Rotary engines are a very unusual design that rely on rotors rather than pistons inside the engine to produce internal combustion. With the exception of a handful of companies that have used rotary type engines in the past, Japanese automaker Mazda is the only company that has used the engine with great success in a wide range of models. Over the years, the company has used its rotary engines in models such as the RX7 and RX8 (to name two). Generally speaking, driving a rotary-powered car is not that different from driving a normal car, but rotaries are high-revving engines that take well to an aggressive driving style.
Start the engine. Let it warm up for a couple of minutes to let the rotors warm up. Once underway, keep the engine RPMs under around 3,000 rpm until the temperature gauge reads that the engine is warmed up. Also, when taking off from a stop, you can give the engine more gas than a conventional engine to produce stronger acceleration.
When driving quickly, shift at a higher point than you would in most cars. When you should shift depends on which model of rotary-powered car you are driving. Older models will not rev as high as some of the newer models. The 2010 Mazda RX8 for instance has a very peaky engine that produces peak horsepower at 7,500-rpm and a redline over 9,000 rpm. This means that to drive quickly, you will need to be shifting anywhere from 8,000 to 9,000 rpm. This is not bad for the motor or gearbox as long as you don’t over rev the engine or shift so fast that you crunch the gears. When the RPMs in the new RX8 hit 9,000 rpm, there is a beep that lets you know to shift to the next gear.
When driving in normal stop-and-go traffic or when you want to conserve fuel, all rotary engines can be shifted around 2,500 to 3,000 rpm, you just won’t be going as fast as you would be if you were shifting at a higher rpm. Learn to drive smoothly. Since rotary engines rev higher than many other cars, driving the car smoothly is key to getting the best performance from it.
