tienlo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2015
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 81
- Reaction score
- 83
- Location
- South Australia
- Website
- www.facebook.com
- First Name
- Tien
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 Black Manual GT, S2000, 350z, MT-03
- Thread starter
- #1
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
KPM’s response to the problem
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.
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.
- 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 -
- The tensioner that had been incorrectly installed
- Spark plugs which had not been upgraded
- 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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