At 11:52 AM 15/06/2005, Albaugh, Neil wrote:
>I found this info on that website:
>
>" Wouk's car (a Buick Skylark), which he built with Dr. Charles Rosen,
>had a Mazda rotary engine half the size and power of the Skylark's
>standard V-8 and an electric motor used for starting and for extra
>power."
>
>A Mazda rotary engine in a low- emission car? I always thought that
>Wankels were pretty bad on emissions... what's the truth?
>
>Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
Rotaries are pretty clean now but you're right that they have had emissions
troubles. The culprit is the long narrow combustion chamber which forces a
rich mixture due to heat loss through the metal. That and the large
overlap caused by the peripheral exhaust port (current rotaries have side
exhaust ports and zero overlap).
But, if you're making half the power (which I doubt by the way! a standard
12A puts out 100hp), you'll still make roughly half the emissions.
J
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