=> This is what a 1,200-hp twin-turbo 4-rotor looks like in a Miata <=>+ more<
=> This is what a 1,200-hp twin-turbo 4-rotor looks like in a Miata <=>+ more<
This is what a 1,200-hp twin-turbo 4-rotor looks like in a Miata
By Jonathon Ramsey RSS feed Google+
Posted Dec 12th 2014 2:46PM
By Jonathon Ramsey RSS feed Google+
Posted Dec 12th 2014 2:46PM
We've seen the diminutive Mazda MX-5 Miata swallow plenty of big engines, but New Zealand drifting ace "Mad Mike" Whiddett is roaring into where-no-man-has-gone-before territory. Wanting to replace his 515-horsepower "MADBUL" RX-7 and its twin-turbocharged, three-rotor 20B engine, his new ride is an NC-series Miata with four rotors and twin Garrett turbochargers courtesy of Pulse Performance Race Engineering. It is called "RADBUL," and expected power at standard boost is 1,200 hp, but the builders at Pulse Performance think it will get up to 1,500 hp at full boost. And yes, that exhaust exits through the hood.
Four-rotor engines are actually popular - builds are detailed on forums like this one from 2007 and this one from 2008, this UK company or this Canadian company will sell you one complete - but they're usually being prepped for an RX-7. Mad Mike's choice of a Miata for this enterprise makes this about as extreme as you can get, short of throwing it into a Mazda R360. You can watch Mad Mike tell the story of the build in the video, and check out the first and second installments about the build on the Red Bull site.
News Source: Red Bull via YouTube
Category: Motorsports, Convertible, Performance, Videos, Mazda, Specialty, Racing
Tags: drifting, mad mike whiddett, mazda miata, mazda mx-5 miata, new zealand, red bull, video
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Last edited by Space; Dec 13, 2014 at 07:59 AM.
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 6,460
That looks like a fun project for sure! I really do like rotaries- mostly just by how unique they are. The sounds are cool, the power delivery is unique in how rev happy they are, it really is a fun driving experience. There are however a couple reasons why I haven't even considered buying one:
-Gas Mileage. Not that I'm SUPER concerned about mileage- I certainly won't drive some boring econobox just to save a couple bucks a week on gas. But, the people I've known that DD'd FDs seemed to get worse than bad gas mileage. The mild bolt on ones seemed to get high teens at best, and some of the really heavily modded ones seemed to run low-mid teens. I could see crappy gas mileage like that on a big huge muscle car with 4.10s, a turbo 400, and a 400+ cubic inch engine- but on a modern 1.3L 5 speed car with reasonably good aerodynamics under 3000 lbs- that seems crazy.
-Second is price. IMO RX8s are too big and ugly. FDs look the best, but because of Fast & Furious, the prices are nuts for the age/mileage (same with supras)- and finding one that isn't hacked up is tough too. Beyond that, the prices to mod them is nuts too for power levels to be competitive nowadays with what is rolling out of the factories. These 3 rotor, 4 rotor conversions are cool- but the cost of these custom engine jobs spirals into the crazy zone real quick. No wonder so many of them swap LS engines in...
-Last, and most importantly to me is reliability. Again, I'm not one of those people who is going to buy some crazy slow car and limp it around for 500k+ miles to keep maintenance costs down. I understand that stuff breaks when you beat on it hard, especially when you throw a bunch of aftermarket parts into the mix. But from what I've seen from friends/acquaintances that have them- they seem to be one of the least reliable cars out there. Seems like there was always some excuse why it wasn't running right (or at all) and saw multiple people with issues even on nearly bone stock RX8s.
-Gas Mileage. Not that I'm SUPER concerned about mileage- I certainly won't drive some boring econobox just to save a couple bucks a week on gas. But, the people I've known that DD'd FDs seemed to get worse than bad gas mileage. The mild bolt on ones seemed to get high teens at best, and some of the really heavily modded ones seemed to run low-mid teens. I could see crappy gas mileage like that on a big huge muscle car with 4.10s, a turbo 400, and a 400+ cubic inch engine- but on a modern 1.3L 5 speed car with reasonably good aerodynamics under 3000 lbs- that seems crazy.
-Second is price. IMO RX8s are too big and ugly. FDs look the best, but because of Fast & Furious, the prices are nuts for the age/mileage (same with supras)- and finding one that isn't hacked up is tough too. Beyond that, the prices to mod them is nuts too for power levels to be competitive nowadays with what is rolling out of the factories. These 3 rotor, 4 rotor conversions are cool- but the cost of these custom engine jobs spirals into the crazy zone real quick. No wonder so many of them swap LS engines in...
-Last, and most importantly to me is reliability. Again, I'm not one of those people who is going to buy some crazy slow car and limp it around for 500k+ miles to keep maintenance costs down. I understand that stuff breaks when you beat on it hard, especially when you throw a bunch of aftermarket parts into the mix. But from what I've seen from friends/acquaintances that have them- they seem to be one of the least reliable cars out there. Seems like there was always some excuse why it wasn't running right (or at all) and saw multiple people with issues even on nearly bone stock RX8s.
Hi `Chad,
Thanks for your post/words/opinions. I always enjoy reading your posts. I agree it's not my dream build, but I admire the engineering & the efforts that go into making it happen.
I'd love to try drifting with the right car + training
Last edited by Space; Dec 14, 2014 at 04:58 AM.
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