Andys'Z

So $8500 installed and tuned aps tt kit is a good price eh? Its higher that what i want to pay however i guess you get what you pay for.

phunk

iTrader: (21)

that is a great price. i bet most people paid a lot more.

mrtomcat

iTrader: (3)

am I missing something here you said $7500 for the turbo and $2000 for the install that's $9500...whe're the $8500 coming from ?
I checked around in la as well and they want a redicolous 3k.
Usually shops charge around $80 per hour around here so this means that it will take a shop about 38 hours to install a turbo kit? I looked at the instruction on the APS site and it looks like 15 hours max, tuning maybe another 4 hours that means at $80 per hour an APS TT install plus tuning should in no way cost more than $1600 especially if it's an authorized dealer which is supposed to mean that they know what they are doing.
Can somebody say extortion...
APS needs to evaluate their authorized dealers more and you guys need to refuse to pay these horrible overpriced amounts.

phunk

iTrader: (21)

easier said than done. if you can install that kit in 15 hours I have a job for you.

cloudy

iTrader: (3)

My local store quoted me at 25hours of labor at $80 an hour. It will cost me about $8700 after everything, install, tt kit itself, then tax. And i get the kit for cheaper thats how iam gettn those #s.

mrtomcat

iTrader: (3)

Even 25 hours I could live with but 38...no way.

If I end up getting the APS kit my buddy (who does this sorta thing for a living and can tune cars in his sleep) will install and tune it for for free but of course since there's the unichip issue I would have to buy the software for 1k and something tells me that they will not include the base map unless you're a dealer and so will probably charge another 1k for that and so we will have to guess tune on the dyno...so you end up spending that money anyways...
I know I come across a bit harsh on this but I just find having to pay almost half the price of this product for a bolt on install without any guarantees that those dealers know what they're doing (and I'm sure they won't have a warranty if your car ends up breaking because they screwed up) outragous and again 38 hours????

mrtomcat

iTrader: (3)

well, I'm basing that on their install manual and past experiences with turbo kit installs.
I'm not being a smart *** here maybe there is something major I'm missing
If you can justify a 38 hour install please go ahead and explain it and I will gladly take back my statement.

phunk

iTrader: (21)

Install the kit then repost and let us know your feelings

-Charles

mrtomcat

iTrader: (3)

great answer to my question....NOT

I was looking forward for some helpful advise but this is the exact response why I don't feel comfortable giving a shop my car for a week and having to pay them $10500 without any guarantees that my engine blows up because of a faulty install.

You represent one of these shops that does this sorta work all day so why can't you give me a straight answer and explain why this high install price is justified.
Based on your answer I'm sure that you'd screw me over and everyone else coming to your shop, which I don't believe is your intend.
I truly TRULY think you can do better than that
Wanna try again? I promise I won't hold a grudge

phunk

iTrader: (21)

the instruction manual covers almost all of the install minus a few fitment details. I think you just need to re-evaluate your time estimates on properly completeing each step.

My hourly rate is 70 and I dont quite charge 38 hours... But I am well over 25 hours.

Why dont I go into fine details? Because if I do either your or someone else will just try and attack me on it regardless of lack of hands on experience with the actual task under discussion.

The ONLY place thats ripping you off is the place that doesnt do the job well. If the job is done as well as it could be done then its worth as much as you will pay and rest assured no shop is getting rich off your TT install. It takes some people a few bad experiences with shops before they figure this out. If there is someone you trust with the job that will do it cheaper, then by all means take it to them. I am not evenly remotely interested in doing the install for less than what I charge.

Gman2004

iTrader: (8)

If you buy the kit from tuan at GRD he will tune it for free. The you can have it tune for 91 or 93 by mail, but if you want a custom tune it is not possible to do by mail. Tuan has the kit listed on their website for $7495. I called area when I was thinking of getting the APS and was quoted $1320 by a experience reputable shop. I shopped around and told each shop was I had been quoted. Before the $1320 I was quoted $1500. I guess they wanted my business.

captj3

iTrader: (1)

I just had my kit installed they charged me $1500 for it which I found to be a fair price.They took a soild 4 days.That didn't include gauages or incidentals.I bought my kit from Tuan had it tuned for 93octane before he shipped it to me.

Gman2004

iTrader: (8)

The $1500 I was referring to in my previous post was the shop you told me about. Twilight performance beat their price by $200 and is a hole lot closer to me.

captj3

iTrader: (1)

That's a very good price I had quotes as high $3000 plus which I thought was rediculous(sp?)

Andys'Z

When you buy the kit by mail and have it tuned to 91 octane before it arrivers, does that mean you dont need any dyno tuning etc, all you need is a shop that can install it and you are good to go?

kosmic

Yes, pretty much. It'll be a safe tune for 91 octane -- If you want more power, you'll need a custom tune.

mok5

iTrader: (1)

I guess I am a bit confused. How can you tune the kit without the car being on a dyno? I don't think you can expect that all Z's or G's share the same air fuel characteristics, can you? Also doesn't the APS kit come with maps for 91 & 93 octane? Is there something special you have to do to the unichip to accept these maps? Maybe that is what Tuan is doing? It just seems kind of misleading. Every APS dealer that I have talked to says dyno tuning is involved.

barthelb

I was lucky enough to be real close to the shop that installed mine so I was able to watch a lot of it and let me say, it is a crazy install. The amount of power you put down you need to make sure you get everything torqued to the correct spec and putting in the lines and everything is a big process. I wanted a total custom job and I got a really good deal for the quality of my kit and how its installed. They did a custom oil cooler, changed all fluids, compression leak down tests, when my koyo radiator was put in they had to modify my radiator fans because of the space that was no longer there.

Everyone has to remember, there is a difference between someone that will just install the kit and someone that will take the time to secure everything and do it right so you wont have to come back and get it done over. I have had 0 issues with my kit. My install was about 30-40 hours. I don't have my invoice with me, but imagine if you paid for a 20 hour install and had a problem and brought your car back for another 15 hours to fix it, your back to the same amount but more inconvenience. Not mentioning if you have failures With the amount of parts and its complexity that is reasonable. But in the end its your own money,car, and responsiblity. I am very satisfied as my tuner and the APS kit rules or should i say owns all
others.

I do agree with those on a budget it seems like a hefty upgrade. But you pay to play, remember.
Good luck All!!

mrtomcat

iTrader: (3)

My questions to you were in no way to bash you.
I just want to understand why a shop would ask for 3k on this install. If you charge $70 per hour and it takes you 25 hours that means you charge $1750 for the install which is acceptable. Not 3k which is what the southern cali shops charge which is almost double.

The problem I have is that there are no shops around here that have a good or bad rep for these installs so you have to go in blindly. And since there is no warranty on their work you might as well light a candle and pray...I would rather pay 3k for a great install then 1k for a bad one but since I am not able to compare who will do the good or bad up front I am concerned.
If APS would do a certification for their dealers and those who pass get to have an "APS Approved" sticker for example that would help but that isn't the case here.

I guess it comes back to the original question:
Has any one gotten their APS TT installed in southern california?
How much did they charge?
How long did it take?
How good a job did they do?
And who are the good shops and who runs the shops we should avoid? (this is more universal)

ZON

iTrader: (2)

Socal should have ample coverage to do this right, I would think. Maybe you should ask on the socal regional forum if you haven't already. But whatever, if you can't come up with anyone then you can go to Arizona or the two shops up in San Jose. They have differences but any one of those can & will do it right. Call them up and take your pic, you won't go wrong either way IMO.