so in my ongoing search for a shop to rebuild my engine I have found a place in oregon called pineapple racing. Sounds like a good deal. 5k+ for an oil system upgrade and new rotor housings and ofcourse all seals. Thr price even includes a heavy duty water seal. Has anyone been to them for a rebuild?

 

I have never delt with them but everything thing I have heard they are a great shop, I sure some one else on the boards who has done business with them will tell you a little more then I can

 

plenty of people have gone through rob at pineapple. It is probably the safest bet in the area for a good rebuilt motor IMO.

 

nothing against FD3S engineering, but Rob will probably be my go to guy for a rebuild simply because he's got a long reputation to back him up. I have met the guy in person, and he knows his ****, we actually spent about an hour or so just talking when I took my tranny in to him for a rebuild a couple of months ago, and he's good people.

 

I have to say that FD3S is just as good as pineapple (imo) basically because one of the main engine builders from pineapple. Rob is probably the most experienced and i would LOVE to have my engine built by them, but i wouldnt say that FD3S engineering is any less of a shop. Possibly more booked up, but surely just as good. So if robs busy, go see marc or dan

Just my two cents

 

I'm for FD3S, but Pineapple is a great choice, Robs turnover time can be a bit on the long side somtimes. He can get backed up and I'm pretty sure he may be short handed.

 

^ @ Joe
I did not know that about FD3S, i guess you learn something new every day

That being said, these two shops will be the only two that will see my business if something breaks down while I'm in OR

 

Got my engine built at Pineapple. Rob is a great guy and knows his ****.

 

niCe what oil mod did you go wih if any? He recommends that I go with stage 3. I'm only rebuilding a daily t2 but I do want to get it up to low 300hp with a small port job. How was your experience with pineapple?

 

Pineapple is a great shop with excellent craftsmanship and a solid reputation for high quality parts and builds. I've been there several times over the years either for parts, info or the occasional Pineapple BBQ's they do in the summer. You really can't go wrong with Rob's shop.

Yes, they are expensive and yes the turn around time isn't the fastest but you pay for what you get and they stand by their work 100%. If you wanted it back faster i'm sure FD3S Eng. would have a quicker turn around time and if you had Dan do it it's basically just as good as having Rob do it since Dan's been doing most of the work around Pineapple for awhile now. i wasn't aware that he quit, seems kinda odd but whatever the case, Dan is a great engine builder too.

 

That's cool. Iv talked to him a number of times and he seems up on his game for sure.
Very nice also. I'm just wondering if I should realy go with the stage 3 oil mod he is rocomending. As far as I know that mod is better fir engines that will be pushed constantly. All Im thinking about doing is small port with a BNR turbo and perhaps hks fcon with upgraded fuel injectors and pump. It's gonna be my daily but I do want to start drifting in it. He said it's best to build it to tollerate the highest load I will be applying it to. Wich is the drift ofcourse. I'm just a newby though. I haven't even been out to a track yet. Lol. Aside from piling the hand brake o complete a 180 and do donuts I can't do anything else. I still have a lot of time to think about it as I am still saving cash for this.

 

I'd take any advice rob would give. and added lubrication is only better for the engine than not. the only downside is you may need to run a higher idle to make sure your oil pressure at idle is high enough.

Just to make sure everyone knows I wasn't bad mouthing pineapple at all. I was just giving another option as to shops to look into.

 

ya and thats the one thing i was afraid of. Low oil pressure at stock. He says that the upgrade is for the benefit of the oil bearings that can blow out on these second gen engines. it ends up being like an fd when it comes to those parts. to be honest ove never heard of an fc dying because of oil system failure. But then again im no guru either. Idk im just doing all the homework i can. It sounds like pinapple is legit though. Like they can build just about anything you ask for. i want my engine to be durable. Thats my main concern.

 

some one just told me this: most oil system modifications are bullshit, especially if you have a turbo motor. it can and probably will cause more issues of oil burning through the turbos right off or down the road. the more you raise the oil pressure the more it has to be detuned going through the turbos or it will be forced past the carbon seals and cause damage to the turbo seals.

Can someone clarify this for me?

 

Rob knows his ****. If it were causing engine/turbo failures or any problems he would have stoped doing the mods. bottom line is if you have a built up turbo rotary, your gonna play with it and drive it hard at times (most of the time). I can't say one way or the other but I don't see why he would do anything to hurt a motor he was building. most of the mods are just making it flow better to the bearings, and through the filter housing. People claiming the are having oil seal failures due to this probably have aftermarket turbos and arnt using a oil restrictor to meter the oil into the turbo. or not enough of a drain pipe. notice the stock lines inlet is half the size of the outlet.

 

What ever you do, stop listening to this person IMMEDIATELY. They have NO clue what they are talking about.

On FD motors, Pineapple does NOT increase oil pressure UNLESS the owner specifically requests it and even then is well warned about the consequences of doing so. The stage 1-3 oil mods all concern enlarging the oil passageways, cleaning casting flash, and porting the oil pump in/out. This minorly decreases pressure, increases volume, and provides more flow to the bearings and eshaft, which is what you want to be doing.

Stock motor? Just cleaning the casting flash off is MORE then enough on a FD.
Single turbo plans? Go for it.

 

I never specified. Im rebuilding my s5 t2. What can you tell me about this?

 

sounds like going rate to me. Only ones who charge less is lucky7 so far.

 

Rob is a good guy and gives breaks here and there when necessary. He worked on rebuilding my motor and ended up taking longer than the estimated date. Instead of paying for a large street port he only made me pay for a small street port. That saved me a few hundred dollars. I also got lucky and found out there was an error in shipping and instead received all brand new engine parts. Would have been a seven thousand dollar bill but only paid four grand. He's pretty relaxed with payment. You can pay him in installments basically.

 

That is amazing! What did you do with the large port? How do you lke it? I was considering this but I wont pass smog with it.

 

He uses new parts, new bearings, new rotor housings at 650 each, apex seals alone cost 260 each or somthing, and at 6 per motor, that gets costly fast. side seals, coolant seals, plus all the labor in oil mods, and porting (if thats in the budget) botom line is its like 3 grand in parts alone for a new engine. and I'm sure the 5000 is price before the core. they give you cash back depending on whats still good. ie rotors, irons, e shaft, stationary gears. ect.

 

Ya. Thats stuff Ive talked over the phone with him. he seems like a nice guy and has been in the game for a long time. Im not doubting his judgment at all or the quality of his work. Im just trying to do whats most beneficial for my my application and so far the oil mods are starting to sound better as I learn more and realize what my true goals for the T2 are.

 

lol, your gonna port the engine, upgrade the turbo and injectors, and throw a HKS FCon in it and your worried about the oil mod being too much? sounds more like a lethal street machine/race car build then just your everyday driver. not that you couldn't but it looks like your going to want that oil mod eventually. did he mention anything about the FD/Rx8 E-shaft bearings too? they both are better then the stock FC 13B's bearings.

 

Has anyone on this page had the oil mod stage 3 done By rob? If so what does your oil psi read at highway speeds say 3000 to 3500rpm?

 

Ya he did. If these are the main bearings as he states than are part of the stage 3 oil mod if im not mistaking. He uses Fd 3 window bearings from what i understand or they are available uppon request. But ya I am leanign more towards doing the mod beacause I do feel like i will be going to the track. I intend on learning to drift as ive mentioned before and some grip driving as well. So the oil mod sounds like a wise choise considering how abusive track use can be on these engines. These engines are suicidal as they are already. May as well get to be safe as possible. lol. I do want to drive it normally though. More often than track use im sure. Ya these are all things I want to do. I dont think it will be all at once. I want an Ecu that can manage fuel and timing and the fcon only handles fuel i think. The power fc is capable managing timing and fuel. So ive read on the apexi sight. as far as porting goes im gonna go with a mild port not a large one. I want pass smog and then start upgrading parts. So until then i will run stock ecu. You cant have a large street port and have a stock ecu.