i saw this in the third gen section, and i was wondering how people here drive their cars. im not talking cleaning, oil changes, im talking driving hard and so on...

me, when im in the mood, i drive it like i hate it. i dont go about 7500 rpm's though. i take it to almost every local autox, if done some drag strip stuff, and ive been into drifting for the last 8 months or so, even though i dont do it all the time.

i was affraid when i first got the car because i heard alot of people had problems with rotaries. but after 2 years of having my car, and trust me, i have beaten the **** out of her, shes only failed me twice. once a blown master cylinder, and a calapsing brake line. other than that, i have no complaints for the way i treat her. of course i do all the oil changes, i pre-mix, and so on.

what about everyone else?

 

Well, I'm pretty hard on her when driving, but I'll sit there in the driveway for ten minutes if I have to 'till she's warmed up before I even move her.

It's like I follow all the rules for treating the engine carefully, but once I hit the asphalt, I just go!

Typically I shift at 7500 in 1,2 and even 3. I call gear three my "Glory Gear" because I've tuned my carb to deliver the best under the load in 3rd with best acceleration from 40-80 MPH.
I just love being in 2nd and blasting from 40 to 80 in an eye-blink!

I don't drift much...not on purpose, any way. I don't have optimal rubber configuration on my car, but I do have adjustable Konis tweaked pretty tight.
I've had my own *** try to pass me a couple of times!

But I rarely do drive less than 4000 RPMs ever.

 

I bought the 83 in 82 and I've been the only driver. It has 120k and I've replaced the clutch and transmission (which probably got a dry bearing from being stored 3 years, because the bearing noise started soon after it came out of storage).

In the morning I always warm it up for 30-60 seconds. Always drive gently until it warms up. Don't push it regularly, but when I push it I rev to 7500 and put a pause in my shifts (up and down). I'm pleased with the results. Still runs smoothly and reliably.

B

 

i drive my car like i hate it sometimes, but i never go past 6 grand, its just dosent feel right, especially wiht a dowell pin leak, i do enjoy doing stand still burnouts now that i got a 5 speed and a lds rearend, i did one today it was so smoky, i got a pic ill post soon, you can barley see my car, lol

but 90 percent of the time i drive my car easy and shift right at 4k rpms

 

this was a few hours ago

 

If you look closeley u can see the rubber that shot back on the drivers side, this pic was taken while i was burning out, im getting ready to park the rex for the winter and the tires on there now wont be used next season, because imn hoping to get my rims over the winter
so i said what the hell and did a 2 min long burnout on them, lol

-greg

 

Even though mine's a 1st gen and therefore doesn't have that thermal oil bypass valve (the one that keeps cooling oil out of the rotors until the engine temp reaches 158F) I still keep it under 3-4 grand until warm. After that I typically cruise with between 2500 and 3500 rpm, and shift between 4500 and 6500 depending on how fast I need to accelerate. These engines can run all day at 7000 without harming them if you don't mind the noise and fuel consumption.
But one thing I watch out for is shifts that are less than smooth. Jerking the **** out of the car between gears kills clutches and shortens the life of other components as well--- things like transmissions, u-joints, diffs, and engine thrust bearings. Even spirited driving wont hurt these cars as long as you can shift smoothly and seamlessly. The sensitive controls on planes I've flown have helped me to develop the necessary touch.

 

im surprised my drivetrain hasnt taken a **** on me. i can downshift seamlessly, but taking off i just dont give a ****. i mean, i have a spare everything for the drivetrain, so it wouldnt matter much anyways, but youd be surprised how strong it is and how much abuse it takes, trust me, my drivetrain has seen ALOT of abuse..

 

come again? i thought that the 1st gen rotaries all had these types of valves in the oil cooler..?

 

how fast can you guys get going in 2nd gear with manual trans? i can get up to 30 somethin, but some fella said 65????

 

30 mph?, i dunno somewhere areound 40mph at 6 grand
i bet i could hit 45-50mph if i pushed it

 

My car gets the **** beaten out of it daily, 135k miles N/A, and 1k miles with 8psi of boost so far. The car still has perfect compression, 110psi on both rotors, with no more than +/- 2psi on different faces of each rotor. The car gets taken care of though, warmed up before driven, oil changed every 2k-3k miles, omp blocked off and running MMO as premix- 1oz per gallon.

I hit about 25-30 at 7k in 1st, and 45-50mph at 7k in 2nd gear.

 

I think we're referring to two different thermal bypass systems here. The ones in the oil coolers keep cold oil from going through the OIL COOLER until the oil warms up and opens the valve.

The one I was referring to first came out on the '86 13B. It's located in the front end of the eccentric shaft inside the bolt that holds the front pulley on. It's purpose is to block off oil flow through the (hollow) ECCENTRIC SHAFT and then into the (hollow) ROTORS until the oil reaches 158F.

This was done (ostensibly) for emissions reasons, to cause the engine to reach operating temps sooner that it otherwise would, thereby spewing fewer emissions. (Engines run much richer when cold than when warm). But I suspect that they weren't lost on the fact that some guys run their engines hard even when cold. This would translate into fried oil-control o-rings which could only have been caused by abuse, so no warranty coverage--- just lots of new engine sales!

The good news for 2nd and 3rd gen owners is that tyhis valve can be easily modified so that the rotors always receive oil, even when the engine is cold.

 

great aviator902, thanks for setting me straight.

 

Squeaking the tires shifting into second gear, sliding the rear end around corners.

Its my baby very well taken care of.

 

i drive my car pretty hard, and often but when im not i shift around 3000 to 4500

 

well..its only a matter of time before i drop in a 13BT..so im beating the crap out of my current motor. i dont even run an air filter...as for the rest of the car i treat it very well..just replaced the diff and tranny fluid, and soon i'll be replacing just about everything on the car

 

God, mines copd a woopin from the day i got it, And it will till the day it dies, Gone through a diff and gearbox, but moter holds on tight still, who said rotors arnt tough.

 

I never do anything stupid until everything is good and warm, engine/trans/rearend/brakes then anything goes. I only brought it over 7000 rpm once, so i guess compared to some of you I take it "easy" Theres really no point in revving that high on a stock port anyway. Most of the thrashing my car gets is in the corners, at least 60% of the corners I take are on the edge. Good times...

 

i beat the **** out all of mine!!!

 

I generally cruise under 3K, usually shift around 4k, but when I'm smokin some Honduh or other such rice-rocket, I go all the way, sometimes as high as 7.5-8k when I'm feelin stupid.

Oh, and 60-65 in 2nd is attainable. Just kinda nerve-racking.

Brian

 

i drive mine like a bat outta hell all the time. alot of times i shift at 7900rpms and when i hit the next gear it's just a great launch! hahaha, i love it.

 

Warm it up properly,keeping under 3500 rpm. After that...come on...its a Bridgeport !! I try not to go over 8800 though!

karis

 

Havent driven my car yet...so as of now, I baby it!
Once the swap is completed though, its no holds barred, I didnt start this project not to have fun with it! Plus, next summer shes getting completly ripped down, ported, nice big turby, and some other extras...so as it is its only going to be run for 2 seasons, might as well have fun before i need to break it in again

 

A car is a reflection of ones personality. Use not abuse is my general moral. Rotarys don't like to be babied too much. When engine is fully warm it is much better to run above 4k then below 2.5k under load. Much of the reason the SC plans are getting ditched. I bought a 88SE auto a few years ago with 89k mileage. The engine blew 2 weaks after I bought it. It was funny cause I remember the older gentleman saying he was NEVER hard on it.