My Pettit Racing rebuild experience
 

TL;DR > Rebuilt stage 2 corrected compression in PSI: Low 70s-low 80s

Here's my experience with a Stage 2 rebuild from Pettit Racing. I cannot find ANY Pettit rebuild compression numbers online for Renesis so I figured I'd post my results/story.

In December 2021 my original 2004 6-port RX-8 with 142,000 miles flooded and took 45 minutes to de-flood. I checked compression at that time and found it broke into the 50s PSI. I pulled the engine and took it to Pettit Racing for their Stage 2 Renesis rebuild which uses RX7 apex seals (https://pettitracing.com/pages/pettit-engines-sample) and we ordered new rotor housings. Cam asked how long I wanted the engine to last and I told him, "As long as possible, I'd love to get another 140,000 miles." We disassembled the engine and both rotors and eccentric shaft looked fine so those were reused. About a week went by and I picked up the new engine, installed it, and broke it in just as the directions inform. Here's how the car was setup with the rebuilt engine in:

-Pettit Racing Stage 2 Renesis rebuild (receipt below)
-New water pump
-New belts
-New coolant hoses
-New vacuum hoses
-New OMP lines
-New OMP injectors
-New gaskets wherever possible (intakes, exhaust, fuel injectors, etc.)
-New NGK oxygen sensors
-Sohn adapter (running Amsoil Interceptor for 99% of the time as there was a backorder at one point, switched to Saber Pro for that 1%)
-Premix at least 1oz per gallon with Amsoil Saber Pro (after using up the Protek Cam gave me)
-Always premium fuel (93 octane)
-New Pettit Racing lightweight flywheel
-New Exedy Clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing.
-New Racing Beat oil cooler lines
-New Bennettbuilt Coolant Expansion tank
-BHR catted midpipe
-BHR coils
-MSD ignition wires
-MazdaEdit. Changed Fan 1 to 84*C, Fan 2 to 88*C. Increased OMP Load and OMP Throttle rates by at least 10%.
-19-21 MPG, before and after rebuild.
-Conventional 10w-30 during break-in, then one 15w-40 Rotella T4. After Rotella I've been running 5w-40 Mobile 1 Synthetic.
-All engine codes are enabled and the Check Engine Light has NEVER been triggered outside the initial engine start (crank sensor was disconnected while priming the engine).
-New Optima Yellow Top battery

At 1000 miles I did a compression test and was very surprised at the results. I continued to drive the car thinking maybe it still needs to break-in. Noticed the engine oil level increased.

At 4000 miles I did another compression test, this time I rented a tester as I thought maybe mine was bad however, the numbers didn't change much. I spoke with Cam and informed him of the results and asked where the compression should be since it's not a stock Renesis. He wouldn't give me a straight answer and when I told him the compression numbers he said, "we set them a little loose, and depending how much you drive the car it should last years". He asked if it was having hot start issues which it generally did not, every so often it would take a split-second longer but it usually started in 1-2 seconds. Hot idle has a random miss you can hear from the exhaust and I can feel a shake in the shifter. At this time I also increased OMP rates again. During the 1000-4000 miles I found my engine oil pan gains a quart of fluids (has a gasoline smell, probably Saber and Interceptor mixed in as well) every 1500 miles.

6000 miles I did another compression test but the results were about the same. Engine oil still smells like fuel and I have to change it around 1500 miles because it gains an extra quart of fluids in the pan. I tried calling Pettit Racing a few times during 4000-6000 miles but it was very difficult to speak with anyone and no responses to my voicemails. Thinking maybe I have been overlubing the engine I put OMP back to stock rates and stop premixing.

At 6822 miles the compression appears about the same again. I experienced my longest hot start (3-4 seconds) and the idle is getting rougher. The idle will drop from 770ish to 740-750ish randomly and the exhaust sound isn't smooth when this happens. I changed from MSD plug wires to NGK with no change and the spark plugs look clean. I continued to call Pettit every week and about three weeks ago I spoke with Cam Jr. I asked him if I should bring the engine to Pettit for disassembly and inspection, but nobody has called me back.

ALL compression checks are hot after a 30-mile drive, used trailing hole, and within 10-15 minutes after turning off the engine.

******************************1000 miles******************************
Rear:
(Corrected in PSI: 83, 89, 74. Non-corrected @ 375RPM 112, 119, 99)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...b41f2cfc04.jpg

Front:
(Lost Corrected PSI numbers. Corrected BAR to PSI is about: 76, 78, 69. Non-corrected @ 379RPM 107, 108, 94)
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a1e5b9f4d6.jpg


******************************4000 miles******************************
Since compression was low at 1000 miles I thought maybe my tester was bad, so I rented the blue one off eBay. Below are both the rented tester and my tester. The red tester was AFTER using the blue tester on both rotors.

Rear:
(Rented tested, corrected in PSI: 81, 81, 77. Non-corrected @ 352 RPM 103, 103, 98. My tester, corrected in PSI: 78, 82, 79. Non-corrected @ 352 RPM 100, 105, 101)
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...cf16fec17c.jpg

Front:
(Rented tested, corrected in PSI: 79, 78, 81. Non-corrected @ 352 RPM 101, 100, 103. My tester, corrected in PSI: 78, 75, 73. Non-corrected @ 352 RPM 100, 96, 93)
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...3251e16043.jpg


******************************6000 miles******************************
I had to change starters at this time as the previous one stopped working. OMP rates were increased again shortly after the 4000-mile compression check.

Rear:
(Corrected in PSI: 85, 82, 84. Non-corrected @ 309RPM 98, 93, 96)
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...9f8418b826.jpg

Front:
(Corrected in PSI: 77, 84, 71. Non-corrected @ 319RPM 91, 99, 84)
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...cd2a75e2fe.jpg


******************************6800 miles******************************
Figured maybe I'm using too much premix and OMP, causing the seals to not bed properly. I went back to stock OMP rates and no premix for 822 miles.

Rear:
(Corrected in PSI: 84, 81, 77. Non-corrected @ 319RPM 100, 96, 92)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...57011ab26a.jpg

Front:
(Corrected in PSI: 76, 78, 71. Non-corrected @ 309RPM 88, 91, 83)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...2a30affb34.jpg

******************************Update (12/20/23) 9832 miles******************************
Had to change oil and figured I'd do a compression test. Engine has started to pour blue smoke at startup if the car has sat for a week so it appears the oil seals are not tight, driving the car daily or a few days in-between and there's no smoke. Otherwise the compression is holding steady, maybe very slightly up.

Rear:
(Corrected in PSI: 87, 86, 83. Non-corrected @ 309RPM 101, 100, 96)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...87e347559b.jpg



Front:
(Corrected in PSI: 81, 80, 73. Non-corrected @ 319RPM 96, 95, 87)
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...093f731640.jpg

******************************Update (5/21/24) 10184 miles******************************
Well the car sat for three months since its last drive and now smokes like crazy at cold startup so the oil rings are officially done. Never, ever did I hear anything back from Pettit regarding the issue.


Receipt:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...bc4c57c0de.jpg


I'll keep this thread updated as much as I can, who knows the engine may last 100k miles! I'm wondering if I accidentally received a Stage 3 engine, as Pettit uses low-compression rotors for those builds. This car is 100% street driven, I've never had this engine at any track. If anyone has compression numbers of their Pettit Renesis rebuilds please post up! As much money as I have into the rebuild and all other new parts I think I should have LFX or LS1 swapped it (I'm VERY familiar with LS1/LS6, LS2/LS7, and LS3 family). I've been debating on pulling the engine and going through it myself but funds are going elsewhere for the next year, and for now at least the car runs and I can move it if needed.

EDIT 5/21: ^ obviously the engine didn't last anywhere near 100k miles...

no you didn’t receive a stage 3, they have been receiving complaints over on RX7Club, sad …

Yeah I saw the posts/link to RX7club in the rebuilder thread and decided I'd post my experience as well. The guy who ended up with a busted radiator from a dropped bolt was shortly after my engine was rebuilt, I'm wondering if Cam Jr. was apprenticing on my rebuild as well. I don't mind if he was as long as Pettit stands behind their products, but their lack of response makes me believe otherwise.

Damn this sucks to hear im sorry. If you end up getting another rebuild look into chip motorsports they have a good rep from what i hear


Also i did a compression testa few months ago on mine, Its at 106k miles and the results were around 85-90 PSI on all faces for both rotors. Fromm what i understand this is still the original motor i bought the car with 73k miles

That’s pretty disappointing for a rebuild. I would expect above 100psi for sure. My current original engine with 82k miles on it still has compression in the low to mid 90s on front and rear. Thanks for providing your experiences on this forum. At some point I expect to need a rebuild and it’s good to hear the good and bad.

That's not a good situation.
Perhaps you could threaten them with small claims court to recoup some of your expenses?
You probably couldn't get a full refund if they have receipts for the parts, but maybe you could get the labor charges refunded.

Since you referenced the rebuilders thread I'm going to link this there.

Appreciate you sharing your experience.
Maybe if you make them aware their reputation is taking a hit on the RX8 and RX7 Clubs they might reconsider making it right.

They had a good rep when I got here 10 years ago, but it's rapidly going downhill and it seems they just don't give a damn anymore.

It always depends on who is turning the wrench, ultimately.

Being in a rush, not careful, not clean enough, etc.

Training only gets someone so far. It comes down to the desire to build something excellent and not just good enough.

If you go for excellent, you will get very good most of the time, and sometimes excellent.

If you are only going for good enough, well then...

I have done both.

In the shops I worked in, we all knew if a customer complaint was valid, based on who did the work. More than I would like to admit, it was my work that sucked.

I am sure if you pursue the issue they will try to make it right. They already know, I am sure.

the parts too, as the official broken record of RX8Club I’ll repeat myself again to say a proper Renesis rebuild should not reuse rotors or rotor housings. If they have any significant mileage on them they absolutely should be replaced.

Because the Renesis being different than the previous 13B engines with it’s unique zero-overlap intake/exhaust timing cycle; and it is different and needs to be treated as such, makes the sealing much more critical. Where a number of 13B builders go wrong is they don’t understand or recognize the differences and then even make 13B mods to a Renesis not realizing their mistake and resulting performance issues that result from it.

anybody who’s been on here from the early RX8 days has seen them come and go … often blaming the Renesis as a junk engine design rather than recognizing their own lack of understanding.
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The last time I spoke with Cam was in June. Since then I've left voicemails, left messages with a woman, and Cam Jr. but I have not heard back from anyone.

Sounds like legal action is your only option if you feel you were lied to about the quality of your rebuild.
They obviously don't care.

What about irons, do those tend to wear quicker than rotors?

I would have paid the extra $1600ish for new rotors if that's what Cam recommended. I wanted to buy once, cry once, and get another 140k miles/20-30 years out of it.

I pulled and installed the engine, that $6300 was just for the rebuild. I've thought about small claims but I'm betting I would get shot down since I'm not an ASE Certified Mechanic. Then I'd be stuck with court costs on top of everything.

Sure seems that way.

Did you get anything in writing that might point to less than expected results?

Personally, IF I felt like someone screwed me, I'd do anything I could to try to get satisfaction on principle at least.
Even if I lost more money.

They would at least sweat a little and not think they could rip someone off and just get away with it no repercussions at all.

When I thought my new engine may have been damaged in shipment I was prepared to sue the trucking company had it not run as expected.

I do have some ARAG legal insurance to help defray any legal expenses though.

What corner seals did they use?

I've seen one Renesis rotor that was machined that had a pinpoint hole that made it smoke and burn oil like crazy... but never seen one gain that much oil/gas with normal driving

Have you done an oil analysis to see just how much gas is in the oil?

I noticed that the injectors were cleaned and one replaced... i would suggest checking the injectors. It doesn't take much for a sticky injector to dump a lot of extra gas and wash itself into the oil.

Looks like there is a side seal issue in the front rotor if I had to guess... either one is sticking in the groove or is a bit short. Or they all could be a bit loose. Something is making the compression in that rotor a lot lower.

Did you do a wet compression test? That might make the numbers better if there is fuel wash going on.

Bad idea at this juncture. In my business when someone brings up legal action, we stop conversing, period.

It slows the process down to a crawl. It has to be the last, last resort.

He can't get people to call him back, they are probably hoping it goes away. Just make sure it doesn't, and you will likely get some kind of outcome, better than where you are now. That is not a fly by night shop.

6 months?
They are hoping he goes away by now, and if you've read the threads Team posted they're becoming 'fly by night'.

Absolutely? Absolutely not.


I own two cars with used and new rotors, used housings and irons. They both have excellent compression, one has 70k+ miles on the rebuild and the compression is the same as the day I got it, 60 k+ago.

The one with all used parts (other than seals) actually has better compression than the one with new rotors.

Both are home rebuilds. One is mine, one is Smutterbutter's.

RR does used parts all the time, and gets repeatable good or excellent results. So do other builders. 9k had used parts on his Pineapple turbo build and that held up excellently until he sold it. I don't think the new owner is on here- its likely still doing well.

If I spent that much though, I would want to see LOTS of important new parts used.

Are new parts best? Yes. Are they always required? No.

Its not the parts themselves, its the care used in assembly in this case, in my opinion.

Still, I believe if you get a hold of the right person, it will be addressed. They have a multi decade rep, someone involved surely doesn't want to see that ruined.

It's probably one person foiling his efforts, it will be one person to fix it.

Print is better than calls and voicemail. Certified letter, email and social media. At this point, use all 3 at once.

Sometimes you can get contact info from other shops nearby if you intelligently play detective. Most guys in related fields have valuable phone numbers. Just sayin'

It was supposed to be Mazda seals.

I've done no oil analysis but the dipstick smells like gasoline and something else, probably combo of Interceptor and Saber. As part of their rebuild process Pettit flow tests and cleans injectors, which they found one that needed replacing. Anything above idle and the engine runs smooth, no hesitation, no misfires, or detonation. Cam did throw in a free magnetic oil drain plug and it's been very clean.

Never done a wet compression test.

Unfortunately Cam's health hasn't been the best over the past few years. I would go down to Pettit but I work multiple jobs and it's a three-hour drive, one way, on a good day. I've left multiple messages with different people at Pettit and at this point I think it's Cam ignoring the issue. I purposely left the receipt order number so they can look up that info and get back to me if they see this thread. I'm hoping this starts a fire under their butt because if it doesn't I'm sure this will hurt their business more than any lawsuit could.

I also think it's incredibly odd that people who say they have Pettit engines won't tell me what their compression is. I've messaged multiple people on here and Facebook and I either get ignored or I get, "I'm not worried about it". It makes me think they're embarrassed to post their results. In the rotary world where compression numbers are EVERYTHING I find it odd that so many people don't know where their rebuilt engine sits.

If anyone is interested here are the break-in instructions from Pettit:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...89faf361b4.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...0e9b0cc664.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...f26c9ab5fb.jpg

Fwiw, Kyle, the Rotary Doctor told me to drive it like a 'normal' car during the break in.
I had planned on driving it within the normal gear range rpm before he told me that.

Pettit saying WOT to 7k rpm in low gears doesn't sound like a good idea to me, but what do I know?

Break in is one of those things that shops use as an excuse to not fix there mistakes sometimes

After the engine is running and fully warmed up and lubricated you have to do something really stupid to screw it up.

Side seals are like our piston rings....

When i used to ride 2 stroke bikes there were so many different ways to break them in. The careful approach and the abuse it right away.

Surprisingly some of the engines that ended up with the best performance were the ones that were broken in fast and hard

I think Cam expects you to use his premix for break in. That will.lubricate things pretty well and negate chances of the seals running dry and causing excess wear

Personally i would think that there is something going on with the build. Especially in the front rotor... won't know that till it gets pulled apart

That's interesting about the compression results.

Maybe go to the RX7 sites and post there if you haven't already. I think you need amplification. FB and TWTR too.

Your engine is not sound, and you paid good money for it. It's a clear problem that they should solve.

My new engine compression numbers averaged about 7.0 for each face.
Idk what that converts to in psi.
It only has about 200 miles on it.

^78 psi according to the chart.

Also considered to be on the edge of failing.
I must admit I was expecting much higher numbers for a new engine out of the crate.

Idk if it being mishandled has anything to do with it.
I've heard it's possible for the numbers to go up after break in, but I can't find any evidence of that.

A couple of snippets from Rotary Resurrection's break in procedure.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...f2de80c8ec.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...ed51acf6a4.jpg

There is confirmation that numbers should increase during break in.
I sure hope so.

not really, if it doesn’t already have 120+ psi it never will

which is what a new REW 13B engine should have, a Renesis should be 130+ psi but they rarely are unless hand-blueprinted

…

the thing is, if it’s low from new it doesn’t mean it will have a short life, it may be that way for a long time until the seal springs begin to weaken
.

JB, I think you asked me about my rebuilt engine's compression, I see why now. I'll grab my car on my lunch break and check comp after work. I didn't bother testing before because I'm lazy. I've had no issues with hot starts, low RPM performance, or misfires. I know its not numbers but it "sounds" like at least decent compression when cranking, and the engine stops spinning very quickly when shutting ignition off. Could still be on the low side, but I'll get some numbers later today.

My concerns in the numbers are the differences between faces. If they were slightly.low and even that would lend me to believe things will improve...

The differences are big enough that there is a seal/seals that are loosing lots of compression. That won't get better as it is a mechanical seal issue... not a bedding in problem

Ok, comp test done: Numbers are low. I do barely have 2k miles on the engine and already one track day.
1-Rotor 1
2-Rotor 1 corrected @250rpm
3-Rotor 2
4-Rotor 2 corrected @250rpm(apologies for the upside down photo)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...27905d377.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...fb5406b4d.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...2abc452cd.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a9e3d84e0.jpegR

I just thought to check my owner's manual for the break in period.
Derp.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...21fa7dacc4.jpg

7= 100psi, not 78.

Also, I saw max compression in 450 miles on my own rebuild, which I broke in very easy since I was not 100% confident in my process ( I did some different things) or abilities.

200 miles is early though. Check it later. I bet you see near 110 psi. I would also ask how you measured it?

Kyle used his Mazda tester.

don’t shoot the messenger; he was already dodging bullets yesterday from somebody else who can’t handle the truth very well … :suspect:

this was the original chart in the early S1 service manual (2004 - 2005); ~270 rpm should be over 7.0

I think they ended moving the lower limit line down, I’ll just leave it at that

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...3c7d20db4.jpeg



370+ rpm is kicking it though :cool:
.

Awesome, thank you for the results! Looks like that's in the high 80-mid90s psi range, Was this a hot compression test?

On Facebook there's a guy with 600,000 mile RX-8. He's on his fourth engine which happens to be a Pettit engine with 122,000 miles. Unfortunately he couldn't provide any compression numbers but I'll try reaching back out to him for any history.

Interesting that break-in from Mazda is pretty similar to Pettit's. Keep a record how it breaks in and let us know how it goes!

I thought I read somewhere there's a 20psi window, so if the rear rotor is 100 and the front rotor is 75 that engine would fail because there's a 25psi difference. On my engine the front rotor face with low 70s makes me wonder if that's why the RPMs will drop down to 740-750 randomly.

My experience
 

I had Cam put an engine in my car several years back. As the old engine had 181K miles on it we went with a Mazda rebuild engine and rebuilt it instead. I did a compression test at 100K. I don't remember the exact numbers but it did meet Mazda replacement criteria. I have had no issues with it so far. This is also the first engine I have used premix in.

I noticed mine dropping yesterday when I drove it to get tires.
Plates today from the DMV then I'll start driving it regularly, weather permitting.

Yes, it was hot

Well if you want something extra to test.

For one rotor run the motor hot and do a compression test as fast as you can after running the car. Repeat the test as the engine cools down about every minute. Heat the engine up again and repeat for the other rotor.

This may show whether a corner seal or rotor sideseal face is binding as you will have a jump in compression as the engine cools. Measuring smaller time intervals may help. I noticed this on one of my rebuilds when I tried the Atkins single piece corner seals and they appeared to be prone to this issue.
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IMO I think it is unreasonable to try and get 140k miles out of your engine. Unless you plan on buying entirely all new parts. Running the apex seals and housings down as far as possible will only cause more damage to the apex slots of the rotors.

it’s supposed to warm, not hot.

just warming it up and then testing it is fine

there’s no need to rush or to start/heat it back up unless you let it sit for an hour or longer and become cold again
.

FWIW,

The main wear points on the original 185000 mile engine that failed in my 2007 blue car, were the apex seals and the housings. The rotor slots in the undamaged rotor had wear, but only a bit more than .001" from new,(not wear limit) spec. It could have been re-used. The side seal clearance was immense, (.025"+), but hard to tell how much was wear or loose fit spec'd by Mazda in the era the engine was built. Supposedly they were leaving the factory with .010"+ clearances as new at that time.

The engine had huge wear on the housing faces, and the apex seal sides, and tips. Remarkably little wear anywhere else. Not a premix engine, either. The "cocking" of the apex seal in the rotor groove was much, much more a factor of apex seal side wear than rotor groove wear.

But as I said at the time I took it apart, the shallow rotor groove is the Achilles Heel of this engine in my opinion, for long life. Most people emphasize the various known side seal issues, but from what I saw, the apex seals and housings get brutalized in normal use.

The eshaft, stat gears/bearings, and front iron from that engine are in a current home rebuild that is running now, and has 8.3-8.6 compression with used housings and rotors, but all new Mazda seals.

used rotors continuing to wear at an accelerated rate is possibly not being considered

assuming you we t to Pettit in the first place for the obvious reasons; all I know for the final time is that the guy who built the best and most powerful Renesis engines for the Mazda Formula Pro race series and also with Mazda directly on it told me not to reuse rotors or rotor housings; the exception is rotors modified for deeper RX7 apex seals and especially if Iannetti ceramic apex seals/springs are used then they can last for several rebuilds. Otherwise believe whatever you want and listen to whoever you want. If all you care about is that it runs and mediocre performance is acceptable then by all means, do so.
.

All that is fine. Drummond is your chief reference we all know that by now. I am relating my experience, and I find that the absolutism (Drummonds) you continually state is not the case every time with these engines, just as absolutism was never the case with other engines I have rebuilt, and others I know, both for a living and as a hobby. The Renesis is not a mystery, it is a machine, like any other.

Also, it must be stated, a full race builder's priorities are very much different than what a street builder will emphasize. Which includes raw $$ concerns, and cost/benefit. An engine build that employs used parts is not automatically junk as you like to imply. If you can get 80-90% (or more to be frank) of the performance and 70%, 80% or more of the lifespan, why wouldn't you consider doing a build at 50%, 40% or 30% of the cost of a Drummond build? Especially for a street car. And that calculation is not different for a rotary or piston rebuild.

Those decisions get made, successfully, all over the world, for piston and rotary engines every day. But people do not come here to let us all know about them.

Like I've said before there are a lot of builders and smart rotary guys who never darken the door of these forums. They just quietly build in their shops and will not come here to debate the likes of you or I. So we jaw back and forth about this and that, and the real world is well beyond what is on the RX8 Club.

Super bummer JB, really sorry to see this.

Regarding engine builders. I contacted Pettit, Chips and Rotary Resurrection about commissioning a s2 'race' engine last year and one of the estimates was nearly $20k usd. I was planning to have it balanced / blueprinted and use Iannetti seals, etc. I'm just another street driven rx8, don't turn a wrench much anymore and a firm believer in the 'you get what you pay for' philosophy. To me when selecting a professional for services, I consider technique, experience, reputation, etc as well as one's own creativity and integrity (which is often overlooked but possibly most important imo). I think the whole experience depends on what your perceived expectation of the ideal outcome is.

I agree that new housings are almost non-negiotable for a rotary rebuild and the rotors themselves are a special case by case basis imo. You figure it's not too much more investment for the new housings when rebuilding an engine so might as well replace them; part of the 'fix it right the first time' mantra imo. And a tale as old as time, there is no replacement for first hand experience.

$20K is a lot of money. A lot. It better have new everything for that much money. I can guess who that was.

I never paid anywhere remotely near that and it included a full day of engine dyno break-in service too.

but listen to who you will and do as you will.
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