About this car?

Question

I came across a Mazda Rx-8 which has a 1.3L R2 engine. How fast is a 1.3L R2 really? Isn't it slow?

Answer 1

The RX-8 will do 160 MPH.

Answer 2

This is not a car for a novice driver.
Any one who claims a RX-8 is slow, has never driven against one that was driven up to its potential.
Now I will admit that it is not one for the 1/4 mile. But having been a canyon/ridge runner from longer ago then I care to admit, this is one set of wheels that I have to respect.
There is a lot of good information here on rotary engines, but a lot of bad too. In a 4 cycle engine, a single piston fires once during 2 complete revolutions. While a single rotor in this type engine will fire 6 times. You talk about wrap out speed. Some wrongly equate this engine to the Geo engine, that is a three cylinder last time I checked.
Don't know if you are into bikes, but for a given displacement a 2 stroke will beat a 4 stroke.
Any way I ramble.
To make it short and sweet, this car is to the enclosed sports car world what the Miata is to the convertible world. A car that the others try to imitate (some times at a lot more cost).

Answer 3

For the body weight of the Mazda RX-8, the 1.3L R2 engine is a good fit. It isn't anything NASCAR would crow about but it will get you to feel like your flying in normal situations.

Answer 4

both the rx-7 and 8 use the 13-b series engine but there are many differences between the two engines. the rx-7's 13b-rew is much more popular because of it potential with power. The rx-8 uses the 13b-msp (renesis) which is pretty much the the same as the 13b-rew but it intake and exhaust ports have been redesigned. also the oil feed hole has been reduced in size to reduce the consumption in oil. these modifications to the 13b series engine have improved the efficiently of the engine. this doesn't make it powerless though. many japanese tuners say that the technology in the rx-8's engine is still too new for any major developements to happen right away. the main tunning aspect of mazda rotary rockets are not solely focused on the engine, but the handeling play an important role in its super car name.

Answer 5

The RX-8, has had some engine problems, so it might be wise to steer clear of it. On the other hand, you can pick up an RX-7 for a good price. Plus, the 13B engine has been around for years, so you can get parts for it. On the other hand, the Renesis engine, despite being a direct descendant of the 13B, is rather recent, so it's going to be harder to work on.

I have a 1987 RX-7 (an FC3S) non-turbo and it's quicker than my friend's 2002 Celica GT-S. I gotta warn you though: Rotary engines are a bit finicky, but worth it the whole way around. They use oil by design (not much, but a little) to keep the seals lubricated. But if you keep it maintained properly, their mechanical simplicity (very few moving parts) will pay off, yielding 250,000+ miles before it'll need any attention.

And don't forget to let it warm up, regardless of the outside temperature. Waiting 5-10 minutes will help you get the most performance and life out of it.

Answer 6

I currently own a Mazda 6 and the other car I was looking into as well was a Rx-8. Well, one thing Mazda, especially the Rx-8, does is give you power with a small engine.

They actually have surprisingly good acceleration, so 1.3L or not you will get good speed....trust me. I also suggest test driving it so you can get a feel for it.

Answer 7

In N. America the RX8 with its 1.3L Renesis Rotary engine produces 232 BHP. Car & Driver magazine shows its 0-60 time at 5.9 seconds...not a WRX killer but by no means slow

And don't let the 1.3L rating fool you. Rotary engines are completely different from piston engines and the displacement ratings are a meaningless comparison.

The 1.3L rating is how much displacement is used for 1 revolution of the crankshaft. In a piston engine the displacement rating is also for 1 rev, but this includes a "dead" cycle for 1/2 of the cylinders because they are on their Intake or Exhaust cycle...making no power. Rotary engines "dead" cycle is only 1/3 of its rotation.

A 1.3L Rotary is actually a 2.6L engine if looked at properly. To rate the engines truly equally look at them from using 2 crank revs. This allows all cylinders to produce power in a piston engine, and allows 2 of each rotors faces to produce power as well, giving you an equivalent of 2.6L of swept displacement in the rotary.

Answer 8

They arent horribly slow if you get the right package. The Rx-8 uses a rotary engine which many would argue is more efficient than a conventional gasoline engine. They can make anywhere from 189 to 231 horsepower in America (with American tuning that is). They're lighter cars so they might not be killers, but they're probably rather nimble.

Answer 9

To put things in perspective, a Geo Metro had a 3 cylinder 1.3 liter engine, and it got 40+mpg but was slow as hell. That was an inline engine and probably made 70hp.

An rx-7 and 8 use rotory engines (wankle) and therefore the 1.3liters of displacement is the same but combustion is much different. go to www.howstuffworks.com and type in rotory engine.

Yes, a stock RX-8 is fast. Not supercar fast, but faster than a stock civic.

Answer 10

Mazda's engines are built different than a normal engine cause their rotary, and the rx-8 has 212 hp