Latest on KO Supercharger

[cali-ti]

Originally Posted by L84THSKY

Still no e-mail from KO today.

unbelievable ... well ... not really. but still sad ...

[TiPerformance]

Call him and and ask him about their awsome customer service.

[Mendi3]

Originally Posted by L84THSKY

OK, I''ll break the news......it came today

A TOTAL DISSAPPOINTMENT!

No instructions, no serpentine belt, and who knows what else is missing. The manifold is the biggest piece of **** you can imagine. Looking at the parts, I can't see how he can justify $2000.00. Remember, he wants over $3000.00 on his website. Oh, and the gaskets are HAND CUT. I mean like with an exacto knife. You can see how sloppy they were done.

I think he got his skills making parts for JC Whitney. I want this pile of crap out of my house ASAP. Calling him tomorrow. Pictures to follow, when my level of disgust subsides.

L8, sorry bro. This made me sick! Hopefully you got all your money back. Stick with DASC, you will not be disappointed.

[Shaggy]

Wow, I cant believe the mess your in L8. Hopefully you will be able to get a full refund for his POS!

[McFly]

Find out what the statute of limitations is in FL for electronic transactions and refunds and such. I don't know that filing a complaint with the BBB in his area will get you your refund back in it's entirety. Sue the bastard for everything you listed above.

1. False Advertizement
2. Selling Used parts as New
3. Being lied to by company employees
4. Extortion; by demanding a restocking fee that is/was not previously mentioned
5. Selling an unsafe product that has not been fully tested.

[96cali]

ok, ok... I fully rescind any words of moderation. That he did not email today is unforgivable. Keep on his ass...

Originally Posted by 96cali

Am I the only one here who thinks maybe his abbreviated emails are better than nothing? I could see how he would have lots of email especially if he ditched work on Wed for the holiday. Obviously it shows customer service AFTER the sale is not his highest priority but in the big scheme of business a week for a reply from the CEO is par. I know when you're on the receiving end it seems like forever (sorry L8)....

calm and persistent....

[L84THSKY]

Actually, it did come later today, and it's a long one, too long to paste, so follow this link.

He says he is going to make a statement on this website in regard to this fiasco.

http://www.geocities.com/l84thsky/KOresponse.txt

Originally Posted by 96cali

ok, ok... I fully rescind any words of moderation. That he did not email today is unforgivable. Keep on his ass...

[96cali]

Just read every word. To summarize for everyone (b/c it IS long) he is offering full refund including shipping 2 ways or free install by his tech at L8's location. I can't imagine you taking the second option so seems like he has put an acceptable offer on the table. Which way you gonna go?

Originally Posted by L84thsky

Look, he's stalling.......what offer can he make at this point that would be satisfying?

1. A full refund
2. A DASC kit in exchange.....even trade

I don't think either are in the cards.

[L84THSKY]

I guess a full refund is in the cards, and I sure as hell better take it, while I can.

I also told him that if and when I get a full refund, he can come up to NY with a technician and a new kit, and install it. If all goes well, then I pay him.

There is no way I'm gonna let him continue and keep my money, while he makes promises about flying to NY and installing it.

On the other hand, if he refunds me, and then offers to fly to NY, and install it, that's a whole different story.

Let's see about the refund, then we can talk about the future.

Originally Posted by 96cali

Just read every word. To summarize for everyone (b/c it IS long) he is offering full refund including shipping 2 ways or free install by his tech at L8's location. I can't imagine you taking the second option so seems like he has put an acceptable offer on the table. Which way you gonna go?

[aceyx]

Go for the refund.

I'd like to wait and see what John says.

[cali-ti]

i'm glad he's stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility. i'm not sure if it explains everything L8 has experienced, but he certainly seems to have addressed the major issues and given you some reasonable options.

i'm glad he's addressing the issue of refurbished parts (namely the supercharger). i can't say i agree with his assessment that this is commonly done (and not disclosed) by the industry as a whole. this seems disingenious and i'm glad in the future all that will be disclosed. i think we can all agree that a supercharger is a little different than metal pieces that are welded together as he gives in his example. i would sure as hell want to know that i'm paying for a refurbished supercharger rather than a new one. the DASC kit includes a new one.

also interesting is that now the kit you were supposed to get (the 200+ whp) is the like the top kit (for an as yet to be published price). is this what you'll be getting if you wait and allow them to install the kit?

if you're even thinking about getting the new gen2 kit and having them install it, i would ask for the names of the other customers who are driving around with their kit installed on their bmws (plenty of them according to the letter). they should be able to provide you with pictures of the install and first-hand experience with how the install went and what performance is like. i would also wait for the dyno charts.

the decision is in your hands now L8. i personally would want to do the install myself because as part of the process, i would do a lot of other things to clean up existing rust or other problem areas that i encounter (much as i'm doing now with what started as a fuel line replacement). i also tend not to trust too many other people to do the work as i would like it done (i'm an anal retentive bastard). eg: look at gerry's install of the DASC in the notebook. that's the kind of level of detail i'd like to do when installing the supercharger. will his man do that? most likely not. i'm sure the install will be correct and work, but that doesn't mean it will be up to your level of "correctness." i don't know for sure how you are, but i have a feeling you may be similar to me (considering how much you were planning out your diff swap).

just some things to think about.

i hope they revise the kit and it's a great product. competition is always good for the marketplace.

[DustenT]

GOOD WORK L8!! I'm glad this is coming to a close.

Regarding his letter. Apparently he is concerned that you might leak this news to other people or forums. I don't know where he would get that idea from... Keep in mind that he can stop you from saying anything, but he can't stop me or anyone else from opening our mouths. I think it's bull**** that he is trying to bully you into keeping your mouth shut.

As sarcastic as your last email was, despite our moderately agreeable and
progressive phone conversation, I am going to, and ask that you will as
well, stick to the facts when referring to KO Performance, and your
experience with us, and not make un-based inferences into what we are, or
are not, manufacturing in-house, or not.

As good as you may be at zooming in on the hi-res pictures we emailed you,
making assumptions which you do not know for a fact to be true, is
potentially a legal liability on your part, which you should be cognizant
of, should you decide to broadcast false inferences online or otherwise, and
could have major repercussions for you, opening you up to liability for all
sorts of damages.
I definitely don't want to see you make this mistake with a larger, less
forgiving company, as you seem like a reasonable person.

All I have to say is that a picture is worth a thousand words. I've seen two great examples of their "quality" manufacturing. Your SC kit and the throttle body adapter post previously in this post. No need to lie or make false claims, a single picture will do it.

[L84THSKY]

I noticed that too. Did he make three kits now....bad, badder, and baddest? You decide which is which.

The only thing he said that I am interested in is the refund, the rest is just talk.

I had all good intentions of saying positive things about this system, if it worked out. At this point he would have to bend over backwards to get me back.

Making a promise to fly to NY and install it is great, but he has to do EVERYTHING up front, before he gets a dime from me. That is what it would take to restore my confidence in his company and products.

Feel free to pic apart any portion of his letter. I'm sure you will find many things to dissagree about.

Originally Posted by cali-ti

also interesting is that now the kit you were supposed to get (the 200+ whp) is the like the top kit (for an as yet to be published price). is this what you'll be getting if you wait and allow them to install the kit?


i hope they revise the kit and it's a great product. competition is always good for the marketplace.

[AlaskaBlue]

Question asked by me to KOjag in response to a dyno showing 200 hp at the wheels. Thread can be found at http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=dyno+numbers

Originally Posted by AlaskaBlue

Nice numbers. I am assuming those are at the wheels, right? Because the stock only pulled 120ish. Is that with the stock kit or the upgraded kit with the smaller pulley, w/a injection. and upgraded software?

Originally Posted by KOjag

Those numbers are at the wheels. KO specializes in the development of bolt on systems for the e36 M3 and the modification of existing systems for a more efficient power plant.
KO has spent an absorbent amount of time in R&D on the M44/M42 engine to develop more power at lower rpms as well as an un-matched 200 HP+ at the top of the power band. The major difference is in our manifold design, we utilize the same long equal length runner intake manifold style that BMW used on the car originally which maintains high air velocity through out the power band. Also the greater distance between the S/C and the cylinder head allows the air to cool , as well as reducing heat soak from the engine to the S/C housing.
To place your order on this system at our introductory price of $2,499. Please email :jag@koperformance.com with your contact info and one of our representatives will contact you shortly.

I asked him again to be dead certain of the power claim.

Originally Posted by AlaskaBlue

Those numbers were for the unmodified 2,499 dollar one right?

KOjag's response

Originally Posted by KOjag

Yes the dyno you see is for our out of the box bolt on kit. Dyno runs of the modified kit with pulley and water injection software etc.. are yet to come, one of our customers plans on taking his system to the next level and we will be there for the dyno.

JPK's letter to L8-

a. False Advertisement - no... we have made no false claims about our kit.

Shortly on in the JPK letter...

2. Our 1.9L product offering's entry point will be our Gen 2 Stage I kit
which should generate approximately 160 whp, positioned against the Downing
Atlanta kit (same power), priced extremely competitively, offering the 318
and Z3 community a comparative kit, at a superior price.


3. We plan on offering at least one Gen 2 Stage 2 kit, which should generate
over 170+ whp, and possibly another kit at Stage 2.5 with software,
generating more horsepower than the Stage II kit, both of which would be
priced upwards from our Stage I kit.


3. We plan on releasing a Stage III kit which should generate OVER 200+ whp,
offering the Z3 and 318 community a kit which should turn the car into a
real beast, capable of killing M3s and many much more expensive vehicles.

So now I ask you L8 the kit you bought was promised at 200hp to the wheels correct? Yet you had the Gen II stage I?

[TiPerformance]

I noticed how he is trying to keep you from leaking info to others.
"I definitely don't want to see you make this mistake with a larger, less
forgiving company, as you seem like a reasonable person."

I would like to see them try to bring on a law suit. Warning the public about deceptive business practices is hardly illegal. With the information that we have here on this site posted by "Joe" I could go on for days about how things were misrepresented.

L8 take the Full Refund and run, and focus your efforts on a proven supercharger kit. From the looks of it KO performance is lightyears away from ever producing a well built supercharger kit for the 318ti.