Until recently, cars with rotary piston engines were some kind of “secret” weapon of the Russian special services. The taboo was removed six years ago, and the first VAZs with rotary engines went on sale. Immediately there were risky guys who bought exotic cars, spit on the resource, gluttony and other cons of rotary motors. They were attracted by one thing - power! Some of these daredevils to this day do not regret their choice. And all because they know the secret of the longevity of the RPD. Let's try to get to the bottom of this secret using the example of my VAZ-21099.
The rotary engine is fixed in regular places. A carburetor with a large "pan" is installed on top. The air filter is hidden in it, which is several millimeters wider than the standard. There is no tumbler, each spark plug (there are only four) has its own ignition coil. But there is an oil cooler (as in the Volga). Since the rotary motor has a large thermal load, the main radiator is replaced with the one that is installed in the VAZ-2112. For better heat dissipation, the RPD provides cooling of the rotors with the help of oil nozzles - they are installed in an eccentric shaft. If you spill overheating of oil in the rotor, then a quick demise of the engine is guaranteed. This nuance became the reason for the legends about the ultra-small resource of the Wankel engine! Meanwhile, the manufacturer declares a motor resource of 120 thousand kilometers. True, the new engines remained only in warehouses and it is not easy to find them even in Togliatti. Unfortunately, the factory instruction manual for the rotor does not say a word about the oil temperature, and the car does not have sensors for monitoring. But the matter is fixable: after all, tuning is a mighty thing.
Take my "ninety-ninth." I installed as many as two additional devices. One shows the temperature in the crankcase, the other - in the eccentric shaft of the rotor. On the go, the operating temperature is +100 degrees Celsius.
After high-speed “annealing”, the arrows of the sensors almost synchronously approach 110. If the temperature rises, the gas must be released and the motor will cool. As practice has shown, at the limit of its capabilities and without negative consequences, the rotor can thresh for ten to fifteen minutes. If you make friends with oil temperature sensors, then 120 thousand mileage are guaranteed.
On the go, the car is incomparable. The gas pedal to the floor - pickup, as if the turbine turned on, and the car will accelerate for all its 135 horsepower. The “instrument flight” begins - the tachometer and speedometer arrows abut the stops. Out of the corner of our eyes we look at the oil temperature sensors, as punished. It's okay for now. We enter the turn - the glory of the modified stiff suspension! And although the aluminum crankcase sometimes grinds nasty on potholes, a small clearance for a rotary machine is a necessity, not eccentricity. But this device is not for country roads! He is comfortable on a good road.
The first rotor - definitely. Well, what else can I advise?
First: you really need to get used to operating the rotor. The dynamics are stunning, but you should always monitor the temperature of the oil. Plus, the oil consumption rate is from 500 to 1000 grams per 1000 kilometers. Every morning I check the dipstick, top up. Oil change - every 5 thousand kilometers.