Kincaid's New "Standalone Killer Chiller EKC": $8,188.60 + 365 Days = INSANE

JB_2010GT500

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This whole post could’ve been avoided if Joe Kincaid of Kincaid Performance had paid me the remainder our agreed-upon refund in a timely manner. Based on our original agreement (which Kincaid has repeatedly made a mockery of by missing payment deadlines), Kincaid still owes me at least $1,000. I am tired of hearing his stories time and time again when all I wanted was to go our separate ways and move on with my life. I didn’t want to have to go through a year’s-worth of evidence, all of my correspondence with Kincaid--notes, emails, and text messages, as well as correspondence with various manufacturers and other “Standalone Killer Chiller EKC” customers that I was able to track down, various photos, videos, receipts, credit card statements, and documented test results to build my case. But now that I have, I’m going to release every last bit of evidence I have documented to prove that Kincaid used me as unpaid R&D for a product that he marketed as a production kit with perhaps a few “tweaks”, that this new product did not even come close to performing to his advertised levels, and that his constant lack of care/focus on my project caused repeated delays during the initial installation by my shop—resulting in my car being in the shop for three months just for the installation of the Killer Chiller EKC kit (which would end up costing me an absurd amount of money).

I was one of the few people to purchase one of Joe Kincaid’s standalone Electric Killer Chiller (aka “EKC”) systems, which was introduced as a new product in early 2016. Kincaid advertised it as being perfect for open track and drag racing as you could achieve “ice cold” intercooler fluid temperatures. He also stated that even if you did back-to-back quarter miles passes, the intercooler fluid would be “ice cold” by the time you circled back around to make the next pass). I purchased the system for $2,000 on February 2, 2016 (ironically, today marks the one year anniversary). The project got off to a bumpy start after repeated delays in shipment. Then, things got worse when Joe Kincaid did not furnish my installer, Pro Edge Tuning, with a complete set of installation instructions. Kincaid stated that he would be able to work with Pro Edge over the phone to “walk through” the installation. We quickly found that this arrangement wasn’t working, as Kincaid had limited availability (usually between 8AM-12:30PM MT) due to other obligations in the afternoons (he was “not in the shop”). Well, being on the east coast, this meant that all conversations between Pro Edge and Kincaid needed to be conducted between the hours of 10AM and 2:30PM ET. The mechanic would schedule calls with Kincaid, but several of them were blown off by Kincaid. There were other frequent delays due to Kincaid shipping the wrong components or only shipping part of what was needed for Pro Edge to continue with the project. Pro Edge was never furnished with a complete parts list for the kit, so they didn’t even know what parts were still missing. As a result of all this, my car would often sit on a lift while we waited for the next “piece of the puzzle” to continue installing the EKC system.

Kincaid's advertisement for the standalone Electric Killer Chiller EKC

It got so bad that, in April of 2016, Kincaid and I agreed on a deadline for when all the remaining components needed to arrive at Pro Edge to finish installation, where, if Kincaid missed it, he would refund me $500. Well, Kincaid did not get all the components to Pro Edge by the deadline. I got an excuse from Kincaid that he couldn’t pay me until the day he got paid by his dealer, and when that date passed, he still never paid me the $500. Kincaid made the installation process take Pro Edge much longer than it should have due to the various reasons listed above. In fact, Pro Edge logged over 80 hours of labor on the project at $100/hr. They felt bad and cut me a break, and only charged me the $5,000. After a month-and-a-half of shipping delays and various installation headaches, the installation was completed in early June. Within less than a week upon taking delivery of my car, the standalone Killer Chiller EKC system failed due to either the main fuse or wiring frying, which caused the EKC to stop working. Once I sourced higher quality replacement components and fixed the system myself (I was already out $2,000 on the kit plus the $5,000 in installation costs so I wanted to at least “slow the bleeding”), I did some testing. And the results were not even close to what Kincaid had advertised in his YouTube video.

Page 140 of my supporting documentation has a detailed summary of the timeline of each Standalone Killer Chiller EKC component shipped by Kincaid, as well as the forgotten/replacement components he would send out. It includes the original stated shipping dates, as well as the actual ship dates and dates when the components actually arrived. The table shows that, from the time Kincaid originally stated the kit would ship to the time that Pro Edge would receive the last component they’d need to finish the installation, an entire 81 days had elapsed.

Kincaid had insisted that Pro Edge broke the EKC compressor by charging it with regular 134a under a vacuum and that’s why I wasn’t seeing the results advertised. Well, I called the manufacturer of that exact refrigerant and they told me that there was nothing wrong with our charging method. Then, Kincaid’s excuse was that the condenser was probably insufficient as it was bare, uncoated metal. To his credit, he sent replacement upgrades at no cost to me to try and improve the results I was seeing (however, these issues would not have come up if this standalone Killer Chiller EKC system Kincaid sold me was a complete, production kit). Then, Kincaid’s story was perhaps we installed the filter-drier backwards. Wasn’t the filter-drier. Kincaid suggested recharging the system with new refrigerant (and even changing the type of refrigerant). Didn’t change anything from a performance-standpoint. Kincaid then said I wasn’t achieving the advertised level because my Kenne Bell 2.8LC must just run so much hotter than his test ported 2.1 Eaton. But I will learn from another customer with a Cadillac CTS-V (which has a smaller 1.9 TVS) that the Killer Chiller EKC system also isn’t performing as advertised. To this day, Kincaid still contends that we damaged the initial compressor during charging, even though the manufacturer of the refrigerant confirmed that our method of charging was fine.

I had a hunch that the Killer Chiller EKC system was simply not powerful enough to chill the fluid to advertised levels. So, I sourced the manufacturer in China Kincaid had used and ordered my own, brand-new, replacement 12v 18cc compressor to test with (I even found out from the manufacturer that Kincaid had been recommending the wrong orientation of the compressor for his installations). I found the system performance to be no different from what I had been seeing with the supposedly “hurt” compressor Kincaid sent. Further, I found that my compressor was susceptible to heat soak—it would overheat and shut off under normal driving conditions in hot weather. Sensing that I was just Kincaid’s free R&D test subject at this point, I kept my findings with my compressor to myself. Kincaid sent me a more powerful compressor to compensate for the “extra heat” from my Kenne Bell. Except that the compressor which showed up was the wrong one (and this is, I’m sure how Kincaid will refute all of my findings)—a 24v 15cc compressor instead of a 24v 18cc compressor.

Well, I emailed that manufacturer of the 24v 15cc and 18cc compressors and they stated that there was “almost same with little difference” in cooling between the two compressors. I would find from the specs that the 24v 18cc compressor had about 1,700 BTU/hr more cooling capacity than their 24v 15cc compressor. The manufacturer’s response implied an extra 1,700 BTU/hr wasn’t a huge difference. Also, the manufacturer stated that the 24v 15cc compressor which I received was more reliable than their 24v 18cc compressor. Finally, when I told them the intended use of the compressor, they stated it will not be “suitable for heat exchanger”. In all of my testing, I would find out why. The results with the 24v 15cc compressor were immaterially better from what I’d seen with my own 12v 18cc compressor, even though it had about 750 BTU/hr more cooling capacity. So, if an extra 750 BTU/hr (from the 24v 15cc compressor) didn’t really yield a material improvement over our initial 12v 18cc compressor, why would another 1,700 BTU/hr (from the 24v 18cc compressor) be that much better? I used my background in mechanical engineering to try and estimate how much “better” a 24v 18cc compressor might be. Calculations are included in my attached documentation and begin on page 136 of my supporting documentation. Kincaid still had another carrot to dangle, eventually getting the more powerful 24v 18cc compressor that would magically solve all my problems.

Unfortunately, the upgraded compressor (the more reliable of the two 24v compressors, according to the manufacturer) Kincaid sent me was susceptible to the same overheating issues that I had with the 12v 18cc compressor that I had bought. I spent the summer working with Kincaid on getting replacement components for the system, which, again, he provided at no cost to me. But, I had the whole front of the car apart most of the summer months, and was spending countless days and weekends working on the EKC system. One by one, I replaced/upgraded parts along the AC system to try and diagnose the reason as to why I wasn’t getting the marketed results. From June through October of 2016, I had been acting as a source of free R&D for Joe Kincaid. It was a contentious time period with my wife as I was spending way too much time holed up in the garage working on fixing and improving the kit.

I found that the EKC was inferior to my tried-and-true C&R heat exchanger in real world driving since it could only attain cooler intercooler fluid temperatures (right around ambient) at idle. While driving, intercooler fluid temperatures were either the same on both systems, or in the case of highway driving, the intercooler fluid temperatures were actually higher with the EKC system than they were for the C&R heat exchanger. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that the EKC system was susceptible to overheating in normal driving and would cycle off to protect itself, rendering the system unreliable. I also found at the drag strip that the C&R heat exchanger actually had a much lower rate of IAT2 increase through the quarter mile than the Killer Chiller EKC system, and was thus materially more efficient at expelling heat while travelling down the track. Further, I would have to spend, on average, 29 minutes between passes, motor off, and EKC system jumpered, cooling my intercooler fluid down to a level where I could make it through the entire quarter mile pass without seeing timing pulled.

I want to make it clear that my performance review and findings have nothing to do with Kincaid’s original Killer Chiller or his Killer Chiller Drag Pack. All of my statements and findings only pertain to the standalone Electric Killer Chiller EKC system which Kincaid began selling in early 2016.

A complete summary of my quarter mile track results with both the Killer Chiller EKC system and C&R Heavy Duty heat exchanger begins on page 114 of my supporting documentation.

After being strung along for months, spending countless hours working on the system myself, and being out several thousand dollars, I finally pulled the plug on the Killer Chiller EKC on October 1st, 2016 after I had realized that his product just plain did not work as advertised. Not even close. Through all my testing, correspondence, research, and calculations, I had obtained enough information to reasonably conclude my standalone Killer Chiller EKC system would never achieve the advertised performance levels.

Note: Kincaid never gave me any data to prove that the EKC system in fact worked in real-world driving and racing situations, despite my repeated requests for more performance data over a span of 4 months (from 6/8 to 10/3). Instead, each time I would get an excuse as to why there was no more data. After all the time and money I spent, this was not an unreasonable request. If his EKC kit has been working so well in his testing for the past year, then why hasn’t Kincaid released more data, videos or information since his initial YouTube advertisement on 1/22/2016? And, if he wasn’t seeing the performance levels he initially advertised, then why not remove the for product listing from his webpage until it was really ready to be released? He also could’ve posted on various automotive enthusiast forums asking for volunteers to help him beta test his product. But instead, he chose to market it as a production system.

Once all the components were removed from my car, I informed Kincaid that I wanted a refund. He didn’t seem willing to budge on refunding me the $5,000 I spent on installation at Pro Edge Tuning, or the $271.47 I spent at the UPS Store to return everything. Kincaid and I worked out a deal where I would send him all the components back on my dime in exchange for the $2,000 I paid for the kit. Clearly this was a lopsided deal in favor of Kincaid (especially since I am the customer), which I reluctantly agreed to.

I shipped the EKC kit and any spare/leftover components back to Kincaid on October 17th, and he received them on the 21st. Finally, on October 26th, he only paid me $1,000 of the original $2,000 purchase price, citing slow business as the main reason for being unable to pay me back in full. He stated he would be able to refund me the remainder on November 15th. Well, the day came and went and I never heard from him. I kept checking on Kincaid over the next few months to see if he could pay me the remaining $1,000, and each time I would get a new story about business being slow, the Elections messing up his suppliers, etc. I have been in touch with another extremely dissatisfied EKC customer that has also been trying to get a full refund from Kincaid, and has been getting strung along as well. As of today, he is still owed $1,500. I tried to be sympathetic for as long as possible, but I’ve run out of patience. I mean, at some point, just step up, pay me the $1,000 out of pocket instead of from your business, and be done with it.

I feel taken advantage of in a big way. And, after everything I’ve been through with Joe Kincaid, and the flaking out on refund deadlines, I think it’s not only fair that I get the remaining $1,000 back immediately, but I feel that I should be reimbursed for my initial $5,000 installation cost, which was ridiculously high as a result of the reasons outlined above (and detailed in my attached timeline) as well as for the $1,188.60 I spent on components and tools to fix and troubleshoot/upgrade kit components and ultimately return everything back to Kincaid. I’d even go as far as to demand compensation for all days and nights I wasted working on the system in my garage, the countless number of hours spent testing, datalogging and analyzing results, and resulting arguments with my wife over spending too much time working on the Killer Chiller EKC system--but I don’t even know how to quantify all this.

From my standpoint, given all that’s transpired over the last year+, Kincaid actually still owes me $7,188.60--the remaining $1,000 of the purchase price, the $5,000 that was wasted on the installation at Pro Edge (due to Kincaid’s delays, inaccessibility when Pro Edge tried to reach him, and missed phone appointments with Pro Edge’s mechanic), and the $1,188.60 that I wasted on this endeavor over the past year.

Page 141 of my supporting documentation contains a detailed table of my out-of-pocket expenses (with purchase dates) of all the extra parts, tools, etc., that I purchased in an effort to try and get this kit to perform to Kincaid’s advertised levels, as well as the $271.47 that Kincaid would not reimburse for the return shipping of his falsely-advertised EKC kit.

I can only hope that I save someone else from purchasing the standalone Killer Chiller EKC, or at least until the product is fully-developed and reliably tested with multiple data to support the claimed performance of the system. But, based on my experience and calculations (which I’ve provided at the end of the timeline), I am extremely skeptical that this product will ever be viable.

So, that was the summary (which I feel omits a lot of important and relevant information). My supporting documentation also includes a complete timeline of evidence dating back to 9/16/2015, which contains conversations with Kincaid as well as conversations with other Killer Chiller EKC customers, conversations with relevant manufacturers, video links, pictures, test results, and data to support my summary statement.


Supporting documentation with complete timeline of evidence:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qvlnvebt7d1zg8o/StandaloneEKCevidence.pdf?dl=0


Thanks for reading.

John
 
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Imatk

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Holy crap! I'm guessing that 1k is going to cost him a lot more after this post.

That sounds like a nightmare man... sorry you had to go through it.
 

Catmonkey

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It's really hard to imagine you could have 28* coolant temps from coolant exiting the intercooler, even at idle. What were your results with this "cream-of-the-crop" system? Sounds like a nightmare.

I admire your persistence. Most people would have given up long ago.
 

blue 07

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Sounds like you have a good case, SUCKS you had to go through all that just for a car part !! Hopefully all will work out.
 

sdleo26

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Thanks for all those details, you should be reimbursed just based on how well that was written!! Sorry about the experience, I think we all have stories like that, albeit not as bad as that.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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damn, really sorry to hear that. I would ask if you've considered small claims court but it might be throwing good money after bad, if hes really got nothing to pay you back with there would be nothing to collect against even with a judgement
 

Imatk

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damn, really sorry to hear that. I would ask if you've considered small claims court but it might be throwing good money after bad, if hes really got nothing to pay you back with there would be nothing to collect against even with a judgement

Actually depending on where he has the case heard, small claims is pretty inexpensive... you don't have to be represented by a lawyer, and the fees are usually only a couple hundred bucks. Just depends I guess.
 

merkyworks

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Wow that's crazy, I'm sorry to hear.

But your documentation/engineering skills are on point!
 

DSG2003Mach1

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Actually depending on where he has the case heard, small claims is pretty inexpensive... you don't have to be represented by a lawyer, and the fees are usually only a couple hundred bucks. Just depends I guess.

ya its not much but still, if it looks like he has nothing to collect on its just more time and money wasted

Small claims is up to $5k


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ya he cant go after the full amount but 5k in small claims might be better than what would be required to go after the full 8
 

lmurtha1

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Sorry to hear your experience man. seems like scumbags are fruitful in the performance car industry these days.

Keep your pockets empty when you walk in and document everything you possibly can. I've been taken to the cleaners by multiple shops in my early days. The mentality of some of these shop owners drives many car enthusiast victims out of the industry for good.

South Florida is the epitome of scam city in performance shops in general but its a nation wide epidemic in general. Hopefully he makes it right but if it's come down to this, he won't.

Go to small claims court, you'll only be able to recoup $5k max and you don't have to hire a lawyer. Show up and even if you don't win a penny (you will win with documentation) at least he had to get up and show his face in court!


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oldstv

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I sent my unit to him to be updated to the track version. Haha, that was a long time ago. Never got it back for some of the same reasons you listed.
Joe who??????
 

RedVenom48

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Holy shit... seriously what a scam artist! Simply that, a scammer. And all this time people recently around here preaching about how the KC is the bees knees etc etc. What good is it if the company that is supposed to stand behind their product is in fact shady as hell?

The KC ,or the EKC, doesnt matter. The guy sounds like a crook, is apparently a terrible "engineer", and a disgrace to our enthusiast community.

JB, im sorry to hear of your troubles. Take this asshole to court out of principle and at the very least win a judgement over him.

So very happy with my Triple pass dual fan HE.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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to be fair, I dont feel like Joe started out as a crook. Kinda seems like shit got away from him and he ****ed it up big time. Starting out he was seemed to be pretty on top of it for a small shop then it slowly went worse. Im not defending him, just saying I dont think he set out with the intention of screwing people.

as for small claims, no guarantee he even gets out of bed to show up for it, most of our small claims filing the other party never shows so its a default judgement. Then you have to fill out the paper work and such to start the enforcement process to put a judgement lien on any assets.
 

RedVenom48

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Im sure he didnt start that way. But thats where it is now. The only thing a small business has is ethics, taking care of the customer and not releasing untested products on a relatively eager customer base.

Mr Kincaid seems to have failed on all 3 counts. Regardless if his original product line works i know that if i were on the fence about it, id absolutely stay away. The company has done it to a few guys and clearly cant produce advertised results.

Hell, hybrid AC compressors run off of 240v DC power straight from the Hybrid battery pack. If Mr kincaid ever thought a small 12v or 24v 15-18cc electric compressor would be enough to combat the heat produced as rapidly and in quantity as a supercharger he clearly guessed at what he need. Grossly underestimted in fact.

By also taking this mans money, forcing him to pay labor to play along AND stiffed him on an agreed refund... sorry, no benefit of doubt from me.
 

fullboogie

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OP, know that the jurisdictional limits on small claims courts varies by state. In Texas, for example, it's up to $10K.

Edit - sorry, just looked it up. It is, indeed, $5K in Florida.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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sorry, no benefit of doubt from me.

I completely agree, I'll get another lightning sooner or later and was gonna put a killer chiller on it but no way now. I was one the fence after a few other posts but this one is nail in the coffin.
 

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