As promised, here is the data supporting my claim that SVS is capable of doing incredibly sloppy work, charging too much and not standing behind their product.
Clearly SVS can also do good work, and I'm certain they'll scare up appropriate testimonials. The point is, unless you open your wallet wide and its your lucky day, be very cautious about dealing with this tuner. Many have been taken advantage of...few take the time to chronicle the information.
I brought the car to SVS in early 2003 because someone from the VCA suggested they could help me get the car through DMV inspection. The car is a John H car, built in 2001 which I hed seen on the track a few months before. It made 520 RW when I got it despite SVS claims that it was stock.
Interestingly, in my very first phone conversation with Ron Sr, before he even had seen the car, he told me that "I'd definitely need a fuel system". I found that curious since stock fuel systems are certainly good to 520 RW. That was an omen I should have paid attention to, but I was a newb and trusted 'em.
The car went in for help with inspection and the first thing done was a leakdown test and a dyno run. The leakdown report (who knows which car it was done on) showed alot of variation. The dyno showed 192 RWHP!!!! At this point the recommendation was to pull the heads and inspect....this was the point of no return and I fell for it.
SVS proceded to pull the engine and rebuild it. Jr. asserts that I spec'd the cam (which itself is preposterous) but as you can see in the SVS build sheet below, the cam that caused HUGE problems was part of their spec. It may have been a mistake from an earlier mission or maybe new, I can't tell. I can show you what SVS spec'd:
The build took several months, I assumed my job wasn't a priority for them but it was winter so what the heck. When it was all done, I proudly received it after paying ALOT of money and was shocked to feel how limp it was. It was MUCH weaker than when I had brought it in. Low end torque was OK but it was a dog at higher rpm.
SVS seemed surprised by this so I accompanied them to the dyno for a couple of diagnostic pulls. This is essentially how the car ran AFTER the SVS rebuild (Take special not of the "SVS rebuild and cam" citation on the dyno sheet!!!)
This was disappointing but after several more weeks at SVS and several additional pulls, Ron Sr. just said, "Enjoy it as it is, its just doesn't make much power". Now there's the spirit! I paid 5-figures for SVS to take 100HP away! They would have nothing more to do with the engine and I was on my own.
During one of the trips to the dyno with an SVS employee at the wheel, SVS reported that the half shaft yoke had broken and that they'd need to replace both. With the car at their shop (and not owning a trailer) I was again stuck. The nice beefy Unitrax that were on the car could have been refurbed but SVS needed the bay my car was in so they recommended regular Mopar units which were, you guessed it, on the shelf.
With a promise that I could pay them to refurb the Unitrax and swap out the Mopars in the future, they undertook the massive project of swapping the half shafts; changing the oil, and screwing in an O2 sensor. This effort, they claimed was 20 HOURS....see invoice below:
Take note too that at this juncture they also actually installed the shifter they had previously billed me for and "forgotten" to put in. As you can see from the n/c amount....they didn't forget to BILL ME when they didn't put it in!
OK, so I spent that summer and fall trying to tune. I bought a VEC 1 which is like bringing a knife to a gun fight, but SVS had destroyed the DFI piggyback that was in there initially so I took the first step towrds tuning. It did only a smidge of good:
In the late fall, I took the car to a reputable shop with a great Viper Tech to check on the valvetrain since it was very loud and I figured it might be contributing to the big flat spot in the HP curve.
Interestingly, about half of the lifters were installed incorrectly and were shot. See commentary and invoice below:
Having complained to SVS about the shoddy workmanship, they claimed I should have brought it to them, and that they wouldn't stand behind the work - even though it had been botched - because they didn't do the work. Having seen a bill for a 30 hour half shaft change, who in their right mind would have brought it back for more????
The dyno results improved a little but the flat spot was still there:
I kept working the boards while I drove the car....no track time and no running with big dogs (with a whopping 400HP on tap between 2000 and 3600 that wpould have been enbarassing)....when I noticed nasty noises from the clutch.
I took it back to the reputable dealer with the excellent Viper Tech who confirmed something not right and took these pix of the disassembled clutch. I can't remember the exact phrasiology but it had something to do with "even a ***** knows you have to actually tighten ALL the fasteners when you reassemble these things". The fasteners that backed out made a mess of the clutch as you can see below:
Beginning to feel like Ground Hog Day I called SVS to complain about an egregious example of poor workmanship again costing me money. They asked to see the bill....don't know if they didn't believe me or were considering remuneration, so I sent it to them:
At this point SVS actually made a verbal offer of compensation, which was both incredibly low and never followed through upon. I don't have a document on this since it was made over the phone, what is certain is that I've never seen a penny from SVS.
So I continued to work the boards and the books to figure out whether it was a breathing problem or a cam problem (both are expensive so I prefered to be right about which to try first) and the data I collected all pointed to the cam. In fact one of our VCA colleagues said it well when he said "whoever designed this cam ought to be *****-slapped"
So I bit the bullet, Jason Heffner recommended a cam and we put it in. NIGHT and DAY. If it weren't for all the other (costly) headaches along the way, I'd like to think I'd have changed the cam sooner. I had asked for the one that SVS removed to be returned but although they said the right things...they never returned it so I had no spare or control" with which to experiment.
With the valvetrain fixed (lifters, springs, seals, cups....alll had to be redone) and a non-ridiculous cam, the car made a healthy 534RW:
With a bit more VEC tuning, the car now makes 555/585....about what you'd expect from a 650R, no more no less.
A word to the wise, be very careful trusting your car to SVS. I have seen great cars roll out of their shop, however if it's not your day you can be severely overcharged, lose parts and wind up with a poorly wrenched mess that you'll have to pay again to have remedied.
Sorry for the length, but with Jr.'s revisionist history out there, it had to be said.
Clearly SVS can also do good work, and I'm certain they'll scare up appropriate testimonials. The point is, unless you open your wallet wide and its your lucky day, be very cautious about dealing with this tuner. Many have been taken advantage of...few take the time to chronicle the information.
I brought the car to SVS in early 2003 because someone from the VCA suggested they could help me get the car through DMV inspection. The car is a John H car, built in 2001 which I hed seen on the track a few months before. It made 520 RW when I got it despite SVS claims that it was stock.
Interestingly, in my very first phone conversation with Ron Sr, before he even had seen the car, he told me that "I'd definitely need a fuel system". I found that curious since stock fuel systems are certainly good to 520 RW. That was an omen I should have paid attention to, but I was a newb and trusted 'em.
The car went in for help with inspection and the first thing done was a leakdown test and a dyno run. The leakdown report (who knows which car it was done on) showed alot of variation. The dyno showed 192 RWHP!!!! At this point the recommendation was to pull the heads and inspect....this was the point of no return and I fell for it.
SVS proceded to pull the engine and rebuild it. Jr. asserts that I spec'd the cam (which itself is preposterous) but as you can see in the SVS build sheet below, the cam that caused HUGE problems was part of their spec. It may have been a mistake from an earlier mission or maybe new, I can't tell. I can show you what SVS spec'd:
The build took several months, I assumed my job wasn't a priority for them but it was winter so what the heck. When it was all done, I proudly received it after paying ALOT of money and was shocked to feel how limp it was. It was MUCH weaker than when I had brought it in. Low end torque was OK but it was a dog at higher rpm.
SVS seemed surprised by this so I accompanied them to the dyno for a couple of diagnostic pulls. This is essentially how the car ran AFTER the SVS rebuild (Take special not of the "SVS rebuild and cam" citation on the dyno sheet!!!)
This was disappointing but after several more weeks at SVS and several additional pulls, Ron Sr. just said, "Enjoy it as it is, its just doesn't make much power". Now there's the spirit! I paid 5-figures for SVS to take 100HP away! They would have nothing more to do with the engine and I was on my own.
During one of the trips to the dyno with an SVS employee at the wheel, SVS reported that the half shaft yoke had broken and that they'd need to replace both. With the car at their shop (and not owning a trailer) I was again stuck. The nice beefy Unitrax that were on the car could have been refurbed but SVS needed the bay my car was in so they recommended regular Mopar units which were, you guessed it, on the shelf.
With a promise that I could pay them to refurb the Unitrax and swap out the Mopars in the future, they undertook the massive project of swapping the half shafts; changing the oil, and screwing in an O2 sensor. This effort, they claimed was 20 HOURS....see invoice below:
Take note too that at this juncture they also actually installed the shifter they had previously billed me for and "forgotten" to put in. As you can see from the n/c amount....they didn't forget to BILL ME when they didn't put it in!
OK, so I spent that summer and fall trying to tune. I bought a VEC 1 which is like bringing a knife to a gun fight, but SVS had destroyed the DFI piggyback that was in there initially so I took the first step towrds tuning. It did only a smidge of good:
In the late fall, I took the car to a reputable shop with a great Viper Tech to check on the valvetrain since it was very loud and I figured it might be contributing to the big flat spot in the HP curve.
Interestingly, about half of the lifters were installed incorrectly and were shot. See commentary and invoice below:
Having complained to SVS about the shoddy workmanship, they claimed I should have brought it to them, and that they wouldn't stand behind the work - even though it had been botched - because they didn't do the work. Having seen a bill for a 30 hour half shaft change, who in their right mind would have brought it back for more????
The dyno results improved a little but the flat spot was still there:
I kept working the boards while I drove the car....no track time and no running with big dogs (with a whopping 400HP on tap between 2000 and 3600 that wpould have been enbarassing)....when I noticed nasty noises from the clutch.
I took it back to the reputable dealer with the excellent Viper Tech who confirmed something not right and took these pix of the disassembled clutch. I can't remember the exact phrasiology but it had something to do with "even a ***** knows you have to actually tighten ALL the fasteners when you reassemble these things". The fasteners that backed out made a mess of the clutch as you can see below:
Beginning to feel like Ground Hog Day I called SVS to complain about an egregious example of poor workmanship again costing me money. They asked to see the bill....don't know if they didn't believe me or were considering remuneration, so I sent it to them:
At this point SVS actually made a verbal offer of compensation, which was both incredibly low and never followed through upon. I don't have a document on this since it was made over the phone, what is certain is that I've never seen a penny from SVS.
So I continued to work the boards and the books to figure out whether it was a breathing problem or a cam problem (both are expensive so I prefered to be right about which to try first) and the data I collected all pointed to the cam. In fact one of our VCA colleagues said it well when he said "whoever designed this cam ought to be *****-slapped"
So I bit the bullet, Jason Heffner recommended a cam and we put it in. NIGHT and DAY. If it weren't for all the other (costly) headaches along the way, I'd like to think I'd have changed the cam sooner. I had asked for the one that SVS removed to be returned but although they said the right things...they never returned it so I had no spare or control" with which to experiment.
With the valvetrain fixed (lifters, springs, seals, cups....alll had to be redone) and a non-ridiculous cam, the car made a healthy 534RW:
With a bit more VEC tuning, the car now makes 555/585....about what you'd expect from a 650R, no more no less.
A word to the wise, be very careful trusting your car to SVS. I have seen great cars roll out of their shop, however if it's not your day you can be severely overcharged, lose parts and wind up with a poorly wrenched mess that you'll have to pay again to have remedied.
Sorry for the length, but with Jr.'s revisionist history out there, it had to be said.
