Geoff

iTrader: (3)

We can and do fabricate exhaust systems using mandreal bends. As Blake had said above, no shop is actually going to mandrel bend pipe. The equipment needed to do this is very specialized and expensive, usually only manufacturers of exhaust components will invest in those type of benders. Mandrel benders can usually exceed 10 times the cost of a regular bender like what a muffler shop would typically have. The technique used is to either use j-bends or u-bends that are mandrel bent and cut and section them in to the desired pipe bends. Hope this helps.

Theblueone

hey Geoff, hope I didn't step on any toes with my response. I was just trying to give some information and help some people out. I was actually at your shop Saturday picking up some parts you had in stock. Dave has always been super helpfull, you should give him a raise

Geoff

iTrader: (3)

Blake,

You weren't who I was quoting. You didn't step on any toes at all. It's all good with me.

I guess my issue is that certain people (not you) like to play shops against one another. Like I said earlier EVERY shop out there has had problems and EVERY shop out there has had some success. You should go to the shop that you feel most comfortable dealing with and if you do have a problem, give the shop a chance to fix it or make it right, before running to another shop, or badmouthing them on the internet.

99'CajunFirehawk157

iTrader: (57)

So to whoever local shop wants to quote this request:
stock t/a f-body 99-02, looking for a tru dual setup which will include pipes from the converters back, using stainless and a crossover, coming all the way out the back of the car t/a style, not including customers tips of choice and mufflers. I am only looking for a ballpark quote, just something to base a decision on, won't hold anyone to it either.

Thanks and to both shops, what a street tune cost?

dave70

iTrader: (2)

Call each shop shop See who answers the phone. Email each shop see what one answers the phone . That's what made up my mind. One of them (no names) is about impossible to get in touch with. If you have a problem with your car Do you want to have to wait a week just to talk to someone??

95CamZ

iTrader: (3)

That is a great point, b/c i'm in between the two right now and have spoken to one company through phone and email freguently, but the other has yet to answer the phone personally nor reply to my email from a week and a half ago!!

crazyidiot4.8

thunder definately has the upper-hand there. if that's a priority for you, then thunder wins hands down. on the flip side, walk into thunder and try to talk to geoff. chances are he's busy working on something and you'll have to talk to someone else, not the person who will be tuning your car and probably not the person who will be turning any of the wrenches on it. nothing wrong with that, the two companies are just run differently.

as for me, i could really care less about getting someone over the phone in a hurry. if you have a problem with your car, or need some mod done for that matter, they can't fix it over the phone anyway. if your just price shopping then what's the hurry? send and email. also, not once have I ever heard of anyone actually showing up at either shop and not getting service.

i've done business with both shops. thunder always seems to have the last minute parts i need, and for the most part they have very good customer service. allan futral has STARTED installing a shift kit on my truck at 8:00 PM, cuz he said he'd get it done that day, so he did.

ThunderStruk

iTrader: (1)

PM me exactly what you are looking for and I can price quote you what you are looking for. Hope to hear from you soon.


John

dave70

iTrader: (2)

I had left several e mails and voice mails None were EVER returned . That was the deciding factor for me (still not naming names) Not saying one is better than the other But if your car is a DD this may be something to consider. I think either shop is capable of great work.

Geoff

iTrader: (3)

Tony,

Seems like some people STILL want to give me a bad rap for usually being busy either tuning or working on cars. My bottom line is this: If you go to the doctor you would probably want his undivided attention if he is doing surgery on you. You probably wouldn't feel real comfortable if he was stopping every 5 minutes to talk on the phone or otherwise. I ALWAYS spend a lot of time talking to and explaining what I am doing, to anyone that I am working on their car. Anyone who has had me tune their car will vouch for this.

My thought is that I would rather take care of a customer that is in the shop first and solicit new business second. If I am not busy then I have no problem stopping and talking to anyone about anything. All you have to do is ask.

crazyidiot4.8

Sorry Geoff, I guess that came out wrong. I wasn't knocking you at all for staying busy. Like you said, I'd rather keep technicians and tuners working than talking. We run the shop (you know where I work) down here the same way. I have to explain to customers on a daily basis that they can't talk to the technician cuz everytime he gets on the phone its going to take that much longer to get their truck they needed done "yesterday" completed. People also don't realize this is why its hard to get in touch with FMS. They don't have a lot of people working there, and they are going to get their work done for the customers that are in the shop already, before moving on to answering the phones. Just so happens they stay busy.

What I was trying to point out was that if someone had an issue with their car after work was done, NEITHER shop is going to be able to fix it over the phone or e-mail. The car is going to have to be physically brought to the shop. So getting someone on the phone immediately that can say "Bring us the car so we can fix the problem" is not really an added bonus to me. Additionally, for myself, if i'm just getting quotes then i'm not in any serious rush. Send a PM, e-mail someone, leave a message.

Geoff

iTrader: (3)

Tony,

Not a big deal. Just that in the past on a certain local board (and I know you remember the history) I was being painted as either having a bad attitude or being an a-hole for not talking to people. Some of that was caused by a squabble with a customer (the ex owner of where you work, another LONG story, when he threatened to run me out of business). Bottom line is that I do talk to my customers quite a lot and generally try to treat people like I would like to be treated...but as you understand I would never get anything done if I talked all day.

99'CajunFirehawk157

iTrader: (57)

PM sent John, thanks.

crazyidiot4.8

Oh yes I remember that ordeal. Glad that one finally blew over.

tcr98taws6

I think I heard my name...........

'99 CajunFirehawk, I would use Futral as many others have suggested.....he is THE best tuner in your region of the country. I have used them all in South Louisiana at one time or another and he does the best work. He will also fully back his warranty work should it be necessary without sticking you for questionalble charges/parts.

Futral tuned my T/A once after the owner of another shop installed his brand cam in the car and couldn't tune it for idle.....Futral made it work in less than an hour.

99'CajunFirehawk157

iTrader: (57)

1/26/08...never got any quotes...from way back (1/7) when I asked...

dave70

iTrader: (2)

Like i said....... Email them about a complete engine build and i bet they will get right back with you. lol

AINT SKEERED

iTrader: (2)

Glad Allen got yours to idle because I bought 2 sets of o2's and 2 mafs trying to get my f13 cam to idle. Allan kept scratching his head and just said you need o2's or you need new Maf. Never fixxed the idle. car performed good but that was the extent of it. I since bought efi live and learn a lot on the efi forum and also talk with Geoff and now my car idles great and actually picked up at the track from a little less timing then Allan having it on the edge. That might make power on a dyno but not at the track.

Now for a good story, My dad has a 1965 chevelle with a 383 lt1 that a freind of mine built the motor for. Allan does nothing but bad mouth My freind all the time because he built a few freinds engines that allan had originally built engines for. We took the car to Allan to tune and all I got was attitude from him that day ( we were freinds up untill this point) and when the car left his dyno , it ran worse then it did before we went to him. even though he got us more hp on the dyno

at the track the car just felt like a turd and ran a best of 12.30 at 110. it had a best 60 ft of 1.90 not spinning , but just lazy.

We pulled the spark plugs and the damn plugs were white ( not tan but freaking white). I called Allan and he said it was the brand of fuel that we ran that caused that and I knew that was bull**** so I took it to Geoff to put on his dyno to check the air fuel. the results were 14/1

we had Geoff look at the tune and the timing curve was a stock lt1 curve with 2 degrees added across the hole table. My dad chose to have Geoff tune it and he done a lot of work in the timing table and air fuel to find another 20 hp. Now to back that up, the 60 fts went to 1.61 and ran 11.69 at 113 . THe car is consistently in the 11.8's with better drivabilaty and gas milage. Thanks Geoff.

Now I am doing some tuning on a few freinds cars that were tuned by Allan and one of them replaced the transmission recently because it went out. He put a **** kit in so we put his pressures to stock and changed his shift times . WHile test driving it with my efi live hooked to it , I realized that Allan had his converter locking up as soon as it went to 2nd and stayed locked through 3rd.( another car with a built engine from My freind Shon) I unlocked it on the up shifts and damn, the car is a lot faster now

I know allan is capable of good work, he has a lot of talent but just dont get on his bad side if you want your car to stay running good.

slo-nova

True story If you decide to use FMS for your own benifit please pay after work is complete

URLOSN

iTrader: (29)

I had allan do a tune for me on my 02 T/A was happy with it except for the fact it didn't idle very well(coming to a stop at a light) Said ti was cause the cam was big G5X2 . well that being said, i took it to the track, and it ran a best of 11.8@ 116 and 10.9@126 on a 150 shot. a friend of mine who is a tuner in alabama asked to look at the tune, cause he thought it should have done better in his opinion. well after messing with the tune, for 6 hours on motor and nitrous and making around 9 dyno pulls, it gained 12 hp on motor and not sure on nitrous, lost tach signal. but at the track, the car went 11.6@120 and 10.7@130 on a 150 shot. i called and asked the difference and was told it was cause there was way to much timing and not enough fuel. said the worst par was that i was using a tune that had 29* of timing and was spraying a 150 shot on pump gas, which turned out to be ok, didn't hurt anything, but i was told it was on the ragged edge. I will say allan builds some bad *** motors, buti have several friends who have had either bad pcm's, bad maf's, or bad o2's . that other shops have been able to tune. I have dealt with geoff on a few occassions and he has always taken time to come to the phone and answer my questions, where i have not been so lucky with allan. and customer service is a big part in a sale to me.