Mazda rx8?

[Pillock]

I saw an RX8 at Santa Pod at the weekend. Not on the strip, but in a corner of their field by the entrance with the grass up to the door handles.

 

Might* be broken.

[Station]

Engine rebuilds are cheap, from around 800 quid. You can do it yourself in a few days.

[Bear]

Missed this thread - I had a 192 for two years from new. Amazing car to drive - even the lower power variant (which only went to 7,500 rpm and had a 5-speed box). Fantastic chassis, fantastic brakes, great gearchange.

 

Handed it back after going to the Midlands, as the lack of torque and traffic jams & stinky clutch was just unbearable. Always warmed it up properly and always kept an eye on the oil. I want to try and fix a non-runner one day, but I worry about the rust on the sills issues, oil coolers, clutch/flywheel issues and anything which wasn't already showing up by the time I stopped being an owner and left the club!

[PiperCub]

I seem to recall reading that the Camel engine didn't really have much in the way of throttle control - you basically slowed down / landed by killing the ignition.  Don't know how true that is.

 

True - rotary aero engines (WW1 era) only really run at one speed (about 1200-1400 revs), you could adjust slightly by using weakening the mixture but on the whole it was like a stationary engine - all or nothing.

So when you wanted to descend & ultimately land, you had to cut the engine (as power controls height, speed is controlled by the pitch/attitude of the nose), arresting your descent by 'blipping' the engine by switching it back on - the prop would be windmilling so effectively bump-started the motor.

 

They are OK in experienced hands but in the hands of newbies, they were klllers as they were frequently spun into the ground when the engine was cut for landing and the inexperienced pilot let the airspeed drop too low and they stalled, dropped a wing & spun in. Can happen with the engine on too as the torque reaction of the rotating mass of the engine meant even left turns required a bit of right rudder!

Spinning is fun when you 1) are experienced & 2)intentionally do it.

 

Hence radials & in-lines took over during late WW1.