The Rotary Engine: The Wankel/Rotary Engine

Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow
Imagine an angry hive of bees. Now, put that under the hood of the beautifully curvy body of a mid 90s Japanese sports car and crank the revs up to 9000. The rotary engine, a Mazda classic, is one of the most satisfying, temperamental,and rev happy engines of all time. The Wankel/Rotary engine is an internal combustion engine that uses an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. Instead of the more common reciprocating piston designs, the Wankel engine has the advantages of simplicity, smoothness, compactness, high revolutions per minute, and a high power-to-weight ratio primarily because three power pulses per rotor revolution are produced compared to one per revolution in a two-stroke piston engine and one per two revolutions in a four-stroke piston engine.
1995, the year the great Michael Jordan came back to the NBA, was also the emergence of another superstar in its own class. A complete redesign of the rear-wheel drive engine for General Motors’ sports car

The rotary engine isnt fuel efficient, oil effient or “reliable” in some people minds but if the driver is one who monitors engine health and adheres regular oil changes, nothing can go wrong. Even with all that, a niche of loyalists still choose the rotary over a swap due to its incredible ballance. The mass of the rotating rotor is far less than a piston pumping up and down in the cylinder. Weight is also a factor, the LS motor while light in comparison to the big block is still three to five times heavier than a pair of rotors and take up half the space in the engine bay. Looking for acceleration? Rotarys have been modded to rev up to 15k before redline whereas in a conventional engine the record is set by Honda with their S2000 at 9.5k before red line. With all the downfalls of rotorythere are the blessings, it is a double edged sword - as most things