<<I have heard it said from several reputable sources that Mazda's non-rotary
engines are only good for about 100,000 miles before crapping out -
especially the 4-cyl. models...Food for thought.>>
You've got it backwards. Mazda's rotaries, while IMHO
terrific motors, are limited by materials to a short
life of 100,000-120,000 miles of normal driving.
(Obviously, a lot a highway mileage could make it
live longer!) Most hard driven examples are very tired
by 90,000 or so. Turbos are even worse, but still
don't have the 20-30,000 mile life span of the initial 13B
from the early 70's.
I don't have much experience with Mazda's piston engines
other than the 1600/1800 in the Miata, Capri, and 323GTX.
But _that_ engine is rock-solid. Even in the GTX (for
those not familiar, a limited production AWD turbo rally
car for the street), engines boosted to 200+hp will make
100,000 miles if properly maintained. Capri turbos,
not the best design, are still normally "like new"
at 100,000 miles. Fianlly, and most telling, Miata's
with "strap on" turbos last well over 100K even when
boosted up to about 1.5-1.8 bar on factory compression!
Anybody killing one of these engines by 100,000 miles
of highway use is making a deliberate attempt to do so.
Bill Elliott
Lake Mills, WI
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