Disappointing Whipple Experience

[dltn761]

Bottom line up front: Whipple Superchargers tuning and customer support is atrocious and is a detriment to their actual hardware. Details below:

I bought a Whipple Supercharger complete kit for my 2017 Mustang 5.0 through Lethal Performance in March 2020. The kit came in mid-April, and I immediately installed it. Everything went smoothly with the install, until it was time to start up… I started the car up, with a bit of hang up on the start. Found some unplugged connections fixed those and then reflashed the tune to make sure the car was fine. Still started a little rough but came to find out the timing was off when I had also installed the OPGs.

I went back in and fixed that and reflashed the tune once again and thought I would be fine from there. The car started a little rough and then went to bogging down and died. I started it again and it was OK enough. I drove the car and it seemed fine enough until I rolled up to a stop sign or light, and the RPMs would drop to 500 from 750 like it was about to die.

I decided to get this checked out at a reputable speed shop in SoCal since maybe I had the install wrong with a possible vacuum leak or something. The shop determined that everything was installed correctly, but the tune was doing something weird with the way it read the air pressure outside therefore giving too much fuel to the cylinders.

I contacted Whipple about this issue and asked for a retune. It took me a full week to even hear a response about what data they needed to be able to see what was wrong with the car. After sending the data file on Thursday night (11 Jun 2020) I called the next day and asked to see what the process would be from there. They said it may take a couple of days, but they would investigate it. I wait till the next week and this is where the customer support takes a dive. I called every single day and a lady would answer the phone. I would tell her my issue and she would say I could talk to someone and she would have him give me a call back. This happened three different times, and not once did that someone call me back. I would have to call, and she would then put me on hold to talk to that someone and I would hold for at least 20 minutes. Finally, on Friday I had enough. I expressed my frustration with the support I had and told them that my car has driven a total of 200 miles since their system was installed on it. This past week (22 June through now), I never heard one thing back through email, nor phone call.

Overall, if I could do it again, I would get the tuners kit where I get another person tuning. It is frustrating as hell when I buy an $8000 kit from a company and they can’t provide the customer support to help get it running properly. I have spent over $1000 trying to fix their tuning mistake and now have decided to go a different route trying to get a tune for my car. DO NOT get Whipple’s tuning unless you want a chance that your car could run like a beat up Ford Pinto and not get ANY support from them as they give you the “go-around.”

And yea, I still have a car that doesn't run properly, so it just sits in the garage until I get a better tune for it.

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[5ohcoyote]

Throwing any codes? Also do you have your stock maf sensor in?

Haven’t heard of too many bad stories of the whipple tune.. I’ve never experienced it though, tuned by Lund and couldn’t be happier

 

[Slopoke]

Throwing any codes? Also do you have your stock maf sensor in?

Haven’t heard of too many bad stories of the whipple tune.. I’ve never experienced it though, tuned by Lund and couldn’t be happier

I was thinking the same thing, since I literally just installed my kit. The MAF sensor openings need to face away from the throttle body.

 

[AZ_whippleS550]

Yeah I haven’t heard of people having issues like that before. My car runs great on the Whipple tune.

 

[lightrules]

no matter what, whipple CS could treat him better. sorry man. i am sure once you get it dialed in you are going to have a massive smile on your face when you gap that hellcat lol

 

[AZ_whippleS550]

Also I should ask you did the crank relearn after you flashed the tune for the last time right?

 

[ice445]

no matter what, whipple CS could treat him better. sorry man. i am sure once you get it dialed in you are going to have a massive smile on your face when you gap that hellcat lol

I agree, thats the worst customer service ever

 

[cchvyd28]

Sounds like a lot of your issues are self-inflicted, from the unplugged connections to the messed up timing. Also cut them some slack, there is a nationwide pandemic going on forcing people to work from home, and under different circumstances causing communication to be much more difficult. You can't just go across the hall anymore to get a quick answer to a question, now you are waiting on emails to be answered while people are in video conferences all-day, while some workers are still furloughed causing staffing issues.

Whipple is generally known for its excellent customer service and quick turn around times. So this case definitely seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Eljay52]

Bottom line up front: Whipple Superchargers tuning and customer support is atrocious and is a detriment to their actual hardware. Details below:

I bought a Whipple Supercharger complete kit for my 2017 Mustang 5.0 through Lethal Performance in March 2020. The kit came in mid-April, and I immediately installed it. Everything went smoothly with the install, until it was time to start up… I started the car up, with a bit of hang up on the start. Found some unplugged connections fixed those and then reflashed the tune to make sure the car was fine. Still started a little rough but came to find out the timing was off when I had also installed the OPGs.

I went back in and fixed that and reflashed the tune once again and thought I would be fine from there. The car started a little rough and then went to bogging down and died. I started it again and it was OK enough. I drove the car and it seemed fine enough until I rolled up to a stop sign or light, and the RPMs would drop to 500 from 750 like it was about to die.

I decided to get this checked out at a reputable speed shop in SoCal since maybe I had the install wrong with a possible vacuum leak or something. The shop determined that everything was installed correctly, but the tune was doing something weird with the way it read the air pressure outside therefore giving too much fuel to the cylinders.

I contacted Whipple about this issue and asked for a retune. It took me a full week to even hear a response about what data they needed to be able to see what was wrong with the car. After sending the data file on Thursday night (11 Jun 2020) I called the next day and asked to see what the process would be from there. They said it may take a couple of days, but they would investigate it. I wait till the next week and this is where the customer support takes a dive. I called every single day and a lady would answer the phone. I would tell her my issue and she would say I could talk to “Jeff” and she would have him give me a call back. This happened three different times, and not once did Jeff call me back. I would have to call, and she would then put me on hold to talk to Jeff and I would hold for at least 20 minutes. Finally, on Friday I had enough. I expressed my frustration with the support I had and told them that my car has driven a total of 200 miles since their system was installed on it. This past week (22 June through now), I never heard one thing back through email, nor phone call.

Overall, if I could do it again, I would get the tuners kit where I get another person tuning. It is frustrating as hell when I buy an $8000 kit from a company and they can’t provide the customer support to help get it running properly. I have spent over $1000 trying to fix their tuning mistake and now have decided to go a different route trying to get a tune for my car. DO NOT get Whipple’s tuning unless you want a chance that your car could run like a beat up Ford Pinto and not get ANY support from them as they give you the “go-around.”

And yea, I still have a car that doesn't run properly, so it just sits in the garage until I get a better tune for it.

Have you checked out JBA in San Diego. They installed my Roush phase 2 in my 2016 GT and dyno tuned it. Did nice work.

 

[sigintel]

Consider maybe going back to stock and reflash stock tune and take the car to dealership to fix any issues with timing or connections?
Then maybe drop the car at a known experienced shop to get the Whipple install?
That may be the lowest risk and fastest way back to being stress free.
If valves or valve guides got bent w timing off, maybe dealer will swap on new heads for you.
Its not really that big a deal.
If some other issue, dealer techs have training and diagnostic guides to step thru.

Usually, the most likely cause is the issue: if some unknown variable got added or changed resulting in an “as installed” condition different from what the tune is expecting, then it is damn near impossible for Whipple to debug without the car in their hands. The ECU is stupid: if tune doesnt work, then some sensor or mechanical issue is creating a condition the tune cant compensate for.

Stress is unnecessary:
1. the car ran great before install
2. the whipple kit and stock tune has been proven very successful for most people
3. there is simply an unknown variable like the throttle needs to be disassembled and rebuilt, or timing one hop off.

You want to make it as easy as possible for people to help you, and dont give anyone a reason not too. This forum is a great place to start cause many of us have screwed up a motor or two or burnt up a wiring harness or really screwed some shat up, lol.

If I had your car here, it would take roughly 4 beers, 2 bigmacs and maybe a frosty or route44 to get it back to stock in one afternoon. You can prolly do it yourself as well and get faster each time. Then reflash.
Just leave TG/OPG in and run stock NA setup.
I bribe dealer techs, service, office etc w $100 pastry deliveries and never had a ‘non warranty’ issue. So any problems on back to stock I know theyll fix.
After stock and known good starting point, attempt install again and see wtf happens.

 

[Stage_3]

Consider maybe going back to stock and reflash stock tune and take the car to dealership to fix any issues with timing or connections?
Then maybe drop the car at a known experienced shop to get the Whipple install?
That may be the lowest risk and fastest way back to being stress free.

BINGO!!!

 

[mhollida]

Bottom line up front: Whipple Superchargers tuning and customer support is atrocious and is a detriment to their actual hardware. Details below:

I bought a Whipple Supercharger complete kit for my 2017 Mustang 5.0 through Lethal Performance in March 2020. The kit came in mid-April, and I immediately installed it. Everything went smoothly with the install, until it was time to start up… I started the car up, with a bit of hang up on the start. Found some unplugged connections fixed those and then reflashed the tune to make sure the car was fine. Still started a little rough but came to find out the timing was off when I had also installed the OPGs.

I went back in and fixed that and reflashed the tune once again and thought I would be fine from there. The car started a little rough and then went to bogging down and died. I started it again and it was OK enough. I drove the car and it seemed fine enough until I rolled up to a stop sign or light, and the RPMs would drop to 500 from 750 like it was about to die.

I decided to get this checked out at a reputable speed shop in SoCal since maybe I had the install wrong with a possible vacuum leak or something. The shop determined that everything was installed correctly, but the tune was doing something weird with the way it read the air pressure outside therefore giving too much fuel to the cylinders.

I contacted Whipple about this issue and asked for a retune. It took me a full week to even hear a response about what data they needed to be able to see what was wrong with the car. After sending the data file on Thursday night (11 Jun 2020) I called the next day and asked to see what the process would be from there. They said it may take a couple of days, but they would investigate it. I wait till the next week and this is where the customer support takes a dive. I called every single day and a lady would answer the phone. I would tell her my issue and she would say I could talk to “Jeff” and she would have him give me a call back. This happened three different times, and not once did Jeff call me back. I would have to call, and she would then put me on hold to talk to Jeff and I would hold for at least 20 minutes. Finally, on Friday I had enough. I expressed my frustration with the support I had and told them that my car has driven a total of 200 miles since their system was installed on it. This past week (22 June through now), I never heard one thing back through email, nor phone call.

Overall, if I could do it again, I would get the tuners kit where I get another person tuning. It is frustrating as hell when I buy an $8000 kit from a company and they can’t provide the customer support to help get it running properly. I have spent over $1000 trying to fix their tuning mistake and now have decided to go a different route trying to get a tune for my car. DO NOT get Whipple’s tuning unless you want a chance that your car could run like a beat up Ford Pinto and not get ANY support from them as they give you the “go-around.”

And yea, I still have a car that doesn't run properly, so it just sits in the garage until I get a better tune for it.

Is your kit the "Gen 5" ?
Just asking as there is Oring in lid that seals the chamber to the bypass valve. If it is not installed correctly or is pinched or cut during install it will cause all kinds of issues with idle and other. It happened to me and tough to diagnose!

 

[involutions]

Bottom line up front: Whipple Superchargers tuning and customer support is atrocious and is a detriment to their actual hardware. Details below:

I bought a Whipple Supercharger complete kit for my 2017 Mustang 5.0 through Lethal Performance in March 2020. The kit came in mid-April, and I immediately installed it. Everything went smoothly with the install, until it was time to start up… I started the car up, with a bit of hang up on the start. Found some unplugged connections fixed those and then reflashed the tune to make sure the car was fine. Still started a little rough but came to find out the timing was off when I had also installed the OPGs.

I went back in and fixed that and reflashed the tune once again and thought I would be fine from there. The car started a little rough and then went to bogging down and died. I started it again and it was OK enough. I drove the car and it seemed fine enough until I rolled up to a stop sign or light, and the RPMs would drop to 500 from 750 like it was about to die.

I decided to get this checked out at a reputable speed shop in SoCal since maybe I had the install wrong with a possible vacuum leak or something. The shop determined that everything was installed correctly, but the tune was doing something weird with the way it read the air pressure outside therefore giving too much fuel to the cylinders.

I contacted Whipple about this issue and asked for a retune. It took me a full week to even hear a response about what data they needed to be able to see what was wrong with the car. After sending the data file on Thursday night (11 Jun 2020) I called the next day and asked to see what the process would be from there. They said it may take a couple of days, but they would investigate it. I wait till the next week and this is where the customer support takes a dive. I called every single day and a lady would answer the phone. I would tell her my issue and she would say I could talk to “Jeff” and she would have him give me a call back. This happened three different times, and not once did Jeff call me back. I would have to call, and she would then put me on hold to talk to Jeff and I would hold for at least 20 minutes. Finally, on Friday I had enough. I expressed my frustration with the support I had and told them that my car has driven a total of 200 miles since their system was installed on it. This past week (22 June through now), I never heard one thing back through email, nor phone call.

Overall, if I could do it again, I would get the tuners kit where I get another person tuning. It is frustrating as hell when I buy an $8000 kit from a company and they can’t provide the customer support to help get it running properly. I have spent over $1000 trying to fix their tuning mistake and now have decided to go a different route trying to get a tune for my car. DO NOT get Whipple’s tuning unless you want a chance that your car could run like a beat up Ford Pinto and not get ANY support from them as they give you the “go-around.”

And yea, I still have a car that doesn't run properly, so it just sits in the garage until I get a better tune for it.

HI,
I am not trying to be disrespectful to you, and despite the fact I myself have some major issues with Whipple customer service, I would side with Whipple on this one, and probably would not offer much help if I were them.

You stated that you neglected to follow the details not only in the instructions for the supercharger, but also the details in the OPG installation.

Is there a possibility that you forgot anything else?

Just because you called the shop "reputable" doesn't mean they are competent at diagnosing a system like this. Since you are in CA, maybe you should flatbed the car to Whipple and let them take a look-see. You're practically neighbors.

It is quite possible that there is a tune compatibility issue between their kit and your car.

It is also possible that your inattention to detail has unnecessarily tied up the customer support queue for others who took time to double and triple-check things before coming here to blast Whipple. I know it's frustrating. I'm frustrated with my kit, too. I'm frustrated for you. But if you're going to make mistakes, you're going to be at the mercy of others sometimes.

As someone else stated, maybe put it back to stock, and try again.

 

[dltn761]

I totally get possibly messing up on my end. I did go through a process to make sure I cleaned up what I messed up and even had a reputable shop look at it. Trust me, I want to love Whipple. I think their kit is badass and is parallel by none, but the support on the tuning end has just been atrocious. I just want to be able to understand where I am in their process rather than a, "we will get back to you sometime..." kind of thing. If there a was a response to my issue and I knew what they were doing to help, I would be in a different mindset with them. The matter of the fact is that I have been in the dark and have just wanted someone to seem like they are working on my issue. I hope this is resolved in a way with either Whipple or another shop's tune. Not sure, but at this point, this waiting game has been an awfully long one.

 

[Bullitt69]

I totally get possibly messing up on my end. I did go through a process to make sure I cleaned up what I messed up and even had a reputable shop look at it. Trust me, I want to love Whipple. I think their kit is badass and is parallel by none, but the support on the tuning end has just been atrocious. I just want to be able to understand where I am in their process rather than a, "we will get back to you sometime..." kind of thing. If there a was a response to my issue and I knew what they were doing to help, I would be in a different mindset with them. The matter of the fact is that I have been in the dark and have just wanted someone to seem like they are working on my issue. I hope this is resolved in a way with either Whipple or another shop's tune. Not sure, but at this point, this waiting game has been an awfully long one.

It has to be frustrating to get the run around like that.

I hope you get this all sorted out, keep trying.

I believe a polite phone call daily just to see where they are with your request can't hurt.

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