Who builds the best engines?
03-05-15, 09:03 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Who builds the best engines?
Hey there-I've had my Fd3 for eight years in various states of running. I may be at the new engine point now, though my '93 has a scant 51k miles on it.
There is a local guy that is fairly highly reputed, but I doubt that he builds more than 5 or 6 rotaries a year, so I'm thinking maybe I should look elsewhere, to someone that builds and had built LOTS of 'em, that knows all the skinny.
So you out there-please help me out. I wanna do this right, and though I personally have built several high output, reliable reciprocating engines successfully in the past, I have no experience with building rotary engines, let alone the twin turbo beast in my car. Any and all opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! -
Jon in Seattle
There is a local guy that is fairly highly reputed, but I doubt that he builds more than 5 or 6 rotaries a year, so I'm thinking maybe I should look elsewhere, to someone that builds and had built LOTS of 'em, that knows all the skinny.
So you out there-please help me out. I wanna do this right, and though I personally have built several high output, reliable reciprocating engines successfully in the past, I have no experience with building rotary engines, let alone the twin turbo beast in my car. Any and all opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! -
Jon in Seattle
Last edited by MontegoRX-7; 03-05-15 at 09:05 AM. Reason: Autocorrect sucks!
03-05-15, 11:09 AM
#4
there is the skill and level of care of the builder, and there is the condition of the parts. The most skilled builder, taking lots of time on the build, can only do so much if you reuse a bunch of stuff that was pretty worn out. You have to make sure you are clear on what you are paying for.
Some of it too comes down to philosophy. Two equally skilled and attentive builders may have different ideas on what parts can be reused, what type of apex seal to use, and how much time to spend on setting clearances.
Some of it too comes down to philosophy. Two equally skilled and attentive builders may have different ideas on what parts can be reused, what type of apex seal to use, and how much time to spend on setting clearances.
03-05-15, 12:36 PM
#5
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Premium!
there is the skill and level of care of the builder, and there is the condition of the parts. The most skilled builder, taking lots of time on the build, can only do so much if you reuse a bunch of stuff that was pretty worn out. You have to make sure you are clear on what you are paying for.
Some of it too comes down to philosophy. Two equally skilled and attentive builders may have different ideas on what parts can be reused, what type of apex seal to use, and how much time to spend on setting clearances.
Some of it too comes down to philosophy. Two equally skilled and attentive builders may have different ideas on what parts can be reused, what type of apex seal to use, and how much time to spend on setting clearances.
Trending Topics
03-05-15, 04:55 PM
#10
Full Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: WA
Posts: 177
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had a Pineapple Racing engine that lasted 7 years and about 90K miles, daily driven at 12-13 psi. The relevant mods on my car are: mild streetport, Pettit ECU, intake, DP, Greddy SMIC, RB CB exhaust. I also had Pineapple include their teflon water seals, and oil passage mods in the build.
The engine didn't blow, but since it had so many miles on it, I decided to have it rebuilt recently by JLC in Kent. The guys at JLC did find some non-3rd gen components in the engine which surprised me given Pineapple's reputation. However, it did last 7 years/90K mi, so I had no complaints.
The engine didn't blow, but since it had so many miles on it, I decided to have it rebuilt recently by JLC in Kent. The guys at JLC did find some non-3rd gen components in the engine which surprised me given Pineapple's reputation. However, it did last 7 years/90K mi, so I had no complaints.
03-06-15, 09:10 PM
#18
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thank you to all that have posted advice. I think I'm gonna go with Rob at Pineapple; as far as guys who have a lot of experience, he's the closest geographically (about 170 mikes away). He guarantees his work and having talked to a couple of guys locally that have used his engines, they have had very good experiences. I haven't built a rotary before or I would at least consider doing it myself; i have built several high performance piston engines with excellent results, but it's been many years since I've done it. I will feel better having someone do it that knows the idiosyncrasies and that's doing it every day. As far as using parts from other engines, from my experience that's not necessarily a bad thing.
03-07-15, 10:26 AM
#19
Best is really a generic term. You have to consider your power goals, driving style, budget, etc. That being said there are plenty of reputable engine builders that are sponsors on this forum. I would research each one and chose which works best for your needs.
