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Raced an RX-8!!!


Cadillac STS

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Boy was i suprised at how quick they can run!

Long story short, i end up at a stop light with a blue 6-speed RX-8 to my right. i guess he heard my exhaust before we were at the light ( i usually lift at just about 5k RPM when shifting to second, love the roar especially on cold nights like these..even louder!) ..so we both casually pick up speed fromt he light and up until around 35ish he nails it, I accept and mash the pedal with his bumper already at my front end, i chirp into 2nd and he hasn't moved an inch yet! I shut it down before i hit 70 and he kept goin...prob thought his "boost" kicked in :lol:

but man what a way to end a night..i was just out to get gas at 11 pm..didn't see this coming at all.

Those Mazdas are extremlly light and pack a lot of punch..i believe its soemthing alon the lines of 250hp for the manual?

ehh... wont bother to check, dont really like the fact that a 1.3L motor gave my N* a run for the money :blink:

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They put 180-185hp to the wheels w/ a 6spd.

They are rated at 247, but Mazda has faced a lot of heat due to the rating and even issued a press release defending their actions.

They run mid/high 14's at around 95mph w/ a 6spd.

If the driver doesn't redline it, the 1/4 mile times increase exponentially. The power is all above 5krpm, so keeping the revs up is a MUST.

Oh, and I thought I'd add:

The displacement of the rotary engine is arguable. With a piston engine, the accepted method of displacement calculation is to take the swept volume of the cylinder and multiply it times the number of cylinders... even though only half of those cylinders are producing power at one time while the other 4 are on a "wasted" stroke.

Felix Wankel (pronouned VON'-kul), the designer of the rotary engine used in RX7's, thought the displacement should be measured by the volume of the combustion chamber times the number of combustion chambers, just like with a piston engine. There are 3 faces per rotor, so 6 faces per RX7 engine. Mazda chose to only count 2 of the 6 combustion chambers towards the displacement. So if you went by the accepted method, a "1.3L" rotary engine is really a 3.9L.

It's apples to oranges, but if you look at it intellectually, calling it a 1.3L isn't consistent with standard practices.

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1.3 physically is much more realistic then 3.9l though, the size is so small look where they actually place the engine.

And Felix may have invented the concept, but he is given toooooooo much credit, the Wankel Rotor would not be here today if it were not for the genius dedicted engineers at Mazda......even Mercedes could not master this engine design.

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The displacement of the rotary engine is arguable. With a piston engine, the accepted method of displacement calculation is to take the swept volume of the cylinder and multiply it times the number of cylinders... even though only half of those cylinders are producing power at one time while the other 4 are on a "wasted" stroke.

It's true that during any given time, some of the cylinders are not producing power, but they all contribute to the power output of the engine. How would you describe the displacement of my 160 cc. lawn mower engine? Since it's a 4-stroke engine and the piston is only working half the time, would you then cut the displacement of my mower engine in half, and call it an 80 cc. engine?

Your point about Mazda not following Wankel's theory is interesting -- I never knew that! I didn't know Mazda only counted a third of the rotor faces in the engine.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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Mazda rates their upgraded model at 238HP. My buddy has one and it's like driving a 2-stroke.... rev the piss out of it or you will be diappointed. Reminds me of an S2000 in some ways. Nice car, bud it's no STS. The styling is just a bit too different for me.

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They upped the displacement to a 2.2L, so I guess they should call it an "S2200". :D

jadcock---No, you missed my point. I think your lawnmower engine is rated correctly, and I think Mazda should rate the rotary engine's displacement according to the same rules = total displacement of combustion chambers... NOT displacement of just 2 out of 6.

msilva---The engine is compact because of the design; the fact that the eccentric shaft (equivalent of a crankshaft) runs through the center of the rotors (equivalent to pistons), thereby eliminating connecting rods and long crankshaft throws. Then there's the lack of valvetrain and heads. Displacement in combustion engines is measured by the total swept volume of each combustion chamber... NOT the volume of the power-producing ones, the displacement at TDC, ar any other measurement. Like I said above, it's apples-to-oranges, but if you look at the engine and see that there are 3 rotor faces that are all either compressing A/F mixture or being propelled by combusting A/F mixture, it seems obvious that the displacament should be tripled. 3.9 liters of engine are doing the work... not just 1.3.

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Ok.. So why not add even one more rotor and get a lot more power? Why don't more companies use this? There has to be a reason for it.. maybe reliability issues?

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They already have a 20B 3 rotor engine. It's in Mazda's race car and came in the Cosmo overseas.

Rotary engines get bad gas mileage and have a limited life. I have 2 RX7's, and one engine died at 117k miles and the other at 98k.

One problem is the fact that you get no warning. The apex seals are little strips of metal that seal the rotor apexes against the housing, like piston rings. When piston rings wear, your engine smokes and you know it's time for a rebuild. Apex seals are spring loaded, so they stay well sealed until they get too thin and break. You end up trashing a rotor and housing when the broken metal seal gets scraped around in the engine.

I pulled both of my rotary engines and bought V8 conversion kits. Best move I ever made.

http://grannysspeedshop.com

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What year rex's do you have???

The current rotary is the most reliable by far, though they do require oil around every other fill up.....just common...

I happen to think the rotary is a fantastic engine when built right...Petitt racing down here is known to be one of the worlds best rotary service places.

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I have a 1990 GTU, and a 1991 non-turbo "base coupe". I enjoyed mine when they were rotary, but they were slow. The 91 was stock and ran low 16's, and the 90 had intake, exhaust, a/c and p/s bypass, and weight reduction and ran 14.9 @ 90mph w/ drag radials. I ran them hard but I maintained them well. They're the only engines I've ever blown.

I cringe when I hear a muffler-less rotary at the track. They sound like crap.

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Your right about the S2000, you have to rev the living piss out of it to actually have fun in that car. I heard they tuned the car so that there is more grunt down low...but lowered the redline to 7.5k as opposed to the original 8k. Someone want to confirm this?

Sorry for the late response to this, but I've been out of town...

I just drove my buddies 2002 Honda S2000 a few weeks back and it has a 9K redline! :blink: That thing is wierd to drive, a slug at lower R's but boy does it wake up at about 6-7K! It is a little too contrasting for me when you are going through the gears, can't imagine driving that thing in any kind of wet weather...

Yes, I did read somewhere that they did tone down the redline and tried to spread some of that power down in the lower RPM's. Not sure what year they did that or if it is a 2.2L now. I have to work on him in spring about getting him out to the drag strip. Want to run against him just for grins, and maybe he'll give me a shot behind the wheel of that bumblebee! :P

'09 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 direct injection, 128 K mi.
'15 Chevy Tahoe LTZ, 5.3i V8, 125 K mi
'70 Firebird Formula 400, Bored+.04, RAIII heads, M21 4spd., in-process restoration!

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Yes, I think it was for 2003 (but certainly by/for the '04 model) that Honda increased the displacement from 2.0 liters to 2.2 liters, probably a stroke increase. Redline decreased, and low end "torque" went up. Supposedly it's more driveable now, but I don't have any experience with either -- except on Gran Turismo 3! :)

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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  • 1 month later...
I love that game! But I dont think you can drive any Cadillacs. :(

Ya that was before the Cadillac V series lol!!!!!!!

user posted image

Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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My wife got me a copy of GT4 for Christmas...except it's not out yet. She prepaid for it, so whenever the store calls and says it's in, it's Christmas day again! :)

It was first supposed to be out in November, then December, then January, and now I think February. <_>

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I know what you mean I've been waiting forever for it to come out I should go and pre order one I hope they have the CTS-V or the STS-V lol!!!!!! :D

user posted image

Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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I can't seem to find any reliable data on the Internet of what cars are included. I know there are supposed to be 450 or 500 cars on that game. Rumor has it there are some Cadillacs, but they may be older ones (like the Shark Fins from the '60s) or possibly a CTS (not V). This game was programmed at least a year ago probably, so the V-series Cadillacs weren't out yet, or at least proven to be "hot cars" at the time of programming.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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I too have a copy reserved and I've been really excited! Goodbye good grades :D

Heh...

I was never much for video games. I didn't grow up with them, but my wife and I house-sat for a family a few years ago and they had a PS2 with GT3. I played that thing for hours on end. We bought a console, and only have a few games for it. GT3 is really the only one I play. I really enjoy the great physics engine, and the superb graphics. In fact, I usually don't engage in an actual race when I'm playing. I just take one of my many overpowered RWD cars and go out in time trial mode and do donuts and drifting and watch myself on the replays. :)

I think my favorite car on there is the '96 C4 GS. The Camaro SS and a few of the Nissan models come in a close second though.

Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond)

"When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?"

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My favorie car is definitly the Dodge Viper but ya gotta love the P.T cruiser lol just kiddin!!!!! :D

user posted image

Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!!

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