Wankel types are so fucking cool. Not a lot of engines out there that can come close to their power to weight ratio.
Maintenance is just a bitch…
You’d want to pronounce it closer to as it is in German to be accurate.
(/ˈvaŋkəl̩/, VUN-kell)
Anyone who calls it a “rotary” engine is physically incapable of having fun. Plus rotary engines are reciprocating engines that powered early WW1 fighter planes, where the whole engine spins with the propeller for reasons I’m too modern to understand.
Huh… can you explain? Did they ever do research on roller apex seals?
Idk what you’re talking about with laser ignition, but I guess that the name is self explanatory… as in a laser pulse instead of a spark to ignite in the combustion phase….
But the roller seals are suuuuper fucking interesting. But that would bring its own issues. Sure you’d save the sliding of the apex seal against the chamber walls, but then you’ve got to deal with some sort of roller bearing exposed to the actual combustion process. Plus lubrication is still an issue…
Fun problem to think about!
I don’t know what the other guy is referencing, but I’ve been keeping an eye on a company called LiquidPiston, who are developing a modified Wankel, and the seals are one of the problems they talk about tackling. This article from Ars is kinda recent and goes into it a bit: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/11/this-inside-out-design-solves-most-of-the-rotary-engines-problems/
I always heard that these things sound really cool but I can never hear them over sound of Mazda fans nutting themselves
Love me some spinny doritos
mahn i was so in love with my friends mazda series2 rx7 with a rotary engine. it was just so bizarre
And yet when I tell people I’m spinning up the Wankel engine the cops always get called
