4 ms·
> Two-strokes are simple but fiddly to get running over a wide range of power settings, Wankels are light and simple and don't vibrate but are incredibly fiddly
by ilyt 4y ago
> Two-strokes are simple but fiddly to get running over a wide range of power settings, Wankels are light and simple and don't vibrate but are incredibly fiddly to make.
eeeh, not exactly. Modern EFI and computer control would probably make two-strokes just fine but you're burning oil so it wouldn't pass any emission standards.
Wankel has... exactly the same problem, on top of maintenance issues, and fuel usage issues. They are not "fiddly to make", but fiddly to take care for, which means random don't-give-a-shit user might cause premature failure which also gets them bad reliability reputation.
- pinewurst 4y agoWankel apex seals are still not a completely solved problem.
- Gordonjcp 4y agoWell, it's a bit of a simplification. Anyway it's a damn sight easier to make a four-stroke with a broad range of useful power than it is a two-stroke (and a Wankel is just a special case of two-stroke), without getting into stuff like YPVS and stuff. They're fiddly to make in that they require really weirdass machining techniques and interesting materials for the seals, which are not yet something we've worked out how to do.