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Originally Posted by InlineSixTwinScroll
Thanks for sharing. Sounds like rotaries are a pretty bad deal, huh ?
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Rotaries have never had the lifespan of piston engines, but are not usually that bad. The side port engine in RX-8s was a new design and had a weakness in the oiling of the apex seals (the seals at the tips of the rotors). This contributed to the early failures, especially in the 04 and 05 model years. Later, the oil pump was reprogrammed for more output and in 2009, a revised oiling system went in place, so later model years aren't as bad, but they'll never be as long lived as a piston engine.
It's an incredibly fun engine to drive, revving to 9,000 rpm with ease and is smooth from idle to redline. It's also really compact with the size of a small microwave oven, so it helps make for a balanced chassis and low center of gravity. Mazda also engineers a great chassis/suspension. If Mazda had gone ahead with an RX-8 successor, I would have seriously considered it, even with the past engine history.