Should I Sell My Skyline And Buy A Rotar?

[Big Rizza]

Theres none of this..."drive it 3 times broooo then the motor needs a rebuild"... what the hell is that nonsense. If its properly set up and tuned then you wont have any problems.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This reputation of unreliability is more to do with the early rotaries, particularly those by manufacturer NSU and early (pre RX7) Mazda rotaries. Vehicles such as the 1960's NSU Ro80 were notoriously unreliable. The engine was guarenteed by the manufacturer, and NSU had to make countless engine rebuilds and replacements for free. 4 or 5 engine rebuilds were not uncommon. It got to the point where the manufacturer ended up broke and were swallowed by the Audi/VW group. Audi/VW ultimately killed off the development of the rotary engine in favour of the more conventional piston engine. The NSU design team went on to design the far less inspiring Audi 100. (Although in their defence they did drop a triple rotor into a limited number of 100's just for a bit of fun in the late 70's).

Imagine how insane it would have been if the Audi Quattro which took the Rally scene by storm in the early 80's with its turbocharged all wheel drive drivetrain also ran a rotary engine? It could have happened.

The reputation doesn't really apply to modern 13B and 20B rotaries. Mazda proved that when they became the first Japanese manufacturer to win the LeMans 24 hour race.

Anyone interested in classic rotaries may want to check out this article Rotary Engined Classics