Best Place for a Rebuild
Just to clear this up. Matt PM'd me and his 2nd motor blew an apex seal.
The point is you get a couple of guys that dont know anything about a rotary going off what some hack job mechanic tells them. Of course when something goes wrong they want to blame us. If this was truely our fault nobody would have heard a word about this because I would have covered these for free at no charge to the customer. Its been a couple of years since we had a problem with one of our engines and that was a spun bearing, which who knows if it was a build problem, but we covered it.
Over the past few years I have had engines in here from just about every rotary shop. The build quality between most of them was the same, but the big difference was the time put into the port jobs. Most people would be shocked if I spilled the beans on some of the supposed well known rotary shops and how bad they rip customers off. Customer had paid for a large street port and got a port that a 2 year old took a toothbrush to and no porting on the exhaust side. You would think they would put a little more effort into the port when they know the engine will be opened at some point by another shop.
Jason
The point is you get a couple of guys that dont know anything about a rotary going off what some hack job mechanic tells them. Of course when something goes wrong they want to blame us. If this was truely our fault nobody would have heard a word about this because I would have covered these for free at no charge to the customer. Its been a couple of years since we had a problem with one of our engines and that was a spun bearing, which who knows if it was a build problem, but we covered it.
Over the past few years I have had engines in here from just about every rotary shop. The build quality between most of them was the same, but the big difference was the time put into the port jobs. Most people would be shocked if I spilled the beans on some of the supposed well known rotary shops and how bad they rip customers off. Customer had paid for a large street port and got a port that a 2 year old took a toothbrush to and no porting on the exhaust side. You would think they would put a little more effort into the port when they know the engine will be opened at some point by another shop.
Jason
I welcome any inspections on our engines and portwork- after 28+ yrs of builiding/porting rotary engine for every type from GT series BP's to 3 rotor turbos, aircraft etc. we know what to expect and yes I've seen some crummy porting -also some portwork that "looks" pretty but probably nothing more-ie:have nothing done to the intake port runners (a common mistake)
The main thing to look for in any engine is the time in preparation, # & quality of replacement parts ,and finding someone that has built more than a couple a month and now is a "rotary engine expert" We see a lot of "budget" engines that fail prematurely because of using subpar (worn out) parts. Our motto has always been- "The most expensive engine is a cheap one - that fails"
Good luck,
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,576
Likes: 27
From: Morristown, TN (east of Knoxville)
All bullshit aside, there is no "best". The best "for you" is whoever is nearest, that you can afford, and gives you a good vibe as far as knowledge, experience, and being easy to work with. You also want to see if this person is going to be around in a couple of years when you need them again; a lot of these guys that work out of their kitchen floor are here one month and gone the next, from what I hear.
The one cardinal rule for us engine builders is that, for any given customer:
1) Their former engine builder is a douchebag and an ******* that can't build for **** and ripped them off
2) Their next engine builder is a god among men that could build a rotary engine to fly to the moon if he wanted.
Of course, we have to watch who we deal with, else WE may become #1 if the customer has a mood swing later on when we don't give them what they want when they want it.
It's just the nature of the business, and more so the customers.
The one cardinal rule for us engine builders is that, for any given customer:
1) Their former engine builder is a douchebag and an ******* that can't build for **** and ripped them off
2) Their next engine builder is a god among men that could build a rotary engine to fly to the moon if he wanted.
Of course, we have to watch who we deal with, else WE may become #1 if the customer has a mood swing later on when we don't give them what they want when they want it.
It's just the nature of the business, and more so the customers.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 272
Likes: 0
From: Indianapolis
Hey guys
I don’t post all that very often but I have been a rotary guy for about seven years. I had a second gen and now I have had a third gen for about 5 years and it was on its last leg. Recently I had the Rx7 store rebuild my motor; in fact we are still in the process of tuning it and to be completely honest with everyone here THEY DID AND ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. I will say my motor runs very strong and it’s finally RIGHT. I had that car from low mileage until now and it NEVER had any oil pressure for example but now it perfect. Doesn’t overheat while driving in the 200 degree Indiana weather with a.c. blasting.
All in all I will say they did a great job and they were very pleasant and helpful and easy to work with and took time out of their weekend to accommodate my schedule.
Anyhow I just figured I would give you guys some unbiased first hand information on the rx7store.
Adam
I don’t post all that very often but I have been a rotary guy for about seven years. I had a second gen and now I have had a third gen for about 5 years and it was on its last leg. Recently I had the Rx7 store rebuild my motor; in fact we are still in the process of tuning it and to be completely honest with everyone here THEY DID AND ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. I will say my motor runs very strong and it’s finally RIGHT. I had that car from low mileage until now and it NEVER had any oil pressure for example but now it perfect. Doesn’t overheat while driving in the 200 degree Indiana weather with a.c. blasting.
All in all I will say they did a great job and they were very pleasant and helpful and easy to work with and took time out of their weekend to accommodate my schedule.
Anyhow I just figured I would give you guys some unbiased first hand information on the rx7store.
Adam
I have no problem giving ppl the benefit of the doubt in most cases, but I've come across my fair share of guys who will swear to ya up and down about their "awesome local mechanic" who's been working on their car "for years." By accident you find out that this is their 5th motor in 2 years. Obviously someone's an idiot. Whether it's the mechanic or the customer I have yet to conclude lol.
Then on top of that you have these shady cheapo young kids who pay for a rebuild today, and show up at the track to drag race THE VERY SAME NIGHT, then complain to you when the motor pops..."because your shop messed up on the rebuilt"
I can also say there's obviously different standards when it comes to porting, because I have yet to see someone inspect another's port and be like "oh wow...nice job" haha. But that's not to say that someone who's been around the block doesn't know a half-a$$ed port job when they see one.
Anyway, I just wanted to leave ppl with one thing to keep in mind.
If (insert shop's name here) was so horrible at rebuilds, yet has been doing this business for nearly a decade, wouldn't they have a long line of people lookin to hunt 'em down, vs. having hundreds if not thousands of motors built and still running strong, w/ countless satisfied customers??
If you take a look at the Feedback section (eg this thread: https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=628636). THAT'S what happens when you have someone who's straight shady. They get caught, and REPEATEDLY. Yet the vast majority of well known shops have been doing what they've been doing for YEARS now, and are pretty darn good at it. So before pointing the figure, consult your conscience and see if maybe YOU or "your awesome mechanic" may have done something wrong FIRST. Then, and ONLY then can you really question someone who's got a much vaster wealth of experience and stronger reputation for doing what they do best: rotaries.
That's my $0.02,
~Ramy
Full Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
From: Evansville,In
Well I would Def. go with Chris and Elaine from Banzai, they are great to work with and never short change you in any way. They have been honest and real with me all the way through the build. I am picking up my car here this week as it is all done now. It was setting for about 5 1/2 years and the motor had some problems. But now she's ALIVE!!!!!! So I will report back after I go get it and bring it home.
Here it is all done with the new mods...
http://www.banzai-racing.com/schauss_installation.htm
Here it is all done with the new mods...
http://www.banzai-racing.com/schauss_installation.htm
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