I'm a newbie to rotaries and considering the RX-8 (other cars on my short list: TSX, Mazda 6v6, Passat, Accord 6spd). My question is how well does a Rotary hold up with short distance driving? Work is 6 KM from home, most of my driving is 20 km per hop with the occasional jaunts to Toronto (6-8 per year) and 2-3 weeks sitting idle (3-4 times per year, business trips).

TIA

 

Short hops shouldn't hurt it. The biggest danger to a rotary is improper warmup; treat it gently until it's at full operating temp and it will last "forever".

 

welcome to the forum mac... holy shmokes, havin' trouble sleepin' Eccles, or just back home in Sydney??

 

yes, it's very important to warm up a rotary properly. But I wouldn't worry too much in our case because the RX8 is Naturally Aspirated. If it had been force-inducted, you would have had to follow a strict regiment of cold starting.

 

It makes no difference how it's breathing, the problem is inherent in the composition of the engine.

As you know, the rotary is built like a big metal club sandwich, with alternating layers of steel plates and aluminum housings, all held together by about a dozen long through bolts.

So far, so good. But the bolts are made of steel, which has a lesser coefficient of thermal expansion then aluminum, meaning that if you get things too hot too quickly, the aluminum housings want to expand more than the steel bolts will let them, which can lead to warpage and subsequent oil and coolant leaks (at best).

Edit: Yeah, wakeech, I was up tinkering with ny new TiVo. :D

 

so how long do you recommend to warm up the car before driving off? I've been doing the '1 song' routine, start the car, wait for the stereo to finish one song from start to finish (~4-5 minutes), and then drive off

seems to really help idling on my RX-7

 

My rule of thumb with my previous rotaries was always "nothing over 3000 until the temp guage starts to move, and nothing over 4000 until it's reached normal operating temperature."

I'll be checking Mazda's recommendations, but it's unlikely I'll vary much from previous practice.

 

Welcome

Rotaries, like everything else that intoxicates men (and women) must be brought to the correct temperature before full indulgence.

 

You're not serious when you suggest that a five minute warmup is required before moving off are you - that's somewhat impractical for the average user. Or do you mean that the revs have to be kept low until the warmup? An engine with low torque is going to be just marvellous under those conditions

 

take into consideration that my RX-7 is a 12-YEAR-OLD car, I'm assuming a BRAND NEW rotary car w/ brand new engine and computer management systems will eliminate the need to warm up the car 5 minutes before driving off

what 10+ year old car doesn't appreciate a nice warmup time before being driven :D

 

Quality Point! Thanks...

 

another thing to remember Lensman is that this engine DOES make a good amount of torque for just a passenger car: it may not look all that impressive next to other sports cars, but compared to the Echo i drive, or better yet that propane-powered 2 ton forklift i drive at work, it's got tons... well, at least enough for easy driving.

 

Wow: a propane-powered 2 ton forklift! Is it available in Blue? Sat-Nav???

 

Low torque engine? It's got lots more than my REPU's old 13B, which is quite drivable, even when cold.

For cold statups, I get in and go. No waiting. I just set the choke to where it'll idle at around 1200 to 1500RPM so it won't stall. I also keep it below 3000RPM until the guage starts to move. Then I don't go above 4000 untill it's fully warmed up. That's probably the best way to treat your rotary because just letting it sit there idling with no load to warm it up wastes gas and time. It also proves that something needs service, so fix it.

 

YOU HAVE A REPU ??? :D hard core.

 

What's a choke? :p :D

 

A humorous story told by a chester.