[CT26Ok]

I want to apologize in advance because i know this thread is going to piss a lot of people off, and it's not to be taken too personal. I'm just unsatisfied with you guys because I've been told by a few people that with the equipment that I have on my car and the upgraded turbo I should be pushing more than the 196 whp that I am. I dunno, I'm pretty new to the 3S-GTE so maybe they're wrong but I felt like the guys kinda had their attentions focused on other things at the time while I was getting my tune, and I know that sounds selfish but they depend on me (not me personally but I mean me the customer). I want to reiterate that I am not attacking ATS I just may have had some bad luck with the car, hell I don't know. Now looking back at this thread I don't even know why I posted....

 

[g_man1968]

Did you contact them yet?

If no, you should before posting like this. If yes, and they refused to address your concerns satisfactorily, there is a forum for vendor feedback.

 

[CT26Ok]

yes I got a SAFC II install and I am satisfied with the fuel curve that was created with it but as for the power output I figured they would ask if I wanted to increase boost etc... I was really sick the day I went but had no choise but I dunno I feel like they cater to the "more important" guys...no hard feelings though.

 

[diabolical1]

... I dunno I feel like they cater to the "more important" guys...no hard feelings though.

i know this will sound like a general statement, but i'm only speaking from my own experiences thus far. oh and note ... i DO NOT have any experiences with ATS Racing.

however, with most performance/speed/tuner/"or-whatever-you-want-to-call-'em-" shops, one-time guys do get a cold shoulder compared to people that have the money (or personal ties) to frequent their establishment. so they do have a clientele that gets treated better than you do. should it be that way? of course not. is it that way? in my experiences (on both sides of the treatment), yes ... that's how it is.

i'm sure if/when you develop a rapport with them, you'll be treated better. don't take it personally. it's life ...

as for the question of their work, i have no clue, but maybe you should talk to them and relate your concerns. from their posts here, i believe they would be willing to investigate any mistakes on their part or respectfully show your errors, if any.

chin up ...

 

[JimKing]

If you post a list of what mods you may have in addition to the S-AFCII, then the more experienced members here could tell you if 196rwhp is good, bad or average for your car. Also include boost level and other test "conditions.".

 

[killwitten819]

Thanks JimKing i was thinking the same thing.

You also have to consider that maybe it was in the way you took it. Maybe because you were sick, you were in a bad mood, and because they didnt wait on you hand a foot, you got a bad taste in your mouth. Im not saying that IS the case, but Id think long and hard, and would have already spoken to the shop managemant before I went sharing negative experiences about a shop.

You have to remember, in this day and age, import shops rely 90% on reputation. If badmouthing is TRUELY warranted then by all means, let it out. Otherwise, your better off keeping to yourself until you have at least made up your mind, and shared your experiences with shop management.

 

[cacasesi]

however, with most performance/speed/tuner/"or-whatever-you-want-to-call-'em-" shops, one-time guys do get a cold shoulder compared to people that have the money

My local engine building/dyno shop has been nothing but nice to me the couple of times I've tuned there. My friends have had similar experiences there. They are very professional, and when you're giving someone $100+/hr., you should expect a level of professionalism. The plumber *only* charges $80/hr. and he'd better be polite and respectful or he's out of work. There's no reason to accept that you're going to be treated poorly by anyone you're paying.

If ATS was busy that day or whatever, and couldn't give him the attention he was paying for, they should have rescheduled the appointment and given him a tee-shirt for his troubles. I'd rather be bumped a few days than get a half-hearted tuning effort out of the dyno operator.

 

[mpa4712]

you mite wanna drop ken kblake an email. This sounds like something ats would wanna clear up asap.

mark

 

[93turbodeuce]

Im not speaking on behalf of ats or anyone else for that matter. But just to bring up another side to the story, I absolutely hate it when customers watch me work on thier cars. Im not a frickin zoo animal!!!!!

 

[TerribleTo4E]

it appears this guy is still on a ct26...i bet he is bitching becasue he dosnt want to spend the $$$ to make real power...and when he has to spend a few hundred on tuning, he expected them to be gods, and make him tons of power......

If you dont like ATS's service, go else where...you will find alot of shops are like that, and like was said before, your few hundred dollars isnt much compared to the ten's of thousands many clients spend......

go buy yourself a wideband and then tune your own car and be happy, then down the road buy a stand alone and learn how to tune it...you will learn sooo much its crazy

 

[Lyer]

-What are his mods anyway, it could something else that limiting the power.

 

[mpa4712]

i seriously doubt that anyone from ats is gonna want to discuss the matter in this open, public thread. If you have concerns on the service you recieved or think something was a miss, then give them a call or drop them an email. Heck, half the staff of ats are members here, i'll be surprised if they dont attempt to contact you after seeing this thread.

Mark

 

[ATSAaron]

i seriously doubt that anyone from ats is gonna want to discuss the matter in this open, public thread. If you have concerns on the service you recieved or think something was a miss, then give them a call or drop them an email. Heck, half the staff of ats are members here, i'll be surprised if they dont attempt to contact you after seeing this thread.

Mark

I agree. I think we need to post the rest of the story.

1. All ATS installed was the SAFC 2. We had no idea what other mods were on the car. I am 90% sure that none of them were bought from ATS. I know it was the only time that car had ever been to ATS. It, however had previously been to Alamo in Arlington.

2. Distracted? That is pretty unfair. We opened the shop up on SUNDAY AFTERNOON to accomodate your work schedule.

3. I can't make the Dynojet lie. If the car makes 196 rwhp then that is what the dynojet is going to say.

Now looking back at this thread I don't even know why I posted....

I don't know why you posted either. You probably should have contacted us off the board if you didn't want it to look like a personal attack.

I am sorry you are disappointed in your car, but I don't think ATS is to blame. If you would like us to go through the car with a fine tooth comb and note any/all problems we find then we can do that. What I thought you wanted, and what you paid for was an SAFC2 installation and tune.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[ATSAaron]

If ATS was busy that day or whatever, and couldn't give him the attention he was paying for, they should have rescheduled the appointment and given him a tee-shirt for his troubles. I'd rather be bumped a few days than get a half-hearted tuning effort out of the dyno operator.

Let me make it clear, we tuned the car to its safe potential. FYI his first dyno run with the SAFC2 zero'd out was ~150rwhp. The previous owner modded this same car with an AFC and eventually blew it up.

Aaron

 

[flynhighaf23]

dang, i'd say 196hp from 150 is a nice improvement and i'd be thanking ATS instead of beaching about it!! hoe well, i guess you can't please everyone....

 

[SW20/20]

196whp is pretty darned good if all you have is a CT26 and SAFC.

 

[mr2dreamin]

Its been asked about 4 times in the thread, and id like to know as well. What other mods are on the car? Is it just the safc2? If its just safc2 and you can get 196hp out of the ct26, thats pretty damn good.

 

[Turbolvr82]

... I absolutely hate it when customers watch me work on thier cars. Im not a frickin zoo animal!!!!!

Not a personal attack on you, but many mechanics are crooked, lazy, or both. Either way it results in a job poorly done to a car you have invested a lot in and will have to spend even more on due to incompetence or dishonesty. I am one of those types of customers that you hate. In the unfortunate event that there is a job that I don't have the tools to complete myself, I take it to a shop and stand out there and watch them the whole time.
I do this for two reasons; first of all I want to make sure it is done right and that they don't try to pull anything or break something and pretend they didn't, and second I am interested in the way cars work and it is fun to watch stuff getting taken apart. I learned my lesson early on before I worked on cars myself when I would leave my car with a mechanic only to end up getting screwed over in the end with no proof because I didn't realize that things weren't right until later. Again this is not an attack on you as I'm sure you are a reputable mechanic, but try to understand where people are coming from when they pay somebody large sums of money to work on their car that they have put a lot of time and money into.

 

[Paul Boz]

Im not speaking on behalf of ats or anyone else for that matter. But just to bring up another side to the story, I absolutely hate it when customers watch me work on thier cars. Im not a frickin zoo animal!!!!!

I could understand you hating customers that watch you and question what you're doing, but i love watching a mechanic do things to a car that i can't, and if they allow ask them questions about it. It's a damn good way to learn. As long as one isn't completely anoying about it i don't see why it's so bad to watch and learn from a mechanic.

 

[diabolical1]

My local engine building/dyno shop has been nothing but nice to me the couple of times I've tuned there. My friends have had similar experiences there. They are very professional, and when you're giving someone $100+/hr., you should expect a level of professionalism. The plumber *only* charges $80/hr. and he'd better be polite and respectful or he's out of work. There's no reason to accept that you're going to be treated poorly by anyone you're paying.

you're absolutely right! just for clarity, i wasn't saying that you should accept being treated POORLY.

what i was saying is that you will be treated DIFFERENT and that it is noticeable. if you're a stranger, you won't necessarily be disrespected, but you'll notice the guy who has money and the guy who knows the owner (or one of the mechanics) when they pull up. it's life ...

Im not speaking on behalf of ats or anyone else for that matter. But just to bring up another side to the story, I absolutely hate it when customers watch me work on thier cars. Im not a frickin zoo animal!!!!!

this is one of the reasons right here. some customers are very unreasonable in what they expect and whether it's paranoia or some control-issues they will annoy the hell out of you while you're trying to work. questions are one thing, but when they put themselves in the work area and start nagging about what this does and what that does, not to mention put themselves in danger (and would be the first to reach for that "S"-word this country loves so much ... it will make you very chilly to someone you don't know yet.

Not a personal attack on you, but many mechanics are crooked, lazy, or both. Either way it results in a job poorly done to a car you have invested a lot in and will have to spend even more on due to incompetence or dishonesty. I am one of those types of customers that you hate. In the unfortunate event that there is a job that I don't have the tools to complete myself, I take it to a shop and stand out there and watch them the whole time.
I do this for two reasons; first of all I want to make sure it is done right and that they don't try to pull anything or break something and pretend they didn't, and second I am interested in the way cars work and it is fun to watch stuff getting taken apart. I learned my lesson early on before I worked on cars myself when I would leave my car with a mechanic only to end up getting screwed over in the end with no proof because I didn't realize that things weren't right until later. Again this is not an attack on you as I'm sure you are a reputable mechanic, but try to understand where people are coming from when they pay somebody large sums of money to work on their car that they have put a lot of time and money into.

and yes ... this is the flipside to the coin, because some mechanics are pieces of _____! period!

i used to work/hang at my friend's shop, which was actually 1 shop with 4 indepedent mechanics. my friend works on your car and will give you what you pay him to give you.

however, one of the other guys used to drive customer cars to pick up parts and every once in a while he'd crash, then lie to the owner. if i'm leaking ... so what, this is what happens at some places, like it or not.

to be honest, it was witnessing stuff like this that made me a better mechanic and that's why i WILL NOT have someone else work on my car unless it's absolutely necessary. i do everything!