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thoughts about a rotary Le Mans racer

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Old 03-05-2003 | 08:46 AM
  #1  
max_stirling's Avatar
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thoughts about a rotary Le Mans racer

Everyone knows that Mazda won Le Mans with a 4 rotor race car, but with the new MSPRE design, many have discussed that even a triple rotor would not be a simple task for routing of the intake and exhaust ports.

I have had this idea for a while now, but haven't really heard anyone else mention it. How about 2 RENESIS running in parallel with some kind of gear box that would combine the power of the two. In RX-8 form we know that the RENESIS will be able to produce 250HP, 280HP in prototype models. Many are speculating that the larger rotor RX-7 replacement could produce 330HP.

Let's take the larger RX-7 power (330HP) x2 and multiply some fudge factor for race tuning, race fuel and all disregard for emissions and noise, say 50% increase in power. That would make it 990HP. Even without the race tuning fudge factor, a 660HP twin motor, twin rotor Le Mans racer would be competitive.

What are your thoughts?
Old 03-10-2003 | 11:31 AM
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RacerX7FB's Avatar
cruising
 
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The FIA won't allow 2 engines in one car.
Old 03-10-2003 | 04:29 PM
  #3  
eccles's Avatar
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From: Austin, TX
Originally posted by RacerX7FB
The FIA won't allow 2 engines in one car.
A somewhat broad statement that isn't universally true. There are several instances of twin-engined cars competing in the likes of the British Hillclimb Championship, for example.

What I suspect you meant was that twin-engined vehicles are banned in the FIA Sports Car regulations. That I'll grant you, but doesn't the Automobile Club de l'Ouest make up their own rules for Le Mans anyway? I seem to recall that there have been disparities in the past between the FIA and ACO regs.
Old 03-10-2003 | 07:47 PM
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isnt the rotary engine banned from such events as le mans?
________
INFANTS PRILOSEC

Last edited by P00Man; 04-16-2011 at 05:06 PM.
Old 03-15-2003 | 03:59 PM
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From: Greater Vancouver Area, BC
Originally posted by P00Man
isnt the rotary engine banned from such events as le mans?
nope, one ran last year in the LP675 class... it was a modded, and detuned R26B model, and lost most of the goodies which made that engine so freakin' incredible.

on that note though max, i don't think that Mazda would really keep the side exhaust ports unless absolutely forced to by the regulations, and the same goes for the intake ports: it's no secret that perhipheral porting is easily the best way to make tons of power...
realistically, i don't see how two motors in parallel is somehow better than just a quad rotor motor... i really don't think they'd so anything like that.
if a serious challenge was going to be made at La Cirque de la Sarte again, Mazda would certainly be developping a motor incorperating a lot of the technologies incorporated in the R26B design... and maybe a concept for more efficient expiration?? anyhoo, possibly one of the best all-motor race engines around that circuit ever, the R26B...
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