this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2024
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Wankel types are so fucking cool. Not a lot of engines out there that can come close to their power to weight ratio.
Maintenance is just a bitch…
Also you get to say Wankel all the time with a serious face.
You'd want to pronounce it closer to as it is in German to be accurate.
Yeah, but I'm seven and a half years old and American.
Your account would then exist in violation of COPPA and should be banned.
(Yes, I'm aware you are not being serious.)
Huh. TIL.
so you pronounce it like a chinese?
汪克尔
I don't think you understand how LITTLE that clears up the pronunciation
Anyone who calls it a "rotary" engine is physically incapable of having fun. Plus rotary engines are reciprocating engines that powered early WW1 fighter planes, where the whole engine spins with the propeller for reasons I'm too modern to understand.
They're called rotaries because they have rotors.
They're called wankels because it's a much funnier word.
They're called Wankels because one of the contributors was Felix Wankel and his last name happens to have humorous connotations.
Air cooling, spin the heads so they get a whole lot of fresh air at all times and they're lighter than the alternatives.
Too bad there are no Tossel or Buggel engines though...
If they had only gone to laser ignition and roller apex seals...
Huh… can you explain? Did they ever do research on roller apex seals?
Idk what you’re talking about with laser ignition, but I guess that the name is self explanatory… as in a laser pulse instead of a spark to ignite in the combustion phase….
But the roller seals are suuuuper fucking interesting. But that would bring its own issues. Sure you’d save the sliding of the apex seal against the chamber walls, but then you’ve got to deal with some sort of roller bearing exposed to the actual combustion process. Plus lubrication is still an issue…
Fun problem to think about!
I don't know what the other guy is referencing, but I've been keeping an eye on a company called LiquidPiston, who are developing a modified Wankel, and the seals are one of the problems they talk about tackling. This article from Ars is kinda recent and goes into it a bit: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/11/this-inside-out-design-solves-most-of-the-rotary-engines-problems/
Also very fuel inefficient, which is the main reason you don't get them in cars anymore.