Larry, I am sorry you feel this way. We didn't charge you anything for our time, labor or supplies to fix your car. The labor alone would have exceeded $3000+. We also transported your car up here for free, and worked with GTM on getting the engine repaired...and I Sam and I split the bill on that piece. There was no thank you, or appreciation for any of the work we did for you, that we were under no obligation to do for you.

The reason we used sealant on your setup, is because we had no time to make larger flanges. You were pretty adamant that you "wanted your car back"....and you were coming...whether the car was ready or not. I didn't even get much of a chance to test drive it. You drove up...grabbed it..and left....I didn't even see when you came to pick it up.


Yes, we overlooked a couple things (trans inspection cover, baffle, and we certainly arent perfect. And I already agreed to pay PF to fixed those things.

With respect to the UTEC locking. JT locks his too, from what he told me. Unless you tune cars for a living, it might be difficult to appreciate why this is done. Ask GTM and others as well....the tunes are locked.

With regards to the power levels, the 4th gear pull (which was what i tuned your car with), was 30whp more than yours, but running 1.5psi more boost. The FCON gives me much better control, and the ability to listen for detonation....all which allows me to tune with more precision, and usually get a little more power vs the UTEC tune. Each engine is setup is different. After everything you had been through with your car, we didn't want to risk anything else at that point. Thought it best to put some more miles on the engine, and then have JT tune it later for more boost and power.

Best of luck. I hope that JT takes care of you, better than we could.

 

I've never had a problem with you at all JET, but that is honestly the most distasteful, classless thing, I've heard in a while, and not to mention a totally unnecessary comment. You made that post with every intention of starting **** on here, and judging by Sharif's response, it looks like its backfired.

If I had a problem with my shop, I would personally call the owner and we would sort it out like mature men. I wouldn't go on a public forum and whine and b1tch about it. This is the kind of thing that needs to be handled over the phone or with PM's, and it's also precisely the kind of crap we don't in the FI, especially with all the drama lately.

 

I'm not sure where you've been, but to my knowledge MOST, if not all shops lock the UTEC's and FCON's that they tune. This has been discussed in depth MANY times, so there's no reason to rehash the issue, or to act like you're somehow getting a "raw" deal or being short-changed.

 

jeremy, looks good man. sharif hooked it up. love the triple pillar. and the redline is lookin SICK!!

 

I like cupcakes.

JET, you just seem to be very unhappy with anybody who touches your car due to frustrations with the car itself. Its understandable, but if Sharif is giving you a lot of good will and help towards those issues, is it worth making a lot of noise about?

 

There is nothing you can do with an FCON. Dealers have a special dongle that they use to access the FCON....so a consumer never has the option. On the other hand, alot of people buy the UTEC for purposes of self-tuning...also, the UTEC needs constant tweaking due to changing weather and atmospheric conditions.

I'd be pretty steamed if I already owned a UTEC (for a couple of years) and then a tuner were to lock me out of my own equipment. Of course, I am always fiddling with my stuff nad want/need the ability to make changes to my tune. When I visited Sharif a year and a half ago, He tuned my TN setup. Sharif was aware that I am a pretty knowledgable guy and do all my own wrenching. I had completely self-tuned my car prior to going up to Forged, but thought it would be a good idea to have it tuned by someone who does it for a living. He asked me to promiss not share any of his tuning with other people. I agreed, and off I went. I kept my deal with him, but I ended up retuning my vehicle over time anyway. Florida's heat and humidity greatly affected my tune compared to the conditions in Atlanta (high 40s) when he tuned my car. I really get into part throttle tweaking. I do alot of part throttle, boost modulated throttle control, and I needed the ability to tweak my UTEC.

I may be a different case from other people; I don't know.

Of course, Larry could go through and figure out the code. There's only 10,000 possibilities. It would take some time, but not too long.

 

thank you, sharif, for posting this up... i have been extremely busy with work the past few weeks and have not had time to share my newfound upgrades and happiness with the board... and, again, thank you for all of the hard work that you and the guys put in...it is very much appreciated...

and thanks to everyone for your compliments!

rcdash - actually, i didn't ask him to give me any specific power level or tune... that's all his doing... remember, i had 560whp on his DD on the race fuel map with the UTEC...and i thought it too much power... my 93 octane map on the UTEC was around 470whp..and i thought that perfect... so i was going to be happy with that level...

IslandZavage - i've never used the IC sprayer... actually, i've never even filled the bottle... *haha* i have no idea the affect it would have...but, i'm sure during the summer it would definitely be viable...

JetPilot - i'm not sure why you're so upset... i don't see any real reason to be... my exhaust looked the EXACT same as yours when i had the 2.5" test pipes and EVO TT because the flanges did not match up perfectly and the gaskets were not sufficient to make a good seal... the only option i had was to allow for the smearing of RTV sealant to fill the gaps and keep my exhaust from sounding like a fart can... but, this is because i didn't buy the proper hardware...my own fault.

also, my UTEC tune was no better than yours... reason why? because the FCON is FAR SUPERIOR and allows for MUCH MORE GRANULAR control... one would think that you know this? and my not having cams has never kept me from making great numbers... my engine is just strong and i got very lucky... hell, i made the same amount of power on pump at 15.5psi as JKenefic and he has full headwork... maybe cams aren't all they are cracked up to be below 600whp?

comparing our current setups is like comparing apples to oranges... and, honestly, i don't know why you have a beef with everyone who touches your car, but it seems that you are never satisfied with anyone's work...not just FP's... you're building a name for yourself and it may end up that only Bill, the local grease monkey, will want to do work for you...

sharif - sorry if this post is below the normal FP professionalism, but i am tired of having people make such inane comparisons to bash a shop... he used my car to make said comparisons, so i feel as if i have the right to toss out a reality check in the manner i see fit...

 

Good looking setup Jeremy! I will probably be taking the same route as you w/ regards to just building the bottom end. Hope you don't like having traction in 1st-3rd gear

 

Well, I posted this note first, then deleted and PM'd to JET but decided to post again because I think its important for folks to manage expectations when it comes to forced induction upgrades. I do agree with JAMEZ that PM is probably the better mechanism to communicate unresolved issues between customer and vendor.

I can sense a level of frustration in JET's post that comes after traveling the long road to the world of FI. But that's a reality that a lot of us face - if it's not one thing - it's another. And I agree even small issues can be annoying - but I daresay one worries less about such if there are more major problems to contend with.

I can't stress enough to readers that with FI, you have to give a shop enough time to deal with issues and it may require a repeat visit as issues may not become apparent till the car is driven for many miles. How do you define "enough time"? Well that depends on your expectations as much as the initial quality. While work quality may vary somewhat depending on the technician managing your vehicle (at any shop), Sharif has always backed up his shop's work and strives for customer satisfaction. All I can say is that he addressed every little detail that I asked for.

Specifically to your points, the VE and drivetrain losses of two cars aren't going to be exactly the same. Your dyno graph still looks like a nice smooth tune with a solid power curve for boost at 14 psi. You can take the car to any tuner, reset the UTEC and have them re-tune for higher boost from base maps. I have found Sharif is conservative on customer cars on pump fuel, but it's the only way to maintain a margin for error and minimize problems even if you get a bad tank of gas etc. Hard to argue with that philosophy. Jeremy is right there, not hundreds of miles away, so giving him a more aggressive tune, is certainly less risky (particularly with an HKS knock amp installed). FWIW, Sharif didn't tune my car above 14 psi on pump gas - but I live hundreds of miles away as well - so I didn't push for it that hard either. In the end, it's just a number and the car can be pushed a lot further, safely, on race fuel if you want to pursue that...

I agree the orange sealant doesn't look great, but under the car, the important thing is not to leak. It looks like the flanges are significantly different in size, exacerbating the amount of sealant required.

Anyway, hope that makes you feel a little better - that's still a wickedly fast car that I'm sure will serve you well for a long time to come. I know it's been a long road for you and lots of little annoyances build up - if you feel strongly, I've found Sharif to be quite a reasonable guy to talk to, particularly if you clearly state what would make you happy (within reason). Good luck and enjoy that car!

 

I was just teasing Sharif . I knew that Sharif could probably push further if he was listening for knock with headphones on an HKS knock amp. I chose another product for various reasons, and don't regret it . Hope to meet you at ZdayZ and see that car in person.

 

i know you were, doc... i just wanted to let it be known that i didn't even request a number... *haha* surprising for me!

and well said above...

 

Nice redline! I'll consider it a compliment when people get both of our cars mixed up at Zdayz this year.




As far as Jet's statement.... I can see where he's coming from with it, and trust me, his situation sucks. Anyone who's had a favor done by a shop knows what I mean. Everyone else is just making assumptions and cannot really identify with him at all... /topic

 

Thanks Craig!
Those two cars will look so purty together....you both are meticulous about keeping them clean.

 

Seriously, those are some beautiful red machines.....and I'm not even that fond of red cars!

PS. Sharif, thanks for the good advice on the downpipes.

 

Wow, everything got un-deleted, interesting.

 

Nice car Jeremy!


Did you end up coming to the end of the Mountain Run on Sunday? I remember passing by a nice redline on the way down from Chris' mishap.

 

I never asked for anything to cleaned up, and felt it would be best to leave it as it was, so I asked the mods to reinstate the posts. We can all have a civilized discussion about....we have nothing to hide.

 

Well back O/T, I'd like to 2nd the question about Jeremy's intercooler sprayer and its effectiveness... I saw above that he hasn't used it. Sharif, what has been your experience with it? Worthwhile or not? Can you trigger windshield washer fluid to spray above certain rpms w/ FCON (or Haltech maybe )? Or is only NO2 worthwhile...

 

Thats sweet power-about 19whp shy of my 15psi tune with S2 cams.

I had a chance to drive the car when I happened to be in the area last week-it was amazingly smooth, and power was plentiful-felt stronger than my car initially, then I remembered our gearing difference accounting for that "feeling". For a stock head/cam car this one hauls some serious ****, and is immaculate. Well done Forged, well done Jeremy. Look forward to meeting up with you again at ZdayZ.

Regarding Larry-while I can feel his pain I dfont think he expressed it at the right time or right place.

 

i love this pic......man i wish i could afford Defi.....until then Stri racing FTW.



Jeremy, Sharif, job well done.