The Rotary Engine: A Pioneer's Legacy and Mazda's Plans for Revival

Mazda has been at the forefront of innovative engineering, particularly with its rotary engines. The company's pioneering work in this field has led to some exciting developments in recent years. However, it's worth noting that batteries aren't always crammed in as an afterthought, which allows for a more optimized interior space. Mazda's has been a pioneer in the use of rotary engines before things tapered down, but now it seems like they're making a comeback.

Way back when Mazda first announced its iconic rotary engines, fans got really excited. However, the company later clarified that the engine would come in the form of a range extender for an electric SUV. Mazda unveiled its latest version of the rotary engine, known as the mx-30e Sky Active rev boy. This design uses a two-piece Apex seal, which is an improvement over previous designs. The rotary engine will be configured like a generator and is expected to extend the vehicle's driving range up to 373 miles.

However, this recent development may change sooner than you think. In June, it was reported that Mazda had filed six brand new patents for the Japanese patent office. These patents detail new designs for a two-rotor Wankel rotary engine, which could potentially power future sports cars. Three of these patents focus on the design of the rotors themselves to improve fuel efficiency. The outer face of each rotor has new designs with recess cuts out in different widths, lengths, and depths. These shapes would help accelerate and control flame growth, as well as prevent heat and noise from being generated due to incomplete combustion.

The patents also mention a wider, deeper recess at the center of the rotor, which would allow for depressurization and repressurization of the fuel-air mixture. This could decrease and increase the ignitability of the fuel, leading to a more efficient engine. The other three patents focus on the air intake structure of the rotary engine, with one patent explaining an air intake system that could mix intake air with exhaust fumes. The patents also explain how the engine would be attached to the vehicle and how each gear tube would be constructed to be more rigid.

The six latest patent filings from Mazda send a clear message: they're trying to fix the biggest problems with the rotary engine. Recently, an endurance powerboat racer built a 12-rotor engine in his garage, which stands out for many reasons. One of the most notable features is that one bank of rotor spins back and counter-rotates, allowing for almost any choice of how you fire the rotors. The engine has 12 individual firings, and the front, back, and center rotors counter-bounce each other, eliminating the need for counterweights.

The 12-rotor engine is also impressive in terms of its power output. According to reports, it can produce up to 2,000 horsepower at idle, with some estimates suggesting it could reach over 5,000 horsepower. This engine is not only one of the biggest rotary engines ever built but also one of the first billet engines out there. The engine is made from a single block of material that's machined down on a CNC mill, demonstrating ultimate precision and strength.

However, like any engine, the 12-rotor engine has its flaws. It generates a lot of heat, with its radiator being similar in size to an ocean. Another issue is the width of the rotor, which varies to make it more practical for mass production. Standardizing the width of the rotors could improve the engine's performance and make it easier to interchange parts.

The aluminum used in the 12-rotor engine is also weaker on the sides where the gear will experience most of the force. This is an area that could be improved upon in future designs. Despite these limitations, the 12-rotor engine is a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of powerboat racers and engineers.

The rotary engine's revival has generated significant interest among car enthusiasts. While it may seem like a relic of the past, Mazda's plans for reviving this technology could bring about exciting new developments in the automotive world. The company's commitment to improving the rotary engine's performance and efficiency is evident in their latest patents and designs.

As Mazda continues to work on perfecting the rotary engine, there's no doubt that fans of this innovative technology will be eagerly awaiting news of its potential return to production. Whether it'll power a new sports car or serve as a range extender for electric vehicles remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the rotary engine has left an indelible mark on the world of automotive engineering, and its revival could bring about a new era of innovation and excitement in the industry.

The Future of Rotary Engines

In conclusion, Mazda's plans for reviving the rotary engine are an exciting development that promises to bring back a piece of automotive history. The company's latest patents and designs demonstrate their commitment to improving the performance and efficiency of this innovative technology. Whether it'll power a new sports car or serve as a range extender for electric vehicles remains to be seen.

The 12-rotor engine, built by an endurance powerboat racer, is a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of engineers and enthusiasts alike. While it has its flaws, it's an impressive achievement that demonstrates the potential of rotary engines when designed and built with precision and care.

As Mazda continues to work on perfecting the rotary engine, fans of this technology will be eagerly awaiting news of its potential return to production. The future of rotary engines looks bright, and it's exciting to think about what this innovative technology might bring to the automotive world in the years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit's found inside the Mazda RX-7 RX8 and the 787b race car it emits terrible emissions and consumes a lot of oil I'm talking about the rotary engine and today I'll give you a sneak peek into Mazda's latest patents that indicates Mazda will bring it back and not just as a range extender and hang tight they're about their 12 rotor engine that was made recently rotary engine is quite unique from piston engines you may have heard the word Wankel associated with rotor engines here's why the wanko rotor engine was named after its inventor Felix Wankel he was just 22 years old when he conceived it in 27 when he won his first path that was back in 1929. Felix's version was to create an engine that was lightweight efficient cheap and easy to repair throughout the 1950s he worked to develop a new engine that wasn't based on cylinders and Pistons instead wankles engine used a triangular rotor and oval-shaped housing since then Sullivan called it a spinning Dorito because of its triangular shape ah triangle shaping the rotary engine is ideal because it's mathematically the most effective configuration within that housing with the rotary engine the rotor revolves around the housing all three points of the rotor remain in constant contact with the edge of the housing this creates three separate sections that constantly expand and contract as the Piston moves around the output shaft a small pocket of air then expands into a wire larger pocket to create a vacuum after that air and fuel are injected into this vacuum to the intake parts of the combustion chamber this air and fuel mixture is uncompressed against the flat side of the housing this combustible mixture is ignited by two spark plugs and then the exhaust gases are forced out at high pressure strangely enough the rotor engine's origin can be traced back as far as the late 1800s it was found in aviation and motorbikes the earlier version was a type of piston engine with a rotating crank case and they usually had an odd number of Pistons like five seven or nine but it wasn't until decades later that Felix Wankel came along and created the pistonless wanko rotary engine that we know today there's been a lot of controversy around the Wankel rotary slowly but surely it faded away from the car market in the 2000s and the reason for that came down to the law but not American and Japanese law it was because of European law and particular the strict Euro 5 emissions regulations because of this Mazda had to stop selling its RX-8 in Europe after 2010. it just couldn't meet the emissions regulations to make matters worse rotor engines were relatively rare so it wasn't easy to find parts when you had to replace or repair them and even if you did find the right parts then you also had to find a mechanic who knew how to fix order engine also when it comes to City driving a rotary engine has a short life span between rebuilds and usually lasts less than a hundred thousand miles true some Mazda RX-8 owners were able to get longer life spans out of the rotary engines but it was usually the same people mainly drove their vehicles on the highway at a steady speed by the way the RX-8 wasn't the only vehicle that used the rotor engine there were others there was even the repu which was also known as the rotary engine pickup so what killed the rotary engine you could say it killed itself at its core the rotary engine came with inherent loss first of all the rotary engine usually has a low thermal efficiency because of the shape of the combustion chamber and also lower compression ratio basically there are two spark plugs that ignite the air fuel mixture as they rotate boom combustion once the flame starts it wants to travel out and ignite the air fuel mixture but here's the thing in the rotary engine this flame has to travel a longer distance to ignite all the mixture that's why it's harder to ignite finally it gets to the end it hits the exhaust Port but some of the air and fuel doesn't get burnt so basically you're sending some of that fuel off the exhaust that's why you've probably seen rotor engines spitting Flames out of the exhaust because it didn't burn all the fuel within a combustion stroke and that means lower thermal efficiency less fuel economy and higher emissions speaking of fuel economy in some cases vehicles with piston engines have more than 55 percent better fuel economy than cars with rotary engines another common problem with rotary engine has to do with the seals the rotary engine has Apex sales face seals and side seals purpose of the seals is to print out the gas in each chamber from mixing together but here's the tricky part combustion only happens on one side this causes a huge difference in temperature on each side so you have metal expanding in different ways on different sides of the housing and that makes it very difficult to create a good seal any problem in the seal means that some of the air in Pocket one may leak over into another chamber that's not to say these issues aren't addressable there are a few ways to make them more reliable for example all combustion engines including piston-based ones all face the same issue of carbon deposits this occurs in the process of combustion and you can't avoid the natural byproduct which is carbon but in rotary engines carbon buildup is a more severe problem carbon buildup causes pre-ignition which causes the engine to jerk backwards and the corner seals can get so flat and you can't even remove them and then the rotor wobbles one solution is E85 which is a blend of 85 ethanol 15 gasoline you can also try pre-mixing the oil using something like Valvoline VR1 2050 full synthetic oil to lubricate the bearings the e-shafts and the gears on the sides of the rotors then disconnect and block off the oil metering pump system and instead try using your own pre-mixed oil instead despite his flaws the rotary engine has advantages for example throttle engine really packs a punch for its size there honestly aren't many naturally aspirated piston engines that can compete with the rotary engine for example a rotary powered Mazda RX-8 can pump out 174 brake horsepower per liter compare that to the 8 liter quad turbo 16 cylinder Bugatti Veyron which pumps out 148 brake horsepower per liter rotor engines are very efficient at making power remember too that the rotor engine doesn't reciprocate like piston engines instead it just spins in One Direction so it means no vibrations in your car and you get a quieter engine and a smoother more balanced Rod throttle engine is also smaller than a piston engine it allows an EV maker to optimize it as an EV first deciding where to place the rotary engine and the generator it helps to turn so you can optimize the car's interior space since batteries aren't crammed in as an afterthought Mazda's has been a Pioneer in a rotary engine before things tapered down but now I don't know if you remember but way back when Mazda first announced its iconic rotary engines we're making a comeback the fans got really excited but then Mazda clarified that the engine would come in the form of a range extender for an electric SUV Mazda unveiled its latest version of the rotary engine that is mx-30e Sky Active rev boy that's a mouthful according to reports it will use a two-piece Apex seal design the rotary design will be configured like a generator and expected to extend the vehicle's driving range up to 373 miles at the end of the day it really is just a range extender in a far cry from the conventional rotary engine that Mazda fans were hoping for but actually this too may change and sooner than you think this past June it was reported that Mazda had filed six brand new patents for the Japanese patent office these patents detail new designs for a two rotor Wankel rotary engine so the obvious question now is will we see a successor to the RX7 RX-8 sports cars well three of the six and specifically relate to the design of the rotors themselves to improve the fuel efficiency of a rotary engine each outer face to the rotor has new designs with the recess cut out in different width length and depth these shapes of the recesses would help accelerate and control the flame growth it would also prevent any additional heat and noise from being generated with incomplete combustion also instead of just having a rectangular recessed and these pads Mazda produces a wider deeper recess at the center of the rotor but the leading and trailing edges have a shallower narrower recess and this means a depressurization and repressurization of the fuel air mixture can be possible and that in turn would decrease and increase the ignitability of the fuel the other three patents Focus mostly on the air intake structure of the rotary engine while all three specifically mention a single rotor engine they can probably be applied to dual rotor applications too one of these patents explains an air intake structure that could mix intake air with exhaust fumes the other two patents explain how it would attach to the engine also they explain how the each grtube would be constructed to be more rigid this would hopefully suppress vibration of the intake manifold and allow smoother airflow anyway the six latest patent filing sends a clear message Mazda is trying to fix the biggest problems with the rotary engine so yes a rotary powered Mazda sports car might arrive sooner than you think recently the 12 rotor engine was built in a home garage by Tyson Garvin he's an endurance powerboat racer now this monster engine stands out for many reasons first of all One Bank of rotor spins back and counter rotates you have almost any choice of how you fire the rotors whether it's too firing at a time on different sides on each side are 12 individual firings it's up to you the front back and Center rotors counterbounce each other that means that you don't need counterweights the gears in the motor are connected in a similar way to what you see in a clock tower think Big Ben and get this there's only one oil drain on this entire 12 rotor engine oh and did I mention they can output 2 000 horsepower at idle supposedly feed the engine with their age Fuel and method the engine can achieve over 5 000 horsepower there's no hard proof yet but in theory it could not only is this the world's biggest rotor engine to date but it's also one of the first Billet engines out there meaning that it's not cast from liquid nor forged from heated metal but rather it's made from a single block of material that's machined down on a CNC mill we're a talking about ultimate precision and strength but like any engine there's 12 rotor engines far from Flawless sure it may look cool but it's not perfect here are some of the problems with 12 rotor engines first of all it generates a lot of heat just look at the size of it its radiator has been like to a massive ocean that's how big it is another issue is the width of the rotor the width varies to make it a more practical mass-produced product it would be better to standardize how wide the rotors are by doing that the rotors can be interchanged anywhere in the engine as well the aluminum is a lot weaker on the two sides where the gear will experience most of the force which is another area that could be improved but now you tell me are you interested in seeing the rotary engine make its big comeback what do you think it deserves to stay buried in the graveyard of Old Car Technology please share by commenting below if you like this video please like share and subscribe thanks for your supportit's found inside the Mazda RX-7 RX8 and the 787b race car it emits terrible emissions and consumes a lot of oil I'm talking about the rotary engine and today I'll give you a sneak peek into Mazda's latest patents that indicates Mazda will bring it back and not just as a range extender and hang tight they're about their 12 rotor engine that was made recently rotary engine is quite unique from piston engines you may have heard the word Wankel associated with rotor engines here's why the wanko rotor engine was named after its inventor Felix Wankel he was just 22 years old when he conceived it in 27 when he won his first path that was back in 1929. Felix's version was to create an engine that was lightweight efficient cheap and easy to repair throughout the 1950s he worked to develop a new engine that wasn't based on cylinders and Pistons instead wankles engine used a triangular rotor and oval-shaped housing since then Sullivan called it a spinning Dorito because of its triangular shape ah triangle shaping the rotary engine is ideal because it's mathematically the most effective configuration within that housing with the rotary engine the rotor revolves around the housing all three points of the rotor remain in constant contact with the edge of the housing this creates three separate sections that constantly expand and contract as the Piston moves around the output shaft a small pocket of air then expands into a wire larger pocket to create a vacuum after that air and fuel are injected into this vacuum to the intake parts of the combustion chamber this air and fuel mixture is uncompressed against the flat side of the housing this combustible mixture is ignited by two spark plugs and then the exhaust gases are forced out at high pressure strangely enough the rotor engine's origin can be traced back as far as the late 1800s it was found in aviation and motorbikes the earlier version was a type of piston engine with a rotating crank case and they usually had an odd number of Pistons like five seven or nine but it wasn't until decades later that Felix Wankel came along and created the pistonless wanko rotary engine that we know today there's been a lot of controversy around the Wankel rotary slowly but surely it faded away from the car market in the 2000s and the reason for that came down to the law but not American and Japanese law it was because of European law and particular the strict Euro 5 emissions regulations because of this Mazda had to stop selling its RX-8 in Europe after 2010. it just couldn't meet the emissions regulations to make matters worse rotor engines were relatively rare so it wasn't easy to find parts when you had to replace or repair them and even if you did find the right parts then you also had to find a mechanic who knew how to fix order engine also when it comes to City driving a rotary engine has a short life span between rebuilds and usually lasts less than a hundred thousand miles true some Mazda RX-8 owners were able to get longer life spans out of the rotary engines but it was usually the same people mainly drove their vehicles on the highway at a steady speed by the way the RX-8 wasn't the only vehicle that used the rotor engine there were others there was even the repu which was also known as the rotary engine pickup so what killed the rotary engine you could say it killed itself at its core the rotary engine came with inherent loss first of all the rotary engine usually has a low thermal efficiency because of the shape of the combustion chamber and also lower compression ratio basically there are two spark plugs that ignite the air fuel mixture as they rotate boom combustion once the flame starts it wants to travel out and ignite the air fuel mixture but here's the thing in the rotary engine this flame has to travel a longer distance to ignite all the mixture that's why it's harder to ignite finally it gets to the end it hits the exhaust Port but some of the air and fuel doesn't get burnt so basically you're sending some of that fuel off the exhaust that's why you've probably seen rotor engines spitting Flames out of the exhaust because it didn't burn all the fuel within a combustion stroke and that means lower thermal efficiency less fuel economy and higher emissions speaking of fuel economy in some cases vehicles with piston engines have more than 55 percent better fuel economy than cars with rotary engines another common problem with rotary engine has to do with the seals the rotary engine has Apex sales face seals and side seals purpose of the seals is to print out the gas in each chamber from mixing together but here's the tricky part combustion only happens on one side this causes a huge difference in temperature on each side so you have metal expanding in different ways on different sides of the housing and that makes it very difficult to create a good seal any problem in the seal means that some of the air in Pocket one may leak over into another chamber that's not to say these issues aren't addressable there are a few ways to make them more reliable for example all combustion engines including piston-based ones all face the same issue of carbon deposits this occurs in the process of combustion and you can't avoid the natural byproduct which is carbon but in rotary engines carbon buildup is a more severe problem carbon buildup causes pre-ignition which causes the engine to jerk backwards and the corner seals can get so flat and you can't even remove them and then the rotor wobbles one solution is E85 which is a blend of 85 ethanol 15 gasoline you can also try pre-mixing the oil using something like Valvoline VR1 2050 full synthetic oil to lubricate the bearings the e-shafts and the gears on the sides of the rotors then disconnect and block off the oil metering pump system and instead try using your own pre-mixed oil instead despite his flaws the rotary engine has advantages for example throttle engine really packs a punch for its size there honestly aren't many naturally aspirated piston engines that can compete with the rotary engine for example a rotary powered Mazda RX-8 can pump out 174 brake horsepower per liter compare that to the 8 liter quad turbo 16 cylinder Bugatti Veyron which pumps out 148 brake horsepower per liter rotor engines are very efficient at making power remember too that the rotor engine doesn't reciprocate like piston engines instead it just spins in One Direction so it means no vibrations in your car and you get a quieter engine and a smoother more balanced Rod throttle engine is also smaller than a piston engine it allows an EV maker to optimize it as an EV first deciding where to place the rotary engine and the generator it helps to turn so you can optimize the car's interior space since batteries aren't crammed in as an afterthought Mazda's has been a Pioneer in a rotary engine before things tapered down but now I don't know if you remember but way back when Mazda first announced its iconic rotary engines we're making a comeback the fans got really excited but then Mazda clarified that the engine would come in the form of a range extender for an electric SUV Mazda unveiled its latest version of the rotary engine that is mx-30e Sky Active rev boy that's a mouthful according to reports it will use a two-piece Apex seal design the rotary design will be configured like a generator and expected to extend the vehicle's driving range up to 373 miles at the end of the day it really is just a range extender in a far cry from the conventional rotary engine that Mazda fans were hoping for but actually this too may change and sooner than you think this past June it was reported that Mazda had filed six brand new patents for the Japanese patent office these patents detail new designs for a two rotor Wankel rotary engine so the obvious question now is will we see a successor to the RX7 RX-8 sports cars well three of the six and specifically relate to the design of the rotors themselves to improve the fuel efficiency of a rotary engine each outer face to the rotor has new designs with the recess cut out in different width length and depth these shapes of the recesses would help accelerate and control the flame growth it would also prevent any additional heat and noise from being generated with incomplete combustion also instead of just having a rectangular recessed and these pads Mazda produces a wider deeper recess at the center of the rotor but the leading and trailing edges have a shallower narrower recess and this means a depressurization and repressurization of the fuel air mixture can be possible and that in turn would decrease and increase the ignitability of the fuel the other three patents Focus mostly on the air intake structure of the rotary engine while all three specifically mention a single rotor engine they can probably be applied to dual rotor applications too one of these patents explains an air intake structure that could mix intake air with exhaust fumes the other two patents explain how it would attach to the engine also they explain how the each grtube would be constructed to be more rigid this would hopefully suppress vibration of the intake manifold and allow smoother airflow anyway the six latest patent filing sends a clear message Mazda is trying to fix the biggest problems with the rotary engine so yes a rotary powered Mazda sports car might arrive sooner than you think recently the 12 rotor engine was built in a home garage by Tyson Garvin he's an endurance powerboat racer now this monster engine stands out for many reasons first of all One Bank of rotor spins back and counter rotates you have almost any choice of how you fire the rotors whether it's too firing at a time on different sides on each side are 12 individual firings it's up to you the front back and Center rotors counterbounce each other that means that you don't need counterweights the gears in the motor are connected in a similar way to what you see in a clock tower think Big Ben and get this there's only one oil drain on this entire 12 rotor engine oh and did I mention they can output 2 000 horsepower at idle supposedly feed the engine with their age Fuel and method the engine can achieve over 5 000 horsepower there's no hard proof yet but in theory it could not only is this the world's biggest rotor engine to date but it's also one of the first Billet engines out there meaning that it's not cast from liquid nor forged from heated metal but rather it's made from a single block of material that's machined down on a CNC mill we're a talking about ultimate precision and strength but like any engine there's 12 rotor engines far from Flawless sure it may look cool but it's not perfect here are some of the problems with 12 rotor engines first of all it generates a lot of heat just look at the size of it its radiator has been like to a massive ocean that's how big it is another issue is the width of the rotor the width varies to make it a more practical mass-produced product it would be better to standardize how wide the rotors are by doing that the rotors can be interchanged anywhere in the engine as well the aluminum is a lot weaker on the two sides where the gear will experience most of the force which is another area that could be improved but now you tell me are you interested in seeing the rotary engine make its big comeback what do you think it deserves to stay buried in the graveyard of Old Car Technology please share by commenting below if you like this video please like share and subscribe thanks for your support\n"