Rotary Specialist in CO? (Yeah, Another Thread)

Talk about your Rotaries!
User avatar
D Walker
Senior Member
Posts: 437
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:14
Location: Aurora

Postby D Walker » Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:14

You will have to draw your own conclusions. If you choose to do that from internet BS, well thats your choice. If you want to come by, check out the shop and me and get some actual info, thats cool too. If you dont want to use my services, dont. Will not hurt my feelings at all.
1986 Turbo FC race car, S6 13b, GOOPY Apex seals etc, GT35R, AEM EMS, lots more good stuff

RX8 World Chalenge Touring Car #7
RX8 World Challenge Touring Car #8

Bass Face
Junior Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:14
Location: Denver

Postby Bass Face » Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:14

D Walker wrote:You will have to draw your own conclusions. If you choose to do that from internet BS, well thats your choice. If you want to come by, check out the shop and me and get some actual info, thats cool too. If you dont want to use my services, dont. Will not hurt my feelings at all.


That's what I'm trying to do, this is one of the few places I've come across where people have claimed to have positive experiences with you. So I was hoping the members could share some of their good experiences so I could come to a fairer conclusion.

As I know there are two sides to everything, and that generally someone who is upset is way more likely to go out of their way and make everyone know about it than someone who's satisfied and busy enjoying their car :lol:.

I'd love to check your shop out at the very least, I was going to do that regardless of what I've read. Like I said, you seem like a good guy who's very knowledgeable about rotary's.

As I think anyone would do when they're thinking about a costly engine rebuild, they look at all the options and find out everything they can about the place. I thought it would be great to hear from multiple people rather than just one guys bad experience.

User avatar
millertime
Senior Member
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:14
Location: Denver Metro

Postby millertime » Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:14

He's got my car now and I'm happy with the work he's doing and has done for me, but I've only been in Denver and on this forum for about a year now. I read the stories and chose to meet Don and have him do the work for me and I haven't had any issues. I've been by the shop twice and have been thoroughly impressed with his knowledge, professionalism, and skill. But hey, I'm just one guy that's had an FD for 6 years. Holy crap it's been that long.

User avatar
White TII
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 9:14
Location: Highlands Ranch
Contact:

Postby White TII » Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:14

Hey guys,

Posting up here again wanting to know if anyone knows of anyone who might be willing or able to help me sort out my RX7. It starts and idles but besides that doesn't really run; something is definitely wrong with it--either a timing issue or tuning issue, not really sure. Unfortunately it's a pretty custom setup so definitely not entry-level. The motor should be fine (hopefully); was rebuilt recently. I'm willing to pay for help too.

Don Walker moved to CA and I gave up on him, so I'm on my own now (long story). I haven't been able to get a hold of him for 3+ months.

Appreciate any help! Car is a sitting duck right now. I'm pretty desperate; even considering shipping it out of state to get fixed. Or as I said in my OP, I'll have to sell it. :(

Thanks!
SOLD: '90 Mazda RX-7 S5 FC Turbo II - Heavily Modified: V-Mount, Big Turbo, AEM Standalone, etc - Mods
Daily Driver: 2000 GC6 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS Sedan. Stock, Blue Ridge Pearl.

User avatar
speedjunkie
Senior Member
Posts: 5281
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:14
Location: Colorado Springs
Contact:

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:14

I'm not an FC guy so I don't know as much about them, but I'm sure we can find someone to help. We have a few FC guys in C Springs and we could probably take a cruise up to help you sometime.
Image

FDEEZ
Senior Member
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:14
Location: Colorado Springs

Postby FDEEZ » Tue Mar 10, 2015 9:14

White TII wrote:doesn't really run;


I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems with your car. Can you elaborate on your statement above? In other words, did the car run fine before (with your current setup) or did you install something new that might be the culprit? Do you have a working baseline that you can revert to?

Some of your mods are somewhat out of the norm. Reverting to a configuration that typical rotary folks can relate to may help with troubleshooting.

User avatar
White TII
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 9:14
Location: Highlands Ranch
Contact:

Postby White TII » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

Ugh, stupid forum logged me out after typing a long post. Here goes again.

speedjunkie wrote:I'm not an FC guy so I don't know as much about them, but I'm sure we can find someone to help. We have a few FC guys in C Springs and we could probably take a cruise up to help you sometime.
I appreciate the willingness to help! I might take you up on that]I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems with your car. Can you elaborate on your statement above? In other words, did the car run fine before (with your current setup) or did you install something new that might be the culprit? Do you have a working baseline that you can revert to?[/quote]I appreciate the help. It's a very long story, so I'll try to be brief. Please ask clarifying questions as needed.

In the summer of 2007, I had a more basic setup with a S-AFC for fuel control, that was basically the only aftermarket electronics I had. The car ran perfectly. During the summer I was on a road trip, and all the sudden something happened to the car and it started to run differently. My memory is a bit fuzzy now, but I believe it started to "buck" around the transition to the secondaries. I also think it felt less powerful. I elaborate more in detail on the problems in the threads immediately below. At that point I did have the V-Mount, bigger turbo, etc, but again most the electronics were stock besides S-AFC, fuel cut controller, my current injectors, and fuel pump. No aftermarket ignition control.

I found some old threads I posted on RX-7 club (with videos) that describe how it was back then. I will say that after reading through it, I don't think I ever solved those problems, I think they were the beginning of the path that led to where I am now: http://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/series-problems%3B-flooding-rich-starting-etc-669290/, http://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/runs-rough-terrible-cold-start-fuel-cut-help-719263/

I installed a Megasquirt but I couldn't get the car to run on it; I was in over my head, and I couldn't really find any good help on it so I gave up.

Here are threads I made about problems with the Megasquirt: http://www.rx7club.com/megasquirt-forum-153/i-need-your-help-asap-%5Bpictures%5D-612377/, http://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/ignition-ecu-problem-615952/

Then I moved to Haltech PS1K. I wired and installed it myself. I did a base tune. It was better than now, but still didn't run well at all--it was "choppy", didn't idle well, just didn't feel smooth, never transitioned well into secondaries or boost. It also developed some other weird problems, like for example it wouldn't turn off unless I pulled the parking brake. It still does that with the AEM; Don thought it had something to do with the alarm system, but he never was able to fix it.

And threads I made about problems with the Haltech: http://www.rx7club.com/haltech-forum-62/ps1k-misc-problems-854649/, http://www.rx7club.com/haltech-forum-62/fuel-setup-947057/

In desperation, I called Don Walker, and he said he was confident that he could get it running well on AEM. Basically I had this idea that if I just replaced everything electronic in relation to the engine it would "fix itself", because if something was broken it would have gotten replaced. Don installed the AEM, new (different) coils, a new (custom) CAS, fuel injectors were cleaned and tested, fuel filter replaced, fuel pump replaced, installed an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator, new spark plug wires, etc. But none of these things seemed to solve the problem--he said they all made some improvements (like he said I wasn't getting consistent fuel pressure), but obviously he never was able to get it running well. He installed like 2-3 variations on the ignition setup; I'm not even 100% sure what he has now, but I think it's Tahoe coils (not the RX8 coils and 3000GT igniters as stated in my sig/website).

Somewhere in here, I rebuilt the motor at least once (or maybe even twice, it's funny I can't remember exactly). All I know is that the motor now has very few miles on it, probably less than 500, and should have perfect compression.

But here I am, nearly 3 years later (after giving the car to Don to fix and install AEM), and it's still not running well at all. I gave up on Don because he was just too slow and became completely unresponsive when he moved to CA. I just didn't have confidence he'd ever fix it--he had it for almost 3 years continuously. He said all it needed was a tune, that all the hardware was in place, but the passenger carpet is up because apparently he was still doing something with it--I think trying to troubleshoot some of the weird issues.

When I say "doesn't really run" what I mean is, it will start (with help; not exactly quickly but not exactly slowly), but after that, it's very choppy. It sounds very strange, as if its under a lot of load or something, and it's a real chore to get it to move under its own power. It really doesn't want to; I have to slip the clutch to get it move or it will stall. After a few start attempts, once it starts to warm up; it will actually idle by itself. But that's about the limit of its "normal behavior". It backfires heavily on engine deceleration, and won't rev up past 3-4K RPM, it just chokes and "hits a wall" that it bounces off of, almost like a rev limiter. It doesn't rev up smoothly either, it definitely struggles before it hits that wall.

So to answer your question, no, I don't really have a baseline to return to. The last time it ran well, as described above, was way back in 2007 when all I really had was an S-AFC; but that's when the problems started--before that the car was basically stock. But it ran fine with S-AFC for a long time and made decent power, but not what I wanted.

As you can see from my forum posts above, I've been at this for a long time, and honestly my patience is very, very thin. I wish I could just give it to someone who could fix it, I'm feeling pretty desperate and discouraged as I said in my OP. Help is definitely very welcome. I also feel like I got burned by Don, so that doesn't make me feel any better either. I'm pretty close to just cutting my losses and moving onto an FD with reliability mods, but I don't want to get rid of my FC because I love it and have a lot invested in it; it was my first car too.

I've always had this sneaking suspicion it's something dumb or trivial, like a vacuum problem, TPS problem, or an injector is faulty or something. But I guess I'm skeptical that it's that simple too. Maybe Don is right, maybe all it needs is tuning, but the way it's running now it *feels* like someone else is wrong, and the fact that he spent so much time messing with the tune and never got it to run well makes me feel like there is something else going on.

Some of your mods are somewhat out of the norm. Reverting to a configuration that typical rotary folks can relate to may help with troubleshooting.
While I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my car running, I will say I'm hesitant to replace more parts--I've spent thousands on parts and labor over the last few years so it sounds a bit painful to "go back". But again, if that's what it takes, I'll do it. Most of the oddball parts like the custom CAS and coil setup are things Don was doing in relation to the AEM to have a stronger more reliable setup, and to make the AEM I have compatible with the FC.
SOLD: '90 Mazda RX-7 S5 FC Turbo II - Heavily Modified: V-Mount, Big Turbo, AEM Standalone, etc - Mods
Daily Driver: 2000 GC6 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS Sedan. Stock, Blue Ridge Pearl.

User avatar
speedjunkie
Senior Member
Posts: 5281
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:14
Location: Colorado Springs
Contact:

Postby speedjunkie » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

First of all, just hang in there. I've been going through stuff similar to this for about a year and a half now (well, I was in a relationship and barely touched the car most of that time too lol). I know it's not as long as you have been, but I sincerely believe that everything is repairable, it's just being able to find the problem, or even the combination of problems. A combo of problems is always the scary part because some problems can mask symptoms of other problems and you just run around in circles. Swapping things usually works, but not always, as you can see (and that's also where I am right now too). We have some knowledgable FC guys in the Springs and I think we can help, but it might take a little time to get everyone's schedules to work. I think there are some guys in Denver too, but one of them is V8 now lol. I'll talk to the guys when I get back home and see if we can make some time to come up this spring or summer. I can't promise to get it running, but we can sure try. I also can't promise that the guys will help because I can't speak for them haha, but usually they're helpful.
Image

User avatar
Saul_Good
Senior Member
Posts: 480
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:14
Location: Cerritos, CA (DW says i can't play here anymore...)
Contact:

Postby Saul_Good » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

If you can get ahold of Zico, I know he daily's his FC as well as does autox competitions and it still runs like a champ, he would be very helpful.
Image

lOOkatme
Senior Member
Posts: 163
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:14
Location: COS

Postby lOOkatme » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

I say we do a little run up this guys way and check it out.

User avatar
$crillaTor
Senior Member
Posts: 153
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2013 9:14
Location: Colorado Springs

Postby $crillaTor » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

Many years ago I had similar sounding issues with an FC. Took me forever to realize that I had 2 bad secondary injectors. So... I always tell people to start by checking those injectors. Just do a simple impedance test across the injector coils and see what you get. However, knowing the world of RX-7's, it probably won't be that easy.

I'm down for coming to help troubleshoot as well, once I get time to work on my FD :)

User avatar
White TII
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 9:14
Location: Highlands Ranch
Contact:

Postby White TII » Wed Mar 11, 2015 9:14

speedjunkie wrote:First of all, just hang in there. I've been going through stuff similar to this for about a year and a half now (well, I was in a relationship and barely touched the car most of that time too lol). I know it's not as long as you have been, but I sincerely believe that everything is repairable, it's just being able to find the problem, or even the combination of problems. A combo of problems is always the scary part because some problems can mask symptoms of other problems and you just run around in circles.
That's the truth. That's exactly what I feel like, I've been going around in circles.

Saul_Good wrote:If you can get ahold of Zico, I know he daily's his FC as well as does autox competitions and it still runs like a champ, he would be very helpful.
Who is Zico? Is that his username on here? Is his FC modded at all like mine?

$crillaTor wrote:Many years ago I had similar sounding issues with an FC. Took me forever to realize that I had 2 bad secondary injectors. So... I always tell people to start by checking those injectors. Just do a simple impedance test across the injector coils and see what you get. However, knowing the world of RX-7's, it probably won't be that easy.
Don had the injectors cleaned and tested twice over the last couple of years, and he said they were fine. How would I do the impedance test? Something like this or this? You might be onto something though] I'll talk to the guys when I get back home and see if we can make some time to come up this spring or summer. I can't promise to get it running, but we can sure try. I also can't promise that the guys will help because I can't speak for them haha, but usually they're helpful.[/quote]
lOOkatme wrote:I say we do a little run up this guys way and check it out.
$crillaTor wrote:I'm down for coming to help troubleshoot as well, once I get time to work on my FD :)
I really appreciate the willingness guys! Seriously. If it really comes to that I'd like to have a plan of attack so we're not just sitting around looking at it. :lol: But for now the spring or summer might be too far away, but I'll keep this going.

I'm considering moving this to a new thread. What do you guys think? Might need a mod's help for that though... Everything from Post 34 onward.
SOLD: '90 Mazda RX-7 S5 FC Turbo II - Heavily Modified: V-Mount, Big Turbo, AEM Standalone, etc - Mods
Daily Driver: 2000 GC6 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS Sedan. Stock, Blue Ridge Pearl.

lOOkatme
Senior Member
Posts: 163
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:14
Location: COS

Postby lOOkatme » Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:14

Write down just facts about the problems with your car. where the problem exists, temperature of the engine, air temps if you can get it, everything about the problem and we can step through a root cause investigation on it and see what parts are possibly causing the problem. Sometimes this can get really difficult to solve, but we can atleast try.

User avatar
Saul_Good
Senior Member
Posts: 480
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:14
Location: Cerritos, CA (DW says i can't play here anymore...)
Contact:

Postby Saul_Good » Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:14

lOOkatme wrote:Write down just facts about the problems with your car. where the problem exists, temperature of the engine, air temps if you can get it, everything about the problem and we can step through a root cause investigation on it and see what parts are possibly causing the problem. Sometimes this can get really difficult to solve, but we can atleast try.


Breaking out the fishbone! I actually like this technique. It's very involved but get to the nuts n bolts.
Image

User avatar
speedjunkie
Senior Member
Posts: 5281
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:14
Location: Colorado Springs
Contact:

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:14

Saul_Good wrote:If you can get ahold of Zico, I know he daily's his FC as well as does autox competitions and it still runs like a champ, he would be very helpful.


Yep, Zico is one of the people I was thinking of haha, along with Kyle (although he's been pretty busy with the new business) and pretty much any of the FC guys...Matt Heimerl, Bogdan Crivin, Brett Courrier...they all know quite a bit about FCs, even though Brett hasn't had a rotary in a while lol. And maybe even Matt Holcomb in Denver, although he hasn't had a rotary in a while either. But getting everyone's schedules to line up at the same time is the trick, so I'm thinking it'll only be a couple at a time.

lOOkatme wrote:I say we do a little run up this guys way and check it out.


Yep, that's what I was thinking too.

White TII wrote:Who is Zico? Is that his username on here? Is his FC modded at all like mine?


Zico is one of our buddies in the Springs. He has an FC vert that he races too and it runs pretty well. He knows quite a bit about FCs and 7s in general.

White TII wrote:I really appreciate the willingness guys! Seriously. If it really comes to that I'd like to have a plan of attack so we're not just sitting around looking at it. :lol: But for now the spring or summer might be too far away, but I'll keep this going.


A lot of the times we get together we end up just BBQing and don't actually get much work done, but it's still a good day haha. However, I understand your intention on getting this done because I'm the same way and summer is almost upon us. I'm not sure what everyone else's schedules are like other than Geoff saying he needs to work on his, but I actually have some work to do to mine also and I have to have it done within the month of April, then a trip home (IL/MO) with the car in May (part of that time getting some more work done on the car in IN), then a trip to Vegas for the month of June most likely. So I want to come help, but it depends on how fast I can get my car finished in April because that's probably the only time I can help before July. And I hate to wait that long to come up, that's half the summer gone already.
Image


Return to “Rotary Vehicle”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 77 guests