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Mazda 4-Rotor Rotary Engine for the Le Mans24-Hour Endurance Race

Ritsuharu Shimizu, Tomoo Tadokoro, Toru Nakanishi, and Junichi FunamotoMazda Motor Corp.

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ABSTRACTThe “R26B” 4-rotor rotary engine is a powerplantthat brought a Mazda racing car to victory in the 1991 LeMans 24-hour endurance race. This engine wasdeveloped to achieve high levels of power output, fuelefficiency, and reliability, as required of endurance racingengines. This paper describes the basic structure of theengine, including a 3-piece eccentric shaft thatrepresents a major technological achievementincorporated in the engine, as well as other technologicalinnovations employed for the enhancement of theengine’s power output and reliability, and for reducing itsfuel consumption. These innovations include a telescopicintake manifold system, peripheral port injection, 3-plugignition system, 2-piece ceramic apex seal, and a cermetcoating on the rubbed surfaces of the housings.INTRODUCTIONIt was in 1967 when Mazda first launched a 2-rotor engine car. Since 1968, we have been a seriousparticipant in motor sport events to achieve engineeringgains that could ensure the rotary engine’s durability andreliability. The rotary engine, starting its life as a 2-rotor unit, has ever increasingly evolved at Mazda into anengine of higher level of performance, with 3-rotor and 4-rotor units added in recent years.The 1991 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, anevent in the Sportscar World Championship series washeld with two category entrants competing together.Category 1 covered naturally-aspirated cars up to 3.5-Ldisplacement and Category 2 represented cars whichwere free to have any type, configuration, and layout of engine, whilst constrained only by a maximum of 2550litres of gasoline available for consumption during therace. The 4-rotor engine, “R26B”, was developed tomeet the Category 2 regulations. A Mazda 787B (Fig. 1),powered by an R26B engine, scored the overall victor with asustained full-power run. This paper reviews the basicconstruction of this engine and the technologiesdeveloped to improve its power output, fuel consumption,and reliability.

Fig.1Mazda 787B

OBJECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT ANDTECHNOLOGIES USEDTo ensure that the R26B engine achievedsimultaneous improvement of output, fuel consumption,and reliability, while meeting Category 2 regulations, thefollowing were set as primary development objectives:(1)Enhancing Output Performance and ThrottleResponse.The main objective here was to realise a substantialincrease in power output, while providing a widetorque range and a quick throttle response, thuseasing driver control of the vehicle.

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Page 2 of 10 Fig.2Objectives of development and principal technologies.

Table 1Main data of R26B engine

CategoryType

Cylinder arrangement4-rotor in lineDisplacement (cc)654 cc x 4-rotor Eccentricity x generatingradius x width (mm)15 x 105 x 80Compression ratio10.0Intake PortingPeripheral PortingMaximum output(kW/rpm)515 kW / 9000rpmMaximum torque(N.m/rpm)608 N.m / 6500rpmWeight (kg)180Fuel supply systemElectronic controlled fuelinjectionInduction systemTelescopic intakemanifold systemLubrication systemDry sumpCooling systemWater coolingIgnition systemElectronically controlledCDI(2)Improving Fuel ConsumptionThe objectives were to reduce fuel consumptionand to realise a fuel control system suitable for circuit driving, this improving total fuelconsumption.(3)Securing Durability and ReliabilityThe third target was to realise a high level of reliability that would allow the car to withstand, withsome margin, a continuous 24-hour 5000-km run atfull power; in other words, enduring the rigors of theLe Mans race.The technologies developed to meet the aboveobjectives are diagrammatically shown in Fig. 2.ENGINE SPECIFICATIONSTable 1 lists the specifications of the R26Bengine. It is a naturally-aspirated 4-rotor unit designed tobalance power output and fuel efficiency, while havingother attributes, required of a racing engine such asmaximum ease of installation and servicing.(I)OUTLINE OF ENGINEFig. 3 is a photo of the R26B, and Fig. 4 a sectionalview. The 4-rotor engine is common in trochoidconfiguration and unit chamber volume with Mazda’sproduction rotary engines on which it is based. The rotor,designed for a compression ratio of 10:1, is precision-cast, using the lost wax process to reduce the mass of the rotating system.The rotor and side housings have cermet-coatedinternal surfaces. The apex seal, made of ceramic, is a2-piece type designed for enhanced reliability and gassealing.

Fig. 3Photo of the R26B

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Fig. 4Sectional view of R26BPage 3 of 10

For induction, the engine employs peripheral portsfor good volumetric efficiency, with a sliding throttle valueused for low restriction in wide-open throttle (WOT)operation. Another feature is the telescopic intakemanifold system (TIMS), the first of its kind over used ona racing engine.(2)ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEMThe engine control system used on the R26B isillustrated in Fig. 5. The main control parameters are fuelinjection volume, injection timing, ignition timing,telescopic intake pipe length, number of fuel pumps,power generation, failsafe system, diagnostics, fuelconsumption monitoring, and data transfer.To measure intake air amount, the engine employsthe a-N method which uses throttle opening and enginespeed as parameters.The fuel control system, in addition to controllingfuel injection volume and timing, handles air/fuel ratiofeedback. This ensures the fuel delivery to be free fromthe effects of external turbulence throughout the drivingrange, thus allowing the engine to be operation at thetargeted air/fuel ratios.