Now if it could only get 30 mpg on the highway it would be truly deserving of engine of the year.

 

Am I reading this wrong or did it win best overall in 2003 but best in its category for 2004 while the Prius took best overall for 2004?

 

http://www.ukintpress.com/engineofth...egories04.html

The Prius Engine took the Overall Engine Of the Year Award.

Renesis won the 2.5 to 3.0 Litre category for the second time in a row.

 

Is it just me or is something wrong here?

How come housewives with SUVs that get 14 MPG, and have to worry about family budgets, paying property taxes, saving for education, etc. don't care about mileage, and people who consider themselves "sports car" drivers are obsessed with it?

This is getting ridiculous. If a car gets 17-24 MPG and can do a 1/4 mile in 15 seconds, that is not an outrage. Want better mileage? Get something a lot slower. Simple.

 

Since the big prize is NEW Engine of the Year... can a past winner get consecutive wins? Perhaps the New Engine of the Year is precisely that?! If a previous engine has been tweaked, then it can be resubmitted as a New Engine? I didn't read the entire specs on this, just throwing this out there. :D

 

I don't see it saying new engine anywhere.

 

Ah, the Toyota Prius Hybrid won Best New Engine of the Year in the stacked categories. International Engine of the Year is linked above the categories.

 

WOOT!

 

I value efficiency and good design. Gas isn't getting any cheaper and there is no reason to drive an inefficient vehicle if you do not need to. Most of the time I am driving by myself or with one other person and if I'm only getting 14-18mpg in the city that sucks. It is apparent that mazda screwed the tune on their ecu. It could obviously make more power and get better gas mileage as you see with canzoomer stage 1 etc. If a V8 corvette making well over 300 hp can get up to 30 mpg on the highway then a 1.3 L renesis making 238 hp should be able to as well. I think a better ecu tune and better 6th gear ratio could help the renesis make higher mpg numbers than it does now. The good thing about the RX-8 is pretty much all there is to complain about is a lack of torque and lower than expected gas mileage which means Mazda pretty much nailed everything else.

 

If you value efficiency so much, maybe you ought to buy another car- wankels were never noted for their fuel economy, they won't ever get a ULEV certification, and they will never be as "efficient" as a piston engine no matter how much tweaking they get. Aftermarket solutions don't mean much to a volume manufacturer either.

There may be a few tweaks Mazda can develop here and there, but if you know the history of this car, the engine received quite a bit of development time. A Corvette may get 30 MPG in the EPA's *** backwards testing methods, but I doubt if the owners are. And IF they are, they sure as hell shouldn't be driving a Corvette.

 

I guess 18mpg is the price you pay to rev to 9-k. The EPA testing procedure is the real problem here. But you are right, compared to the competition the RX-8 is still within an acceptable mpg range so I'll just shut my bitch *** mouth. Its always nice to have your cake and eat it too though. I thought the renesis prototypes were able to get as high as 30mpg and that was part of the reason why it won engine of the year last year. I would be completely happy with the 8 if it never dipped below 20 mpg in the city and could get mid 20's on the highway but whatcha gunna do.

 

The Renesis' chief improvement was in the emissions area. While it's no hybrid, the older versions were a mess, especially by today's standards. Rotaries have some inherent inefficiencies here, but it's offset by the fun factor! And that is my point- sports cars can be practical sometimes, but mainly they are tools of naked self indulgence.

Let's hope they stay that way.

 

Mazda's RENESIS Rotary Engine Honoured for a Second Year...

http://www.autointell-news.com/News-...-02-04-p10.htm

 

Interesting what the international automotive engineering community thinks of Mazda's 1.3L displacement rating . . .

Peace
policy

 

not the Best engine in whole catagory. But best engine in 2.5L - 3.0L engine only.

 

I wonder why they are calling it a 2.6Litre?

 

Because of the displacement calculation.
Have a look at this : https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=2.6

 

Why is it unthinkable that a desire for performance and a desire for efficiency can exist in the same person? Why is it that you feel a Corvette owner who spends some time driving efficiently somehow doesn't deserve to drive that car? I'll drive my RX-8 as I see fit, if you please.

A sportscar has great capabilities but that is hardly an imperative to drive like a jackass 24/7. There are times to enjoy the performance and times to just drive. On most public roads in my experience, one should spend more time by far in the 2nd mode.

I'd like the car to do well at both.

I understand there's always tradeoffs between performance and mileage. No problem. I bought the car. I understand that the rotary has certain volumetric inefficiencies by definition. Again, no problem.

I'd like better mileage. I think I understand what sports cars are about. No, I did not buy a Prius, but honestly it was my other choice. I like machines that do well what they were designed to do.

The Renesis was designed, in part, to be much more efficient than Mazda's previous rotary engines. So far I don't see that they've achieved that design goal. Since the engineers seemed to think it was achieveable I am still hoping that the engine will evolve to reach that goal.

 

nubo

you put it so perfectly
I agree

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nubo
[B]Why is it unthinkable that a desire for performance and a desire for efficiency can exist in the same person? "

It's not unthinkable but you answered your own question:

"I understand there's always tradeoffs between performance and mileage. No problem. I bought the car. I understand that the rotary has certain volumetric inefficiencies by definition. Again, no problem.

I'd like better mileage. I think I understand what sports cars are about. No, I did not buy a Prius, but honestly it was my other choice. I like machines that do well what they were designed to do."


Let me put this in perspective here. My wife drives a VW Passat 4 cyl. turbo. 170 hp, nice car, good acceleration. The real world mileage? 18 city, and I can max out 30 on the highway with the balloon foot technique.

I drive a Protege MP3. A screaming 140 HP! The real world mileage? 24 City 31 Highway. I haven't done an extended drive balloon foot style, and I imagine I could do better on the highway.


Mazda RX-8; 238 HP. Real world mileage? 17 City 24 Highway.

Guys, it aint' that bad. I think a lot of owners have traded up from four bangers that are basically economy cars, and seem to think it "should" get similar mileage. And the mileage figures on the EPA cycle versus the real world will tell you no one is getting 30 MPG with a Corvette, just like no one is getting 55 MPG with a Prius.

 

17? Not in my city.