Autoblog

Mazda rumored to use laser-ignition for next-gen rotary

Zach Bowman — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Japan, Technology, Mazda, Rumormill

Mazda Kabura Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Autocar is reporting that the next-generation rotary engine from Mazda may turn to a laser ignition system instead of traditional spark plugs. The report supposedly comes straight from the mouth of a shadowy senior engineer within the program. Mazda has been hard at work on the 16X Renesis rotary since around 2007 and the engine has seen quite a few evolutions over the intervening years. Autocar says that the design has seen displacement swell from 1.3 liters to 1.6 liters and that at least some parts of the engine have been designed to be made from aluminum to further reduce weight.

The work is in an effort to get the rotary to be more fuel efficient and provide more torque, the latter not usually being a chief attribute of this type of engine. According to Autocar, using a high-temperature laser ignition system would allow engineers to tune the Wankel to run leaner than systems that use a conventional spark plug. It would also reportedly allow the engine control module to more accurately adjust and monitor timing.

Mazda rumored to use laser-ignition for next-gen rotary originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mazda working on next-gen rotary-powered RX-9

Noah Joseph — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Mazda, Rumormill

Mazda Kabura Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

According to a report from Autocar, Mazda is currently working on a successor to the old RX-7 and the current RX-8. (We've heard this before. Many times.) Believed to carry the RX-9 nameplate, the next-gen sports car is tipped to ditch the innovative but clumsy quasi-four-door layout of the current RX-8, and that the platform is to be spun off from the MX-5 roadster. But what you really want to know about is the engine.

Dubbed the 16X project, the new Renesis rotary engine is expected to grow in size considerably over the RX-8's and pack around 300 horsepower - quite a bit more than the 232 hp we enjoy in the current car. Mazda is also said to be hard at work keeping the engine as clean and efficient as possible, as the current RX-8's high fuel and oil consumption have driven it out of certain markets already. The Japanese automaker could alternatively turn the RX-9 project strictly into a hydrogen halo vehicle, which might be nice if you happen to live near a hydrogen pipeline, less so for the rest of us.

Gallery: Mazda Kabura Concept

[Source: Autocar]

Report: Mazda working on next-gen rotary-powered RX-9 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Mazda rotary reportedly at least a year behind schedule, but work continues

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Technology, Mazda

Renesis rotary engine in 2009 Mazda RX-8 - Click above for high-res image gallery

"We will never give up," says Mitsuo Hitomi, general manager of Mazda's powertrain division, referring to the automaker's long-running investment into the rotary engine. This vote of confidence in Felix Wankel's replacement for displacement will surely come as welcome news to rotor-heads the world over, but that doesn't mean there aren't problems in World of Wankel.

Apparently, the so-called 16X engine, which is the latest take on the pony-keg-sized engine that spins into the stratosphere, is failing to meet emissions requirements set by the engineering team at Mazda, despite the fact that it is 30 percent more fuel efficient than the previous Renesis rotary. Impressively, Hitomi stated that the 1.6-liter 16X is slightly more fuel efficient than the automaker's standard 2.0-liter gas engine.

It would seem that the rotary's well-known thirst for fuel has at least partly been quenched, but until the 16X is tuned to hit its emissions targets we can expect it to stay in the engineering department and off the showroom floor. So, when might we see a new rotary-powered machine from Mazda? "Maybe within two years we can tell you when we will introduce it to the market," responds Hitomi.

Now, let the debate continue as to what kind of body and platform that engine will be featured in...

Gallery: 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

Report: Mazda rotary reportedly at least a year behind schedule, but work continues originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Mazda's next-generation rotary needs more work

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Mazda

2009 Mazda RX-8 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Though the rotary engine certainly has its fair share of detractors, many who find themselves behind the wheel of a Wankel-powered machine from Mazda fall in love with the engine's zippy and rev-happy characteristics... including this particular blogger, who purchased a new RX-8 back in 2004. Regardless, nobody can deny that the rotary has always been a thirsty little bugger, especially when compared to powerplants with similarly rated displacements.

We've been hearing for the last few years - and seemingly every other time a new rendition of the Wankel engine came to market - that the next version of Mazda's rotary would address complaints about its high fuel consumption and emissions. Perhaps the early projections about the so-called 16X engine were a wee bit premature. According to Seita Kanai, head of R&D at Mazda:

The 16X demonstrated the possibility, but that performance is not good enough. We are doing R&D which will incorporate more new technology... The 16X is more a profile of a rotary still in our concept stage. It needs more evolution.

That really doesn't sound all that confidence inspiring to us. At this point, only time will tell if the 16X will actually be ready for prime time when the long-rumored next-gen rotary-powered car from Mazda hits the scene in 2012 or so.

Gallery: 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

REPORT: Mazda's next-generation rotary needs more work originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is the next Mazda Renesis rotary set to get direct-injection?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:26:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Technology, Mazda

Mazda rotary engine patent diagrams - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Last October, it seems that Mazda quietly filed a patent for a twin-spark, direct injection version of the automaker's iconic rotary engine. It's taken this long for anyone to actually notice application 20090101103, which appears to have been approved just last month, but it's still an interesting development in the ongoing saga of pistonless engine.

First developed and patented by German engineer Felix Wankel way back in the early 1950s, the rotary engine has always been able to make lots of power relative to its small size, but it has also proven extremely difficult to keep emissions and fuel consumption at acceptable levels. Adding direct injection may be one effective way to manage the fuel consumption issue, and it's long been assumed Mazda would go this route on the next version of its Renesis rotary.

Further, it seems the automaker is working to slightly change the dimensions of the rotor housing (increased displacement?) and the distance between the twin spark plugs, which may have desirable effects on the engine's tailpipe emissions. It's certainly no sure-thing that this engine is going into production, but it shows the Japanese automaker is intent on improving its rotary technology. Click here to see the actual patent application, and check out all seventeen diagrams in our gallery below.

Gallery: Mazda rotary engine patent drawings

[Source: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office via SWDELAW]

Is the next Mazda Renesis rotary set to get direct-injection? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 May 2009 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mazda debuts new-gen Rotary in Taiki show car

Dan Roth — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:52:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Technology, Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda

Say what you will about the styling of the Mazda Taiki concept that's currently on display in Tokyo. It's quite possible that what's underneath is more interesting, anyway. Under the hood of the Taiki is a new gen rotary engine from Mazda called the 16X Renesis. Of course, the Rotary engine has its share of detractors, but Mazda's sticking with it anyway.

Further refining Felix Wankel's trochoid wonder, the Renesis (known internally as the 13B-MSP) has been massaged and enlarged for the first time in a very long time. Capacity is now 800cc per rotor, bringing total size up to 1.6 liters. Direct injection allows the 16X Renesis to put out more power and torque while running cleaner than a port injection setup would have allowed. Attention was also paid to reducing the oil consumption that Wankels are known for. The size of the engine is still pony-keg compact, and the rotor housing is now aluminum, which should save a little weight. While the new larger chamber design and direct injection offer more efficiency, it still remains to be seen whether or not the Rotary is capable of modern horsepower numbers without turbochargers (difficult with the side-port design) or swilling fuel like a sailor on shore leave. The 16X may show up in a special version of the current RX-8, or Mazda may hold off until a new RX-8 bows in 2011.

[Source: AutoWeek, Photo: Winding Road]

Gallery: Mazda Taiki

Mazda debuts new-gen Rotary in Taiki show car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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