I have to disagree with the comment below.  I bot a 83  RX7 (12A
engine), raced it for a couple of years.  Cleaned up iin 84.
The engine has an amazingly wide torque band and would be a great
engine in a Vanagon.  Probably wouldn't get better than 16 mpg, tho.
But it is such a reliable engine I'd do it in a minute.

As you can tell from the table below, there is no comparison to
pistons.  Displacement is meaningless.  The power is determined by how
much fuel you can get to it.  Supercharge a rotory, and you got 300 hp!

TBill

---Per Lindgren  wrote:
>
> Volks,
> these engines are really sports car engines. E.g. a Mazda RX-3
weighs in at 900
> kg, a little bit more than a Beetle. The Wankel would do wonders in
a Beetle,
> because of the weight, but the heavy weight Vanagon 1500+ kg is just
too heavy,
> and has the aerodynamics of a house. Why do you think VW skipped the
1600 cc 50 hp
> engine in the bus in 1972, while the Beetle still uses it in Mexico?
It is not the
> hp that accelerates the car, it is the torque. The hp just holds the
car at speed.
>
> PerL
> 88 Caravelle Syncro
>
>
> Ari Ollikainen wrote:
>
> > >Hi, volks,
> > >
> > >I was wondering about the Wankel for some time. A guy I know with
an old
> > >RX-7 was whining about a blown seal, but upon reflection, said
that he had
> > >no real problems with the motor except for that.
> > >
> > >However, I am not aware of any kits for Wankel conversion, nor am
I hip to
> > >anyone who has done this, and I get the suspicion that there is a
reason.
> > >Does anyone know what is up with this?
> > >
> >
> >         Plain and simple it's the lack of torque at a low enough rpm
> >         to make it useful in a Vanagon (make sure you're viewing the
> >         following chart in a non-proportional font):
> >
> >            1st Generation           2nd Generation            3rd
Generation
> >            Standard GSL-SE    86-88   89-91 86-88     89-91   All
U.S.1996-97
> >                                             Turbo][  Turbo][
Models  (Japan)
> >
> > Engine Type  12A      13B     13B     13B   13BTurbo  13BTurbo
13B-REW 13B-REW
> > Displacement 1156cc  1308cc  1308cc  1308cc  1308cc   1308cc
1308cc  1308cc
> > Power output 105bhp@ 135bhp@ 146bhp@ 160bhp@ 182bhp@  200bhp@
255bhp@ 265bhp
> >               6krpm   6krpm  6.5krpm 7krpm   6.5krpm  7krpm
7krpm   6.5krpm
> > Torque(lb-ft) 105@    135@    138@    140@    183@    196
220@    222@
> >               4krpm   3krpm  3.5krpm 4krpm   4krpm    3.5krpm
5krpm   5krpm
> >
> >       OLTECO                    Ari Ollikainen
> >       P.O. BOX 3688             Networking Technology and
Architecture
> >       Stanford, CA              Ari@OLTECO.com
> >       94309-3688                415.517.3519
>

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