So I was planning to get my rx8 tuned at a local dyno shop, but I ran into an ex-employee of their, and after hearing some stories, there is no way I would bring my car there or to any other random shop. Instead I'm going to drive to a shop that has an established reputation. I know KDR in Harrisburg Va and Peter Ferral supercars are known rotary shops. Just wanted to get some opinions on here of them.

 

I've heard nothing but praise for Peter Farrell Supercars (PFS), including from a former employee. I recommend checking the place out for yourself and decide. I'm having my Greddy turbo kit installed and tuned there, as well as a number of other mods. Talk to Ray Wilson there - he's been described as "the man" for rotary tuning. Hope this helps.

dd sends

 

p.s steve kan and a local guy named tatoo is so far the "the man" in tunning.
no idea who ray wilson is and I never trusted PFS.theres also a member here and on nopistons that works/gets his rx8 worked on there and last i read his car blew up.
now kdr is the shop to go to nothing but great rotary work, dave and kim do excellent work.
but make sure to check out the rx7 forum for good some good rotary knowledge

 

there has been some bad news in the PFS group lately. The IS300 guys have had some very bad experiences. Check that out on IS300.net and read about that. Also, there were rumors that mazda did not want to give PFS an RX-8 to work on. I don't want to start anything but this is what I have heard and read about.

 

what stuff are you trying to tune on you 8??

 

Well I worked at PFS and Peter had some issues. But it is under new management. Ray Wilson purchased the shop from Peter so it has turned into a GREAT place again. My car was the RX-8 Turbo that blew up but Ray never had a achance to tune my car. It was a combonation of the e-manage and MY tuning that blew it up. I highly recomend PFS. Take a drive down to the shop and it will be clear as who you want to tune it.

 

the only problem that an IS300 owner had with them was the fact they used a customer's car in a featured section of Mischief Dynasty....without the owner's permission...and for meerly a promotional stunt....you can clearly see the look on Ray Wilson's face during the segment, that he knew it was wrong...

I've met both Peter and Ray....Peter is an arogant snob.....Ray is a down to earth type of guy....

however, they had some bad experiances with rx-7 owners in the past that resulted in $100k lawsuits.....

as far as IS300 owners, they only sold about 15-20 kits anyway...however, people have been for the most part, happy with their IS300 turbo kits....

 

I stand corrected then...but I guess, go at your own risk

 

have tryed mothers performance they do dyno tunning

 

just checked out KDR's website. did not see a location in Harrisburg, VA, but rather in Shoemakersville, PA. I must say that I'm impressed by their site and what they're doing with FDs. Is this where Steve Kan, Dave, Kim, and the local guy called Tattoo are based? Coming from Baltimore to Shoemakersville for Rx-8 tuning is a bit far for me. PFS is close by in Frederick and they also have a dynojet.

I'm sure there's "rumors" and "horror stories" about virtually any performance shop. The best advice anyone could give would be to actually go visit each shop you're considering, talk to the owner/manager and lead tech(s) to gauge their level of proficiency, check out the facility, the types of cars being worked on, talk to other customers, and make your decision after carefully weighing your observations in combination with the opinions expressed here.

Whichever way you decide to go, please provide your experiences and feedback to other forum members. Considering the two shops you're considering, I'm quite sure neither would mind the free publicity!

dd sends...

 

steve kan is from gotham racing use to be team mates with ari yallon from rx7.com
they are from in texas
dave & kim are KDR the shop mentioned
tatoo is a local rotary head in NJ with a street rotary rocket FB.
let us know what you decide on hope everything works out great

 

Just got off the phone with KDR. They won't take any more turbo rx8's. They've apparently been working on one for 6 months and can't make it run right. Not even close to right. It spews black smoke, cels, doesn't stay running. They've been in touch with Mazda, Greddy and other connections and can't fix it. So guess Peter Ferrall it is. Hopefully that was just a fluke kit.

 

wow - that sounds horrible. i'm dropping my car off with Ray at PFS on Friday for the turbo install and a host of other mods. just spoke with him and they're really busy, so it may take some time before i get the car back. that's ok by me - i'd rather have the job take a bit longer and done right than the alternative.

are you also doing a turbo install?

dd sends...

 

errrrrr, skid.

just noticed you're already boosted! sorry 'bout that!

 

Drfter_D Ray called me and said you bought everything under the sun for your ride. Cant wait to see some pics. Pm me about a couple of items you got.

Broke_apex_seal

 

These are your two best options, based on input from a vast majority of Mazda owners in the MD/VA/DC area.

JD

 

Originally Posted by Mazda Driver
Bret dePedro and his business has enjoyed a superb relationship with hundreds of Mazda enthusiaists in the Maryland, Virginia and DC area for over two decades, and has bent over backwards to accomodate Mazda Club members since I can remember.

Any individual can enter into what they perceive to be a difficult situation with any business. It's how the business responds to those issues that determines their character. I cannot imagine Bret not coming through to resolve a issue as long as there is a reasonable resolution to the situation that benefits both parties.

That said, there are other Mazda shops in the area that also have an excellent reputation with local Mazda Club members and Mazda enthusiasts. If anyone feels the need to have a superb option to RP, give the guys at PBC Automotive a call!!!

How's that for diplomacy
JD



Hey JD how come your club members are going to PF Supercars now that Ray owns it? I saw silverbullet and a few other key players in the mazda club dropping off and picking up there cars . How come they dont go to these other "superb shops" you have listed?

Fill me in Duff I cant figure this out.
Regards
-Ryan

 

This being a free country, Mazda Club members and Mazda enthusiasts can go anywhere they wish to have work done on their vehicles.

As long as Ray does good work and does not defraud his customers (which is a concept that Farrell never had a good grasp of), he will have success in his endeavers. Operating on the assumption that Ray is his own man running his own business, I wish him nothing but the best of luck. There's a six-page follow up to this waiting in the wings.

Yet, having only met Ray once when Farrell tried to hire him a number of years ago, I can only recommend to any Mazda owners the businesses that I know have the best of reputations based on the experiences of the Mazda owners I communicate with.

Perhaps those who have patronized Ray's business will either choose to make positive statements about his establishment, or even invite him to make an appearance at one of the Mazda Club meetings so that he can introduce himself to the majority of the group.

By the way, will I ever see money for that intercooler you got from me four years ago?

JD

 

WOW I would never expect you to make a post like that. I am glad you let the PFS thing go. Congrats to you......


-Ryan

 

Now that is wishful thinking. :D sucka

 

OK hopefully this won't be too long.

I've had issues with PFS in the past and known others that had issues too (like being sued.) BTW, Peter lost the lawsuit (Godon Monson's single turbo 3rd gen Rx-7). Its a very long, very sad suit. My 93 Rx-7 was there getting its computer upgraded a few years back. It started to hail. I guess they decided I wasn't spending enough money for them to move my car in the shop. Hail damage was extensive. I never went back after that. The above is as nice as I can be about PFS. Who knows it might be better under new ownership.

As for KD Rotary. I have nothing but nice things to say about them. They found the issue that they were having with the Rx-8 turbo last week. Car is unbelieveable now. The tech from Greddy was at their shop working on the 8 with them. I got a call from Skip (at KD) asking me if I minded if they ran some checks on my car (since its completely stock at the moment) to compare to the turbo 8. I said sure. They found that the turbo 8 wan't reading RPM and I believe injector cycle. Mine was. Needless to say once they found that, they tracked down the cause, fixed it and the car runs like a champ. Their new shop is huge and they also have a dynojet as well. BTW, great support from Greddy on this too. Nice to see from such a large company.

I'd give KD another call if I were you. When I decide to go forced induction, thats where I'll go. Not sure if I'm going greddy turbo or HKS supercharger (should be out soon hopefully).

 

I met Ray while having my Clutch, flywheel and pressure plate installed there. He said that he just took over the business a couple months ago. Seemed like a nice guy to me.......................

 

did you see my car there? i test drove it after Ray and crew installed (almost) everything , he was more protective with my car than i was! i've had nothing but good experiences with them; from quality of workmanship to customer service. combo like that is hard to beat.

plus the number of FD's there clues you into to confidence the 7 owners place in Ray and the new PFS.... I think Ray should change the name!

dd sends...

 

will say kd rotary is the best. they have done some work on my rx-7 and i was very pleased. Very reasonable too

 

wow forgot about gordon's case with pfs.
his fd was a excellent looking car and great gentlemen to meet.