THE ROTAX EXPERIENCE
TURBO TIME ⊲
I got a master class on turbo engines from the top-tier two-stroke development engineers. Rotax started out with off-the-shelf Mitsubishi or BorgWarner turbos as a base, but neither turbo quite met Rotax’ s performance standards. It took a lot of core engine knowledge, innovation and customization, but Rotax came up with its own turbo two-stroke 850 in 2020. How did they get there? Engineers started with an offthe-shelf turbo usually used on fourstroke engines. They did things like drilling a 50mm angled hole while welding a stainless pipe onto the system, which showed the importance of backpressure and helped solve some transient response. Several years of iterations, testing and validation showed the best, most-balanced location for the turbo charger. Then came some trade-offs: the high-mount turbo isn’ t always ideal for the weight balance on a sled, but it resulted in better engine response and shifted the placement. Rotax and the Ski-Doo engineers kept open communication throughout the building and calibration processes. Ski-Doo had some specific requests regarding noise, sound and emissions to ensure the engine could become trail legal.
⊳ THE COLD ROOM
Rotax simulates harsh environments using temperature-controlled rooms. This chamber can plummet to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the standard temp at which Rotax develops its cold-start calibration routine for snowmobiles. Off-road SXS / ATV engines are tested down to minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit. During a test, the engine begins to warm significantly immediately after first fire. Once it gathers enough data to be verified against the ECU calibration, the engine is switched off to avoid continued heating. Then the engine sits for a duration to cool all components back to minus 40 degrees before the next test.
During development of the Maverick R SXS, Rotax needed a much larger environment room, so it built a cold chamber large enough to hold a complete vehicle. The large room was meant to be temporary, but it’ s still in use.
1920 Rotax-Werk AG is founded in Dresden, Germany. It derives the name Rotax from“ rotating axle.” |
1943 Rotax relocates to Wels, Austria, as the Nazis move key factories out of Allied bombing range. Officially still a bicycle-parts maker, Rotax secretly builds engines for the war effort under the trusted brand name that masks its true purpose. |
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1952 Rotax rolls out its 100,000th engine since 1945. Rotax moves beyond farm engines into the booming two-wheel market, supplying motors for motorcycles, scooters and mopeds. Rotax receives Austria’ s State Prize First Class for being the country’ s largest engine maker, exporting worldwide. |
1968 Rotax-powered Ski-Doos from Bombardier reach the North Pole, marking the first motorized over-ice expedition to do so – an achievement celebrated in Austria as a national triumph. |
1900 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960
1906 Mechanic Friedrich Theodor Gottschalk patents a rotating-axle freewheel— a small, clever bit of engineering that improved bicycle hub performance.
1931 A decline in the bicycle industry leads to a new focus on the growing automobile market, shutting down Rotax’ s hub production.
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1945 The final wartime engines are repurposed for civilian use, powering farm and industrial machines instead of military equipment. Rotax-Werk AG is placed under Austrian state control for its Nazi-era collaboration.
1946 Rotax secures two disused buildings near the Gunskirchen railway station— a grain warehouse and a repair center – for its new home.
1961 Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Canada partners with Rotax to power his Ski-Doo snowmobiles, launching Rotax into the North American market. Through the 1960s, Rotax diversifies into engines for motorcycles, boats and watercraft like Sea-Doo, while exports reach nearly 90 % of production.