Drivetrain How I removed lots of mods and made lots more power… (Warning - long & detailed post)
Any minute she'll kill me...
#178
08-04-2007, 01:49 PM
Most companies do this on thier own..
How about this idea. All the vendors on NAM should provide some info on their operation, a bio so to speak. Pictures of the facility, history, community involvement, equipment and capabilities, staff and post this on NAM. I'm talking about the things that established businesses have and do. This way it will be easier for our potential customers to see what is going on behind the scenes and this may shed some light on why vendors have different overheads. One would think that other information providers like MC2 magazine,for example, would do an article on where all these ideas and products come from and from whom rather than just infomercials for their advertisers. I've talked with other vendors about this and there seems to be quite a bit of interest in this idea. Let's see what happens.
Anyway, if you and the vendors want to do more, I hope it gets more play than the reviews section!
Matt
#179
08-04-2007, 02:19 PM
5th Gear
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feel free to correct me then Sam...what exactly was it?
I was lured in with one price and then charged another without the benefit of being told beforehand. Heck...I would have been ok with paying more had anybody at actually LDG come to me and said 'the stock belt is slipping....you need a different size'. That never happened. In fact, John was giving me a tour of the shop the whole time, even taking me back to the bay where his tech handed me the stock pulley. Is it really that hard to set a proper expectation with a customer? Nope.
Seems if the advertised price was not an 'out the door' price for 90% of owners then bait and switch is clearly accurate (note LDG said that 90% of the cars they see need a belt for a 15% pulley swap).
I was lured in with one price and then charged another without the benefit of being told beforehand. Heck...I would have been ok with paying more had anybody at actually LDG come to me and said 'the stock belt is slipping....you need a different size'. That never happened. In fact, John was giving me a tour of the shop the whole time, even taking me back to the bay where his tech handed me the stock pulley. Is it really that hard to set a proper expectation with a customer? Nope.
Seems if the advertised price was not an 'out the door' price for 90% of owners then bait and switch is clearly accurate (note LDG said that 90% of the cars they see need a belt for a 15% pulley swap).
I went in to LDG for a pulley some time before PGT and all I was charged was the advertised "special" price. Not even tax was added on and he did not install a smaller belt on mine either.
#181
08-04-2007, 02:27 PM
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#182
08-05-2007, 07:07 PM
6th Gear
So you are saying the closer to the top the spring is the sooner you need to get a new belt.....right?
#183
08-06-2007, 06:50 AM
Stuck in Reverse
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#184
08-06-2007, 09:50 AM
Back to the original subject...
are there more of us that have found that some of the adders didn't add? Any more of us start working with more experienced helpers (vendors or friends) where the first thing done was to take crap off?
Really, what started this thread is really the most important lesson anyone can learn when they start to modify complex systems. Work with knowledge and experience, and if you don't have it yourself, partner with someone who does. It costs less overall, and more improvements will be made than false paths gone down.
Matt
Really, what started this thread is really the most important lesson anyone can learn when they start to modify complex systems. Work with knowledge and experience, and if you don't have it yourself, partner with someone who does. It costs less overall, and more improvements will be made than false paths gone down.
Matt
#185
08-06-2007, 11:00 AM
Turbius Maximus
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If I could have collected money on every bet I have put on the table saying.. you will pop yer motor if you do that... or you will accually loose HP if you do that.. or..... LOL.. the list goes on...
by no means do I know everything... I just know what I have expirenced and tested...
I really feel for those who have spent 1000s and found out that they needed to only spend half that... the worst part is... Vendors and people like me that were trying to say that years ago were shunned and told... "that's not true..." or "those dyno #s are high" or... "dyno #s don't mean anything" and now alot of the vendors who cared back then are gone... and people like me are worn out... LOL
there are some new vendors who care... spawned from the likes of fighting the nay sayers... and some old ones who are just great honest people... but there are still some who try to sell thier kool aid... insted of quality stuff... and that sucks...
Last edited by Tüls; 08-06-2007 at 11:05 AM.
#186
08-06-2007, 11:14 AM
Yep....
the further I dig, the more of the aftermarket offerings I find that aren't the most thought out products.... But then again, I guess they're just giving the customer what they want! (Especially if it comes with cool stickers!)
I find the honest brokers have more of an ebb and flow than the never ending supply of people just learning to mod. Sometimes one gets a little tired about issueing the same warnings over and over..... When it happens, just recharge the batteries (That's what tequilla is for) and get back to the good fight!
Matt
I find the honest brokers have more of an ebb and flow than the never ending supply of people just learning to mod. Sometimes one gets a little tired about issueing the same warnings over and over..... When it happens, just recharge the batteries (That's what tequilla is for) and get back to the good fight!
Matt
#187
08-06-2007, 11:32 AM
5th Gear
I just got home after a few days in TX and I found this thread to be very interesting.
I live about 10 miles from LDG. My 2002 MCS has been one of John's "Beta test" mules. It is the first Mini that he used to learn how to install a pulley (15%) and it has been one of the cars for his new software testing. Other than the pulley and an Alta CAI, the engine is bone stock.
John's firmware tune does every thing that people say for it. Lots of mid-range torque increase, peak HP is now 190+, throttle response and engine backoff blurble make it feel like a "real" car.
Since John is a personal friend, some detractors may say that I am biased, but when they try my car, they become real believers !
I live about 10 miles from LDG. My 2002 MCS has been one of John's "Beta test" mules. It is the first Mini that he used to learn how to install a pulley (15%) and it has been one of the cars for his new software testing. Other than the pulley and an Alta CAI, the engine is bone stock.
John's firmware tune does every thing that people say for it. Lots of mid-range torque increase, peak HP is now 190+, throttle response and engine backoff blurble make it feel like a "real" car.
Since John is a personal friend, some detractors may say that I am biased, but when they try my car, they become real believers !
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