LS1TECH Sponsor Feedback - Not thrilled with Hardcore Motorsports.

First off, I'll say they have good customer service over the phone... After that I can't say another positive thing about them.
I had them do a H/C swap with customer supplied parts and was taken to the cleaners by them. Over $3k in labor alone and nowhere near the price quoted over the phone before I brought the car in. And they added some parts I never authorized. Not to mention their quality control was almost nonexistent, like not putting on a single hose clamp properly.
To top it off, they pimped a cam on me that I never wanted because my car was tying up their shop. They didn't want to wait a couple days for a new cam from TSP because the origial one with my kit didn't have enough P to V clearance. Strange considering, TSP has put that same combo on many cars with no problems.

I got all my parts through TSP and have nothing but positive things to say about them. I only wished I had waited till this spring and I could have taken my car down to them to have the work done.

Did you contact them about your dissatisfaction with the installation? Did they offer you any solutions?

What did they actually supply that you didn't approve?Just looking for the full story because I've run across customer supplied installs and they miss alot of stuff that is needed and I always charge more if the customer supplies the parts.

yea your going to need to be more detailed as to what your problems are with Hardcore, actually i think you are the frist person i have ever see post here about having work done there

Yes I did, and they had me bring it back in and they still didn't fix all of the problems. On the return trip home it lost all the power steering, my dad pulled over to find that the hose for the steering came off and had sprayed fluid all over the engine and belts. After hearing that I said F-that and had my dad put it back in storage until I get back. I havent even had a chance to go over the car yet. But I will when I get back in March and call them again with all the shit I find wrong with it, which I am sure there will be more.

Yes I did, and they had me bring it back in and they still didn't fix all of the problems. On the return trip home it lost all the power steering, my dad pulled over to find that the hose for the steering came off and had sprayed fluid all over the engine and belts. After hearing that I said F-that and had my dad put it back in storage until I get back. I havent even had a chance to go over the car yet. But I will when I get back in March and call them again with all the shit I find wrong with it, which I am sure there will be more.

I wouldnt wait until March. The longer you wait on this the harder its going to be to get any kind of resolution for your problems.

What did they actually supply that you didn't approve?Just looking for the full story because I've run across customer supplied installs and they miss alot of stuff that is needed and I always charge more if the customer supplies the parts.
ARP head bolts, which wouldn't have been a big issue if I had asked for them. And O2 sims, which was a big issue with me because I know that those could be removed with LS1 edit. Which brings up another problem. I had asked them to return the Predator tuner to stock becuase I had that sold. They didn't do that and ended up tuning my car with it for the mere price of $550.

I wouldnt wait until March. The longer you wait on this the harder its going to be to get any kind of resolution for your problems.
Can't really do anything about it right now. I'm in the Military in San Diego and my car is in Michigan in storage. Even if I could get time off, I can't afford a plane ticket home after paying for the bill.
And not to mention, the work was completed in Oct. It's tough when you call and get a quote for $2100 insatlled and tuned (calling them and telling them what parts you were gonna order and needed installed) and buget for that much and when you get the bill it's $4100. I did want them to add on a Tach, which I got through them but was more than a little surprised at the $150 install price on top of the $250 purchase price.

yea your going to need to be more detailed as to what your problems are with Hardcore, actually i think you are the frist person i have ever see post here about having work done there
The problem I have with them is that they did sub-par work and charged way more than they originally quoted on the phone. I guess I'm ignorant to the game, give them one price on the phone and then hit them when they bring the car in.
Right, wrong, or other wise they wouldn't install the cam I got through TSP. And after a couple of days of working with Jason (TSP), he was gonna send a different cam up, but no my car was holding up a bay and they had to get it out of there. Even though it had been there almost a month prior to this. So I finally gave into their shit and had them install a cam that they so conveniently had in stock. One that they promised would give similar results. Turns out that their 224/224 cam pushed out 407rwhp, I guess that is similar to TSP's 233/239 cam. :rolleyes:
To top it off, I called while it was on the dyno and was told it was seeing 450 rwhp. So I was more than a little shocked when I saw the final results.
So with the price of parts and install, I spent about $100 a hp.
I have a list of little shit that they messed up. From not properly connecting any hoses, to not even toping off the radiator, and not replacing the rear O2's or putting plugs in the y-pipe. And the list goes on and on. It's a 200 mile drive one way to the shop from my dad's house and I'm not gonna keep paying for gas and expect him to play middle man trying to get my car squared away. If they want to charge so freaking much they could at least not leave so many lose ends.

Ohh, forgot to add. They would not fly cut the pistons to get the required PTV clearance for my cam, but they were offering to slap a set of forged ones in for $2200.

Bent would be more fitting.

It's a shame but no matter who you deal with anymore you gotta be damn carefull! It's almost like you MUST do an official contract for the work spelling out each step specifically and the desired outcome, then both parties sign it. Most of the complaints in this section are infrequent occurences spread out between many positive experiences with the business, then everyone thats not been bent over by that business jumps on your sh!t for even suggesting that their wonder companies might have put it to someone. :judge:

Yeah, agreed.
But I also think if I had been a member of the site and they knew it, they probably would have treated me better.
But the worse part of it was, every time I called them with questions they would give some bull shit answer I guess assuming I was some sort of an idiot.
So all in all, they ended up padding my bill, did a sloppy job, and gave bull shit answers to my questions.

Almost been a month and they still haven't said anything..

Some of the guys from Hardcore do post on this board maybe you can private message them just to let them know about this thread. That might get you some kind of response.

Heres on of them http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/member.php?userid=55588 .

that sucks man. What all was done for 3000 dollars in labor?

$3k in labor for H/C swap! Hopefully someone from Hardcore gets in here and works this out with you! I know there is a rep on here from Hardcore, I was reading his posts yesterday. Good luck!

I get the impression that they don't mind a little tarnish on thier name..

that sucks that is why i do all of my work myself. i hate to be screwed. thank go for ls1tech. i have done my own heads and cam, rear, etc.. good luck man. why do shops feel they have to bullshit people. i cant stand that. just tell me what it will be straight up. i kno there are two sides to the story, but. quality work is quality work. u should leave exactly the way you came in , but faster

that sucks man. you should file a lawsuit when you get back. sucks that it takes a bad experience like that to steer the rest of us away from a bad shop.

I guess if they ignor this post long enough it might go away..

*nudge*

I guess if they ignor this post long enough it might go away..
Go away?

Nah ;)

All I'm gunna say is, I would have never gone there. Do some diggin, you'll find out why.

I got a bad vibe also. Hope everything gets worked out.

I have learned a valuable lesson. It pays to do your homework or even to just do the work yourself. There are more than enough resources on here to get pretty much any job done.

I'm not really sure what my options are. They screwed me over and because of the postion I was in I paid. A few of the site sponsors have offered to help out and swap to the cam I originally bought. All for a lot better price than Hardcore would ever do it for.
I will decide whether it needs it or not when I get the car out of storage in the next month, I want to get it to the track and see where it stands. If it pulls decent times I may just keep it like it is until I build a forged setup. But for some reason I have a hard time believing a 224/224 will out perform a TSP 233/239 cam. Call me crazy..

If it pulls decent times I may just keep it like it is until I build a forged setup. But for some reason I have a hard time believing a 224/224 will out perform a TSP 233/239 cam. Call me crazy..

If I were you I would leave it the way it is for now.You may be okay with the performance until you go forged.

Save the money you would spend on a cam swap,pick a good shop and do it right when the time comes.:)

You have three good shops in your area that won't bend you over.Wheel,Livernois,Stenod.

Sounds like that smartest thing to do.

Just my .02, here in Michigan we have a law that says when quoted by a repair shop they can not charge more than $50.00 over the original quote unless they contact you personally. This might only be correct if you recieved a writen repair and signed it. With you being out of state I don't know.

Thanks, I'll look into it.

Well i am another guy who has had work done at Hardcore and tthey messed my shit up really bad. First off they said that they were gonna tweek my computer and they by doing that they fried it. Then they hooked my nitrous up wrong. Then they welded my tourque arm on crooked.

It's funny how they seem to be the only sponsor on the site that doesn't seem to care about thier name. I guess if you have a piss poor reputation, a few more comments couldn't knock it down anymore.

First off, I'm sorry to hear about your dealings with them. As you said, it does pay to do your homework and this is a great deal of help to me. I was thinking of having some work done by them, or atleast buying the parts from them, which I guess right now I'm glad I haven't spent anything. I hate to see anything bad happen to myself, let along anyone else. It's amazing these shops get anywhere when they know this board is pretty much where all LS1 talk determines where alot of guys decide on having work done or purchasing parts so they know they're dealing with a reputable shop. This stuff isn't cheap by any means and its not something we want to have to do more than once. I know how you feel being away. I'm in Michigan right now going to school, but my car is back home in PA. I would hate to bring my car all the way up here and have that happen. It's good we have the boards to make people aware of this stuff. I know I appreciate it.

Ttt...

Been following this post for quite some time. Semper FI there bud!

Thanks Devil Dog. I'm still trying to find all of the booby traps they left in it.

Hi Ryan,
I don't follow this board very much, my apologies. I'd like you to call me when you get a chance. The last thing I want is unhappy customers.
I've only been here for a couple of months now and we have gone through some growing pains over the last year. I'm here to make sure people have a good experience with Hardcore Racing. We have good people and very knowledgable engine builders and mechanics. Unfortunately, every engine builder out there thinks their way is the best way. When it's all said and done, there might be more than one way to make the power. I can tell you we have crossed the 2000hp mark with our F3 supercharged race engines. There may or may not be others out there making the same power - but others can. It takes a ton of money and tons of time doing R&D to figure out what works and what doesn't.
We have spent countless dollars and time testing camshafts. And yes it is possible for the cam we picked out to make more power than the one you supplied. I used to get caught up in duration and lift numbers, but there is more to it than just those numbers.
As far as the other issues with the car and the cost, let's talk. I do care about what people have to say about us - but there are two sides to every story.
I look forward to talking with you, or you can email me at kelley@hcorems.com.

Sincerely,

Kelley Longwish - Hardcore Racing
810-787-2960

I guess if they ignor this post long enough it might go away..


Well, three months and you finally get a response. OOH RAH! Persistence pays off! Let us know how it turns out.

-Devil Dog out-

Will do...

I'm a noob to LS1Tech...as I have a GTO....but I've heard about these guys on our site....for anyone else be very weary of letting these guys do work for you...

RyanSS: hey! Whats up? Well, if you bring your car down to San Diego and ever have large project to do, let me know. I could probally help. I'm stationed at Yuma. I have done h/c and susp stuff quite a bit. I could help you out. But its still a drive from here to there and vice-versa. If anything, P.M. me.

Ski

Thanks for the offer. If I'm ever in the area, I'll let you know.


Ryan

Quick update
I sent crazylegs a pm with no response, after he pm'd me.

ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE....I sent it over to our special projects manager which is Porfiler582 and he said he wanted to make things right with you. He left you a message to contact him and you still have not done so, please contact him. Thanks and have a great day. Sorry I can not help you myself and wish I could. I have only been here a short time but I did manage to copy what we talked about and put it in the right hands. Please contact Kelly cause he is the one that can help you. Thanks again!