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While I also share in your love of Wankel engines I think you are grossly skipping over their unreliability (mostly around the seals). There's an extremely goo

While I also share in your love of Wankel engines I think you are grossly skipping over their unreliability (mostly around the seals). There's an extremely good reason "rural" applications are reliant on diesels. It's not uncommon for a diesel engine to hit 300k+ miles and still operate reliably. And not to mention simply. They are relatively easier to maintain than a standard gasoline engine. Diesels also greatly benefit from being on a fixed power band. It's why they work so dang well on large ships. Where as rotary engines(rx-7's at least) need a rebuild every 80-100k miles. So I think without really knowing what you're doing mechanically or having access to a mechanic that can repair those kinds of engines you aren't going to be super reliable with a rotary. Green hydrogen approaches via rotary engines does seem quite interesting. I think if the reliability of the rotary could be improved that could have some serious merit. Or at least making small enough generators that you can easily ship them out to be replaced/repaired could have serious merit.

ryukoposting 3y ago
My guess is this: Mazda believes its battery-only range is enough for most driving situations. If they're right, the rotary engine's more limited lifespan would be a moot point since it will still last the vehicle's entire lifetime. One can only hope. The maintenance thing is concerning, though. Nobody knows how to work on these things. As an RX-7 or RX-8 owner, you're either doing most of your engine work by yourself, or you're driving very long distances to go to a specialty shop. We can pray that it's reliable enough for this to not be a problem, but if these engines start failing, it's going to be a huge mess. Side note - the geometry of a Wankel rotary engine makes a diesel version impossible - you can't get enough compression. Diesel rotaries do exist though. An American company called Liquid Piston is making them for the Army. The intent is to use them in diesel generators, since the resulting generator is much smaller and lighter than more traditional diesel generators.

ryukoposting 3y ago

My guess is this: Mazda believes its battery-only range is enough for most driving situations. If they're right, the rotary engine's more limited lifespan would be a moot point since it will still last the vehicle's entire lifetime. One can only hope. The maintenance thing is concerning, though. Nobody knows how to work on these things. As an RX-7 or RX-8 owner, you're either doing most of your engine work by yourself, or you're driving very long distances to go to a specialty shop. We can pray that it's reliable enough for this to not be a problem, but if these engines start failing, it's going to be a huge mess. Side note - the geometry of a Wankel rotary engine makes a diesel version impossible - you can't get enough compression. Diesel rotaries do exist though. An American company called Liquid Piston is making them for the Army. The intent is to use them in diesel generators, since the resulting generator is much smaller and lighter than more traditional diesel generators.