blazerdude20 Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/28/rumormi...titor/#comments to use a rotary engine. should be interesting if its true. hopefully ford would make lil brother share the tech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/28/rumormi...titor/#comments to use a rotary engine. should be interesting if its true. hopefully ford would make lil brother share the tech The article is a little down on the rotary engine. If the rotary engine was that bad it would not be used. The secret to the rotary is that it is efficient at producing high power at high rpm's. It is not efficient at low rpms. If they use an under sized rotary engine and only use it to keep the batteries charged, then it should more efficient that an oversized convensional engine that is only efficient at low rpms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKURXR4Ti Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 When using a series hybrid system, I would assume the most effective and reliable way to charge the battery would be to hold the engine at a constant rpm. The most efficient engines for this purpose are without question diesels (they are far and away the best engines for maintaining a "cruising speed"). I wonder how many people have taken a long hard look into this. Too bad federal regulations would probably kill the idea anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkarlo Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/28/rumormi...titor/#comments to use a rotary engine. should be interesting if its true. hopefully ford would make lil brother share the tech Interesting. Well Mazda is that guy who likes to do things weird. I bet they did this just to use the Rotary engine. But like everything else with Hybrid. Batteries are the bane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 When using a series hybrid system, I would assume the most effective and reliable way to charge the battery would be to hold the engine at a constant rpm. The most efficient engines for this purpose are without question diesels (they are far and away the best engines for maintaining a "cruising speed"). I wonder how many people have taken a long hard look into this. Too bad federal regulations would probably kill the idea anyway. True if you want to burn diesel fuel. No reason why Mazda can't develop a diesel rotary. Diesel is very heavy and expensive. You don't want to add the cost and weight of an electric motor, plus an electric generator, plus a battery to the cost and weight of a diesel. The only way to keep the cost down and efficiency up in a hybrid is to keep it as light as posible. An RX8 uses a 1.3 L rotary engine. It produces 238 hp. A volt would only need a 0.6 L rotary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERKURXR4Ti Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 (edited) Diesel is very heavy and expensive. You don't want to add the cost and weight of an electric motor, plus an electric generator, plus a battery to the cost and weight of a diesel. The only way to keep the cost down and efficiency up in a hybrid is to keep it as light as posible. An RX8 uses a 1.3 L rotary engine. It produces 238 hp. A volt would only need a 0.6 L rotary. Good points, I'm sure that's why they chose the wankel. The RX8's motor is actually light enough that one person can pick it up, you'll throw your back out but you can do it. Take a single rotor setup of about .6L as you say, find a way to make it ultra efficient and they may be on to something. Edited August 29, 2008 by MERKURXR4Ti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Remember, the existing 1.3L rotary is being replaced soon by a next gen evolution of the design. Its got direct injection, a subtly modified design, and variable valve timing. Supposedly, this evolution of the design helps with two of the designs biggest problems. The first is low end power. The new design has better low end torque characteristics. ITs still not ideal, but it is improved. The second is fuel consumption. With greater combustion control due to the GDI and VVT, they can optimize the mixture and burn rate better, boosting efficiency. Adding those attributes to a single rotar design will produce an engine that has great power density (power production for its own weight) and reasonable efficiency (which is usually a tradeoff when you increase power density). And, for hybrids, a good reason to stay with gasoline is frequent sarting and stopping of the engine. While you do pay a slight penalty to do so with a gasoline engine, its a bigger one in a diesel engine. Since weight is the enemy in city mpg, a high density rotary hybrid would definitely make a lot of sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 I think Mazda is working on a Miller cycle Rotary too. Good for another 20% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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