I've found one testimonial here on the RX8 Club below for a Drummond renesis build. Looking for feedback from any others that may be here, including:


- What power they made (if dyno'd)?
- How has reliability been, including oil type and usage scenario?


"Drummond Engines has been involved in the Mazda racing scene since early in the 1970s. This is not to mention a pre Mazda racing interest in drag racing and off road racing.

Over the years, Drummond Engines has been actively involved in most venues of Mazda racing with emphasis in SCCA club, where users of our products have netted Eleven National Championships with various drivers in different classes.

Drummond Engines has been chosen by Star Mazda Race Cars to build the bulletproof, 170hp 13B engines for the spec Formula Mazda class."


http://www.drummondengines.com/


https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-major-horsepower-upgrades-93/wtbrotarys-drummond-build-249654/

 

I talked to some of the FM guys at a recent NASA race weekend. The engines are built at Drummond, dyno'd, and sealed (they didn't say Drummond, but they did say Oregon).They said they get 5-6 seasons between rebuilds. When I acted incredulous at that another racer jumped in and agreed.

That seems pretty awesome, although if the power is only 170 they're not very stressed. Seems like a good cost-containment approach for a spec series. Don't know anything about their road car engine rebuilding. But it seems like Drummond must know what they are doing.

 

WTBRotary has one, he made 263HP on drummonds engine dyno. I will link him. And those Renesis powered Star Mazda cars (which he does builds for) are way more than 170HP, more like 280HP IIRC.

Edit:

 

The confusion is because there are two different classes- Formula Mazda and Pro Formula Mazda. They have different engine specs (among other differences), with PFM having the higher horsepower.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Mazda

 

Ah, good to know. I just know they makes some damn good power and it must be a hoot to drive such a light car with 250WHP.

 

Well, I talked with Daryl Drummond at some length. His communication is very good and I have no doubt he would build a killer engine with great power and reliability. However, the cost was higher than I was budgeting. He even steered me towards quality street engine builders. His builds are definitely high end and focused on more serious racers. I just autocross and time trial, so his level of build is a little more than I am looking for.


9K sent me a great review of pineapple racing, also considered a reputable builder on this forum. Rob was likewise very helpful and had great communication, and his prices and build quality are more in line with a daily driven / occasional autocross / time attack usage scenario. I think I'm going to go with pineapple, and i'll make sure to do a write-up when I do!

 

Yeah, I mean from what i understand, most of the power on these engines is in the headers, ECU/tune. But having dyno results showing what your particular is capable of given the right setup, does sound nice. It just shows that you don't need bridgeports or any porting really. as for longevity in a street car, well I am curious to see how WTrotary's engine lasts.

It should be noted though that for the price of one Drummond build, I could have gotten two rebuilds from Pineapple

 

We have a couple of Drummond race engines both 2 and 3 rotor in different NA racecars...they run flawlessly.

I have seen Pineapple rebuilds and no problems. One Engman rebuild that worked out great.... For budget builds Kevin at Rotary Resurection seems to do a good job

My engines are built locally by Marko at ForceFed

Seen builds from others.....not so good results The latest Turd seems to have come from Turblown

I am more impressed by people that stand behind there work when something doesn't go perfect ...how they stand behind there work speaks volumes

 

Great info! Thanks y'all

 

My original OEM rebuild on his engine dyno (flywheel #s) after break-in (Jan/2010, previously never admitted it was mine)



Had that same one rebuilt again several years ago and in my car now waiting on completion, a few less high rpm hp, a little more low rpm torque, but he didn't fuss with tuning it out like the first one above. It's also a 1-stop shop. He does everything in house; machining, balancing, fabrication. Slotting deeper/wider apex seal rotor slots, building custom PP slide intakes, ultra-lightening, balances to some crazy 0.1g limt, and so on. Been a Mazda race engine bulder since almost when the rotary came out. No shopping out and making excuses later. I suppose he may eventually retire some sad day ...

Not cheap, but imo one of if not the most knowledgable Renesis builder out there and it comes dyno tested & broken in, so you are 100% sure what you have, just bolt in and go. The price included a lot of new major parts that most people reuse, but he can order using your Motorsport account that you authorize them to charge you direct with; no mark-up. It just depends on personal preference, but there is a cost for that level of service.



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I bought a used motor that was done by Drummond for SCCA T4 racing (pretty much stock). It was raced 2 seasons before the owner decided to put his other motor in (also a Drummond motor) and stored this one as a spare. I installed it in my car and it is running great. No idea of dyno numbers but I love it.