I bought my Z back in the beginning of 2005. Right after I got it I wanted to find a cool forum to get info to mod and get some HP out of my beloved new car. I met a cool guy who lives in Peurto Rico where I got my NOS friend, really positive experience. I've also met another cool bro here where I got my wheels. In the beginning of 05 I blew my engine on my Z. I didn't really know where or who I should take it too. Afterall I really didn't know jack at the time and didn't know many people experience who could point me in the right direction. Most of my information I have leared has come from this site which I love and appreciate. So when I saw AlteredAtmosphere sponsoring here I just assumed that they were a top notch company.

When I first contacted Mike at AAM I told him I blew my engine and that it would not even turn over. He said it was common and that they could fix it no problem. I'm not made of money so I asked him if the ballpark range of 5-8 thousand would get the job done and he said "yes". So I ship my car by semi to Maryland from Kansas City. When it gets there they look it over and fax me a quote on what it would take to fix it. The quote that come back to me was something like 10 grand of so. I origionally asked ballpark #'s so I knew it would be more, but I didn't figure it would be 3-4 thousand more thatn what Mike told me the origional estimate for. The whole things seemed pretty normal untill the following conversation:

Me: I was saying something about how I wanted 400-500rwhp

Mike at AAM: Whoa bro....first you said you wanted 400rwhp, now you say you want 500? That's a big difference in money.

Now keep in mind I don't know anything about this stuff so I'm like ok, but the more this deal dragged the creepier things just started getting. At one point Mike said:

"You really need to get a good A/F wideband guage for your car, it makes tuning much easier"

I said: How much does that cost?

Mike: Around 500 bucks

Me: Do I really need it?

Mike: Yes if you want a good tune.

Now looking in hindsight he was full of BS, every second rate dyno shop has a A/F system working with their dyno. Customers do not need to spend $500 on some A/F band when where they really need it is in the engine. This is just the first creepy example.

Then Mike tells me that I really need the plenum spacer too and how it made such a big difference.

My BS meter started going off. I knew right away that these guys had more interest in making money than my passion for horsepower. I checked with the Beter Business Burea and they do have compaints against them.

I know personally other members of this site who can vouge for what I'm saying and I ask that you stand up and let the truth be known. If I can prevent a nubie who just blew his engine the same pain I went through than I'm doing my part. Thank God I found SGP and I had my car promptly sent right down to Houston. SGP is not cheap, but they don't play games on play on your ignorance just to make a few bucks.

I love www.My350Z.com and I learn a great deal from this site. I also think it is responsible for the owner to know and trust the sponsors they work with. Do your homework and check the BBB records on AAM. Start digging around the net about them, you'll find similar threads about questionable business practices. The sad part about all this is that Mike is obviously an intelligent guy. But his lousy efforts on selling aditional merchandise based on customer ignorance is the sad part. I mean come on, he's telling me that I need to spend $500 on A/F guage when the engine was not even rebuilt? Or how about how they tell everyone you need their return fuel system for tunes under 400rwhp? Once again all this stuff is tragic because I have their return fuel system on my Z that SGP installed and it's great design. But you don't go around telling people they need it when they clearly don't. That's what I"m talking about there. It's like talking with the devil, you get the truth mixed in with the lies and it makes everything confusing.

Not what I would consider a positive experience.

 

Yes I know Truth is not spelled like trout, sorry my error. I've kept this pinned up for months now and only wanted to post this after I've heard the same from others. I figured now was time to act and stand up for what is right.

 

AAM Seems Mediocre

Intense Motorsports Bad Reports

Crawford Good Reports

One thing that I have noticed by searching companies that are in the car industry, having an unsatisfactory report is pretty common for some reason (Yikes)

 

BBB complaints are just like rape cases. For every 1 documented case there are 10-15 that go unreported.

I have to say that that when Mark from SGP came to Kansas City to get my car right I was impressed to say the least. I own a business too and SGP has inspired me to strive for even better customer service after doing business with them for little under a year.

The truth always eventually comes out, this thread will get more interesting I predict

 

That is true in a sense because it does take a lot before someone actually takes a complaint all the way through the BBB

 

Thanks RickDogg for your post and support

 

Sorry about the unfortunate incident, but one or several bad relations does not tell the truth about any company. I have visited Altered Atmosphere several times, and the bays are filled with cars. Obviously these are repeat customers, or new customers impressed with word-of-mouth referrals. Any shop with a bad reputation cannot stay in business indefinitely. Altered Atmosphere must be doing something right don't you think?

 

Thanks for this post. Its posts like these that people need to see. Its a real shame when buisness try to take advantage of people who dont know any better. Being a buisness owner myself, I find customers who are uninformed and new to my buisness, the best opporunity to start fresh and explain ALL of their available options. Sometimes those options dont lead to profits for me, but when it comes down to it I know they are informed now enough to make a good decision and I'm sure they're pleased some one took the time to explain like I did. And we all know word travels 10 times as fast that your an as*hole than it does that you're an honest buisnessman.

 

Well he was right about the plenum spacer that is a must for opening up your restricted plenum.. thats not BS.. Airflow = HP

 

im not experienced in this area but the A/F gauge is important whether you need it for a tune or not.. i know a few people who run 2 A/F guages for either bank of the engine so you knwo if something is up with your engine after you tune it. Sometimes itll get 'untuned' and you AF messes up. A bad AF for a certain situation is a good reason to suspect possible future engine damage ect.

 

That's very true man, they infact must be doing something right. But they are also at the same time doing some customers wrong. I don't make a practice out of bad mouthing others. But when your a business man you have to be 100% honest, all the time! No exceptions! The minute you slip and get greedy is the minute you start loosing respect. Just because you have walk in traffic you treat with respect does not entitle anyone to hustle someone else who may be out of state and have a lesser knowledge than the customers they may work with on a day to day basis.

 

In response to Davids post. Altered Atmosphere probobly does great work, I've heard stories of happy customers. What is in question here is how they treated a new customer who needed to be informed and it sounds as though he wasn't as well as he needed to be. Put yourself in his position. I'd be pissed if I was him. Also if I was some one like him who didn't know a ton about modding and tuning and I was thinking about AAM I would think twice because of this story. Instances like this are something a company cant afford to have.

 

Naw bro...I'm not pissed....but at the time more dissapointed because I wasted the money sending the car there. It was my fault for not doing my research before I sent my car there.

I'm just laying out the facts as to my personal experience. It's up to the rest of you to make your own determinations and judgements.

My personal ordeal is over. My car is built, I'm happy with it and couldn't ask for more. All I'm looking after now is the person who will be soon comming up in the same shoes I was in a year ago and I just want them (he or her) to be able to make an educated decision on who will help and represent them best in times of great uncertainty. I know how it feels to have a blown engine with nowhere to go and it sucks! In my mind how you treat customers in times like these that determines what kind of man you are.

 

If you walk in their shop and know exactly what you want and how it works your good, so I hear.

But if you are inexperienced and are looking for some good, honest support along the way watch out. Especially if your car is shipping from out of state.

 

I'm not gonna get too far into this, but...

1. It seems to me that you changed your power criteria mid-stream from 400 to 500 WHP. That is a HUGE difference because you can make 400 safely on a stock block, but 500 requires a built motor. Those parts are obviously more expensive, so Mike was 100% truthful with you on that part.

2. The dyno at AAM is a dynojet dyno, and while YES they do tuning on it and YES, they have a gas analyzer (A/F) system on their dyno, the street and the dyno are VERY different environments for your car, especially because they dynojet is not a load based dyno. If you're going to F/I your car (especially to the 500 WHP mentioned), you NEED a W/B in your car if you're going to do this right so that you can tell what your car is doing under load on the street. If you're going to spend the money on an engine build, don't risk blowing it up again because you don't want to spend a few hundred on a gauge that is the best (not the only or most important, but best) indicator of how your engine is performing.

3. If you're trying to position your car for 500 WHP, you WILL end up doing something related to the plenum, either a replacement plenum or a spacer, so he was right there too.

I hate to sound like I'm coming down on you, but it sounds like you're on here flaming a shop for trying to sell you stuff based on "your ignorance" (your words, not mine), when in fact, it's your ignorance that has you upset. You're FAR from the first person to be stunned by the creeping costs of going F/I, but IMHO, Mike/AAM did nothing to try and sell you parts you don't need.

My $0.02, please don't think I'm flaming, just trying to present an alternate opinion.

 

I agree with kcobean perfectly. Ive been talking to Mike for the fast month or two over the phone and my email about what im doing to my car. Hes been nothing but great help to me. The stuff that he told you to get wasnt BS at all, especially if you want 500 hp. Things like the plenum spacer, WB, etc. are all necessary things if you want to get that much hp. And about having a WB on their dyno, they do, its just that when you make that much hp like me and a bunch of others on this forum, you want your own WB gauge inside your car so you can keep an eye on it yourself too.

I got a chance last friday to go to their shop and talk to Mike and their whole crew there in person. And i have to say that i was nothing short of impressed. I mean, the cars they had there at the time, and what they were working on that they showed me was insane. Six 350Z's were outside, 3 more Z's inside, 4 supras, 3 evos, and an R33 skyline just to name a few. Its obvious that they know what theyre doin and have a great customer base. Theres nothing bad i can say about them at all.

Thing is, you might be thinking that you were ripped off by him trying to sell you other parts, but truth is, thats pretty much what you asked for when you wanted that jump from 400 hp to 500, i mean, 400 hp is easily reached by just a simple s/c or ST setup. 500 on the other hand needs motor work, fuel upgrades, and all of the other things he said you needed. So i dont blame Mike for telling you what he did.

Just my personal opinion from being at the shop and talking to their crew in person...

 

Sorry man, but you're statement above is borderline BS. Who in their right mind would recommend stock internals for a rebuild to somebody that had just blown their motor? And as far as cost is concerned, there is only about a $500 dollar difference between the oem piston/rods vs weisco/eagle parts. That is clearly not a huge difference in cost.

 

My complaint about AAM isn't along the same lines but I wasn't happy with the service I got there either.

I wasn't impressed with AAM. Wish I never brought my car there. They re-routed my turbo oil return when they mounted a wastegate for me. When I saw the way they routed it I said.... ahhhhhh no way. Cut the extra line and run it correctly. Mike gave me some sh*t about how the lines are pressure tested and they don't want to cut it. The oil line isn't under pressure. I said.... CUT IT. It was never cut and as a result Mike blew my turbo oil seal running it in the dyno. Huge amounts of smoke....... Mike didn't care he kept making passes on the dyno. He told me that the turbo oil seal was probably going bad and smoking before I brought it in and that I just didn't notice. Yeah right Mike. $300 to replace the turbo.

The tune I got was with the injectors @ 100% duty cycle. 100%. That's Mike's idea of a safe tune.

So now I'm replacing the turbo and getting a new tune. I have to spend $660 for a new tune because the tune I have now is worthless.

I'm pretty scheptical about work they said they performed that they likely didn't. They said they did a compression check on my motor which I requested and paid for and gave me the numbers. The numbers weren't even close to the numbers I got after doing it myself later.

They fabbed me a pipe for my wastegate, and it rubbs on the frame of the car making a vibration I can't stand. I asked to make sure it cleared before they gave me my car back.

I never in my life heard of a 7% shop fee on top of labor cost, and shop materials. SHOP FEE? 7% ?? WTF is that !!!!!! That's theft.

Mike and Dave are nice people. But I don't want AAM working on my car again. Sorry guy's.

They manufacture nice products. But go elswhere to get work/tuning done.

Respect
JET

 

Wow..there's a lot of skepticsm between getting information and getting work done. everyone seems to say they they (AAM) have a world of information at hand...actual application seens a little different, in JET's case...for worse. Then again...you can't make everyone happy.