hey fellow RXrs I just had to post this after my last contact with Atkins Rotary...first ,I purchased their rebuild video and found it to be absolutely amateur hour...very general and no detail...don't recommend it at all, then I purchased some of their stuff on Ebay...late and expensive shipping and I got the wrong part...then, the last straw...I was rudely told to look for my templates on their website...they couldve given me a link but that was asking too much...when I got to the site, i found they didnt have 6 port templates, and when I asked them to explain, they said and I quote " you can use our templates for the center iron, and as far as the outer irons, be creative"....BE CREATIVE???what kind of idiots are these guys at Atkins... NEVER AGAIN !!!!!


Toronto, Ontario
Canada

 

Rob at Pineapple has a good set of templates for the 6-port, I have a set and they are really very good.

As far as Atkins, I have never had any issues dealing with Josh over there at all. I can understand late and expensive shipping to Canada too, I recently had a package that took 18 days to get to where it was going in Canada.
I will say that I have found Atkins to be about thier business, and not the most talkative people when it comes to free advice not realted to thier parts or services.

Sorry you had a poor experience, but try Rob at Pineapple for those 6-port templates.

 

I have Pineapple's 6-Port template as well, they are really nice.

http://www.pineappleracing.com/large...x-7engine.aspx

 

the video gives as much detail as is needed to rebuild a rotary engine, not sure what more you needed aside from tips on building a 1000 horsepower 2 rotor... i bet you were rude and got the same in exchange, they have always been courteous to me as i have been dealing with them for about 8 years now about once a month.

as was stated though, if you want tips they aren't the best place to go to but i figure what is this forum here for then?

 

Josh and Dan are always helpful to me. It could be because I live down the road from their shop though. They aren't very talkative as you will find a lot of shops aren't. Also Atkins has much more going on than an rx7. Their shop is actually at the airport and they are working on wankel powered planes a lot. So keep in mind that their business expands much more than cars.

As far as the video goes I have it and think it shows you everything you need. It even includes a quick reference torque and spec sheet inside. Perhaps you shouldn't be building a motor or porting if you need a ton more detail than provided?

 

I find it suspicious that someone with only 12 posts comes on the forum to bash Atkins.

My experiences with them so far, is that they have been very professional, courteous, and reliable.

 

hey guys
you're entitled to your opinion...I say they suck and dont deserve to be in business, and if I can do anything about it, they wont...its businesses like Atkins that has the US losing its grip in the world economy while countries like even Idia are surpassing them...it's called SERVICE, and Atkins has forgotten what that means... it's really sad actually...
and as for your suspicions Freak...your suspicions and 1 dollar will buy you a coffee.
thanks guys...keep on rotaring


Toronto, Ontario

 

My coffee just cost me 4.65....

 

You get great service calling India?

 

WellI was trying to be nice but-

I called Dan at Atkins yesterday with a trivial matter that likely wasnt worth his time, but he was cordial and helped as best he could.
Myself and many of my customers have ordered from Atkins repeatedly without issue. Ever. In fact, Josh has superlative customer service AND knowledge of things Rotary. And not that it matters, but I am not a "volume" customer and do not get any sort of special treatment I am aware of.

Now as to your complaints listed in your original post:
I hope you realize that most instructional videos made by shops are somewhat "amatuerish"- this isnt HorsepowerTV we are talking here, but some knowledgable enthusiasts trying to help you out. Many thousands (yes, thousands) have purchased that video without complaint, so I dunno what to tell you. I will admit that I do not own the video, but I know people that do and they were able to build thier engines using it.
You live in Canada. For whatever reason, shipping things there sucks, its expensive and slow. Deal with it. Eh
You bought parts off ebay. If you got the wrong part, its on you, since you chose to buy off ebay rather than call them and ask for thier input and assitance.

It sounds like you emailed them to ask about porting templates, and are upset they did not link you to thier Online catalog, and then were upset when they did not have a set of 6-port templates and told you to be creative. Why this offend syou I have no clue, but honestly are you that twisted about it? Just dont buy the templates! I dont like that racing beat makes you cut them out yourself, so I dont buy thiers!

Lastly, you need to really think about the fact that they have been around a long time, and are going to be around for a long time. They have made innovations and contributions to the rotary world that few of us will.

 

I've also had a bad experience with Atkins. Their shipping was fine, everything else was good, but I paid extra for OEM apex seals and received a set of theirs. By the time my builder got into the engine (over a year later) and told me, they would not do anything.

Personally I deal with Mazdatrix, they may not be the cheapest but they are thorough.

But seriously, were you expecting them to type the web address in for you? I have the rebuild video, and it's fine, they even include a couple helpful hints like getting the flywheel off. I wouldn't expect to do a rebuild without a FSM though, to go over your specs, so I don't expect any more from a rebuild video then what they included.

 

hey guys, this is becoming too funny...all these lost souls supporting horrible business practices...I dont have to argue this guys, look at your economy...your money cant even compete with ours anymore...we only have 30 million people and our little dollar is worth more than yours...stop accepting this low standard of quality and show the world what the US is capable of...I remember when the US was the most amazing place and now its sad that businesses like Atkins are the poor example of American quality...even though I live in Canada, I'm very proud of my southern neighbor and will fights to defend its integrity all over the world in my travels... I dont accept American bashing...but back to my point, you dont treat customers the way I was treated and you dont make products that arent outstanding ...on that note, I have a rebuild engine from Japan that is 3 hrs long and has everything you can imagine...including porting, and modifying... it makes the Atkins video look like Sesame Street...anyway, I wont be looking at this post again because I feel I made my point...lets hope for a better North American future...we're all in it together

Toronto, Ontario

 

What in the hell are you rambling about and when did this become and argument about economies or the function-ability of capitalism in the US vs Canada? Besides your money is called a Looney....

 

He is pissed because he bought something on eghey, made a mistake, got the wrong part, and Atkins would not kiss his ***. He takes this very personally because many other businesses these days have such poor customer service that rather than fix the issue (often the customer themselves, as in this example) they just give the whiney buggers whatever it takes to shut them up and keep them happy, a lot like taking careof an infant. If there is any issue here it is precisely that- you are not a customer, your an infant who cries and cries until someone comes to change the didee you soiled, because apparently so many out there are incapable of meaningful conversation, just "Im pissed, fix it now or I will cry".
Actual customer service is pretty much what you get from Atkins They do not have three dozen Indian help desk employees to patiently listen to your crying and spend an hour very pleasantly holding your hand while they fix whatever it is you broke. No sir, they are an American small business, who go out of thier way to help people, but also expect some measure of intelligence on the other end ofthe phone line. I doubt if they tolerate belligerence much either, and they should not.

 

Everyone, especially Mr. Toronto needs to get off this Canada vs US bullshit, this isn't the lounge, and it has nothing to do with the company in question...

 

how about you quit moaning, there have obviously been good reviews of them in this post.

if you don't like other people's opinions then that is your business, saying our country is going down the toilet because of it? go sit on some ice in your boot.

 

I travel for a living, you wont find better service than what you find in the US. I dont understand how you are relating Atkins rotary to the US dollar struggling but I am sure you know what you are talking about. I hardly ever get on this forum and defend anyone else as I know shops with good reputations will always prevail and people will ignore most of the nonsense that is spread around. Atkins does a lot of business, Dan goes out of his way weekly to help me out. They make mistakes sure, I make mistakes, **** happens. They always make it right so that is all I can ask for.

Every shop will do their best to help customers, but we cant hold hands. I try to never turn away customers, hell most of my customers become friends. But there comes a point where we can only spend so much time with someone as there are other customers waiting. Not trying to be rude to anyone we just have other work going on. Im sure most shops can relate, I give free advice all the time and dont expect anything in return, but sometimes I tell people they either have to send me their car or research on their own because I can only do so much without the car in front of me. The people at Atkins are stand up people.

 

1. I think this post is in the wrong section, there is a specific section for buying & selling feedback: https://www.rx7club.com/forumdisplay.php?f=217


2. The guys from Atkins put on a great tech seminar during this year's SevenStock, they assembled two engines there at the show while giving commentary, helpful hints, and answering questions. I thought it was very useful. Even after the show was officially done for the day, they fielded questions for about 30 minutes while they were tearing down their display. I waited about 10-20 minutes for others to ask their questions and they still spent about 5 minutes talking to me about whatever I could think of.


3. I haven't seen the Atkins DVD, haven't purchased anything from them yet. I've seen the Mazdatrix DVD and I thought it was pretty good. Take this with a grain of salt, I haven't rebuilt a rotary yet. For what it's worth, their video made the process seem much more clear than just reading the factory service manual.

 

Wrong section. There's a "bad guys" section of the forum if you really want to complain, but honestly I don't think most people will care. This is a TECH SECTION.

 

ice in your boot? At least take a shot at our Prime Minister or something worthwhile if you're going to insult our country, you may as well have brought up the term Eh or our $1 coin...


edit: is this thread not closed yet? really?

 

I have my own shop in spokane wa. I have dealt with atkins for many many years over in seattle wa which is about 5 hours away. I have had nothing but good experiences with them. Your obviously a noob. Your not going to get a video to explain everything about a rotary. The rebuild video is just one tool out of many you would use to help with rebuilding a rotary. They and every other shop are not going to show all the details and secrets of working on any car. That would kill all business for all of us.

 

blah blah blah ATKINS ROTARY SUCKS BIG TIME .... BLAH BLAH BLAH

 

Tech section!

No need to keep replying and sharpening this tool!

 

you guys really crack me up...your patriotic bull is really sad... poor Obama

 

Not only did you post in the complete wrong section, but you're also being rude and obnoxious throughout this thread.

Enjoy your vacation, if you don't clean up your act it'll turn into a permanent one