As most rotarists know, compression rates relate to the integrity of the rotor housing and most often linked to the apex seals, other than the side oil seals. At lower compression rates, these metallic (or some funky alloy) pieces fail to press nicely against the wall and let the air/fuel mixture 'seep' through. Some of them crack, 'fall off,' or the spring under it loses resilience to push it outwards.
Some are single-piece (picture of Mazdaspeed US ceramic), others are a combination of 2 or 3 subcomponents neatly placed onto the rotor point and inside the housing. Notice where there are circular pieces at the corners (only 2 visible) of the rotor. Spring(s) placed inside it pushes the apex outward. The two funky holes in the back 'wall' are the intake ports.
The good news is that since the rotors are spinning, higher rpms make the apex seals press out a little more due to the centripetal force. So even if the engine is said to be 'blown,' in milder cases one can still make it run with a wafty torque to the shop. Practically speaking, blowing a cylinder engine means not being able to move the crankshaft.
After trying speedways for almost a year, I was ready to do some serious (for me) stuff. People with prior versions could get away with changing the muffler and adding a boost controller, if they were not highly efficient. With the 16-bit versions it became more difficult to even do that. At the time I got my car, there hadn't been any conclusive gadgets designed to tinker with the 16-bit computer.
In 1998 shops were starting to finalize and introduce 16-bit compatible sets. I chose to have that done together with swapping the catalytic converter with a sport metallic converter with a semi-stainless muffler behind that. I also had a boost controller linked to the computer.
The sports computer installed can also be programmed to make the electric fan kick in at a certain temperature. I think I had mine start at the recommended temp of 84 or 85 degrees Celsius. I've been told that stock systems don't let the electric fan kick in until much later. Do note that under this scenario, the electric fan is taking a beating but then I'd rather have it fail first than let the engine overheat before. Besides that, it's programmed to squirt more oil at higher boosts and loads into the rotor housing.
