Rotary engine development for CX-2 or CX-5?

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karbuff

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Mazda Sonic Silver-2016 CX-5 Grand Touring AWD Tech Package
Hi I'm new here and to Mazda, so if this has been answered before please excuse me. How come the rotary engine has not been offered in the CX-5 or Mazda2 ...has it been dropped after all these years? Seems it would be great on gas mileage figures for Mazda. Is it still used in the Miata? I would have thought by now, it could have been developed enough that a diesel engine for the CX-5 would not have been needed. Can anyone fill me in? Thanks
 
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When I bought my CX-5 in conversation with salesmen he thought the RX8 with rotary was coming back. The rotary was never a fuel sipper and never accepted by general public so can't imagine Mazda would try to put it in a high volume vehicle. Since CX-5 sales are quadruple their initial target, it could be said it is high volume.

The CX-5 is a leap ahead of all gas engines made today, so can't imagine anything will change for a long time. Kind of doubt the US diesel will ever pass emissions. Many car makers tried and failed.
 
Reportedly Mazda has a new 16B direct injection rotary designed. I seriously doubt we will ever see it in production with the economy the way it is. Rotaries in general are not fuel efficient, but have a huge horsepower to weight advantage. I could maybe get 19 mpg in daily driving of my RX-8; maybe 22 on the highway. Tons of fun! I miss it dearly.
 
A rotary was never used in the Miata. As others have said, fuel economy is not the rotaries strong suit. I see it in an RX-8 or successor but that is about it.
 
Thanks for the information, I just remember Mazda making a big splash about their rotary engines many years ago.
Yeah, last i read online Mazda was still having some problems with the diesel for the US market. Why couldn't they just turbo charge the current CX-5 engine instead? Too expensive? Have they ever had a turbo 'anything' ?
 
Back around 1989 they had the 2.2 liter turbo charged MX-6, 626, and ford probe. I had the probe and as I recall the 12 valve engine put out around 160 hp with about 250 ft-lb torque. Averaged about 28mpg. Traded it in for the CX-5 with roughly the same performance and mpg.
 
jjw6455 said:
Back around 1989 they had the 2.2 liter turbo charged MX-6, 626, and ford probe. I had the probe and as I recall the 12 valve engine put out around 160 hp with about 250 ft-lb torque. Averaged about 28mpg. Traded it in for the CX-5 with roughly the same performance and mpg.
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Well, maybe 145 hp and 190 lb-ft. Back then, power increases with a turbo were not what they are today.
 
My CX-5 has plenty of hp for it's size, I was really surprised when I test drove one. It's a fun car to drive --and the gas mileage is very good, traded in my 2005 Honda Pilot (that wouldn't go past a gas station)...9 MPG UGH!! :(
 
Battery under the floorboard?..my parents had a 32' ford that had the battery..'under the passengers floorboard'...(true).

Sounds like Mazda can't make up their minds..yeah, no ...maybe, ah.. hmm, not sure!
OK...just dump the rotary, and put a small V6 in the CX-5, 275 hp lol....for real ZOOM ZOOM! :)
 
If it was that easy and financially feasible for the market Mazda is in, they would have done it.

Mazda's been playing it safe for the past few years. Especially with the SkyA platforms starting from scratch with the CX-5. They are finally riding solo without company control from Ford nor the financial restrictions. They need to rebuild their brand image on top of the "Zoom-Zoom" philosophy, and they are doing it all on their own. Fortunately, the SkyA platforms have been selling well and Mazda is finally reporting profit. Hopefully that allows them to have the finance for R&D on more interesting vehicles like they once had in the 1980's and early 1990's before the collapse. Yes, they had cars and designs that competed with the big boys from Germany.

Mazda's still somewhat hold the positive niche image they've always had. The brand that embodies the "Soul of a sportscar" in every car they produce. The "Zoom-Zoom" brand. They can always build appliances like Toyota and Honda, but they chose not to. Mazda is a relatively small company, and they intend on keeping it that way. All while remaining exciting and profitable.
 
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SayNoToPistons said:
If it was that easy and financially feasible for the market Mazda is in, they would have done it.

Mazda's been playing it safe for the past few years. Especially with the SkyA platforms starting from scratch with the CX-5.
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It seems to me Mazda is willing to try bold things while other are more conservative. The 4-2-1 long tube tri-y header is one example. No company has ever been able to use these in production, and Mazda thought outside of the box to find a way to rapidly heat up the tri-y header so catalytic converter would work passing emissions requirements. The tri-y header let them run 13:1 compression on 87 octane gas. I would bet all makers will be using this in the future, but it was a gamble on Mazda's part to do the unusual. The same can be said of their wankel engines. Even the skyactiv chassis is a risk as they are pushing engineering balancing between low weight and durable frame. The windshield cracking issues maybe a symptom of chassis flex indicating they pushed the envelope a bit to far. Time will tell. Though a little risky, Mazda's willingness to push the limits is what attracted me to the CX-5. Mazda tries new things that make good engineering sense, and not some gimmick like many US makers.
 
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That is true. That is all part of their "Zoom-zoom" principle. It's more than just a marketing slogan.

Though when I said "Mazda's been playing it safe for the past few years." I meant that they haven't created any new real niche car that poses as a financial risk. That includes their rotary (RX) and Mazdaspeed lines of cars. The MS3 was an easy move for them as they only needed to slap the MZR-DISI they had from the MS6 and CX-7 into their most popular economical chassis.

I'm not entirely sure of the windshield cracking may be due to chassis flex. If there is one thing for me to trust about Mazda, it's their chassis. Time and time again, they have proven to have chassis that are overly engineered for highest ranked torsional rigidity and safety. Often, their chassis outperform their drive drain. Perhaps they got so obsessed with weight loss, that the windshield thickness was significantly reduced? Their obsession with weight loss shows in many areas. The turd velcro like carpet for example.
 
I replaced the carpet with rubber mats. Much easier to clean. (just my opinion).
 
SayNoToPistons said:
That is true. That is all part of their "Zoom-zoom" principle. It's more than just a marketing slogan.

Though when I said "Mazda's been playing it safe for the past few years." I meant that they haven't created any new real niche car that poses as a financial risk. That includes their rotary (RX) and Mazdaspeed lines of cars.

I'm not entirely sure of the windshield cracking may be due to chassis flex. If there is one thing for me to trust about Mazda, it's their chassis.
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You are right about Mazda new performance cars. I think the rotary RX8 lost sales and was canceled due to the Great Recession. They are right on target with public demands with the new Skyactiv cars. Perhaps they will come back as economy improves.

I hope you are right about the chassis. If chassis flex is an issue, there is an easy fix. Replacement windshields can be installed with the double back foam tape method relieving any chassis flex stress.
 
karbuff said:
I replaced the carpet with rubber mats. Much easier to clean. (just my opinion).
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I replace the carpet mats with WeatherTechs as well. The carpet under will still get dirt every now and then and they are an absolute pain to clean.


CC58 said:
You are right about Mazda new performance cars. I think the rotary RX8 lost sales and was canceled due to the Great Recession. They are right on target with public demands with the new Skyactiv cars. Perhaps they will come back as economy improves.

I hope you are right about the chassis. If chassis flex is an issue, there is an easy fix. Replacement windshields can be installed with the double back foam tape method relieving any chassis flex stress.
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I am surprised my windshield hasn't cracked yet because of turd roads of NYC where the chassis is subjected to significant torsion flex. Though I do have a habit of keeping a long distance from the cars in front because I do not have a front bra (hate rock chips), though plenty of debris have smacked my windshield. Loud enough to wake a sleeping passenger and make me almost soil my pants. Perhaps it could be an assembly flaw?
 
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I think in regard to the SkyActiv platform, the better question would be when and what will be the first MAZDASPEED vehicle?

And imagine if they could get 250-300hp with 20/30 mpg out of it?!
 
SayNoToPistons said:
I am surprised my windshield hasn't cracked yet because of turd roads of NYC where the chassis is subjected to significant torsion flex. Though I do have a habit of keeping a long distance from the cars in front because I do not have a front bra (hate rock chips), though plenty of debris have smacked my windshield. Loud enough to wake a sleeping passenger and make me almost soil my pants. Perhaps it could be an assembly flaw?
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Could be assembly flaw, glass flaw, or chassis flex. No aftermarket glass is out yet, so I got $50 deductible in case that $500 windshield cracks. Safelite and PGW should make glass soon for less than $200. PGW makes the best glass and most OEM use them. Safelite tends to have deformities so like looking through a fun house mirror. Maybe it is an assembly issue and only some are affected. We can hope.
 
Someone else mentioned a more flexible glass sealant, which is another option. After enough breakages and trials, there will be different choices of glass and better techniques for installing - and the memos will be in the systems of even smaller mom and pop glass shops.
 
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