[dolphinlady]

I own a 1983 Mazda RX-7 with 167,000 miles on it. I've had it since 1997 and had the engine rebuilt in 2003, before I knew about Peak Oil. Does anyone know if I could convert it to any other type of fuel, or does the rotary engine (which uses motor oil for cooling, combustion, and lubrication) make it a no-go?? I've already asked the mechanic if there's any other way to increase the gas mileage, and they said to keep up on the tuneups and keep the tires inflated (yeah, I already knew that...) Ki have purchased a bicycle for errands close to home, but since I'm a massage therapist that goes to my clients homes, I do need some kind of car...

[dooberheim]

Since no one else has jumped in...

I'm not sure if there are technical reasons why a rotary can't run on, say, E-85, but I'd think practically it would be the same issues a piston engine would have - incompatibility of fuel system parts with the fuel.

A rotary, as designed today (RX-7?), is massively overpowered for its application. I'd sell it and get a piston engine econobox of some sort.

DK

[Aimrehtopyh]

Rotaries are known for their power to weight ratio and smoothness at high RPM, they are not know for being very fuel efficient.

It sounds like you've treated it well over the years. Gas is cheap right now, sell it to a greater fool while you still can.

Wait a minute though, what's the compression ratio on those old wankels?

[dolphinlady]

I don't know the compression ratio of the rotary(wankel) engine. My car gets 20 to 25 mpg, and since I found out about peak oil two years ago, I have reduced my driving in half, and I have been wondering about the possibility of converting it to some other fuel. Thanks for the replies so far..........As far as selling it to get a piston economy car, the rotary doesn't have pistons, so am I really ahead exchanging it for a piston? Since I do know the condition of the car (I purchased it from the second owner when it had 33,000 miles on it) and I definitely don't want to purchase a new car, with the EROEI and the devaluation, and I don't want to have payments either. Any suggestions on what older car to purchase though, that I could get my massage table into and get better gas mileage than I do now??? Thanks.......

[Rabbit]

Honda Civics get 30-40 mpg

[dooberheim]

The older Civic CRX's can get up to 50 mpg with a manual trans, and you might be able to get your massage table into the back of one. THe Metro 4 door hatchback can carry a surprising amount of stuff. An alternative would be a small diesel wagon like a Jetta or Rabbit, but those are hard to find and the Jettas have reliability issues.

Your RX is a manual? I knew someone back aways that had an automatic version and he said it was a fun and reliable car, but he usually got about 15 mpg. If you're getting 20-25 mpg, it is likely improving to 40 or so won't be worth it to you economically if your new old car needs a lot of maintenance. You'll have to weigh the personal satisfaction and security of better fuel economy against the likely expense of trading up (down?) to a more fuel efficient car.

DK

[dolphinlady]

My car is a 5 speed manual, get 20-25 mph, and I generally just have "normal" maintenance, such as oil changes. rotating tires, etc. So maintenance costs aren't a problem, I believe that to be the case since the first two owners were good at upkeep, and so it was much easier to continue with that, and staying on top of things. You're right about the getting a car with better fuel efficiency versus keeping my car. I looked at the local used "Trade Express" and for what I would have to pay for a Honda Civic, as suggested by someone else, it didn't look like such a great thing to do (between purchase price and selling price and maintenance of unknown problems???)....but I'm still thinking about this whole thing still.....