Borg Warner is probably not shipping to him as he probably owes them money also!
There is a trend with him…..purely an observation on my behalf.
Wits End Turbo Owners
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There is a trend with him…..purely an observation on my behalf.
I'd be perfectly happy to take the "kit"
Minus turbo and source my own... with a little refund of course.
I turned wrenches professionally for 25 years, I know a guy or two.
If your waiting for your “kit”, have you asked him to do that?
heckler
SILVER Star
Yeah I did exactly that, no response yet.
I suspect the it might be more of a supply issue with the custom parts such as the J tube or down pipe. I think he was having these parts made at one point by Performance Tube Bending inc. at least from an instagram post. I wonder if that company flaked on him.
My good friend and neighbor owns a mandrel bending company here in the NW. They run #2 size machines and can handle up to 3" .120" wall stainless.
If anyone has the un-installed kit it would be very easy for me to get a quote to have them made. He owes me a favor.
They mass produce finished exhaust systems for thier own product lines and make many private label exhaust parts. They have been making tube parts for my products for the past decade. They do very nice work at affordable prices.
If anyone has the un-installed kit it would be very easy for me to get a quote to have them made. He owes me a favor.
They mass produce finished exhaust systems for thier own product lines and make many private label exhaust parts. They have been making tube parts for my products for the past decade. They do very nice work at affordable prices.
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"If anyone has a kit I can steal the design work for and have them made..."
Look I have no dog in this fight. I make zero from any turbo sales. I know Joey worked very hard to get his kit put together. I think if you want to make your own J-tubes that is fine and you could even change the design some to make it better but I don't like to see taking someone else's idea and replicating it.
If you want some ideas on how to make a better J-tube let me know. I originally gave Joey a different plan than he ended up going with because the company he used couldn't do what I suggested, but if you want to make J-pipes do a proper 2 into 1 at the flange or do a 2 into a divided flange with a prioritized wastegate.
But please do something different don't steal a design.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
So there's nothing on your rig that hasn't borrowed, copied, duplicated, imitated someone elses work?
Is a j pipe a unique concept?
I'd be happy to introduce Joey to my friends company if he needs a reliable mandrel bending option. I would suggest my friend charge COD.
I make a lot of stuff. I believe it's bad business to take someone else's product if they are attempting to make and support it. If they fail at it I see no problem in other people filling the hole in the market.
The design and engineering is 5%. The other 95% is customer service.
Hopefully Joey finds a way to turn this around. If not, there are options.
Well I am saying you could still make a J-pipe that would work for anyone that needs the hole filled in the market, that could also be a design that makes it more future proof and isn't deconstructing someone else's work. I disagree that design and engineering is 5%, but to each their own.
I would if the ****er would talk to me or answer a message...
Based on previous conversations, I seriously doubt he'd be down for that option, but if things are as bad as a lot of us suspect, it's possible he might consider it.
At one time I would have agreed with you, but I no longer do.
I bet Joey would say I'm wrong too.
A great design is very important. However, for a product, the design and engineering is 5%.
The initial good design is about 1/20th of a product. The other 95% is customer service, marketing, carrying stock, etc.
piecing out these kits does no one any good. unless Joey has money. If he had money, he would fill the orders, or at least I hope he would. Or he would at least give people their money back (like he said he would 3 years ago). I put together a list of all the parts a couple years ago. I'm sure like all my projects I'm missing a lot and it makes a lot of assumptions for my rig (hydroboost, making my own airbox, etc). Prices are probably stale too. but, if you can weld, would be a good summer project. I know his kit is supposed to install in a weekend, but I've been waiting 3 years...
FWIW, I met a forum member who knows Joey personally from LA. He told me Joey has a "personality flaw" where he avoids anything that is negative in his life.
Now, I should to install my "resealed" steering box and $25 junk yard hyrdaulic booster. Maybe today...
FWIW, I met a forum member who knows Joey personally from LA. He told me Joey has a "personality flaw" where he avoids anything that is negative in his life.
Now, I should to install my "resealed" steering box and $25 junk yard hyrdaulic booster. Maybe today...
Many entrepreneurs are ADHD and/or on the spectrum to some extent. A very common stumbling point is analysis paralysis where something unexpected happens stopping the whole project over an inflexibility.
It's like the opposite of a flow state of thought.
I try my damndest to recognize when I'm doing this and reach out for help and advise.
I had a motorcycle project a couple years ago where I needed some fabrication help. I took it to my "builder" buddy who is an absolute genius as long as he stays in his lane, and the help I needed was not in his lane...
My project sat and sat and sat for nearly four months before I finally called in a mutual friend of his and mine, who had a ton more experience in that area, to lend a hand and that aspect of the project finally got completed.
Once that was done, my buddy took back over with the paint and finished the project in amazing fashion.
When he hit a spot he didn't have the skillset of experience for, he just locked up and did other things.
X100! And since there seems to be room for improvements somebody should take this on.
I mean you can judge for yourself.
I have never taken someone's work, taken it apart used the measurements and then duplicated it on my truck no. I have paid full price for all of my bolt-ons. And my custom work is exactly that, custom because I don't like what currently exists. My turbo setup was the first that I know of in the US. It predated the FB Turbo group. The only one I know before the one I did was Sean S. in Australia and his was in a small car and a very different setup. My J-pipe is divided, for twin scroll internal wastegate, not a novel concept but to blatantly copy someone by using their work, getting their measurements, their locations, their fitment is kind of bull****. IMO. Like I said, by all means improve on the concept but don't rip it off.
My thought would be that the failure of the 1FZ turbo kits is the fact you cannot get one, even if you pay for it and wait for years.
Sure, if there's something that's easy to change to make it better why not!
But I think anybody who took over this project with the objective to actually follow through, build quality stuff, answer the phone calls and emails, keep shelves stocked with parts and ship orders in a timely fashion would be filling a need, not ripping anyone off.
I only mentioned someone else making the parts to point out it is a possibility- The project doesn't have to be a total lost cause if Witts End fizzles out. Somebody else can pick up the pieces, maybe/probably make some design improvements, but more than anything whoever steps up should be capable of following through to the point that parts are on the shelves ready to ship when someone orders.
And frankly, if I got involved in making J-pipes for 1FZ turbo kits I would rely heavily on design input from my neighbor's mandrel bending company as they have decades of experience designing, building and testing exhaust components for turbocharged vehicles. They would be the ones to design, test and build it because they know their stuff and can prove it on their dyno. They know what materials and thicknesses to use. Where to place the mounts, joints and flex pipes. They buy mufflers, clamps and high quality tubing direct from the manufacturers and tubing mills by the container load.
So, yes. I'm sure improvements could be made, but my priority would be to salvage the product and finish it VS go back to the drawing board just because somebody previously configured a pipe a certain way. It's a detail, not the entire product.
Scottryana, I doubt we disagree on much. I think we have differing perspectives is all.
Sure, if there's something that's easy to change to make it better why not!
But I think anybody who took over this project with the objective to actually follow through, build quality stuff, answer the phone calls and emails, keep shelves stocked with parts and ship orders in a timely fashion would be filling a need, not ripping anyone off.
I only mentioned someone else making the parts to point out it is a possibility- The project doesn't have to be a total lost cause if Witts End fizzles out. Somebody else can pick up the pieces, maybe/probably make some design improvements, but more than anything whoever steps up should be capable of following through to the point that parts are on the shelves ready to ship when someone orders.
And frankly, if I got involved in making J-pipes for 1FZ turbo kits I would rely heavily on design input from my neighbor's mandrel bending company as they have decades of experience designing, building and testing exhaust components for turbocharged vehicles. They would be the ones to design, test and build it because they know their stuff and can prove it on their dyno. They know what materials and thicknesses to use. Where to place the mounts, joints and flex pipes. They buy mufflers, clamps and high quality tubing direct from the manufacturers and tubing mills by the container load.
So, yes. I'm sure improvements could be made, but my priority would be to salvage the product and finish it VS go back to the drawing board just because somebody previously configured a pipe a certain way. It's a detail, not the entire product.
Scottryana, I doubt we disagree on much. I think we have differing perspectives is all.
Why not use the cx racing manifold and down pipe?
I make products. Not any turbo kits though. That's not what I do. I make internal and external engine parts, suspension parts, steering components and a myriad of automotive stuff that could be defined as taking something plastic that fails or looks cheap and making it from machined aluminum or stamped steel.
From my perspective the problem with designing anything around someone else's exhaust manifold is if they stop making it, you're left holding your d!ck. You can step up to the plate and make it yourself (been there a few times) or you redesign everything around something different.
Come to think of it, many years ago in the early 2000's I did have some custom exhaust manifolds made to relocate a turbo to work with one of my products. It took forever and the manifolds were all made wrong. They looked great, but they shrunk like a 1/4" because they didn't factor shrink rate properly (this was stainless). Instead of scrapping the parts this outfit fudged all the bolt hole locations inward so they'd line up with the casting better. Of coarse the things didn't fit the cylinder head at that point. It was comically sh!tty. I won't get stuck in that situation again.
I wouldn't much faith in CX racing parts being very good, consistent, etc. In addition, I wouldn't use a 30" long one piece stainless exhaust manifold on a daily driver. That thing will move all over, never hold gaskets and probably crack within 25K miles.
If there a solid, proven cast exhaust manifolds sold and supported by reputable companies for 1FZ turbo apps that would be an option, but you really need multiple sources for something like this if you aren't making it yourself.
For the daily driver turbo crowd the OE manifolds with J-pipes are KISS.
I had a supervisor like this. He is an “engineer”
.If anything and I mean the smallest thing didn’t go his planned way or was not his idea or out of his comfort zone the wheels got stuck in the mud.
I would bring forward proven concepts and plans that would move the project forward, but he could not grasp how it would work because it was out of his “programmed parameters” in the way that his brain worked. It was like “cannot compute, failure, failure”.
He no longer runs my department, thank goodness
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