13B-REW vs EJ25 Turbo: Which is the better swap ?

[Ryosuke]

Rotary vs Pistons
Mazda vs Subaru

Can people share their experience with either engine and describe Driveability , Economy , Speed , Cost and of course.... how easy or hard the swap is for a Nova

Thanks

[bushboy]

Look at the my car section "British Eureka"

Mazda MX6 2.5L V6 on VW transaxle.

10 years on the road, 51,000 miles later still going strong.

Fast...yes
Economical...,...drive like grandad....yes, drive like teenager........no

Tyres on rear do not last long!!!!

Bushboy

[Phill]

Yeah, but it's not a rotary is it

[Brett]

Both motors will make a Nova/Sterling STUPID FAST

Before commenting on these engines, why did you choose these 2?? and why turbo's??

Your 0-60mph times may not be that great due to the fact of how light the car is and how much HP these engines put out. You may be smoking the tires more than going forward when trying to set low et's

Both will require some skills to install.(welding, fabrication,etc)

Even though companies make adapter plates for these motors, the install is not a bolt and go install

[Peter]

As has been found in the past with many different combinations, more power does not always mean more performance.

I am not a fan of powerful conversions, apart from the fact they are mainly undrivable, I have seen so many not see the light of day, much less end up on the road as the budget and technical aspect gets out of control.

As Brett says, stomping on the 'go pedal' and swapping ends, maybe fun a couple of times in a car park but if you really want to 'drive' the car without having your heart in your mouth all the time you have to balance power and road holding (suspension) in such a way that it behaves within drivable limits or you will end up in a ditch or worse and will not be fun for long.

As far as engine type goes, I wouldn't entertain a rotary, light and compact and simple in theory, but not so in practice, they never really caught on, I have worked on a couple of double rotor engines, didn't like it. Great where power to weight ratio is a factor but Subaru has it when it comes to bolt on stuff.

[Phill]

Personally I like the idea of a Rotary engine in a Nova. They have a turbine smoothness (I'm led to believe) and because of their simplicity are very lightweight and powerfull. They seem to be popular in Australia's Eurekas. The downside here in Britain is that the engines are relatively rare and have a reputation for unreliability. Personally I find the power to weight ratio of a 1300cc twin port Beetle scary enough in the Nova though There are times I would like more power.

[Ryosuke]

As has been found in the past with many different combinations, more power does not always mean more performance.

I am not a fan of powerful conversions, apart from the fact they are mainly undrivable, I have seen so many not see the light of day, much less end up on the road as the budget and technical aspect gets out of control.

As Brett says, stomping on the 'go pedal' and swapping ends, maybe fun a couple of times in a car park but if you really want to 'drive' the car without having your heart in your mouth all the time you have to balance power and road holding (suspension) in such a way that it behaves within drivable limits or you will end up in a ditch or worse and will not be fun for long.

As far as engine type goes, I wouldn't entertain a rotary, light and compact and simple in theory, but not so in practice, they never really caught on, I have worked on a couple of double rotor engines, didn't like it. Great where power to weight ratio is a factor but Subaru has it when it comes to bolt on stuff.

Isn’t there a way to put down power and great handling e.g Throttle control , Adjustable suspension ... e.t.c ?

[Gaisa]

Isn’t there a way to put down power and great handling e.g Throttle control , Adjustable suspension ... e.t.c ?

I strongly suspect you'd need to find places to install ballast to weigh the car down or you'll spend more time with your front wheels off the ground, than driving.

This was a known fault in the Reliant Scmitar and if memory serves, Reliant's solution was to fill every cavity in the front with sand bags to prevent the front of the car lifting off the ground.
Sadly, a number of people discovered this and tried to lighten the car by removing the aforementioned ballast, rendering the cars uncontrollable and I believe this resulted in several accidents.

[Peter]

I strongly suspect you'd need to find places to install ballast to weigh the car down or you'll spend more time with your front wheels off the ground, than driving.

This was a known fault in the Reliant Scmitar and if memory serves, Reliant's solution was to fill every cavity in the front with sand bags to prevent the front of the car lifting off the ground.
Sadly, a number of people discovered this and tried to lighten the car by removing the aforementioned ballast, rendering the cars uncontrollable and I believe this resulted in several accidents.

That is correct, back in the day I worked for Dunstable motors, a Reliant dealer and the ballast thing was quite funny but necessary.

Twin port 1600 (1641cc)) is all that is needed, mine is about double stock power,(see page) any more is fun.

[Spacenut]

I strongly suspect you'd need to find places to install ballast to weigh the car down or you'll spend more time with your front wheels off the ground, than driving.

This was a known fault in the Reliant Scmitar and if memory serves, Reliant's solution was to fill every cavity in the front with sand bags to prevent the front of the car lifting off the ground.
Sadly, a number of people discovered this and tried to lighten the car by removing the aforementioned ballast, rendering the cars uncontrollable and I believe this resulted in several accidents.

Hmm, I hadn't heard that one before - or was it the Scimitar SS1 (the small roadster, not the GTE "sports estate")?

Early Porsche 911s backfilled the front bumpers with lead for the same reason. Didn't work

Mazda managed to solve most of the reliability issues with the rotary, but they could not change the fundamental drawbacks, which are high oil consumption, poor fuel economy and emissions. Also of course the torque curve is only suited to lightweight cars or low gearing (the VW transmission ratios are all wrong for the latter).

That said, the final Mazda Cosmo had a triple rotor engine which was a bit of a corker... and the rotary has great race heritage too, first in the RX-3 and then in the Chevron B16, amongst others.