What Is A Mazda Rotary Engine?
Sometimes, in order for something to be interesting or cool, it just has to be different. It doesn’t have to be superior or better looking. Different is all it takes. That is the case with the rotary engine. You won’t be able to notice a difference on a test drive, but the engineering behind it is very unique. Mazda doesn’t use this type of engine in its cars anymore, but it is still a heated topic among car enthusiasts. What is a Mazda rotary engine?
2017 Mazda CX-5 Engine Specifications
Rotary Combustion Engine
The combustion engine comes in many shapes and colors. The most common is the 4 stroke, but there are also 2-stroke, diesel, and rotary engines, to name a few. They are all combustion engines that rely on the compression of fuel and air mixed with a spark from a spark plug to keep the engine constantly moving. In a normal engine, pistons move up and down. In a rotary engine, one triangular head unit spins in a circle, sealing itself at each apex to allow for simultaneous independent combustion, keeping the unit spinning until it runs out of fuel, air, or spark.
Wankel Rotary Engine
The Mazda rotary engine is known as the Wankel, named after the engineer that came up with the technology in the 1960s.
The Return Of The Wankel
Rumor has it, that in the next few years, Mazda will begin using small rotary engines as generators in their hybrid cars. This sounds backwards to us but it will be fun to see how it plays out.
