Week two of having the Vortech on my '12 - Completely unhappy...

[chico_mustangs]

So I was pretty happy for the first couple days, not so much anymore... Vortech themselves installed the kit as part of their R&D for the 2012 kits. I left the car there for a month and in exchange I got a good price on the blower with installation. I now regret bringing them my car.

I live about 9 hours from Vortech so on the drive back from their place the car seemed to run well though I only stopped one time for fuel. I got back and passed out, the next morning I woke and drove the car. Immediately the car would no longer idle without my foot on the throttle. I assumed that the ECU was just learning its new tune but after several tank fills I knew their was a problem with the tune. (BTW absolutely nothing on the car has been changed since I picked it up from them)

I also noticed that my beautiful white stitching on my seats and white stripe were now black from dirt/grease. It took about 5 times of leather cleaner to get the majority of the dirt/grease off of the leather but my white stitching is permanently stained along with my leather not going back to a pure white anymore. I know that the interior was clean and flawless before I brought it there because the day before I cleaned it all and I'm super anal about it.

After cleaning the interior of the car I washed the exterior and noticed something new... My Roush bumper that I had personally painted and installed 3 days before bringing them the car now had several paint chips in the corner from them removing/installing it when they put the intercooler in. I know for sure that the chips were not there when I dropped it off.

The next step was to inspect under the hood. I immediately noticed several clamps and bolts that were either missing or left loose. Also the black powdercoating on about half of the head unit looks terrible! It looks like they just did a quicky job on it and didn't take their time at all. Also I found a broken O ring from one of the breathers just sitting there which they forgot to clean up.

Today I pulled the bumper off to repaint it and about half the bolts that hold the bumper on were missing and they forgot to plug the bumper lights back in!

I have been contacting Mike Regan at Vortech through email because he will not answer his phone but have not really gotten anywhere as of this point and I have been emailing him since 10/24. He just has apologized and said that he was sorry about the seats and that their was no excuse for that. As far as the tune I don't think they are going to do anything for me. The car drives very well but like I said above, as soon at I roll up to a stop light and I don't have my foot on the gas the idle fluctuates a little and the car stalls. So now I have to pay for a dyno tune here locally because they gave me a crappy tune that makes the car not even idle. I am definitely not happy with my experience with Vortech engineering. I realize that their actual product seems to be good but everything else with this entire experience will make me not ever buy another Vortech product. This is my third Vortech supercharger, I will not be buying another blower from them. I have three buddies that will be buying blowers for their 5.0's in the next couple months and their is no way that it will be a unit from Vortech.

Thanks for reading my rant...

 

[92hatchlx]

I can sympathize with you on the frustration. But in all honesty you left your car with them for reasearch and development of a product. I'm sure that they had things on and off more than a few times and that naturally will cause wear. On the other hand they should have had seat covers on the car and at least offered to repaint your bumper of it looks as bad as you say it does. Did you have it powder coated by someone else or did you get the limited edition black kit where it comes coated out of the box? I wouldn't let this be a reflection on the actual vortech product. Maybe just a product of a test vehicle that you lent to them and some lazy and slightly inconsiderate techs. This is why I do my own work, I know that everything gets done right and if I mess it up, its my fault. I do hope that you and vortech can get everything straightened out and get that pristine pony back on the road in good shape.

 

[RusWolf]

Sorry about your experience man.
But you say your friends will not buy Vortech, if you have 0 issues with the product why aren't they considering it ?

just install and tune somewhere else.

 

[chico_mustangs]

I can sympathize with you on the frustration. But in all honesty you left your car with them for reasearch and development of a product. I'm sure that they had things on and off more than a few times and that naturally will cause wear. On the other hand they should have had seat covers on the car and at least offered to repaint your bumper of it looks as bad as you say it does. Did you have it powder coated by someone else or did you get the limited edition black kit where it comes coated out of the box? I wouldn't let this be a reflection on the actual vortech product. Maybe just a product of a test vehicle that you lent to them and some lazy and slightly inconsiderate techs. This is why I do my own work, I know that everything gets done right and if I mess it up, its my fault. I do hope that you and vortech can get everything straightened out and get that pristine pony back on the road in good shape.

Yes it will cause wear, not damage. I consider paint being chipped off damage, not wear. They had the kit powdercoated, I didn't have anything to do with it. I usually do all my own work, this is the first time that I haven't. Hopefully we will get it all straightened out, the guy that I had delt with their seemed very nice but the way this is dragging out is getting me very frustrated. I am assuming is because of SEMA but I can't be sure.

Sorry about your experience man.
But you say your friends will not buy Vortech, if you have 0 issues with the product why aren't they considering it ?

just install and tune somewhere else.

The reason is if they are that careless with my car who's to say if their product fails that they will stand behind it? Also if they hire someone that does this type of work what does that say about the company themselves? The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth with their company and I will not be recommending them to anyone that I know if they don't resolve this issue.

 

[RusWolf]

Tell them about that... i hope they will make it right for you.

I'm doing research on ProCharger vs Vortech. I definately want to go centri type of blower and pretty set on vortech but still want to consider ProCharger and find out which is a better system.

 

[chico_mustangs]

Tell them about that... i hope they will make it right for you.

I'm doing research on ProCharger vs Vortech. I definately want to go centri type of blower and pretty set on vortech but still want to consider ProCharger and find out which is a better system.

I haven't given up on them totally yet, just mostly. I'm sure once my car goes on the dyno on Friday and gets retuned the car will no longer stall and be a lot faster. Its just frustrating that I need to pay to have my car retuned just for the fact that its required for it to be able to idle.

 

[cobrakidz]

Sorry to hear what happened, but you had to expect a little wear and tear when they are using the car for R&D. You figure they are taking parts off and on a lot and in and out of the seat too. Sounds like the product is good, just not the care for your car.

 

[me32]

Sorry to here all the issues.. I don't care what people say about R AND D THERE'S never a reason to return a car dirty or missing parts..AED had some R&D on my fuel system an guess what the car was never returned dirty an missing parts. It was clean an all parts still there. Even having to take off parts.

 

[chico_mustangs]

Sorry to here all the issues.. I don't care what people say about R AND D THERE'S never a reason to return a car dirty or missing parts..AED had some R&D on my fuel system an guess what the car was never returned dirty an missing parts. It was clean an all parts still there. Even having to take off parts.

Yeah probably because AED go far beyond your average shops quality of service/repair.

I am amazed that some of you guys think its fine that my car was damaged simply to the fact that it was used for some R&D. That would be like your buddy borrowing your intake from you to see if he liked it and returning it scratched up missing a clamp and the filter. I'm sure if this happened you wouldn't be too happy.

 

[grnenvy]

This isn't the first horror story I have heard. No one will take car of your car like u will. If I'm stuck and I can't do my own work I make it really clear that my car is perfect and I expect it back that way. When I took it to Ford I told the service writer that I'm a nut about my car and I also requested to talked to the tech and told him to be very careful not to scratch or chip my car. I also tell them No road tests without me.
Vortech needs to help u or u need to let everyone know what they did let them make the choice.
As for the tuning there are a couple good tuners on this site that can help u with your problem.
But before they can help u make sure u don't have any vacum leaks and if it's an auto a brake booster valve is needed.

 

[Dsg-shaker]

Imo, if the car is experiencing issues with it running correctly, you might want to have them look at it, as for the dirty and missing/ loose stuff.. R & D isn't a good excuse, the techs should have looked over there work before releasing the car to you. Good luck

 

[Red Turtle]

That sucks to hear. You most likely are not getting anywhere on the phone because they are at SEMA.

 

[Scuba-Matt]

The fact that your bumper was damaged and the interior wasn't covered to protect it. Fasteners left off etc. That is totally unacceptable.
The tune is off and you saw loose clamps. I would look for a loose vacuum hose.
If it were me I would make the 9 hour ride and get some answers.
Have them do a smoke test to check for vacuum leaks.

 

[Melvo]

Sucks to hear you're having issues and a bad experience. But honestly it sounds like your running issue has to do with something vibrating loose. Check your vacuum lines and other fittings that has to do with air getting in somewhere it shouldn't.

 

[JerryC]

No excuse for shoddy work, R&D or otherwise.

 

[five0three]

i know your pain man, this stone interior is a pain in the arse!!!

 

[SicShelby09]

Yeah man I totally feel for you. I had experiences like this and I flipped my lid. I would be over there demanding compensation for your time for repainting the bumper and be making them order you new oem seat covers. Plus they are obligated to get your car running right. Thats the POINT of R&D. Are they going to be putting out a product that wont right on anyones car? Screw them. I had a vortech kit on my 07 C6 and I went through 3 headunits before I sold the car. They took forever to fix them and ship them back.

 

[try03venom]

Sorry to hear about the slob that did the install!! I got screwed myself by having a dyno tune done by a shop in CT which the tune was never even close and the ecm would kick it out. So I had to pay anyway because I was 2hrs from home and this guy wouldnt let my car leave the shop without a payment for labor.

 

[racerat]

I can sympathize with you on the frustration. But in all honesty you left your car with them for reasearch and development of a product. I'm sure that they had things on and off more than a few times and that naturally will cause wear.

If they used a paying customer's car for R&D they should have gone above and beyond taking care of you and the car IMO. I've had my share of bad experiences with shops and dealerships with my Terminator, so I know how you feel.

Here's my recent experience with Kenne Bell Superchargers.

I only had 400 miles on my 2012 Boss when KB contacted me about using it for R&D of one of their blowers.

I decided to drive the car to CA from TX so I could see the facility and meet the folks who were going to be tearing apart my brand new car and voiding my warranty.

I got there to find hotel reservations made and paid for. I was introduced to the staff at KB and taken out to dinner. The next day, I was handed a VIP packet for the NMRA race that weekend, paying nothing out of pocket to race the car. I got a tour of the KB facility and a ride to the airport when it was time to go! It was a wonderful experience and my mind was at ease about leaving the car there for as long as they needed it.

KB had my car for about 2 months. I was given progress updates pretty much weekly, pics showing the progress and the steps they took to protect the car. EVERYTHING, inside and outside, was covered! If you look at the article about it in the Dec issue of MM&FF, you can see how the car was wrapped to protect it while they worked.

When I got the car back, I didn't find a single nick or scratch on it or even a piece of lint inside the car. The actual blower install was immaculate and the car ran like a champ! They returned every single stock part that they removed, including the metal piece they had to cut out of the fenderwell for the intake pipe! Everything was neatly wrapped, boxed and labeled. As a bonus, there was a brand new Centerforce DYAD twin disc clutch with a note saying that I would probably be needing it. :rolling:

This is how you should have been treated.

 

[chico_mustangs]

If they used a paying customer's car for R&D they should have gone above and beyond taking care of you and the car IMO. I've had my share of bad experiences with shops and dealerships with my Terminator, so I know how you feel.

Here's my recent experience with Kenne Bell Superchargers.

I only had 400 miles on my 2012 Boss when KB contacted me about using it for R&D of one of their blowers.

I decided to drive the car to CA from TX so I could see the facility and meet the folks who were going to be tearing apart my brand new car and voiding my warranty.

I got there to find hotel reservations made and paid for. I was introduced to the staff at KB and taken out to dinner. The next day, I was handed a VIP packet for the NMRA race that weekend, paying nothing out of pocket to race the car. I got a tour of the KB facility and a ride to the airport when it was time to go! It was a wonderful experience and my mind was at ease about leaving the car there for as long as they needed it.

KB had my car for about 2 months. I was given progress updates pretty much weekly, pics showing the progress and the steps they took to protect the car. EVERYTHING, inside and outside, was covered! If you look at the article about it in the Dec issue of MM&FF, you can see how the car was wrapped to protect it while they worked.

When I got the car back, I didn't find a single nick or scratch on it or even a piece of lint inside the car. The actual blower install was immaculate and the car ran like a champ! They returned every single stock part that they removed, including the metal piece they had to cut out of the fenderwell for the intake pipe! Everything was neatly wrapped, boxed and labeled. As a bonus, there was a brand new Centerforce DYAD twin disc clutch with a note saying that I would probably be needing it. :rolling:

This is how you should have been treated.

Wow that's great! I was promised to be given updates and I never was. I am glad that they took such great care and that they treated you with respect and VIP service. I actually contacted Kenne Bell first but they had already had vehicles for R&D so I contacted Vortech.