The Rotary Engine is Back

Did not know where else to post this, so here it goes. A California company has reinvented the Rotary engine. I used to have an old school RX-7 in the 80s, and that thing was FAST. But is ate oil and the mileage sucked. Evidently they have worked out the past problems..... would be great to have one in a Tacoma.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014...pany-reinvents-rotary-engine/?intcmp=features

California company reinvents the rotary engine

The rotary engine could be on the verge of a revolution.

California startup GoTek Energy has received a patent for a new type of motor – one that addresses some of the shortcomings of past rotaries, while promising better power and efficiency than traditional piston engines.

I say traditional, because this rotary uses something called pivot pistons.

Unlike the Wankel rotary engine made famous and famously killed by Mazda, with its pinched-oval housing and triangular rotor, GoTek’s DynaKinetic engine features a circular housing and a rotor that looks like a twisted ninja throwing star, creating four combustion chambers each fitted with a gear-driven piston resembling a flap that moves in and out to suck in and compress the fuel/air mixture as the rotor spins.

There are still no camshafts or valves, the intake and exhaust ports are simply opened and closed by the passage of the rotor. GoTek CEO Steve Herbruck tells FoxNews.com it can be optimized to run on just about any fuel, with either spark or compression ignition.

Another advantage of the circular design is that it does away with the offset rotor crank required in a Wankel, improving torque to a level that’s even better than a reciprocating piston engine. GoTek also claims to have solved the sealing issues inherent in the Wankel design that led to high oil consumption and poor emissions performance.

The prototype is equivalent to a 1.5-liter four-cylinder, but is just 6 inches wide and 12 inches in diameter. The unit can be sized up and down, and several can be stacked together to meet different power requirements.

Along with use as a vehicle’s primary motivator, the compact size and smooth operation of the DynaKinetic engine makes it appealing as an electricity generator, either on its own or as part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Mazda is considering resurrecting its rotary for a similar purpose.

Herbruck says GoTek has had discussions with several major manufacturers about adopting the engine, but can’t reveal which ones just yet. And while it doesn’t plan to start building them until it has a customer lined up, he says its relatively simple design -- there are just 13 moving parts -- and use of non-exotic materials in its construction means GoTek can get a production line up and running in less than a year.

The engine of the future? You might be able to take it for a spin soon.

 

Cool! Thanks for sharing

 

In fairness to Mazda, they didn't completely kill the Wankel until the end of the RX-8 run at the end of 2011 model year.
Had it not been for European emissions standards, it would still be made.

 

I thought there was an RX9 coming out

This guy had some decent ideas...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3pCLjHZmhM

 

I want to see one in a motorcycle!

I love rotary engines, and would love to have a triple rotor in the taco.

 

I had a 1989 Mazda RX-7 when I was a young adult. Lots of fun and close calls in that little sports car. I loved the fact that you could rev the engine to 9k RPM's without the worry of shooting a valve rod or piston thru the block! Working on the engine, I always wondered how difficult could it be to add one more rotary or to pair two of those engines together. I know Mazda did paired two engines once for a LeMans race. I which they could have done more or some one could have replicate it and put it on the market.

 

They did make a 3 rotor (20B) engine from the factory, but it wasn't released in the US. Some half cuts made it in though.
http://www.rotaryengine.com/services/34kits.htm
http://youtu.be/tfOWmt7-zWg

 

Yes, the answer....but what was the question?

 

Light weight it is. Go fast you will.

 

The year was 1951...1.5 liters and 425 horsepower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-HbzwweWZc&feature=related

So what's new???

 

Ya and we had turbo and nitrous in WW1, but that doesn't mean it was attainable for the common dude. Do you think if we could get a compact triple rotor 650 HP motor capable of cranking out 14,000 rpm's reliably that was light enough for one guy to pick up that it wouldn't turn the automotive world on it's head? Now if it was mass produced and affordable... Sheee it man now we'd have something.

 

F1 is running a 1.6L V6 turbo hybrid making 800 HP

not rotary though

nevermind me

 

This season of F1 is crazy, lots of new tech. The hybrid system coupled with a turbo 6 is insane, and insanely complex. You've got KERS harvesting power, and is an intragal part of the braking system, charging a battery that powers a motor that gives an additional 150? HP.

Good to see Williams at the front again. Need better pit strategy.

 

Not KERS anymore , now it's ERS , with 2 motor generator units ( MGU ) powering the battery . The MGU-K harvests kinetic energy under braking , the MGU-H harvests heat energy from the turbo charger , the electric energy accounts for approx 160hp of the 800hp the power units produce

 

So... more power, but other restrictions keel lowering top speeds.
The things are already pulling in excess of 5g.

 

I got this far...............

 

If you are talking about F1 , the cars are faster this year

 

They can't allow that to continue.

Look for new regs for 2016 that will pull them back down.

 

Doubt it

At this stage of the inaugural season with the V6 hybrids, they are slower by about 1-2 seconds in over all lap time when comparing 2013 laps to 2014 , but by reducing aero , the cars are slower in cornering but subsequently faster in a straight line

oh , and they are also using 30% less fuel than 2013