I mean, It's theoretically possible. There are adapters to hook up a 13B S4 to an R154, but the real question is why? At a point, it would be easier to drop in a 1JZ, or do an LS/1UZ Swap. Rotaries are cool, yes, but at the same time, assuming its a true 13B-RE/W, not an MSP, You would need to put more money into it than if you just did a 1JZ or 2JZ. Trying to get mounts to fit it in the chassis would be a PITA too. But, hey, anything is possible.

 

Its a pretty heavy car for a rotary. MK2 or 81-85 celica would be a better choice if you really want a rotary in a toyota.

 

Be kinda cool to pull up to a mk3 making rotary noises. Go for it man.

 

Bad mismatch in torque curve vs MK3 weight. Would be a frustrating and unsatisfying car to drive.

 

too heavy and too expensive. put it in a MK2 or a Miata.

 

13Bs can make a ton of power and have an addictive power band. People seem to forget that a 13b weights like 200ish lbs and creates a very low center of gravity, not to mention is far behind the front axle. Taking a 450lb long straight 6 and replacing it with a tiny keg will not only reduce the overall chassis weight but potentially set the chassis up for better handling characteristics. Rotaries can easily make gobs of power with the correct setups, I think alot of people would be surprised what a 500hp 13b could do in a 3000lb supra. Hell, alot of people have never even driven a car with a 13b in it

 

3 rotor would be cool 😁
The build would probably be hard as hell though. Plenty of room in the mk3 engine bay though

 

A 20B in a a70 would be nasty, make no mistake !

 

Yeah, the only rotary swap I would ever consider is a three or more rotor, for the sound alone.

 

A full peripheral port 13Bs soundtrack is pretty nutty 😁

 

as a long time current owner of 2 fd's, one twin turbo and the other big single...my vote is a resounding no.

 

Lots of talk abouit the rotary potential peak HP. But it's the wrong torque curve for a heavy car. A 1.3L engine in a heavy GT car? I can't imagine how embarrassing it would be to drive around town where a Camry could take it 0-30 after spending $10,000 on an engine swap.

 

You can easily make a a70 close enough to RX weight will a few lightened items to make weight less of an issue. Also a 1jz with 272 cams and a huge turbo has a really tall torque curve, but with less RPM. As I mentioned, a 13b drivetrain is significantly less weight, so swapping would be a immediate weight reduction for just about any chassis. torque is torque, many of the fastest Imports are rotaries. With how much exhaust gas a rotary produces, you can spin a large EFR turbo very quickly, building a lot of boost at a low RPM, thus producing a low torque curve.

I own FD rx7 and a Supra, I;m also a Mazda technician, I work on and am around alot of rotaries. Theres way too much stigma around rotaries. Setup right, they can make just about anything ridiculously fun and fast.

 

Interesting, and thanks for the added info and perspective. I have always liked the rotary as a concept, but didn't know the torque issue is resolvable nowadays with aftermarket advances. And I guess this is as good a time as any to confess my next project is likely to be a Gen 1 RX7. It's been sitting at a buddy's ranch and we'll be out there for a week long visit in August, so I'll be talking about acquiring it then. I'm a 100% stock guy though, so it will just get restored and driven on our winding mountain roads on weekends like the Supra does.

 

move

Why......As heavy as a MKIII is you would be better off doing the Quake mod, and building the bottom end. The 7mgte is a torque monster if built properly. 13b motors have not been too reliable at the power to move a 7m. Cool maybe, depending on who you are talking to, practical hell to the no.

7mgte or 2jzgte or go home.

 

Torque would be the issue.
Didn’t know rotaries had any…..

 

Just some random Dyno graphs of 13bs with EFR turbos, They make torque just fine... I have no idea of the builds for any of these, but make no mistake, you can make usable numbers to get just about anything moving.

 

Rotary engines are well suited for light vehicles.

Asking because, I don’t know.
How many heavier vehicles did Mazda install rotary engines into?

 

Eunos Cosmo came both with 13b and 20b, They are not light by any means. Also the Mazda Luce (929) came with a 13b option, big body 4 door saloon.

 

I'd be on board with a 20b or a four rotor, but I can't abide by the 13b idea, because I've yet to hear a 13b that sounds as good as an M or JZ.

As far as torque production, they actually hit peak torque surprisingly early in stock form, and it seems opening them up simply pushes that peak torque number further up the rev range.

The handling aspect is very appealing though...

 

the Cosmo came with a two rotor and it was fine, the lack of torque in a turbo 13B is a moot point, those things spool turbos like you wouldn't believe.

 

im saaaayyinnn hahha

 

I'll pass....

 

Man look at that torque curve. Nice buildup, then steady as hell. I'll bet that thing drives like a dream. Rotaries are very cool

 

Rotaries are cool when done right, even I have to admit that. But I'd get an RX7 to scratch the rotary itch right. A 13B under the hood of a Supra just begs the question of 'where's the RX7 with the JZ right next to it?'.

Honestly, if you want lightweight and novel, I'd skip the 13B and do a Honda K24+Turbo instead. Much cheaper entry, much easier to tune, much more aftermarket support, and hell with the basic Honda stuff done as part of the swap it'd probably spool faster and make more top end and weigh ~150-200lbs less and get better fuel mileage than a comparable 1JZ. You'd have to get creative to get an oil pan set up to clear the front crossmember, but it'd be doable with a CD009 conversion and available MK3 rear gearing would match a K24's powerband with a CD009's ratio spread as well.

Get a nice super spooly little Garrett G30-770 or EFR or similar on it and you'd be able to make mid-high 400's with fantastic response and wildly improved weight distro and total weight reduction.

Go 'because racecar' lightweight everywhere else - Enkei RPF-1's in 17x9 with sticky 275's all around, etc... That'd be a damn cool car. Still sacrilegious to have a Honda engine under the hood but it'd do cool Supra things and be fun as hell to drive.

7M's and JZ's > Anything else for Supra 'sound' though.

 

Honestly, if you want lightweight and novel, I'd skip the 13B and do a Honda K24+Turbo instead. Much cheaper entry, much easier to tune, much more aftermarket support, and hell with the basic Honda stuff done as part of the swap it'd probably spool faster and make more top end and weigh ~150-200lbs less and get better fuel mileage than a comparable 1JZ. You'd have to get creative to get an oil pan set up to clear the front crossmember, but it'd be doable with a CD009 conversion and available MK3 rear gearing would match a K24's powerband with a CD009's ratio spread as well.

There's a guy in Australia or NZ that did a K swap into a MKIII, I think it's a brilliant idea. Compared to a 1JZ, a K24 can be bored out to almost the same displacement (if you wanted to) but it also has a modern cylinder head. And as you mentioned, huge aftermarket support. Lots of builds around making 500hp with very little effort.

 

Nice torque curves when you start the graph at 3500.... I like a car that can be driven around without feeling or sounding like you're trying to work it. Personally, it's not as much fun when I'm having to flog it hard, or mess greatly with gearing just to get a mismatched powerplant to be tolerable. For a competition car - sure, whatever it takes to be 1st. But a street car I think it would drive me crazy having to make those compromises. Staying at high RPMs, shifting at hi revs all the time, etc. I'll take 3000 ccs of torque to pull the car from a start without drama.

 

Whenever I operated a dyno, I'd gradually roll the car up to 3000-3500 before I went full throttle. That practice is typical for chassis dynos to reduce the heat generated in the engine bay, so keep that in mind when reading the graphs. Especially on things like a rotary engine that spool turbos like crazy, it'll drive with much more torque than you'll see on a dyno graph like that especially with a smaller turbo.

 

my controversial topic seems to have spiked interest. glad to say i am picking up a non vvti 2jzge from a first gen gs i do plan on NA-T build. still trying to figure out wiring setup to run stock cluster.

 

That wiring is easy. I'm actually completing that swap into a RHD MK3 now. The info is out there. 4 wires to get it to start.

 

has anyone looked into liquid pistons hybrid rotary? i could see that being a viable option

 

There is absolutely no lack of support in the rotary world though. You can get a full billet 6 rotor if you wanted. Everything from a 450hp NA 3 rotor build to a 1200 hp billet 4 rotor.

The support is there but the stigma still exists which keeps the community much smaller. Lots of sacred building and tuning knowledge though from alot of OG rotary guys, thats probably the most dark art of the whole community.

 

What is the cost difference in building a 600hp rotary vs a 600hp K24 or other? Is it similar?

 

Manifolds, turbos, ECUs, Injectors/rails, Fuel delivery and such are all going to be priced the same. Building a 13b to handle 600hp would consist of a engine refresh with dowels, seals of your choosing (many different apex seals to choose from) and clearancing/balancing the rotating assembly. You can make 600 on OE mazda seals and ports, some choose to go with a bridge port or peripheral port and upgraded seals. You could likely have a shop build a full keg to handle 6 for 5k, much much less if you do it yourself. Like any other engine, the cost goes up with high end parts and such so you could spend 20k if you wanted too lol. same goes for the K24 or Jz