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tienlo

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KPM Motorsport – Nothing comes close… to reading the instruction manual


KPM Motorsport – Nothing comes close… to installing your belt tensioner correctly


KPM Motorsport – Nothing comes close…. to opening the hood of your car for 10 days when you take it to get fixed



I hope that my story prevents others from wasting their money and time, having their car damaged and getting personally insulted.

If you are considering using KPM for mechanical work please contact me first and I’ll answer any questions you would like to ask about my experience, as well as who I’d recommend instead.

IMPORTANT NOTE – this complaint only applies to the service I received when I asked Dave at KPM Motorsport @ 2 Dunloran Road, Edwardstown to carry out mechanical work using supplied parts with instructions in March 2017. It doesn’t relate to the quality of the products that they sell (eg Streetfighter Mustang headers, Whipple supercharger kits) and it doesn’t apply to other workshops around Australia who are affiliated with and sell Streetfighter / KPM products.

In early March, Dave at KPM agreed to install my supercharger kit (Procharger Stage 2), as well as upgrading headers and hi flow cats (add to existing catback exhaust), and tune the supercharger.
During the install they communicated to me that there was an issue with the Procharger belt slipping and shredding / falling off. They looked into this and suspected that it was the tension that the tensioner was set at, or perhaps the pulleys needed upgrading.


Problem 1

  • The car was returned to me on Thursday 9th March, all parts installed and with a tune

  • The supercharger belt fell off and shredded on the evening of the same day while driving around on the street, it lasted less than 20km.

  • I left the car with KPM on Friday 10th March. I specifically pointed out that the etched marks on my car’s tensioner that were supposed to be aligned were not aligned as shown on page 18 of the manual, pic attached

  • 9 day wait. No communication.

  • On 20th March I visited KPM and, confirming my fears, my car had been sitting out the front of their workshop the whole time. They had not inspected under the hood of the car, and had not even ordered a replacement supercharger belt. Dave couldn’t confirm when he would be able to begin work on my car “because I have a lot of booked jobs”. It was clear that I had been prioritised to the bottom of his worklist, so I drove the car away, still with the supercharger belt missing.

  • I then purchased my own replacement belt from Burson’s and had my supercharger setup inspected by another workshop. They troubleshooted the entire supercharger installation and then installed the the tensioner simply by following the steps on page 18 of the manual – all of this taking half a day. The belt has been fine since (500km including a track day at Mallala). If you pm me I am happy to tell you who this workshop is and give a glowing recommendation.
Problem 2
  • I experienced random cylinder misfire DTCs while I was at the track. This resulted in the engine going into limp mode and check engine lights coming up on dash. Early in the troubleshooting process, I noticed that the spark plugs in my engine had not been changed to 1 heat range colder plugs (as specified in page i of the Procharger manual, pic attached).

KPM’s response to the problem

  • On Friday 31st, I went back to KPM and confronted Dave regarding the things he had gotten wrong on my car. The most pressing issues I identified were -

  1. The tensioner that had been incorrectly installed
  2. Spark plugs which had not been upgraded
  3. 9 day delay (between 10th March and 20th March) and no work had commenced on my car, and no communication regarding any delays.
  • I need to emphasise that the mechanical mistakes were made only because the instructions in the installation manual were not followed, and I had highlighted the tensioner issue to them, showing them the relevant page of the manual as well as 2 photos of other Procharged mustangs with the tensioner set up correctly.

  • Dave repeatedly berated me for taking the car away to get fixed and not giving him “the right of repair”, as if immediately driving my car to his workshop and leaving him my vehicle for 9 days didn’t quite allow him a chance to open the hood or order a replacement belt.

  • I mentioned that the spark plugs hadn’t been changed to 1 heat range colder as specified on page i of the manual, and to this he responded with “How long have you been tuning cars for?” and “what do you do for a living?” Well Dave, how long have you been incorrectly following installation manuals and berating customers for not being expert mechanics? I feel that this was not the best time for him to be showing off.

  • While we were discussing the 9+ day delay, Dave explained that at the time I seemed happy and relaxed about the car, and he was very busy, so as a result he did other booked work before starting work on my car and he didn’t think to call me to let me know that there would be a delay.

  • Dave emphasised that if I had kept my car there “It would have been seen to within 2 or 3 weeks”.

  • Dave also mentioned that if I had become impatient or upset he would have prioritised my work – I suppose I should get impatient or upset then?

  • When I mentioned how easy the mistake was to correct, Dave said “everything in hindsight is 100% (sic)”, I suppose that means that in hindsight it's 100% obvious you failed to follow the instructions and ignored me when I immediately pointed out where the installation went wrong.


I’d like to think I have given KPM a chance to make good on their mistakes. I won't be going back there after all the waiting and all the times I have been ignored.

Dave's communication skills and customer service are appalling and I have repeatedly been made to feel like I am unworthy of even discussing an instruction manual with him because I haven’t been tuning cars for a living. I’ve spent over 7 thousand dollars for a shiny exhaust (ps. Streetfighter exhausts are made by Pacemaker) and a dangerous supercharger installation (keeping in mind I paid for and supplied the Procharger kit before spending 7k at KPM)

Even now, Dave still shows more interest in bragging about how long he's been tuning cars (ps. Dave didn't do the tuning, it was Callam) than he does in fixing the mistakes made to my car.
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Flying Fiz

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Appalling treatment and a piss poor attitude to boot. I must say you were super patient - I would have been on to him every day of the 9 days without contacting you.
 

Aus-MustangGT

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Really disappointing to read that this happened to you, great choice of going with the procharger stage two though.

For a company that prides themselves on being the 'best' they should probably rethink their motto of nothing coming close
 

SoCalTim

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Good to share these experiences to allow other AUS members chance to avoid similar poor service.
 

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apsilon

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He isn't actually criticising Streetfighter, only the garage that installed it.
The way I read it they're one and the same. Streetfighter is probably just a trading name for KPM. Can't be bothered looking it up.
 
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tienlo

tienlo

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Thanks for your supportive messages guys. I hate people who complain, but I'm happy to be that guy in this circumstance because I've been made to feel like an idiot when I did the right thing and approached Dave to allow him to right his wrongs & provide my feedback.

I just noticed on the receipt they even charged me for an extra belt!!!:clap2:


The way I read it they're one and the same. Streetfighter is probably just a trading name for KPM. Can't be bothered looking it up.
I totally agree that the distinction is a little blurry between KPM & Streetfighter.

KPM make and sell Streetfighter-branded products for the Mustang, and Dave from KPM is in charge of the Streetfighter Mustang posts on Mustang6g. Also, both KPM and Streetfighter have the same motto - Nothing Comes Close. So yeah, pretty much one and the same.

I'll clarify that I'm upset with KPM Motorsport's service and Dave's attitude.

I'm not upset with any Streetfighter branded products, and my negative experience is unique to KPM Motorsport, not any Streetfighter-affiliated workshops.




Really disappointing to read that this happened to you, great choice of going with the procharger stage two though.

For a company that prides themselves on being the 'best' they should probably rethink their motto of nothing coming close
Thanks! I think Prochargers are overlooked a little bit in Australia. The Procharger Stage 2 kit was supplied to me by Pro Speed Racing (interstate). The kit was a perfect fit for my RHD Aussie-delivered Mustang. I'll upload details about my build to this forum once a couple more cosmetic bits are added :cheers:
Streetfighter nothing comes close.png
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ozracer

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have you got any pics of the installed product they are a neat install unit probably overlooked by a lot of people make good power from what I have seen.
 

whtbt1.88

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Are these the same guys that tune a car to "replicate" the sound of a lumpy cam?
 

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Namda

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Are these the same guys that tune a car to "replicate" the sound of a lumpy cam?
KPM is the workshop, Streetfighter being the brand. Streetfighter offer the Ghost Cam Tune.
 

Burkey

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That sucks Tien. "I have jobs booked in" doesn't cut it. What he REALLY had was a customer car that wasn't functioning correctly, THAT is priority #1. Sort out the stuff-ups THEN proceed to other vehicles....
I see that they had the car on the dyno, any chance of seeing the sheets?
 

phil545

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Thanks for sharing this mate, brave man to do it. Wonder how long this post will last
 

Melbnut

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Thanks for sharing this mate, brave man to do it. Wonder how long this post will last
It will be gone within the day. Assuming sf have already sent te plz delete to the mods
 
 




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