Rotary Engine

[Adam17]

What does everyone think about the rotary engine that the RX-8 uses. I think it is a amazing design for a light engine. It may not produce much horsepower but the torque it has really good.

[Hypers]

I can only say that it is a unique concept. It's much more complex than a piston engine and doesn't make as much power, so only one or two companies build this kind of engine.

[Jenny jr]

I think there interesting but they are hard to get power out of them and they are not efficient at all. Overall I would not want one

[Cognizant]

It moves the vehicle at traffic speeds = good for me.

[EternalSadness]

Rotary engines are meant to be pretty reliable, and it may not be easy to tune, but I've heard the RX-8 chassis is very capable of handling power. I'd agree it isn't economical though, I know it's a lot to ensure and maybe that's the reason it has so little power, the Japanese CO2 emissions regulations are really strict, so maybe that's all they could get away with. If you tune them though, they can go VERY fast, I don't know if RE Amemiya tune them like they did RX-7's but I imagine they can be pretty quick.

[Plane And Simple]

I find it interesting, and considering the price you pay, it pulls out enough power for me. I like the sound of it, and the revving capability is pretty impressive for a car. One big downside is the flooding thing, therefore I wouldn't consider owning one as a daily driver. I'm almost sure I don't have problems with clutches but it's just enough for it to stall cold the day I need to get fast to X place. It'd be a good racecar though.

[Stig]

I think it's a brilliant engine. It revs until your ears hurt at 9,000 RPM, it's an amazing concept and design. It is a quick engine and if done right can be tuned to make a lot of power. I want a RX-8 because of that engine.

[Cooper197]

My dad and I have an old 1985 RX-7 with a fully rebuilt engine, (professionally) and I must say I would never daily a rotary after seeing this one. I think it's a really cool design, a cool, unique idea, but they kinda suck to be honest. The power and all that is fine, some light modifications and you can squeeze a ton of power out of them still, it's just that the reliability...well it frankly doesn't exist. I love the look of RX-8's, but if I were to ever own one that I plan on using often, I'd swap the engine.