Petscar

After posting about Mazda rebuild quality, I asked Pineapple Racing for some info. This is what they sent.

engine only prices:


#1 A Mazda rebuild is about $4000. The reviews are not stellar.


#2 We rebuild your good core. We upgrade the engine by using our HD water seals, 1 piece dowel pins(straighter linebore), clean up the intake/exh ports and do our stage 1 oil mods. We do use new rotor housings and OEM seals, springs and bearings. No cheap aftermarket parts. $4995


#3 A brand new engine. They are test fired on propane for about 10 mins to insure all are good. $6100.


We don't usually take in on-car work as we are so busy building engines and designing parts. We do work with a local shop that knows rotaries, Peak Innovation Motorsports. We work together on many jobs so it is pretty seamless. The owner is Billy Michaels. 360 852-1290.


I have pasted below a work-in-progress FAQ that might be helpful.


Take care, rob


RX8 engine rebuilds 04-08

Our rebuilds are different from Mazda's.

We dynamically balance your rotors for smoother operation. The OEM motor does not do this. Mazda only balances the "as cast" rotors to the counterweights. As time goes on we are frequently finding at least one rotor of the pair has one very heavy tip. Frequently by 50 grams or more! This can shorten engine life or even lead to cracking of the excentric shaft from the vibration.

We use our HD water seals. They have proven over the last 25 years to outlast the OEM seals. We recently freshened up a motor built in 1997 and reused the water seals.

For setting the side seal clearances we do not use Mazda's letter code system. If Mazda had a separate part number for each side seal length code the system would be good. This is not the case, 4 letter codes are covered by ONE letter code. Not very accurate. We hand fit custom over-length seals for a better seal.

All our parts (except our HD water seals) are OEM. Nothing last longer for a street motor by far. New rotor housings are part of our rebuilds. Why would you reuse a critical wear surface?

We replace the 2 lower dowel pins with a single, solid dowel pin. Our 1pc. Solid Dowel Pins are the most accurate on the market which helps to provide the truest engine line bore possible.

To finish off our rebuild, we seal the oil pan with a Pineapple Racing exclusive, our Viton oil pan gasket. It is the best pan gasket on the market for the RX8.

For those considering the longest lasting motor or a boosted application, we recommend you consider an expensive upgrade. Why Ceramic apex seals? Ceramic apex seals have an extremely low friction coefficient. This means they stay very straight and maintain good compression far longer than a conventional material apex seal. They also do not warp an issue with all other seals. This is common in boosted applications or non-boosted applications where the engine is tuned for best lean power. Yes, they are expensive at $1600-$2400/set, but they should never wear out. It is common to change all the other components around them while they retain perfect condition. The low friction characteristic of the Ceramic material means low wear. A 50% increase in rotor housing life is not uncommon.

Our Custom Stock Rebuild starts at $4995. We back our rebuild with the longest warranty in the industry, 3yrs./36K. The return of a rebuildable core is expected. A “rebuildable core” is one where the major hard parts like rotor and plates can be machined and reused. If you do not have a core, we charge a $850 core charge. This is the average cost to purchase enough cores to acquire a full engine’s worth of “hard” parts.

For maximum engine life or boosted applications we recommend upgrading to 2pc. Ceramic apex seals. They greatly extend engine life. This is especially true for the MSP(RX8) engine. One of the causes of their hard starting is the apex seal to rotor housing sealing. Ceramic seals excel in preserving this critical sealing area. The seals have practically no wear themselves so they can be reused after wearing out the other parts around them. While expensive, they are very cost effective in the proper application.

If you consider a Mazda Factory rebuild, we suggest you do your due diligence. Production volume seems to be their primary goal. I think you will find their reputation reflects this. Our experience with them shows a general lack of attention to detail.

I would suggest being very careful of discounted rebuilds. These are usually reusing the most expensive parts, the rotor housings and apex seals. Since these are the usual issue for the hard starting and low power how can the “rebuild” be very good. Most aftermarket seals have a fraction of the OEM parts life.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.

Take care, rob

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Great info.
I'll add that to the rebuilders thread.

Petscar

My error.... They are in Oregon.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

pretty sure they were already listed per Scott/9krpm

I have a pair of lightly used Renesis rotors machined with deeper RX7 type Iannetti ceramic apex seals all in excellent condition that I received from Daryl Drummond that I will consider selling.

please pm me

.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Yes, but I thought the detailed description from Rob was noteworthy.

jcbrx8

Prior to undertaking my self-rebuild I called Pineapple and happened to speak with Rob. I was impressed w/ his willingness to freely share his wealth of experiential knowledge concerning everything I wanted to discuss rotary, and raising other topics/issues of which I wasn't aware. A couple of times our conversation was interrupted clearly by people entering the shop, of which I didn't mind...as he was helping me, and I could overhear conversations so familiar and cordial that I presumed they were employees or family. Each time he returned, apologized and informed me that these were return customers. So, in addition to spending ~1/2 hr on the phone w/a rotary newb, me, it further impressed me that a shop would have cultivated the kind of rapport I overheard w/ customers.

I ultimately purchased rebuild components from Pineapple, one piece dowels, HD water seals, porting template, etc. IIRC; which all delivered promptly..., and rebuilt my engine myself. But definitely came away from that...and each subsequent interaction w/a positive "feel" about the shop.

UnknownJinX

Interesting that they say Mazda rebuilds are still potatoes but they probably have first-hand experience with them.

I know 9kRPM had a boosted Renesis built by them and it worked pretty well. 9k spoke highly of them so I would trust them.

vvette

Thanks

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

I have recently confirmed Pineapple Racing offers completely NEW engines.
See posts #140 & #141 of the rebuilders thread.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...ilders-265177/

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

The guy I sold my car too a few years ago says the pineapple engine is holding up fine.