Subaru Performance upgrades | Getting the power to the ground just as ordered, except....when problems occur.
Moving from a stock motor to a stage 1, usually ends up with the owner wanting more of a good thing. Why not? Pulling hard on to Hwy 25 here in Longmont, Co. is a very good feeling. Andrew wanted to upgrade his car. We got him a turboback exhaust and a COBB AccessPort and tuned him to stage 2.
Performance Shop | Every shop has issues now and again, it is how you deal with them that matters, this is what separates the average shops from the professional shops. We are a professional shop as servicing our customers with the best parts and service is an ongoing theme and our promise.
Full prep Performance Shop | He was really happy, for a while, then Andrew wanted more power.
The next logical step is a larger turbo. We were going to use a Blouch Dom 1.5 turbo, but the salesman with the warehouse we use suggested we try a new turbo they are carrying, Cavalli. Sometimes this works very well, and others not so much, here is our story of what happened and how we dealt with it. Our customers come first (hint, hint).
Based on our experience and support over the years, it was not a stretch to suggest the new turbo from Cavalli. After comparing, and looking at the expectations for the car, Andrew decided to give it a try based off the specs and the salesman's recommendation.
The Cavalli Stage 1 turbo (number 1) did not survive it's first dyno session. It made noises like the turbo was out of balance and the tuner finished the session early. The turbo was removed and sent back to Cavalli for service.
We as a professional shop are being tested not only by the vehicle owner, but also by the quality of the product promised to us by the manufacturer. Our goal is simple, power and reliability.
They claimed one of their proprietary cermaic ball bearings was not to spec and was causing the imbalance. They repaired and shipped the turbo back to 5250 and paid for the labor to R&R in the vehicle. Cavalli Stage 1 turbo (number 2) began smoking on the dyno again, the session was stopped short.
Either from the upgraded power, or the failing turbos, Andrew's motor developed rod knock and had to be rebuilt. We installed a 5250 Performance Stage 1 Shortblock and had turbo number 2 sent back to Cavalli for inspection.
They claimed we were overspeeding the turbo and sent us a new Stage 2 turbo. Andrew gets the car tuned and makes decent power, but has slower spool than he wanted due to being forced into a Stage 2 turbo instead of the smaller Stage 1 turbo.
One week after his tune, the shaft on the turbo snaps, casuing catastrophic turbo failure. No one is happy at this point. I will make this right.
Turbo is shipped back to Cavalli for repair and as a show of good faith, they have the turbine housing cermaic coated and the compressor housing powder coated. Cavalli also paid for the labor to R&R the turbo again. Andrew now has his 4th Cavalli turbo on the car, and it smokes.
- At this point, we are done with Cavalli and opt for a bulletproof solution, the Full Race Stock Location EFR Kit.
5250 Performance orders the kit direclty from Full Race and is told of a 5 day delay in shipping becasue we wanted the parts ceramic coated. After 2 weeks, the parts have not shown up and when questioned, Full Race states there is a 3-4 week build process. Andrew has a scheduled dyno appointment he can't miss, so we need those parts, now.
Full Race says if we skip the ceramic coating, they can have it shipped the next Monday. The following Friday, the parts are not at the shop. A phone call to Full Race yields a claim of a 5-8 week build delay. I am not happy. When asked about the promise to ship the previous Monday, we are laughed at.
Bottom line and action taken: 5250 Performance cancels it's order with Full Race. It is time for us to step up, build the right parts in house, and get the customer what they are after…reliable and strong power gains in time to meet the schedule for the next dyno run.
Stay tuned for part 2 on how we answered the call and got the power where it belongs, to the wheels and on the dyno...
