Guest rxsvn Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 Good morning folks. Ive seen quite a few posts regarding swapping a rotary into a Z car. Wonderful idea, I love everything about the rotary engine. Actually, until recently Ive owned nothing but rotary powered cars for the past 10 years. The problem is, people will immediately go on to talk about a tight budget with this idea. Please understand, a turbocharged rotary engine in no way belongs in a budget conversion. Again, Im not downing anyones ideas, I just want to point out a few trouble issues with rotaries.. First off, rotaries are extremely fickle. You can treat them perfect and still lose a freshly built motor at the slightest hiccup. Even the slightest hint of detenation can bust an apex seal on a rotor, which could potentially blow through the turbos as well, resulting in new motor AND turbos. With proper tuning rotaries can become semi reliable, but certainly never as reliable as well built piston engine. Extensive fuel management is the key to keeping a rotary happy, so if your shooting for anything beyond stock power, be prepared to spend well over a thousand dollars for the right ecu and tuning. Sure you can piggyback the stock ecu, or buy a generic mapped ecu, but dont expect to keep motors for long. Cooling is vital to a rotary, especially with forced induction involved. Sure, its vital in any car. But multiply it ten fold with a rotary. I slight rise in temperature can cause o-ring warping, resulting in motor replacement soon. So also plan for a way oversized radiator. Again, I dont mean to scare anyone off from the rotary conversion. Hell, Ive seen some go over 100k miles even, running conservatively of course. Im currently on my fourth motor in my 3rd gen. The first two were professionally built, blahblahblah. The third I built myself and it lasted just as long. On average I get about 60k miles per motor, and love every second of it. Ive also seen some motors go at 5k. Sorry to be so long winded, and I could go on for hours about both the good and bad of rotaries, but Ive got to get back to work. Just some food for thought to those considering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted January 31, 2004 Share Posted January 31, 2004 ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaniel Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 Hell' date=' Ive seen some go over 100k miles even, running conservatively of course. [/quote'] I think you said it all there. 100K seems to be a big deal to a rotary. A nissan engine 200K is no big deal. I have driven my Rx-7 for the last 10 years and it's pushing 100K and blowing a coolant seal. All my other cars are nissan and all pushing 200K with the orignial engines. Current project....Put a nissan engine into an rx-7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest haltrapp Posted March 14, 2004 Share Posted March 14, 2004 I have a friend putting an LS1 into a 3rd gen rx7. so far the project is almost done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaniel Posted May 27, 2004 Share Posted May 27, 2004 I've owned a rx-7 for nearly 10 years. Drive it to work every day. That is until yesterday. Broke an Apex seal. They are fun but the engines don't last like nissans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zline Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I've owned a rx-7 for nearly 10 years. Drive it to work every day. That is until yesterday. Broke an Apex seal. They are fun but the engines don't last like nissans. I thought it was a Coolant seal? You can put an SR20DET into a FC3S easy just make some engine mount brackets make yourself a transmission mount get a driveshaft made blam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaniel Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 I've owned a rx-7 for nearly 10 years. Drive it to work every day. That is until yesterday. Broke an Apex seal. They are fun but the engines don't last like nissans. I thought it was a Coolant seal? You can put an SR20DET into a FC3S easy just make some engine mount brackets make yourself a transmission mount get a driveshaft made blam Coolant seals are also a popular way for a rotary engine to die. However the coolant seal blowing usually progresses slowly over time until the car just spits coolant out (but usually runs just fine). When apex seals break and the effect is now it runs perfect now it runs on half a engine. I could actually hear the parts of the apex seal rattle around in the engine for a while until they were spit out the exhaust port. Now the car runs on only one rotor. As far as swaps.....I already have one in progress on my '91. My 86 will be decommisioned and used for parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Well, I feel safe telling of this here..(ANY other auto forum will ussually flame me pretty good) I just got my old car back; 85 RX7 with a V8 chev. I get the rotary ppl teling me Im a butcher/idiot, and the domestic V8 guys say I wasted a good engine. Bah... I don't care anymore. I was thinking of building a rotary for my rx originally.. (actualy thinking of making a twin turbo 4 rotor engine), but I'll take 3 times the torque/HP and reliability thanks! Im not trying to insult anyone who may have a rotery in a Z/other vehicle though, I just like the V8 grunt. Plus, I build/converted my car for $3000.. which wouldnt have got me too far when you start to consider the cost of fuel managment, turbos, ect. Maybe someday (after I win the lottery or something..) I'll build a rotary. Im actually trying to convince a friend of mine to convert her RX (88/auto) to V8, as her son toasted the motor last summer and the rest of the car is mint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Datsunlover - Care to share any pics of your V8 swap? The first gen esp. late '84 and '85 are my fav. of all generations RX7. Regards - Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenSamo Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 http://www.torquecentral.com .. they have an entire forum section on v8rx7 swaps.. They've answered a few days worth of reading of questions on all three gens.. especially the 2nd gen's.. I was thinking about doing a v8rx7 swap until I found the datsun Glad I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest daZda rally Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 It is easy to forget the 13B is only a 1308cc engine. If you make the same power per displacement from most other engines and drive them just as hard as rotarys are often driven you will find they don't last any longer. I have some experience racing 13B PP and SBC and can tell you the Chev is MUCH more expensive to run and had much less power per cube! - 230hp/liter vs 100hp/liter. I would like to know how many hard miles you get from a 1380hp 350 Chev as I know the rotary will do 1000 racing miles at this level of output. Does anyone have any experience running piston engines this hard? I had a little to do with a 2.8L turbo four that made 600hp in a road car but the owner moved interstate and I have no idea how long it lasted. It also had a easy life in a road car but that is the most powerfull (per liter) piston engine I have ever worked on. Also are you guys running the factory oil injection set up on your cars? If you are, don't, its no good and is the cause of rapid apex seal wear. Disable the standard set up and run quality 2 stroke oil in the fuel at 100:1 for heavy work or 200:1 for factory levels of lube. By quality I mean Amsoil racing oil or the like, not cheap stuff. The fact is engine oil makes a poor combustion chamber lube as it is designed to burn clean for emisions in most applications and does not hang around to do its job like a good 2 stroke oil. You will notice improved running as soon as it goes in. Peter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 block off plate on hte OMP here, and 2 stroke premix in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 240Zduz10s Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 meh... premix is for banshees or chainsaws.. ....or banshee powered chainsaws.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaniel Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 It is easy to forget the 13B is only a 1308cc engine. If you make the same power per displacement from most other engines and drive them just as hard as rotarys are often driven you will find they don't last any longer. I have some experience racing 13B PP and SBC and can tell you the Chev is MUCH more expensive to run and had much less power per cube!- 230hp/liter vs 100hp/liter. I would like to know how many hard miles you get from a 1380hp 350 Chev as I know the rotary will do 1000 racing miles at this level of output. Does anyone have any experience running piston engines this hard? I had a little to do with a 2.8L turbo four that made 600hp in a road car but the owner moved interstate and I have no idea how long it lasted. It also had a easy life in a road car but that is the most powerfull (per liter) piston engine I have ever worked on. Also are you guys running the factory oil injection set up on your cars? If you are' date=' don't, its no good and is the cause of rapid apex seal wear. Disable the standard set up and run quality 2 stroke oil in the fuel at 100:1 for heavy work or 200:1 for factory levels of lube. By quality I mean Amsoil racing oil or the like, not cheap stuff. The fact is engine oil makes a poor combustion chamber lube as it is designed to burn clean for emisions in most applications and does not hang around to do its job like a good 2 stroke oil. You will notice improved running as soon as it goes in. Peter.[/quote'] Premix....Not for me. I'm not messing around with bottles of oil at the gas pump...I've seen some oil injection conversions that sounded interesting but never did it. Bottom line was my rx-7 was didn't have the power and fuel milage I was seeing from other engines. However I'm talking street use only. Racing is a whole nother world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 I can't run stock oil metering pump because my EMS doesn't support it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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