I have been reading all over the net that the 2012 RX-7 is probably not going to be released due to the current design problems with the rotary engine. Editors are still sighting fuel economy, oil consumption, longevity etc. saying that Mazda should just give up on the Wankel design. Personally I like my FC, it's the best (most reliable) car I've ever owned and my 13b has 249K miles on it.

I heard that Mazda was considering a hybrid for the redesign and personally I would like to see a hydrogen powered rotary. I have heard everything from "No one has ever gotten H1 to power an engine, they're just running on left over gasoline in the system." To "Hydrogen is explosive where as gasoline is only flammable. You'd be sitting on top of a bomb that would blow you and all who're around you up if you were in an accident." Well the latter was said about steam, gasoline and diesel once we moved passed the horse so I am curious what members here think about a H1 rotary. Also would you even want one if it was a well established option like electric hybrids are now.

I am by no means an expert, but I have built some garage fuel cells and I am still here with all my body parts intact. I know a saw a multi-fuel RX-8 driving around Japan that's hydrogen powered so why haven't we seen more on the subject?

 

i think that the H1 would be sweet but not practical seeing as though there arent any H1 stations around. mazda needs to go back the the t2 setup for the new rx7. best in my opinion. 13b turbo has decent milage and has good amount of power. if only emissions werent such a problem to the people in gov positions. global warming is a hoax. if we really had global warming the y are the climates just changing allover and not in one place. the warm places are getting cooler and the cold places are getting warmer. seems to me that its simply climate changing, not global warming. btw i am by no means an expert at this weather stuff, but people over react about everything now adays.
theres my 2 cents for the day

 

they already have a hydrogen rx-8, i think it makes like 232 hp on gas, but 170-180 hydrogen

 

a hybrid? are you a ***? that would never fly. IMO a hybrid is the worth thing you could possible stick in a car. if you cant afford the gas then dont own that vehicle. if you want to save the environment thats your deal, dont try making all of us do it. i could care less. the earth will go on weather my car is "environmentally friendly" or not. hell they have to get all the raw materials from somewhere dont they? and all the pollution to make the car, and ship it over here to the states. come on, hybrids are sissy cars. just felt like ranting. i hate hybrids. if mazda was to do that with the wankel it wouldnt be a wankel anymore.. the motor was designed to be somewhat of a gas guzzler. its ont a little honda

 

^

 

There would be nothing wrong with supplementing a powerful car with a strong engine with an additional electric motor. "hybrids" can actually be designed for some serious power, but the money's not really in that right now.

 

well mazda is actually working on the 16x rotary which maintains the same size just uses a larger trochoidal shape(or larger rotors), it also uses the hydrogen rotary injection system and lighter rotor housings. all this for better fuel cunsomption, tourque, and reliability.
i really doubt the rotary engine will ever go away it has a really bright future especially considering its the only engine to efficiently use hydrogen and still make a cosiderable amount of power.
if and when the 16x comes out the only problem to solve in the rotarys will be the matter of sealing.... damn apex seals

i dont see the point of hybryds when there are electric engines. they arent power challenged either there is a video that shows one used in drag racing, i guess its really a "how much money can we make off it" problem.

 

Watch "Who Killed The Electric Car"! We "were there" with a fully functional product in California from Saturn 20 years ago. It got scrapped by big oil and new government.

Believe it, the technology is there, it's just squirreled away...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJdirJL914A

 

I want a AZ-1 with a rotary hybrid. that would be fun

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G32E4li3xHI

 

this car made 110 torque from 0 rpm to 7000 rpm

 

Well personally the jury is still out on "global warming" the planets has done some things like this 10's of thousands of years ago, what IS a problem is the Earth's magnetosphere is weakening and there is a HUGE spot over the Atlantic that has a big hole in it. In fact it's so bad that you wouldn't want to be there during a solar flare and NASA has to shut down the Hubble Telescope when it passes through this zone.

 

If you want to rant, do it somewhere else. I was looking for real world data & not a whiny opinion! The only reason a hybrid would make sense as an OPTION is because Mazda could get the Gov to buy a huge lot of these cars like with the garbage Prius.

Oh and BTW H1 and electric go hand in hand. It is one of the most efficient setups that exists today, as far as H1 availability, people said "Who wants a gas station every few miles" when the combustion engine came out and look where we are today! As for the 16x motor, it sounds great but someone at Mazda made a "resolution" to drop 100 Kilo's off of every model car and the H1 equipment will be adding weight. Personally I don't care, I'll take an extra 220lbs if I could have a H1 RX-7. I'd drive in the carpool lane by myself, have a H1 fuel source at my house & best of all I'd get to rip the cop who complained about the "smell" of RX-7s a new one!

Plus it isn't a $ issue with fuel, more like a "plan for the future" thing with H1 or electric. The Tesla and T-Zero perform in almost the supercar range and you never have to go to a gas station. If I were Mazda I'd get Luigi Colani to design a prototype body for aerodynamics & looks, then make it go over 300mph and use it to advertise/sell the 16x.

 

the problem with fully electric and H1 is profit.

think about it if we were to go electric people could use solar energy and other alternatives for charging.

the same goes for H1 it can be set up at home, something like that is not very profitable.
everything has to do with how much money can we make off of it.

for example wire thottle is the best way to get throttle response(in most cases), but at home mechanics figured out how to fix adjust and replace it. now most cars use electronic throttles which means a whole lot harder for at home mechanics to do anything(and little to no improvement on response?). which also means they have to take it to a shop that has the equipment to fix it, being that its computer controlled people think it to be hazerdous to take it to a shop that isnt certified (ie. your local mech.). so they would probably take it to the dealer or a name brand shop(ie. pep boys)out of fear that a local shop(which most now have the equipment)wont be as "professional".

it will be a long time before anything past electric cars (like the nissan leaf) will be on the road, and even then there will be a gimmick to profit off of(ie. special plugs that wont work in a house outlet). thats why hybrid cars are so successful(20,000 BASE for better fuel economy?).

now im not saying it will never happen (or that hybrids havent helped) but there has to be a certain demand for these products. which means that maybe other than in sports cars the gasoline engines will cease to exist, and even then the performance cars could just be converted into electrics.

think about it endless supply of torque across the power band, no gearbox, and zero emissions.
remember though there is no supply without demand.

thats my two cents

 

Perfectly said! Another example is cars won't pass smog with a check engine light on. SOME cars automatically activate it after every 50k miles and all the mechanic needs to do is call the manufacturer and they'll say something like "Turn he key to on and press the brake pedal 5 times in 3 seconds with the clutch depressed to turn it off". Yet you still have to shell out for an hours labor. Something you can do yourself with the info, but the info is a secret only given to the dealership.

I am waiting for a time that cars generate power while not used. cars spend 80%+ of their life sitting idle when they could be doing something useful.