Tim Pettenati writes >
> So far I've contemplated electric power,
Not until batteries get a LOT better. And cheaper.
> rotary power,
Good Idea. light weight, small, available, bulletproof. The only
drawback is that normally-aspirated ones are ungodly loud. The best
muffler seems to be the one with the moving parts :-). Most engines I
would rather supercharge than turbocharge, but in the Wankel case, I
prefer turbosupercharging just to quiet them down. Of course, you can
lose that "bulletproof" part. They pick up a really weird vibration around
14,000 RPM. This is not reachable without the turbo, so you can't really
overrev a healthy normally-aspirated Wankel.
>and the Rover V8. The Rover V8 is the leading candidate at this time.
Certainly sounds better. Still very light. Harder to stuff in than the
rotary. Rare enough to make parts a headache. If I was ever to swap the
Europa engine, you bet I wouldn't stuff in something as rare in the USA as
what I pulled out.
phile@stpaul.gov
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