Read the whole post in the SE regional forum, if you want to or live in Georgia. The long and short of it is this: in order to test emissions here in Georgia, the tester needed to manually enter the engine data...as a 1.3 L 17-cylinder!!!

This really piques my curiosity. Can anyone think of a technical reason why this could be?

Also, they could not get communications with the OBD to work. The guys at the testing station claim this is the case with testing all '8s this year. They had to test it old-style: probe in the tailpipe and running for so long at such-and-such RPM. (Which made me smile because the max RPM was 3000..."Oh, yeah...you're *really* giving my engine a workout there!")

 

Really...no one has a technical reason for 17-cylinder?

 

16 isn't accurate enough and 18 is just showing off.

 

Because Georgia's DMV are morons and dont know **** about automobiles.

Maybe you should file a complain to DMV.

in NY, when you go do the emission testing, theres an option there is something like

Enter the number of cylinders for the engine __
Press 'R' for Rotary.

 

3 rotor faces x 2 rotors x 2 fires per cycle = 12 + 1 cylinder x 4 brake calipers = 16 + master cylinder = 17. They don't count clutch cylinders because then ATs would get off easy.

 

why would they even have a 17 cylinder option?

sounds like that station has issues. not able to communicate with the diagnostic port? is the place not CAN compatible? why not? someone get charlie/marietta8 in here

 

I'm betting the database / software they use only allows them to classify engines by number of cylinders (someone didn't do their research ). So when they realized there was such a thing as a rotary, the easy fix was to put it in a slot where you are sure no piston engine will ever sit (who the hell is gonna build a 17 cylinder engine??).

No clue about the OBDII not working thou

 

^ sounds plausible.

this is pretty funny.

 

I don't think it's really even possible to make a 17 cylinder engine, I mean.. it IS, but you'd have to make it a straight-17, it's the only way you could get the engine balanced, and such a monster wouldn't fit in anything.

The only large engines I can think of with an odd number of pistons are aircraft radials, and I think the biggest ones ever made only had 9 or 11 cylinders.

whoever made that up and actually put it in the DMV database is one of the stupidest ppl ever

 

Actually, there can be rotary engines with cylinders

Just look at the aircraft engines used during WWI. Those were rotary radials,

The only thing is, I really don't think that a 17 cylinder radial (and we're talking single row radial) ever existed. Maybe a three row radial with two rows of five and one of seven cylinders?

 

^ they also had a 5-cyl volvo

 

The ironic part is that the RX7 tests fine here in GA...the DMV computer system is savvy to rotaries in those cars.

In retrospect, the cylinder thing must have something to do with timing and the ability to read EMPs. When they tested the car, they put a probe in the tailpipe and laid some type of sensor on the dashboard. The sensor was likely a pickup for engine RPMs. This must mean a 17-cylinder engine would have the same electromagnetic signature as a rotary. This will make good conversation if I should ever meet a 17-cyl engine owner..."Say, did you know..."

 

rotary radials... lol yeah those had so much torque that some airplanes were forbidden to turn left after takeoff lest they go into a torque induced spin and crash

Biggest gasoline powered radial for airplanes was the 28 cylinder (4 banks of 7 pistons) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major.

The biggest ever was the russian zvezda 42 cylinder radial (6 banks of 7 pistons) diesel boat engine that made 6000 hp I want one of those in my car!

 

see thats why im glad to live in IL... there are emissions that you have to get tested all the time.. on all the cars i have had, there hasnt been one thati had to get tested.

 

I live in nj any got my car inspected in oct. While talking to the people they said sometimes when they put the rotary engine in it messes up their computer system. But my car went through no problem and did the test through the computer.

 

sounds like this would be right, considering the biggest engine going through an emissions test would be a bugatti veyron with the W16

 

I absolutely *love* the fact that the renesis being an "exception" confuses most people/computers when it comes to classification. That's how my insurer classified my 8 as a "4 doors, 1.3L 4 cylinders".

 

In NJ mine got registered as a 2dr coupe. BS I tell you!

 

Hmmm... You'd need a really big and round hood to fit one of those. And also a really big fuel tank