KEN GRANT wrote:

new to this list.  i'm on chapt 14, building a cozy mark iv.  can't stand the thought of a
lycoming.
i hear the rotary is loud,hot,non-fuel efficient, and vibrates . is true?  are there simple
fixes?  i'm shooting for the smoothest, quietest ride, plenty of power, and some what descent
economy. am i looking in the right place?

__________________________________________________________________________
Old Messages:

Anybody  remember what the 3rd gen RX7 EPA mileage rating
was? Mazda is claiming the four passenger RX8 will come in at 18-19
city and 23-24 highway according to the Jan Motor Trend article.

Edmunds.com displays historical data on used cars. 
It quoted the 1993 RX-7
as having the following fuel economy:

EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway)
  Manual: 17 mpg / 25 mpg

  Automatic: 18 mpg / 24 mpg

  Barry Gardner, Wheaton ,IL

A Porche Boxster is about the same weight and HP. Its numbers are
19 city 27 highway. But it only holds two people.

An Olds Aurora V8 250 HP 3800 pounds 18 city 26 highway.

Nissan Maxima  V6 255 HP 3315 pounds 20 city 26 highway.

Infiniti      V6 255 HP 3400 pounds 20 city 26 highway (sounds like a Maxima)

The only car I have found so far other than the Boxster that weighs about 
2900 pounds and has about 250 HP is the cramped and noisy  Honda S2000 
sports car. 4 cyl 240 HP at 8300 RPM, 2896 pounds, 20 city 26 highway.
12.1 #/HP

The new Nissan 350Z weighs 3363 pounds and has 287 HP 11.71 #/HP.
20 city 28 highway. Only two passengers.

Mustang Mach 1 weighs 3471 pounds 305 HP 11.38 #/HP 17 city 25 highway.

The Mazda RX8 is 2933 pounds 250 HP  11.7 #/HP  18-19 city 23-24 highway.  

Looks like it is right in the ball park with a lot of 250 HP sedans
but the RX8 is 500 to 700 pounds lighter in weight.

It would be interesting to plot the power to weight ratio of
all cars over 2900 pounds or over 250 HP and compare the numbers. 
If anybody has the time to do that I would love to publish it.


Paul Lamar
 
The AirCraft Rotary Engine NewsLetter.  Powered by Linux.
ACRE NL web site. http://home.earthlink.net/~rotaryeng/            
Copyright 1998-2002 All world wide rights reserved.