Rotary Engine Rebuilders
 

Many of us need rebuilds, and I've spent a good bit of time searching.
I can't seem to find a thread with a substantial number of reputable rebuilders, so I thought I would post the ones I've seen referenced on our forum.

Locations and reviews may help new members, and save time for the rest of us.

Feel free to add or update as needed.

In alphabetical order:

Maryville, TN.
https://www.addictedperformanceunlimited.com/

Indiana
Banzai Racing Home Page

Phoenix, AZ.
https://black-halo-racing.myshopify.com/
*Member fireishot34 reports BHR no longer does rebuilds.

​​​​S.E. Michigan
https://chipsmotorsports.com/

**TeamRX8 reports issues with this rebuilder,
3/17/2024
​​​​​Beware

Moraine, Ohio
https://www.colletti-motorsports.org/

Columbus, OH.
http://www.definedautoworks.com/

Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada
http://www.derwinperformance.com/

Rogue River, Ore.*
http://www.drummondengines.com/
* Member TeamRX8 reports the owner is mostly retired now and is doing selected rebuilds, I'll leave it up for the time being.

Laurel, Indiana
http://www.eccentricmotorsports.net/
(A member recommends this shop, no mention of rebuilds on the website.)
*This link is no longer viable, 3/30/19
TomD_Cincy reports they are still on Facebook.

Washington, N.C.
(Northeast N.C.)
Michael Edwards
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008456653661&refsrc=http%3A%2F%2 Fwww.rx8club.com%2Fredirect-to%2F&_rdr
(He's on Facebook, I'm not)

Schaumburg, IL.
https://www.eliterotaryshop.com/
Some discussion on their competence.
See post #100

Sacramento, CA.
https://www.haagperformance.com/

New Jersey
Services IRPerformance

*TeamRX8 found a report of questionable business practices on the RX7Club about IRP.
Worth noting, post #164

Los Angeles area
http://jandgautomotive.net/


Topeka, KS.*
http://jesseprathermotorsports.com/new/
*Website says they build racing engines, a member recommends them.

**40th Anniversary RX8 reports Jesse has retired. He recommends Haag Performance in Sacramento, Cali.

Blachttp://www.derwinperformance.com/kwood, N.J.
http://www.jprimports.com/

Los Angeles
https://lucky7racing.net/

Signal Hill, CA.**
https://mazdatrix.com/index8.htm
A member reports Mazdatrix no longer does rebuilds.

Cresson, TX.
http://goteammer.com/
(Apparently, this shop builds racing engines, not ordinary rotary rebuilds, I'll leave it in case someone wants to build a RACE CAR.)
Update: 7/31/18
A member reports MER doesn't do actual rebuilds.
https://goteammer.com/services/rotary-service/

Georgetown, TX
http://www.mzmperformance.com/
*Member fruitspunch reports MZM no longer does rebuilds.

Huntington Beach, CA
http://www.neptunespeed.com/

Edinburg, Tx.
OJ Imports
*Addendum, 01/13/2022
Post #130



Palm Beach, Fla.
Pettit Racing
RX-7 & RX-8 Performance

*TeamRX8 found a disturbing thread on the RX7Club about a customer having a very bad experience with Pettit including unauthorized repairs and shoddy work that literally damaged the customer's FD.
Post #165

*Another member's report of a botched rebuild by Pettit, post #185.
Beware.

Portland, Ore.
Pineapple Racing

**NOTE** Due to recent discussions (03/22) with Rob at Pineapple I'm informing everyone that they do in fact sell
ALL NEW ENGINES.
Some confusion has been cleared up in my mind.
They are NOT rebuilds or remans.
See post #140

**UPDATE**
I have just been informed that Rob has no idea when he will get any 'more' "NEW" engines.
(04/15/2022)
I'm a victim of bad timing at best.



Anaheim, CA.**
http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/about.html
** Racing Beat does not rebuild engines, but is a source for those who decide to DIY.

Colorado
https://www.respeedshop.com/
RE Speed Shop says they do a limited amount of builds a year.


Neosho, MO.
(Southwest MO.)
http://m.therotarydoctor.net/?url=ht...%2enet%2f#2750

** Rotary Doctor is listing NEW crate engines installed with a 1 year warranty for $6950 (MT)
I didn't check availability.
Rebuilds as low as $2700 with (unlikely) good housings, plus $1200 for installation
2 year warranty on new housing rebuilds.


Calgary, AB, Canada
https://www.rotaryengine.com/

Arizona
https://www.rotaryenginegodfatherllc.com/

Garland, Tx.*
https://rotaryperformance.com/

**Member fruits punch reports RP no longer rebuilds engines.


Westminster, Maryland
https://www.rotorpistonmotorsports.com/

Knoxville, Tn.
Rotary Resurrection home of the budget rebuild.
*See note at bottom for helpful rebuild advice*

Kannapolis, NC
(Charlotte)
http://www.rotorsportsracing.com/
A member mentioned them in a thread and has contacted them, no results yet.

St. John, N.B. Canada
https://saintjohnengine.com/
**Update** 03/2022
Member Red Line Envy reports the shop burned down and it's unknown if/when they will reopen.

Miami, Fla.
Turbo Clinic ROTARY

I would suggest people search here and on rx7club.com for each of these before choosing. After 6 years of being boosted I am still thrilled with my Pineapple Racing build and the process was the best I could have wished for.

But, one and IMO the best, would be Darryl Drummond. He built the sealed Renesis engines used in the Star Mazda Formula Race Cars and a buddies Renesis from him made 268HP on the engine dyno.

Drummond Engines 541.761.5520

I would also put Pettit, Mazdatrix, and Racing beat on the list even though I decided against each of them based on the interactions I had with them.

I will also add that people should educate themselves on what is important in engine building, and a lot of the attention to detail you see in piston engine builders does cross over to quality rotary builders. There is also a lot of misinformation regarding what makes power, and what doesn't. For example, the proven high HP drummond engines are not ported.

We have at least a dozen Star Mazdas kicking around at my home track. They are seriously fast. I want one. Badly.

Several of them have Drummond engines, and the owners rave about them. That puts Drummond high on my list for when my engine inevitably lets go. Drummond has limited bandwidth, however.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...242b02683d.jpg

I'd like to add Lucky7 Racing in Duarte, CA (Los Angeles metro area)
https://lucky7racing.net/

I did not realize Racing Beat did re-builds. They certainly don't advertise that anywhere.

Yeah those engines in those cars use a unique header, cable 70mm TB, and a Bosch race ECU IIRC. pretty impressive.

Done.

Done, although I didn't see rebuilding mentioned anywhere on Racing Beat's website.

Well they are affiliated with Mazdatrix so maybe they handle all the rebuilds? It was a long time ago when I spoke to them. They were both really vague about what a rebuild of Renesis entailed and they did not recommend turbocharging it and generally spoke bad on the Renesis so I passed.

They have rebuild kits, so it's useful info in case someone decides paying for a rebuild isn't in their budget and considers a DIY.

It was a MoTeC ecu, one of the best.

I don't think RB has done work on consumer cars in quite some time.
they mainly design and sell products at this point.

BC: you should add
Huntington Beach, CA: NeptuneSpeed
NepTune SPEED - Home

People who specialize in earlier rotary engines may not be the best choice for a Renesis. It has some of it's own unique peculiarities that require knowledge and experience on how to best address them.

Done.

Thanks for your input.
I did see RX8s on their site.
I'm including them for informational purposes, and if anyone has any experiences or opinions about them, that's welcome also.

Yeah but it's not often he does it.
Last time I was there he was rebuilding a motor and mentioned it's rare he does them because most 8 owners are on a limited budget (aka they're cheap skates) and just opt for a crate motor from Mazda since it's cheaper.
You know Yoshi though, he'll do whatever makes the customer happy.



side note: feels like just last week we were at his shop and you installed that clutch pedal. Still rock solid all these years later. :)

Any Midwest shops for the list?

I'm not aware of any, hopefully there are some, but in nearly 5 years here I don't remember any talk of one.

One of the reasons for this thread is to get a list of all rebuilders so we can find the best choice for our individual members.

I've been eyeing these guys for a while as they are not far from me DEFINED AUTOWORKS | Service Repair Upgrades | Performance for Mazda RX7 | RX-7 | RX8

Is there anyone that here that has used them in the past? Quality/service/warranty?

I've been wondering about them too. I live an hour away but never heard anything about them.

Gracias amigo.
Added to the list.

Thanks Charles, added to the list.

Thanks for linking that.
As I said before, I'm doing this for informational purposes.

People can form their own opinions by reading threads such as the one you posted.

If anyone posts about builders, good or bad, this might be a good place to find that out.

I didn't see it, did he say who rebuilt the engine in that thread?