Newsletter No 50

20 December 2007

 

Dearest Customers & friends

 

2007 draws to a close and I think to have achieved a lot.

 

Amongst many other achievements, we have also managed to use a Unichip on conversions were a different motor was implanted into a vehicle, using the electronic components form that vehicle.

In other words totally different fuelling & timing characteristics of original and donor motor.

Even by implanting a 24 valve Nissan into an original 3L v6 Bakkie needs a Unichip.

 

I recently decided to do a few tests on a 3F Land Cruiser that had a Weber, Performance cam etc. fitted by the customer himself:

Engine cool but within operating temp           118Kw @ 4140 Rpm  273 Nm @ 3930 Rpm

Engine Heated up thoroughly                         107 @ 4570                250 @ 3420

Snorkel etc. at Operating temp                       99.5 @ 4570               238 @ 3460    only this & the next run should be compared

Nick’s Racing fully assembled                       107.5 @ 4310             258 @ 3340    4570 Rpm      

Worth noticing each time the Power peaked at the max RPM I was prepared to take it to.

This is a result of the Camshaft and something not to be strived for on a 4X4.

Said car also had a lean spot at low RPM upon acceleration due to bad mixture distribution.

I had a similar Cruiser in a few days later that we had modified about 6 years back. We did Head, Exhaust, Weber & K&N. The difference in power delivery is quite dramatic if you compare final 2 runs. Our conversion has stump pulling torque from idle while the other car only comes on the cam after 2000 Rpm.

 

I recently did a job for a customer who decided to come check on the progress once or twice a day.

I don’t have a problem with this, as it shows the customer that we actually do work on his car and that it is not as easy as he might think.

This guy was quite nice except that he continuously had to add something to the original job. Now this is where the problem comes in- how am I to remember all his wishes. I normally ask customers to write down their requests. Email makes it even easier, as I can acknowledge the wish-list.

I know most people hate the paperwork.

But leaving a papertrail can show who is responsible.            Verbal instructions are open to debate.

 

I also ran into one of these”unpleasant jobs”. The Customer finally landed up with me to do some fault finding on his car. Occasionally it backfired while changing at higher RPM and a good dose of throttle. Plus it was heavy on juice without making as much Power as it should. The Oxygen sensor was considered at fault, as well as the fuel pump and only then could we diagnose further.

Seeing that the car was covered by insurance, we started the job reclaiming the good fuel consumption and power but not the backfire. Now comes the cruncher, why don’t we fix the rest for free as…..

I know what its like to have a tight budget, but that does not mean that once it is spent that the fault is fixed or that one is a happy chappy thereafter.

 

I also have to make up my mind what to do about those people who chose to fit an aftermarket ECU (Gotech, Dicktator etc.) to their vehicles and expect me to sort everything out. So far it has only caused me stress and no real profit. And as you know, I try to do all possible, so I can enjoy my work. More about that in 2008.

 

I believe that most manufacturers will stop appointing sole agents and prefer selling over the internet.

Some Manufacturers also appoint sole agents and still sell direct to he public.

Of course this brings a good price but what about your ASS- after sales service.

Do you honestly believe that anybody is going to be overjoyed in fixing your problem after you bought it somewhere else ?

I am not sure to the solution as most people in business are there for the money and satisfaction.

 

Case in point: I had a customer bring in his Ranger after he had a Unichip fitted somewhere else, but it never worked and those people were unable/unwilling to serve him. Since I am such a kind person I decided to fit a new unit and only charge him for my Dyno time- Claim on my costs, simply to promote the product. I had to send it to Pretoria at my expense with a reliable courier and pay SA VAT on it. If this becomes de-rigueur, then I want to have nothing to do with it.

 

I had a friend send me a URL stating:

Back to the 2.7 VVTi- he has searched the web in his quest for more top-end and found the following comment "With regards to the DAstek - After numerous consultations wth various experts (and Dastek) this chip does nada to the 2.7i as this vehicle has a system that cannot be piggybacked or overridden!!! (That damn airmass flowmeter cannot be re-mapped or over ridden)" at http://4xforum.co.za/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.pl?num=1166274902.

Anybody who had a 2.7 with or without VVTi done by us knows this is absolute hogwash.

My words of advice, be careful where you garner your “knowledge” from.

 

While on the matter of the internet making the world smaller. Credit/Debit cards:

I get more and more casual customers coming in to pay by card and I don’t have the facilities.

These are mostly sales between 150 to 500 Rand and about 10 a week.

After calculating my charges and the risk I am running, it just does not seem worth it unless I go permanently online and run the show via the USA or similar.

 

 

72 Chevy Nova for sale

 

This Nova was bought in Bellville in 1995 and driven to Namibia on CY-plates.

I still have the original CPT police Clearance as well as the Namibian Police Vehicle & Owners certificate.

I stripped out Motor & gearbox, but all other original parts are still here.

 

I would want 40 000 N$ for the car incl. the parts below excl VAT.

Since this is a private sale no VAT would be applicable from what I am aware.

 

All the prices below are cost as purchased ex USA within the last 10 years, and have to go with car:

Imported Radiator with AT cooler new       4275

Spoiler                    900

Front racing pads      300

Rear shoes HiPo        300

Trunk & door shaver kit       3000

Boot spoiler             900

Driver door used       1400

Filler panel               500

Glove Box                200

Indicator lens           400

15”X7 & 8” Rims        3550

Complete Koni Suspension system             16520

Control Arm Bushing Upper
Control Arm Bushing Lower
Rear Shackle kit
Upper control Arm shaft
Subframe Bushes front
Koni Adj. Front Shock pr
Koni Adj. Rear Shock pr
Leaf Springs rear pr
Front Coil Springs pr
ADDCO Sway Bar

 

I can also supply you with:

383 motor with long con rods

TH700R4 from TCI

Headers         2000

 

 

 

 

 

My Hilux is getting old and I want to replace it with the next workhorse.

On an aside point, if Toyota had made the D4D 3L in a single cab 4X4, I would have chosen that as a test bed.

Similar to the 4L in single cab 4X4…

 

With this I wish you a merry festive season & remember not to drink & drive- you will just become another statistic L

 

Nick

“It is the man who
does not want to express an opinion whose opinion I want.”

Abraham Lincoln