Well, Big Tim posted his story so I thought I might as well share mine. First I'll point out that this is totally from my point of view. That being said - here goes:
My car was the first Automatic done by Nick (Perfworks) and Nick (MPNick). I started talking to Perf roughly around October or November of last year. He and I talked a great deal about turbo's and I did my best to learn as he dispensed info. Perf and KzA and I went to I-REV and had a great time, talked more about the kits. Things were getting good. Finally, I decided I wanted to go turbocharged. I was worried a bit about the reliability of the system, but he assured me that the piggyback would have total control of the engine and that I would be able to run 6-8 psi safely. I spent lots of time at the shop - trying to help out where I could and having a great time.
Here's the things I noticed at the shop. MPNick gets quite angry when things aren't done his way - it's his shop - so I understand that completely. He also complained quite a bit about wasted materials, again - his shop, his dollar.
We began work on my car, and I was told that it would be done in a weekend, and that we wouldn't have to cut anything on or off the car. I wanted to keep my factory warranty just in case something happenned. I was assured that we would not have to change anything on the car. Well, the bumper came off - and we found out that my car and Perf's were a bit differint. More to the point the FMIC would not fit. So Perf told me we had to cut my bumper to make it fit. I wasn't happy about this at all, but - I wanted to be turbocharged, so - he cut off a few inches underneath the bumper. He assured me that the fitment would be fine - and he was right, until we had to put the pipes on the FMIC tank ends. Again, we were out of space, so he cut into the fog light housing to make room. I was more annoyed at this, but he told me that if we ever needed to go back, he would buy me a bumper for the $205 it costs for a new one - painted from mazda. This calmed me down, after all - I was going to be turbocharged, and it was only going to be 2 or 3 days before my car was done, and we could begin road tuning.
I was still incredibly exited.
Meanwhile, MPNick was still running his normal business, getting cars in and out that he already had scheduled. While the shop has 3 bays, only one bay has a lift, and as such - we were constantly competing for time on the lift. Also - there was some great disagreement between Perf and MPnick about time management. Perf felt that MPnick should be spending more time on the Mazda's and MPnick felt that Perf should spend more time doing work for regular customers which pays the shop and keeps things running. I would hear Perf complain that MPnick was constantly on his case about wasting materials and time management, and that things weren't done right. In general there was alot of angst. MPnick complained to me that Perf would constantly not put the protective covers on the fenders to protect cars from getting scratched, and that Perf had wasted lots of materials.
I was starting to get nervous, things were getting tense in the shop, and now whenever I was there, for the most part I just saw them avoiding each other.
Now I can only assume that they were behaving better when I was around, because you could cut the tension with a knife. I'm sure that Kooldino, KzA, Big Timm, and a few other people would be able to vouch for this. My car dragged on for a month, it still wasn't done. Mostly because of time management I suppose. Perf said he would be able to work on my car at night, so I would borrow my brothers pick up truck and drive down each night after work. Perf and I got along great, so the time really didn't bother me so much. I was learning alot about my car. But things with Perf and MPnick were not getting any better.
Time wasn't working on my side, since Perf had to leave to pick up his girlfriend from work each night, some nights we called it an early night, other nights - MPnick would stay with me until 3-5am in the morning.
Things were getting worse between Perf and MPnick, it got to the point where I didn't want Perf working on my car unless MPnick was there. There were little things like Perf telling me ( and Big Tim ) that we could use the ciggarette lighter as a powersource for the piggyback (which certainly wouldn't work since it's turned off when you try to start the car), and big things like Perf and MPnick both trash talking each other to me. There was a great deal of listening and trying to remain optimistic on my part. These guys both have so much talent. It's really a shame.
You should see the downpipe that Perf made for my car. It's perfect, now Joka1 has it.
Right when things had gotten really bad, Perf and MPnick had a huge fight, there were lots of swear words being passed, I think I recall a "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. Then Perf wasn't coming to the shop at all anymore. Things were bad. Then right when I didn't think things could get any worse, Perf had some medical problems in his family. It was a rough spot, here I am friends with both of them, and now, my car still isn't done, and they are fighting tooth and nail, and then - Perf has something major like that happen. It was a rough spot, I tried to talk to both of them, and act as the go between for them.
So then, they both asked me, and I offered to be the Authorized Vendor on the forum. (I won't go into detail about it, since it's been previously covered in another thread) It was kind of kewl, I still spent most of my time relaying questions to both of them though. I have a decent understanding of cars and the concept behind turbocharging a car. I'm decently smart - so I did my best. But, it did get to the point that MPnick and I were constantly going back and forth so I could answer questions, so he started coming on the forum.
Here, let me backtrack and say this. MPnick does some incredible work, I can say this, not only from the work I have seen him do, but from the people I have talked to at the shop. There are people bringing in vipers, old 280Z's, Porsches, and Merkurs - my god, I've never seen so many Merkurs. Perf really hated the Merkurs, hell, I think if MPnick didn't spend so much time on one Black Merkur in particular, then maybe things might have turned out differintly. But the truth is, that person was a paying customer, and a long standing well paying one at that. They did an awful lot of talking, and it really bugged the hell out of Perf. They both can do excellent work, but it was like having two captains on one ship. Only one captain owned the boat, so - drama occurred.
Fast forward to a few months ago, MPnick and Perf got my car running. Perf made some mistakes a few times, and MPnick always pointed them out to me, most of them involved the wiring of the piggyback, and the fact that some things just weren't done as MPnick would have liked. But, eventually the car was running, and road tuning began.
The first drive on boost, my god - I'll never forget it. The feeling of boost, it was amazing. Hell, I still want another turbocharged car so bad. I left the car at the shop for about a week, driving there each day after work to test it. Finally we were confident enough to take it home. So I drove home, and I punched it at a light, and I heard a pop. I blew off the hose from the compressor side of the turbo. I called MPnick on his cellphone, and he went back to the shop and got his tools and then came out to meet me. We fixed it on the side of the road, and he gave me his tools in a bag to keep in the trunk and told me he would keep his cellphone on just incase. I called Perf, and he was really happy to hear I was driving home. We talked about more plans for the car, and things were looking pretty good - all things considered.
I kept going back and we road tuned more and more. I did notice that sometimes the tranny slipped if I really got on it though. That scared me, so we purchased a tranny cooler and planned to switch to a better synthetic tranny fluid. In the meantime, I learned to use the auto-stick mode in ways Mazda surely never intended. It was great, I could use the stick mode to control shifts, and just let off the gas before shiting and then get back on it. It was great. The car was quick. Extremely quick. Unfortunately the only person on the forum who rode in it was kZa.
So, one fateful day, my luck turned to s***. I was driving to NY following behind my brother and his fiancee at 80mph. Just cruising behind them in their 2001 escort when I heard a distinctive noise. A bang from the engine. I knew what it was instantly. I jammed on the brakes and pulled over and killed the engine, which was still running, but very badly. I called MPnick on the phone and popped the hood. Took a look - and there was smoke and some oil. I walked behind the car and ran out into traffic and grabbed the bottom piece of one of my engines rods. To make matters worse, my brother called me and asked where I was - he was already in NY. He didn't see it. So, I had to call a tow truck, and get towed off the turnpike, then back down to the shop. Then the kid dropped my car off the tow truck and messed up my bumper and broke my neons. Yeah, when it rains, it poors. Not that it was raining, just stating my luck.
So, I talked with MPnick, and Perf. We decided to keep things quiet until we found out what happenned. Well, we found out what happenned, but we never went public with it, until now - so here it is, my engine blew. The reason both Perf and MPnick agree on is that my engine was revving too high when it slipped out of gear. This in turn weakened the connecting bolts in the bottom of the rods. You can tell because the rods aren't actually broken, it just came apart where the bolts were.
Perf helped me find an engine, at Michealsons. He told me that an engine would likely cost me $2500, but that he once dated someone who was related to someone at Michealsons, so he got me the engine for $1000. It was from the same model and year car as mine, with 5000 miles on it. Perf asked me if he could have some parts from my old engine, and I said as long as I don't need them - sure. It took a few weeks but they got it together. Hell, I just started driving again about a week ago. Had a check engine light because we forgot to plug in the EGR wire. Man is that damn thing in one hell of a spot.
Now, it's running alright, I'm driving it like I used to before it was turbo. Tranny still slips a tiny bit. It's only when it's shifting from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 4th. And it needs to be around 4600-4700rpm exactly at the shift point. When it does slip, it basically revs up to 4900-5000rpm and then it shifts. Still bugs me though. So I am now in the process of making my car look like it's stock. The tow truck kid is going to buy me a new bumper and paint, then it's just a matter of paying off more of the car so I can trade it in. I want a Neon SRT-4. Yeah, I know it's still a neon, and it looks like a damned skittle, but - I've driven it, and I like it. Alot.
Well, now everybody knows - that's the long and the short of it. If I left anything out, I'm sure MPnick and Perf will comment it to this thread. I do recall hearing that Perf still owes MPnick about a grand or so, so you can figure that will come up. As far as my car - I was telling the truth when I said I couldn't afford to keep it, After bills and car payment and turbo payment, I was down to $200 a month. All things told though, I don't regret it - it was just a painful learning experience. Fun while it lasted, but bad when it ended. On the plus side, MPnick has never charged me for labor. That alone has really shown me what a great guy he is. I'm going to help him build one hell of a dual CPU machine when he's ready.
Of course I did leave out the steamy details like the night that they couldn't finish Big Tim's car, and he stayed at my house. Woo boy!
lol.
this took forever to type, I'm going to bed.
My car was the first Automatic done by Nick (Perfworks) and Nick (MPNick). I started talking to Perf roughly around October or November of last year. He and I talked a great deal about turbo's and I did my best to learn as he dispensed info. Perf and KzA and I went to I-REV and had a great time, talked more about the kits. Things were getting good. Finally, I decided I wanted to go turbocharged. I was worried a bit about the reliability of the system, but he assured me that the piggyback would have total control of the engine and that I would be able to run 6-8 psi safely. I spent lots of time at the shop - trying to help out where I could and having a great time.
Here's the things I noticed at the shop. MPNick gets quite angry when things aren't done his way - it's his shop - so I understand that completely. He also complained quite a bit about wasted materials, again - his shop, his dollar.
We began work on my car, and I was told that it would be done in a weekend, and that we wouldn't have to cut anything on or off the car. I wanted to keep my factory warranty just in case something happenned. I was assured that we would not have to change anything on the car. Well, the bumper came off - and we found out that my car and Perf's were a bit differint. More to the point the FMIC would not fit. So Perf told me we had to cut my bumper to make it fit. I wasn't happy about this at all, but - I wanted to be turbocharged, so - he cut off a few inches underneath the bumper. He assured me that the fitment would be fine - and he was right, until we had to put the pipes on the FMIC tank ends. Again, we were out of space, so he cut into the fog light housing to make room. I was more annoyed at this, but he told me that if we ever needed to go back, he would buy me a bumper for the $205 it costs for a new one - painted from mazda. This calmed me down, after all - I was going to be turbocharged, and it was only going to be 2 or 3 days before my car was done, and we could begin road tuning.
I was still incredibly exited.
Meanwhile, MPNick was still running his normal business, getting cars in and out that he already had scheduled. While the shop has 3 bays, only one bay has a lift, and as such - we were constantly competing for time on the lift. Also - there was some great disagreement between Perf and MPnick about time management. Perf felt that MPnick should be spending more time on the Mazda's and MPnick felt that Perf should spend more time doing work for regular customers which pays the shop and keeps things running. I would hear Perf complain that MPnick was constantly on his case about wasting materials and time management, and that things weren't done right. In general there was alot of angst. MPnick complained to me that Perf would constantly not put the protective covers on the fenders to protect cars from getting scratched, and that Perf had wasted lots of materials.
I was starting to get nervous, things were getting tense in the shop, and now whenever I was there, for the most part I just saw them avoiding each other.
Now I can only assume that they were behaving better when I was around, because you could cut the tension with a knife. I'm sure that Kooldino, KzA, Big Timm, and a few other people would be able to vouch for this. My car dragged on for a month, it still wasn't done. Mostly because of time management I suppose. Perf said he would be able to work on my car at night, so I would borrow my brothers pick up truck and drive down each night after work. Perf and I got along great, so the time really didn't bother me so much. I was learning alot about my car. But things with Perf and MPnick were not getting any better.
Time wasn't working on my side, since Perf had to leave to pick up his girlfriend from work each night, some nights we called it an early night, other nights - MPnick would stay with me until 3-5am in the morning.
Things were getting worse between Perf and MPnick, it got to the point where I didn't want Perf working on my car unless MPnick was there. There were little things like Perf telling me ( and Big Tim ) that we could use the ciggarette lighter as a powersource for the piggyback (which certainly wouldn't work since it's turned off when you try to start the car), and big things like Perf and MPnick both trash talking each other to me. There was a great deal of listening and trying to remain optimistic on my part. These guys both have so much talent. It's really a shame.
You should see the downpipe that Perf made for my car. It's perfect, now Joka1 has it.
Right when things had gotten really bad, Perf and MPnick had a huge fight, there were lots of swear words being passed, I think I recall a "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. Then Perf wasn't coming to the shop at all anymore. Things were bad. Then right when I didn't think things could get any worse, Perf had some medical problems in his family. It was a rough spot, here I am friends with both of them, and now, my car still isn't done, and they are fighting tooth and nail, and then - Perf has something major like that happen. It was a rough spot, I tried to talk to both of them, and act as the go between for them.
So then, they both asked me, and I offered to be the Authorized Vendor on the forum. (I won't go into detail about it, since it's been previously covered in another thread) It was kind of kewl, I still spent most of my time relaying questions to both of them though. I have a decent understanding of cars and the concept behind turbocharging a car. I'm decently smart - so I did my best. But, it did get to the point that MPnick and I were constantly going back and forth so I could answer questions, so he started coming on the forum.
Here, let me backtrack and say this. MPnick does some incredible work, I can say this, not only from the work I have seen him do, but from the people I have talked to at the shop. There are people bringing in vipers, old 280Z's, Porsches, and Merkurs - my god, I've never seen so many Merkurs. Perf really hated the Merkurs, hell, I think if MPnick didn't spend so much time on one Black Merkur in particular, then maybe things might have turned out differintly. But the truth is, that person was a paying customer, and a long standing well paying one at that. They did an awful lot of talking, and it really bugged the hell out of Perf. They both can do excellent work, but it was like having two captains on one ship. Only one captain owned the boat, so - drama occurred.
Fast forward to a few months ago, MPnick and Perf got my car running. Perf made some mistakes a few times, and MPnick always pointed them out to me, most of them involved the wiring of the piggyback, and the fact that some things just weren't done as MPnick would have liked. But, eventually the car was running, and road tuning began.
The first drive on boost, my god - I'll never forget it. The feeling of boost, it was amazing. Hell, I still want another turbocharged car so bad. I left the car at the shop for about a week, driving there each day after work to test it. Finally we were confident enough to take it home. So I drove home, and I punched it at a light, and I heard a pop. I blew off the hose from the compressor side of the turbo. I called MPnick on his cellphone, and he went back to the shop and got his tools and then came out to meet me. We fixed it on the side of the road, and he gave me his tools in a bag to keep in the trunk and told me he would keep his cellphone on just incase. I called Perf, and he was really happy to hear I was driving home. We talked about more plans for the car, and things were looking pretty good - all things considered.
I kept going back and we road tuned more and more. I did notice that sometimes the tranny slipped if I really got on it though. That scared me, so we purchased a tranny cooler and planned to switch to a better synthetic tranny fluid. In the meantime, I learned to use the auto-stick mode in ways Mazda surely never intended. It was great, I could use the stick mode to control shifts, and just let off the gas before shiting and then get back on it. It was great. The car was quick. Extremely quick. Unfortunately the only person on the forum who rode in it was kZa.
So, one fateful day, my luck turned to s***. I was driving to NY following behind my brother and his fiancee at 80mph. Just cruising behind them in their 2001 escort when I heard a distinctive noise. A bang from the engine. I knew what it was instantly. I jammed on the brakes and pulled over and killed the engine, which was still running, but very badly. I called MPnick on the phone and popped the hood. Took a look - and there was smoke and some oil. I walked behind the car and ran out into traffic and grabbed the bottom piece of one of my engines rods. To make matters worse, my brother called me and asked where I was - he was already in NY. He didn't see it. So, I had to call a tow truck, and get towed off the turnpike, then back down to the shop. Then the kid dropped my car off the tow truck and messed up my bumper and broke my neons. Yeah, when it rains, it poors. Not that it was raining, just stating my luck.
So, I talked with MPnick, and Perf. We decided to keep things quiet until we found out what happenned. Well, we found out what happenned, but we never went public with it, until now - so here it is, my engine blew. The reason both Perf and MPnick agree on is that my engine was revving too high when it slipped out of gear. This in turn weakened the connecting bolts in the bottom of the rods. You can tell because the rods aren't actually broken, it just came apart where the bolts were.
Perf helped me find an engine, at Michealsons. He told me that an engine would likely cost me $2500, but that he once dated someone who was related to someone at Michealsons, so he got me the engine for $1000. It was from the same model and year car as mine, with 5000 miles on it. Perf asked me if he could have some parts from my old engine, and I said as long as I don't need them - sure. It took a few weeks but they got it together. Hell, I just started driving again about a week ago. Had a check engine light because we forgot to plug in the EGR wire. Man is that damn thing in one hell of a spot.
Now, it's running alright, I'm driving it like I used to before it was turbo. Tranny still slips a tiny bit. It's only when it's shifting from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 4th. And it needs to be around 4600-4700rpm exactly at the shift point. When it does slip, it basically revs up to 4900-5000rpm and then it shifts. Still bugs me though. So I am now in the process of making my car look like it's stock. The tow truck kid is going to buy me a new bumper and paint, then it's just a matter of paying off more of the car so I can trade it in. I want a Neon SRT-4. Yeah, I know it's still a neon, and it looks like a damned skittle, but - I've driven it, and I like it. Alot.
Well, now everybody knows - that's the long and the short of it. If I left anything out, I'm sure MPnick and Perf will comment it to this thread. I do recall hearing that Perf still owes MPnick about a grand or so, so you can figure that will come up. As far as my car - I was telling the truth when I said I couldn't afford to keep it, After bills and car payment and turbo payment, I was down to $200 a month. All things told though, I don't regret it - it was just a painful learning experience. Fun while it lasted, but bad when it ended. On the plus side, MPnick has never charged me for labor. That alone has really shown me what a great guy he is. I'm going to help him build one hell of a dual CPU machine when he's ready.
Of course I did leave out the steamy details like the night that they couldn't finish Big Tim's car, and he stayed at my house. Woo boy!
lol.
this took forever to type, I'm going to bed.
