aliwantsnss

iTrader: (1)

This thread is retarded. To each there own. I have been to both shops, but only had work done at CARTEK. Matt was really cool, and Im not gonna bad mouth. They make lots of people happy, especially with the reasonable prices they charge. CARTEK has been around for several more years, and of course youre gonna have some bad with good. If you guys do a search, Im sure you can find a thread or 2 about unhappy TTP customers (a silver Vette and Mr B stand out), so don't act like they are angels who have never upset anyone.

TTPMatt

iTrader: (18)

What silver Vette?

All resolutions have been made with Mr. B. So why is that being brought up?

Mr. B

iTrader: (1)

BINGO!

When a customer has a lighter car/bigger budget, then the end results will always be more favorable.. like 2001orangeSS says. Simple, actually.

Matt @ TTP ultimately did the right thing by me.. he's more flexible and doesn't have the funky attitude that Dave Busch has. You simply get more bang for the buck at TTP.

The 02 sensor thing is actually serious, because some Cartek customers were unaware that thier car was modified in the way it was- running open loop 100% of the time, which can't help gas milage. If you let the customer make the decision, then- that's different.

As for getting 2000 clutch hydrolics in a 2002- that's just wrong.

Shop wars on here aren't anything new.. at least now they are more civil and not like a year or two ago.. where a Cartek goon wanted to come to my job and beat me up. Lucky for him, he didn't.. or else he'd be explaining a second bellybutton.

Bottom line.. do your "due dilligence" and get prices/promised times.

If customers demanded "10% discount for every week beyond promised date" then the horseshit with cars collecting dust would end. Contractors often benefit by bonus percentages if the complete work early, and tack on a percent if thier accounts recievable are not paid net 30, etc. So why should a customer take it in the shorts because a shop owner avoids taking calls like Dave at Cartek?

aliwantsnss

iTrader: (1)

It was a 97, and the thread was locked. I understand you have resolved things with Mr B, it was just an example. I didnt bash you guys at all, I was mearly saying that no shop is perfect, and you will always have someone who runs to the boards to tell what an awful experiance they had. Mr B stood up and said you guys made good, but plenty dont.

You also have the majority of your customers posting here, and some had a bad CARTEK visit. There are plenty of satisfied CARTEK people, but most dont post here.

Mr. B

iTrader: (1)

I'm happy.. very happy with the resolution I reached with Matt @ TTP.. and I actually still like the guys at TTP. I honestly have no further problems with Ken @ East Side Performance, and enjoy seeing Brad and Garys car kick ***.

Eventually, you have to put past problems behind you and look forward.

However.. Cartek has to change the way they deal with people.. like the "cake thread" in Sponsor Feedback.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...&page=1&pp=20&

Surprisingly- nobody has problems with Julio or Roy- just Dave Busch.

Like baseball has a designated hitter, Dave Busch may just be the shop "Designated Bad Guy".. all with or without Julio's knowledge/blessing.

offaxis

iTrader: (19)

Forget these 2 shops I would recomend either JPR or Absolute speed!!


I know MrB will back me up on that....

BTW j/k

Mr. B

iTrader: (1)

100%- these guys were PIONEERS!

Oh- and let's not forget ARE, Jantzer and APE!

NHRATA01

iTrader: (10)

I think the best bet is probably to do a search in the sponser feedback sections, and you can get the good, bad and ugly about both shops. This Eastern forum has always been kind of a hotbed for shop wars, so some of the opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.

I generally refrain from posting my comments, but I'll throw in 2 cents. I've bought a couple things from TTP and stopped by the shop once to pick up some heads. Matt was always pleasant to deal with and very helpful. The guys at the shop were cool and I shot the **** with them for awhile while I was waiting. So TTP's all good in my book.

I see no need for details, but I honestly can't say great things about the customer service I've had at Cartek in my dealings with them. They do build some badass setups no doubt, and I'm sure if you're dropping 5 figures and having them build a heavy motor and nitrous or FI setup, you'd walk away very happy. I don't know that they're the best idea for someone looking to install headers, or a heads cam setup, or suspension, etc. They've definitely made a name for themselves with their ET's, so they've got no shortage of customers and work. Which is good for them, but again not great for an average Joe who needs a clutch, tune, converter or cam install and has a 2 month wait for an appointment.

Not all of us are looking for built single digit screamers, some of us are just guys in the 10s, 11s, and 12s doing a couple mods at a time with our spare change and having fun driving the car to and from work. So the customer service is very important, as opposed to who has the faster aresenal of cars. Having a shop willing to answer your barrage of questions in a friendly manner, getting the work done in a timely fashion, and maybe giving you a little deal here and there can go alot farther than parading around a unobtainable 7 second car - otherwise Hardcore would be a bit more well-liked on this board

Anyways I'm done.
Just one a-hole's opinion on the topic.

9T9BlueTA

iTrader: (2)

I was waiting for that one

Robs98SS

iTrader: (1)

Ill have to agree with what was said above. If all your looking for is heads and a cam I would head to TTP. Now in no why am I saying that Cartek cant do heads and cam installs but most people wont want to wait so long for a package that runs just a well and makes the same power.

If you were looking for a "single digit screamer" then cartek would be a great place to go. Now this is not to say that TTP cant do these types of motors. Georges Turbo Formula is very fast and once its finished will definately compete with all the fastest cartek cars.

I would definately recommend TTP, only because it sounds like you want to liven the car up and are not looking to build a huge racing machine. The best advice you can get is to call both shops and get prices and availability times and then decide which is best for you. Also if theres anyone in your area, try driving a TTP equalizer/AFR car and a cartek 2X car. You may find that one has driving characteristics that you like more.

Either way you go im sure you will be very happy with the end result. Good luck and enjoy your car.

Rob

JayLS1-327

iTrader: (2)

Glad to hear that Bob !!

85OneTireFire

My responce is pretty simple. I live a town away from TTP, Cartek is to god dam far away. When I first heard about TTP being in my area I was defenitly interested. Then I went to their first Dyno day, and I was very impressed with their service and especially the cars they had their. I finally started getting work done by TTP after the last move and I found my new shop. Their prices are fair and the customer service is exellent. In my short experience with auto shops, the way they handle their customers & all that good stuff blow away most shops that I have ever delt with.

So mark up one more satisfied LT1 owner for TTP.

Ping King

iTrader: (20)

Mike...no problems with you...but just an observation ive made over the years in dealing with cartek people.

noone wants to accept the fact that your car will sit there..noone wants to accept the fact that if you arent in teh circle..your **** isnt getting done.

noone wants to accept the fact that they can put a car in open loop without cutting o2 sensors.

noone wants to accept the fact that the shop is kept like ****.


but everyones responce is..."well they run the numbers" or 12 people will post in a thread about how great cartek is after they post a video about a fast car.

yea..who cares if they run the numbers...unless you go into that shop waving money around...youre gonna get treated like meat...ive been there and had the same **** happen. Part of running a business is acting somewhat cordial to your customers.

ive used ttp, and it was 100x easier to deal with them...i didnt get talked to like i was a piece of ****..and i didnt have to be in an inside circle to get anything done.

NOTFAST

iTrader: (10)

exactly

i probably would have drove to cartek if i could have gotten a straight answer or a phone call returned from them

but im happy i chose TTP and dont mind driving 3 hrs to them. i was actually at ttp all day last wednesday with my buddy getting his z06 tuned and we left with a great feeling from matt and the crew -- and not just from the work being done, but from them being cool/good guys too

gaga

I say both are great shops... thank god we live in driving distance of 3 of the fastest shops in america.....


call all the shops and make your own decisions!!

Nabbs

I think you guys are refering to my Z06. I brought it to TTP to cure a pre-existing pinging/knocking problem. They dyno tuned it and put in a lower temp tstat. Was very happy with the tune, until the pinging came back....grrr. Frustrated, I complained on the Corvette Board, and both TTP and Slowhawk (the original tuner of my car) stepped up and offered to fix it. However, I found a tuner closer who took care of my car for free. While I am not thrilled about having spent 300 bucks for a tune that didn't take care of the original problem, I think that it was fair in the sense that TTP offered to fix the problem, but I chose not to use their services -- so I do not feel that they "screwed" me at all.

Also, to be fair the car was tuned very hastily as the squeezed me in late in the day and Matt was not the one who tuned my car.

Generally, I like Matt and TTP, and think they are an honest shop (they just need to replace that damn office monkey!!). Of course SlowHawk is also a top shelf guy, who also knows his stuff. I think you want somebody who will stand by their product and will not pull a "GM Dealer" on you when something breaks or is not working right. I feel that out of 10 TTP is about a 7 in the customer service category, which is pretty damn good.

As for Cartek, I have never dealt with them personally, but I have seen their work firsthand amongst some of my Vette friends. TTP may not have gotten the tuning right the first round, but they had my car back same day and in the same condition as when I brought it there. I can't say the same from what I have seen from some of the Cartek guys. I have also had trouble nailing down an appointment with them, or getting them on the phone. After all that, I wouldn't be crazy about Cartek, jmho.

Finally, I have been completely swayed in regards to tuning software. Most people on here are leaning towards HP Tuners or EFI Live, and LS1 Edit has really fallen by the wayside. As a result, I am not a huge fan of tuners who use LS1 Edit as it is either too easy to make a mistake or frankly deficient software to begin with. This was my main consideration in NOT bringing my car back to TTP, and why I had it fixed by Corvettes of Westchester. Chuck at CoW is a good guy, and really knows his stuff. He road tuned my car (which was one of my complaints about TTP -- it was only dyno tuned) with EFI Live and got the car to run like a champ! It pulls like a freight train and has ZERO retard. This really sold me on CoW and I would urge others to consider that tunning is 90% of the product, and such you should make sure you use a tuner who has the right tools to begin with.

-N

Nabbs

Oh yah, Corvettes of Westchester is located in Tarrytown NY a few miles from the TPZ.

-N

TTPMatt

iTrader: (18)

Nabbs: They are talking about the 97 white corvette. If you read the story its kind of hilarious we fixed a problem caused by the car's previous owner for free. I will try to find the thread.

Also, Matt is no longer with us. We're talking to someone now who would make a great addition to the TTP team.

- Matt

TTPMatt

iTrader: (18)

Here is the thread:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/ls1tech-sponsor-feedback/287854-my-experience-w-ttp.html

9T9BlueTA

iTrader: (2)

lol, you could complain about most tuners then. My car has been tuned my more than a few shops and it has never been road tuned (Matt at TTP might of done it one time but I am not sure). It has run good for the most part though so I was satisfied.