Rotory powered Sammy

[BlancoBronco]

I just finish reading about somebody wanting to put an aircooler V-Dub in their Sammy.....

So that got me wondering about a Mazda Rotory..
We all know those are some great engines that make some much heavier car move pretty quick..
& the engines are pretty Small...http://bestsmileys.com/thinking/1.gif I'm just thinking ( been doing alot of that since I bought Sammy..:D )

Has anyone done this ?

& what are your thoughts? http://bestsmileys.com/thinking/2.gif

[OKIE ZUK]

It's been done lots of times. Search for Rotozuk. How do you think he got that name? Also Russ Hogan, with Hogan's Offroad Park runs Mazada's in all his stuff with 49" IROK's.:smokin:

[BlancoBronco]

So its a Good set up then Huh? http://bestsmileys.com/thinking/4.gif

[RX-4X4]

I have a 12a in my zuk. It turns my 37's pretty well but still needs gearing. It is super fun on the road. Very fast.

[purevil71]

One of the I-Zook guys had a Rotery sami as well...

[RX-4X4]

here you go http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Canyon/1261/index3.html

[DemoMike]

I have a 12a in my zuk. It turns my 37's pretty well but still needs gearing. It is super fun on the road. Very fast.

How'd the smog on that go?

[RX-4X4]

It didn't. I have it registered in another state. At least till I get caught a few times.

[TeenyCAR]

I didn't know Wayne actually had a rotory engine in his zuk? I guess it must not have lasted long! ahahah The rotory is a high reving engine that is pretty heavy and has little low end torque stock for rockcrawling. Check out the 2.0 suzuki vitara as they have great power and are all aluminum so they are light. they are a hard motor to beat for the h.p. to weight ratio. Not so great for low end torqu, but that's what gearing is for right?
:D

[deepmud]

The rotory is a high reving engine that is pretty heavy and has little low end torque stock for rockcrawling.

Not so great for low end torqu, but that's what gearing is for right?
:D


Oouuch!!!


But FWIW, the reports I recall from those who have done the conversion is that the rotory has a lot more low end torque than the 1.3 Sammy motor, and a massive flywheel.

If you actually want lots of low end torque then consider a VW diesel or a 4.3 Chevy

[RX-4X4]

My zuk does killer. I call it my sport compact and can waste civics. They shit when a samurai with 37's roasts them. But it does lack some torque. That why I getting 5.4 t-case. Problem solved. Should have that all done for the summer.

[rotozuk]

Yeah Eric, I had one of those in the Zuk too, but never got a driveline short enough to do what I wanted to switched over to the Mitsubishi turbo. Gobs more power, and revs higher. I was doing the bigger 13B rotary with fuel injection. One of the 6 port motors. That is about the best of the roary family when it comes to power levels and being reliable. The turbo motors made more power, but hard hard to keep them running.

The VW 1.8 gas that I had in there before all of this silly stuff was a fun motor. LOTS of torque, but still reved well. That is about the size of motor the Samurai should have been shipped with in the US market. Easy install with the Acme diesel kit.

-Wayne

[Chevzuki]

I know a little about rotaries,heres my daily driver....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v286/rentalguy/DSC01886.jpg

All rotaries have great torque curves,the power is very linear on the N/A engines,especially the 86-92 non turbo engines.They do lack a bit of lowend,but as noted earlier their stock flywheels are quite heavy.The engine as a whole(12A or 13B) is not heavy,no more than a Sammy 1.3L.I regulary pull 12A and 13B blocks from wrecker cars with my bare hands,and Im no Arnold.The best part is that they are very compact,so youll have lots of room under the hood.
Things to watch out for are the non turbo trannies,they dont last long...whereas the TII turbo trannies are super-duper stout and hold up to 400HP with no problems.Also,since the crank of a rotary is centered in the engine,they tend to need a tall trans tunnel.A body lift might be in order if you attempt a rotary swap.
If you have any rotary specific questions about balancing,trans/flywheel options or EFI wiring,hit me up.....turbofb@sbcglobal.net

Heres some great rotary info if you need it....
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq.htm
http://www.mazspeed.com
http://www.rx7club.com

[TeenyCAR]

Well I've weighed a few of them ranging from just over 220 to a little under 270 depending on type so they do weigh more than the samurai engine. They are not a terrible motor, just something to be aware of. I'm just kinda anal about weight now days.

[LittleBlackSambo]

wow, chevzuki. that's rice-tastic!

blanco, pirate4x4 has an outstanding archive of searchable threads, with many pics and buildups. nothing that is discussed here in the forum is new, it's all been talked about before. there is a real wealth of knowledge (and myth) just a search away. you mentioned in a different thread that you were wanted to spend as little as possible on your build, so why rotary? whenever i have a shits-and-grins idea, i like to search. this board, and the others, are goldmines of information, some of it is just under a bit of dust...
(this is my first search flame, but i couldn't help it... maybe i'm getting pirate jaded? :flipoff2: )

[Chevzuki]

Rice tastic?!.......:middle finger:

When did a 2500lb,daily driven,1980's Mariah widebody 1st gen,ported 300HP 13B turbo,12" brakes/4 piston calipers,and a full Tokiko suspension system become ricer?

[BlancoBronco]

wow, chevzuki. that's rice-tastic!

blanco, pirate4x4 has an outstanding archive of searchable threads, with many pics and buildups. nothing that is discussed here in the forum is new, it's all been talked about before. there is a real wealth of knowledge (and myth) just a search away. you mentioned in a different thread that you were wanted to spend as little as possible on your build, so why rotary? whenever i have a shits-and-grins idea, i like to search. this board, and the others, are goldmines of information, some of it is just under a bit of dust...
(this is my first search flame, but i couldn't help it... maybe i'm getting pirate jaded? :flipoff2: )
Like I originally said it was just an Idea that crossed my mind while reading another post about a Air Cooled VW engine swap...

@ this point my most serious consideration is a diesel swap..:)

[rotozuk]

Rice tastic?!.......:middle finger:

When did a 2500lb,daily driven,1980's Mariah widebody 1st gen,ported 300HP 13B turbo,12" brakes/4 piston calipers,and a full Tokiko suspension system become ricer?


I think it happened about the time you put the body kit on or maybe it was when you started claiming 300 HP. Not really sure which... When did you know it was rice?

Oh, then I noticed your sig.. You actually went to the trouble of swapping in a 2.8... LOL

[Chevzuki]

Claim huh?
Obviously you dont know much about the potential for turbo rotaries.300HP is easy.14psi out of a TO4B into a ported 13BT is a MILDLY built rotary.
This car has been a 10 year project,nothing is half assed or comprimised.Its fully setup for autoX,road racing and touring.Over 225K miles on the chassis.The motor has over 30K reliable miles because it was built and tuned properly....its not just some shit engine with a fart can muffler on it.
The wide body is an original kit used by IMSA racers in the 80's,its fully functional and neccesary for fitting such large tires on a light car.And its got a hell of a paint job on it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v286/rentalguy/DSC02079.jpg
You wanna call it rice because its Japanese and sporty,thats fine.I didnt want to fork out 30K on a Supra or 300ZX.
But its anything but a poser car.I eat Corvettes and such all day long.Is it the fastest thing on the streets?....no, of course not.It was never meant to be.Dont like the style,fine I dont care.I took 1st in class at the largest Mazda/Rotary event in the world,so I know someone likes my car.
At least its looks go with the RX-7's RICH racing heretige and its not some overblown mockup of a wanna-be Honda econo-shitbox.

And BTW,the Sammies 2.8L TBI swap was also PROPERLY done,(by me) and has been running flawlessley for 2 years.The 2.8 might not have the best track record from its beginnings,but the later versions are quite reliable and torquey.

[LittleBlackSambo]

You almost had me? You never had me - you never had your car... Granny shiftin' not double clutchin' like you should. You're lucky that hundred shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake! You almost had me? :laughing:

yep. rice-freaking-tastic. never, ever, get in the way of a man and his rice...

[Chevzuki]

Huh?!

[Rabbitinthemoon]

Hey man nice 7. I have a turbo FB myself. For anyone wondering if his claims of eating vettes is not even remotely inflated. I do think you might be a little over on yor weight on your car though. I think a supercharged 4 port with Gslse rotors and housing would be the way to go in a samurai. One of these years Ill let you all know if it works.

[Chevzuki]

Weight is close.I did extensive weight reduction in the interior and underbody(tar removal).Plus,my car was only a GS,so it had little in the way of options/extras.The body is nearly all fiberglass,very little of the original steel remains,besides the doors and roof.
Good call on the supercharged 4 port.The Camden SC never seems to be popular in the end with FB owners,but on an offroader,it'd be perfect to boost lowend.