RSI'ed!

As many of you know I was added to the burn list that RSI has faithfully added to over the past few years. I documented the best that I could at the beginning of this fiasco not for this kind of end result; but just in case........ I've been screwed over before and just wanted to cover my bases. I tried to keep all of our discussions in e-mail/text for screenshot purposes. I did my best at capturing the dates in these screenshots.   Many of these are just for informative measures....you will also notice how the communication slowly starts to fall off and dodging direct questions towards the end.


 Again;  I did not wish for this to end this way but some things never change.





The initial reach out......

Will @ RSI sent a message over on Viperalley.com in regards to a comment I made about twin turbo systems for the Gen V Viper.

January 22, 2014

Now;  I know most of you are thinking "you moron; have you not read all the bad reviews"........what you didn't know was that I reached out to several shops and was laughed at when I asked for this same setup.

To be completely honest; I know that every business has a few bad apples. There is not one business out there with 100% satisfied customers.  I assumed with the viper market being so small that the negative feedback was possibly blown out of proportion.

Anyways...
I went forward with a phone call the following morning to hear out what exactly RSI had to offer. Everything sounded legit and the issues with the Can-bus system were brought up. These issues were discovered with the 2 RSI Gen V's built prior in late 2013.  I later discovered  both cars being "race" versions; the owners did not care whether the can-bus functions operated or not. The dash below was installed and nothing has been spoken of these cars since.

1. Engine start button was half ass functional. The issue was being addressed and would be resolved before my car was delivered.

2. Tach was not 100% functional. This too would be addressed and resolved before the car was delivered. The option of installing a "trick" aftermarket cluster was available in the event this could not be resolved at the time of delivery. Once the factory system was 100% functional it would then be switched out at no additional cost. I was ensured this would be the last resort because the R&D within the Can-bus was running full tilt at the current time.

Pi Omega ICD Full Color Digital Logging Dash

 

 

 

 The two issues listed above were the only known issues.

I requested a complete turn key price for the RSI 1000 package January 22, 2014.  Our verbal agreement when discussing this project was to have everything built; in stock/in transit before the car was to be picked up.  Once the car was in RSI's possession we were looking at a completion date of March 31, 2014. I expected a few delays so I approximated an additional 2 weeks just on case.  So lets just shoot for the week of April 14, 2014.

I pondered on this for several days. I received calls and e-mails from Will checking in and offering any kind of assistance in regards to questions/answers.

 

 

 

 

February 03,2014

I decided to pull the trigger and sent over a deposit; to the tune of $25K.  The car would not be picked up until all fab work was completed and the shop was ready to jump onto the build 100%.

February 10, 2014
My hard parts are being fabbed up on another Gen V car. Once completed jigs; would be used for future builds.  The Gen V used was brought in, straight from a dealership where it was purchased new, for a 1250 build ( stroker motor, TT, etc)     SIDE NOTE:  as of September 2014; the motor is still not built; much less the car - Owner of the car.

  Pushed the car pickup back 1 week to ensure all parts are available for install.   I was okay with this.

This is the same Gen V engine referenced to in the earlier quote.

Friday, March 07,2014  -     Car is picked up by transporter.

Remember the Gen V that was used to mock up hard parts?

You've built 2 TT Gen V's now that use this same line.....why was it not included within the quote?

I approved the upgrade and paid for it.......I could have argued about it and probably delayed the build.....These type of shops have the customer over a barrel to an extent.......don't cooperate....your car will sit there.

Dodged that direct question.....did all parts come in???

March 31, 2014

APRIL 2nd 2014

I sent a progress payment because I felt everything was actually going pretty smooth and we were headed in the right direction.

 Viper Velocity????????????

 And for all those engines that everyone is waiting on..............

At this point I was starting to sweat Bullets...... consultant up and quit; drama blowing up on the forums.....I was looking into some property for work in the area on 4/13/14 so i decided to swing by the shop to just calm the nerves.   Everything seemed to be going as planned....still waiting on this Pectel unit.......i guess UPS was using a mule to deliver.

Now remember.....The Pectel unit was in North Carolina April 2nd.......now April 15th ( 9 business days later) and it still has not arrived.   This is when the red flags really started flying.  I HATE being lied to. I had just visited the shop and have my nerves calmed and started feeling like i was in the wrong for doubting RSI. Also note; this is the approximated time I expected the car to be completed and delivered fully functional with a 2 week grace period.

Lost the scavenger pump 
 

Outside of TB issues......we are looking good......remember this.

Sorting out "little bugs"

At this point we were supposedly waiting on SRT to help out with a flash for the TB's; which caused a CEL.     All other functions were 100%.   This is all that is holding up the delivery of the car.

Shooting for this weekend delivery :  May 3, 2014 


Final Invoice was sent over April 30, 2014 and I was told the tach is working 50%. Its the only problem point with the entire system.  
Attempting to repair.

May 2nd - Jeremy is driving the car to test all functions one last time.   Mysteriously things start going wrong......Approx. 250 miles on the car at this point.  Alternator drive is giving trouble. Will need to be rebuilt.

A Can-Bus Specialist was brought in and pulled all the tables from the stock ECU. This information was then sent to Cosworth (Pectel) to have custom tables built and give 100% control over the entire system.  The car will sit for 1 week waiting on the specialist to come thru.

Can Bus Specialist     5/12/14

5/15/14    Jeremy Drives the car overnight again

 Small Bugs.......  This shit didn't exist when I received my final invoice.   The only problem was within the tach.
So now; I'm pretty much at their mercy of when they want to work on the car.  RSI is paid in full.

Now we are waiting on Cosworth Attorneys and RSI attorneys to  give RSI exclusive rights to the tables for the Gen V platform.

By this point I'm fucking over it.  I want my car back.  RSI was paid in full. I accepted that the tach was not fully functional. There is a lot of Buzz going on with RSI restructuring and relocating to Plano.  I need my car out of this shop before it comes crashing down.

We now have the alternator drive working.  Will explains that its pointless to leave the car sitting in the shop while we wait on the legal stuff for Cosworth to release the tables. Again; the only thing not functioning properly is the tach.  Will is now waiting on his transport guy to return his call to pickup the car @ the shop.  Last contact as Friday @ 8:22 p.m.

Attempted to contact will on Saturday @ 2:37 PM  .  I was told Friday that they were just waiting on the transport to show up and load the car.  I assumed It was late......and the driver would contact me sometime Saturday when he was getting close to his destination.

Sunday Morning I get a call from Will. It was like shooting the shit with an old buddy......while I'm thinking in the back of my head Where the fuck is my car.  I asked what he was doing and the location of the transport driver.   My question was redirected by Will asking me what I wanted to do about this. I said what do you mean?   Will then informed me they had just left wal-mart after picking up some stuff for memorial day. They were planning to cookout blah blah blah.    I simply said I will go get my trailer and meet you as I offered a few days ago.   I could tell this is not what he wanted to do on a holiday weekend.

Will said OK; he would contact me after he got the car loaded and was ready to leave Bridgeport.   I replied with a good deal.

 A few Hours later we meet in a parking lot in Abilene Texas.  It's raining, and I am pissed.  I want to see the car preform as described.

Will opens the trailer and backs the car out. It goes directly into my trailer. As a joke I asked if the A/C and radio worked.   Will laughed and replied yes.

Will seemed really frigidity and short.....like he needed to leave ASAP.  I glanced over the engine bay and Will spoke up that the engine covers were left off by accident and he would either UPS them to me or he would install them when they came to pick the car up to do the final revisions.  I asked when they planned to do the pickup.....Will said 30 days at the latest.   I told Will to just hang on to them for now since its just a month.  I was given instructions to document any bugs that I felt were reportable because my driving is different from anyone else etc.  No problem......

Close up trailers and hit the road.....its pouring down rain at this point. 

Next Morning.............

Now I will admit; I was stoked.  This was the first TT car Ive ever owned.
Now the list begins......first things first....the tach doesn't work at all.....start the car and it locks up at 1,000....never moves from this point.

Fucking A/C does not work if the car is above idle RPM.    It's the middle of May in West Texas.....FML.

I deal with it to drive a few miles around town.

I asked Will about the AC situation on Tuesday and did not get a reply back until Thursday.
Did not hear from Will on Friday like he stated.


Here is the list that is not correct with the car. (  Just the Tach ehh?)
 Here's the ongoing chore list I made starting the following morning of delivery.



A/C COMPRESSOR:
• SYSTEM WORKS FINE AT IDLE; BUT DISENGAGES COMPRESSOR CLUTCH AT RPM ABOVE IDLE SET RPM.
• SYSTEM BOGS ENGINE WHILE ENGAGED AND AT IDLE; ENGINE HAS A HARD LOPE DURING THIS TIME AND LOADS UP CYLINDERS. STRONG RAW FUEL ODOR
• NOTE: DROVE AFTER SITTING OVER NIGHT AND DID NOT TURN A/C DURING THE 30-45 MINUTE DRIVE; FUEL ODOR WAS MINIMAL.

TACHOMETER:
• RESPONDS FOR 2-4 SECONDS UPON START UP; LOCKS UP AT THIS POINT @ 1,000PRM

OIL TEMPERATURE GAUGE:
• AVG 203-208 DEGREES AFTER ½ THROTTLE PULLS ON HWY ( JUST NOTING)
• LEFT ENGINE AT IDLE FOR 2 MINUTES BEFORE PARKING; TEMP @ 204. RESTART TO MOVE INTO GARAGE 15 MINUTES LATER; HIGH TEMP LIGHT CAME ON WITH A READING OF 409. SHUT OFF AND RESTART. TEMP REGISTERED @ 179.

WATER TEMPERATURE GAUGE:
• AVG COOLING TEMP @ 188-199 DEGREES IN TOWN AND HWY. 203 DURING HALF THROTTLE PULLS ( JUST NOTING)

FUEL TUNING:
• NOTICED A STRONG ODOR OF RAW FUEL DURING WARM UP; IN TOWN, AND HIGHWAY DRIVING. EXHAUST EXIT WAS CLEAN WHEN PICKED UP. HEAVY EXHAUST RESIDUE HAS COATED THIS AREA.
• AT IDLE; BURPING THE THROTTLE; ENGINE STUMBLES SIMILAR TO A CARB ENGINE RUNNING ON THE FAT SIDE.
• HISS COMING FROM PASSENGER SIDE FUEL RAIL/INTAKE RUNNERS. I’M ASSUMING IT’S THE LARGER INJECTORS; SOUND LEVEL ON DRIVERS SIDE IS NOTICEABLY QUIETER.

CRUISE CONTROL:
• DISABLED; I’M SURE THIS IS DUE TO LIMP MODE/CEL SIMILAR TO ALL VEHICLES.



BOOST CONTROLLER:
• WHEN SELECTING HIGH BOOST LEVEL SOLENOID CYCLES RAPIDLY AND VERY LOUD


SRT APP:
• GAUGES WITHIN THE PERFORMANCE APP RELAY SOME INFORMATION. OTHER OPTIONS DO NOT RESPOND OR ARE INACCURATE

500 + MILES ON THE CAR SINCE PICKUP
First hard beating on the car since mods ( Viper VS Bike Video)
• FUEL RANGE, ECONOMY, ETC DOES NOT OPERATE
• HILL ASSIST DOES NOT OPERATE
MADE 2 HARD PULLS ON LOW SETTING SHIFTING AT APPROX 4,000-5,000 RPM(that's a guess) WITH TRACTION CONTROL IN SETTING 1. ¼ mile pulls from a stop.
AFTER IDLING FOR 3-4 MINUTES THE CAR WAS SHUT OFF FOR 20-30 MINUTES.
RESTART THE CAR AND NOTICED OIL PRESSURE WAS NOT REGISTERING AT ALL; ALONG WITH OIL TEMPERATURE READING IMPOSSIBLE NUMBERS (101- 183). UNTIL LOCKING UP @ 183.
THE TACH WAS PARTIALLY WORKING ALONG WITH THE OEM TRACTION CONTROL.
I SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND ALLOWED THE SYSTEM TO RESET. I REPEATED THIS 5 TIMES BEFORE I RECEIVED SOME KIND OF OIL PRESSURE FEEDBACK.
ONCE I HAD OIL PRESSURE READINGS I HIT THE INTERSTATE AT HWY SPEED. THE TACH IS GOING NUTS ALONG WITH THE RED STRYKER SHIFT LIGHT AS THE TACH IS BOUNCING EVERYWHERE.(1-2 FLASHES A SECOND) I MANAGED TO MAINTAIN A STEADY 73 MPH IN 6TH GEAR AND THE TACH SETTLED DOWN TO 2100 RPM. I EXPERIMENTED AND TURNED THE A/C ON; WORKED LIKE A CHARM. APPLIED A SMALL AMOUNT OF THROTTLE TO AGGRAVATE THE TACH AND THE A/C SYSTEM WAS DISENGAGED.
THE OEM TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT WAS NOT PRESENT DURING THIS GLITCH. HOWEVER THE CEL, AND SERVICE THROTTLE BODY ALERT WERE ILLUMINATED.
THE PECTEL TRACTION UNIT IS TURNED TO “OFF” ALONG WITH LOW BOOST SETTING. I SLOWED TO 50 MPH AND ROLLED ONTO THE THROTTLE AND THE OEM TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM ATTEMPTED TO MANGE THE LOSS OF TRACTION. TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT FLASHED ON THE DASH UNTIL TRACTION WAS RESTORED. I PUSHED THE OEM TRACTION CONTROL BUTTON AND WAS ABLE TO SELECT THE OEM LEVELS. LAUNCH CONTROL WAS AVAILABLE ALSO; BUT I DID NOT ATTEMPT THE FULL USE.
WHEN I PARKED THE CAR FOR THE NIGHT I CHECKED OVER EVERYTHING. I GAVE THE SYSTEM 1 HOUR AND CYCLED THE POWER. OIL TEMPERATURE WAS LOCKED @ 183 AS THE TRACTION SYSTEM WAS AVAILABLE.

*****Approx. 16 HOURS LATER I CYCLED THE POWER AGAIN. OIL TEMPERATURE WAS READING THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OF THE GARAGE (91). TRACTION CONTROL WAS STILL AVAILABLE. I DID NOT START THE CAR.

BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON SEVERAL TIMES THROUGH OUT THE NIGHT. TRIGGERING VOLTAGE : <13.4V & 14.4V <



Wednesday June 4, 2014 I asked Will for a "what is what" within the boost, traction knobs.  No response.

Monday June 9 2014 I asked about the AC issue;    Will said he would call me shortly.  I received a call to pretty much tell me that the A/C situation is weird and the other cars did not have that issue. They could not remote into it but would address it when they picked up the car. I asked how the legal disclosures were coming along and Will stated it was in the final stages.

June 17, 2014.......almost a month and no updates on something that is cutting edge......now I know some are asking why I am being nice.....please keep in mind these guys were the only shop that were willing to do this.....I've already paid them.....and i have a broken car.

Now this is where it gets ridiculous. I return Wills phone call.  I receive an apology that he has dropped the ball on this and swears he is not holding the completion of my car hostage. He has now been informed that Cosworth does not want to give exclusive rights to RSI in regards to all the tables.  Will had found out that KP Racing has also been working with a pectel unit and he was not going to forfeit his R&D so that everyone could get a baseline program for these cars.

I am now hit with another option......its about a $3,000.00 option.  We would pull the entire Pectel system off the car; replace with a MoTec  M150; and Will had touched base with John Reed about tuning the system and everything would be great. I would be out 3 grand and give RSI the pectel system back.   yea....fuck you.

Now my first thought.....why the fuck would I dish out an additional 3,000 with RSI again and hope it all works out.  In the mist of this I have spoken with several shops. I do not wish to disclose them; but they all know whom they are. I learned many...many things about RSI and their business relationship with others.   RSI owes John Reed mega bucks.  why the hell would he do this for them?  I just agreed and went on with my business.

I watched John Reeds calendar on his website. Never once did it appear that he would be in Plano Texas.

Monday, July 14,2014
Will stated he would call me later today........never happened





Thursday July 24, 2014

Haven't received my phone call in regards to the switch over from July 14, 2014;   yet he found the time to poke fun at the Lambo thread in regards to Dallas Performance.

Again......some of you are asking why the fuck is this guy even speaking to Will........I had made my mind up 3 hours prior to receiving this text that the car was going elsewhere. I didn't care if I had to sell a kidney to pay for it.

Really.....I wasn't kidding; and I knew I would find out soon enough.

Oh Will...you want to laugh at the twisted wiring........check out your wiring job....you left energized wiring half ass taped and exposed. (these are the OEM TB wires) 

Now at this point...I'm just riding this out.

You will confirm next week.........but you want me to update these guys on the viper forum and pretend everything is great....No.
 

Texas Invitational in October........getting the car to operate correctly should have been the main priority months ago. You were paid a tad shy of $50,000.00 to do this job right.  At this point(Aug. 14,2014)  your 49 days past due!








 Now; lets go back to the initial message you sent that started all of this...


January 22, 2014

 


Now; what exactly am I wanting to come out of this?   A formal Apology would be a start. Reimbursement for equipment that didn't operate as you stated it would...even better. I can box this stuff up and over night it once payment is received and cleared.  Regardless I will not change my opinion when asked about my experience.  I hope this serves as proof that some things will never change.  I gave RSI the opportunity to start turning their reputation around. I supported them when everyone else bashed and questioned "why are you doing this".

Does RSI build quality parts?  The fabricator(s) do; I was impressed with the Fabricator that may/may not be there now. He seemed to be genuine and had the love/passion for what he was doing. 

I hope you guys open your eyes and realize whats going on here.




UPDATE: 

On November 12, 2014, A few hours after posting this blog I received the following text.  The following morning November 13, 2014 I received the last text along with this Email message.

 





Nov. 13, 2014 -----09:02 A.M.

At this point I am attempting to figure out how his " a lot of attempts to reach out"    other than asking for more time; and money I'm not sure there was much reaching out.

I pondered whether I should even reply to these messages. Once I finished up at the office I replied back VIA email and cut straight to the point.

I have not received any kind of response since November 13, 2014.

Point proven; until next time.....

UPDATE:

11/24/2014

Reply back from my initial offer...

. 


























.
Now why would I do this? I mean seriously?  I have invested with another shop that has worked non stop repairing the screw up's that RSI created . The car is finally operating as it was intended. I did not reply.




11/27/2014
Fellow Viper owner received this message after inquiring about a possible package:

 

1/10/2015

I received a little bit of information from another viper owner.

Will/RSI had contacted he/she about teaming up on the motec EMS. When he/she asked about the resolution with my car Will simply put it as " it's my fault. He offered to fix it and I didn't allow them to complete the car."



Until next time........RESEARCH.....RESEARCH....RESEARCH! 



Here's a little research Ive done for you...... Enjoy

Racing Solutions, Inc. (RSI) customers who have been screwed over:

1. Vital Velocity (Paul’s G2 TT)
Original Build thread Video from purchase of car (posted July 25, 2013):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/anything-goes/121546-t-minus-30-days.html
Tries to part out car after numerous attempts to get car finished, Will can’t even send factory parts out:
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/anything-goes/161289-part-out-rsi-twin.html
Video of vehicle at pickup: http://vid1058.photobucket.com/albums/t405/proc6/Mobile%20Uploads/20150115_141659_zpsgbdtd8gq.mp4
Audio of Jeremy at RSI kicking customer out of the shop:
http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/proc6/media/Shopinteractionvideo_zps2etqt7pm.mp4.html

2. Nasseri’s build (Posted September 20, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-vendors-tuners/182457-i-hated-my-viper.html

3. NastyGTS (James) Gen V RSI TT Build (Posted February 5, 2014):
http://driveviper.com/forums/threads/1994-Gen-V-TT-Build
Blog (Posted November 7, 2014):
http://genvttbuildbyrsi.blogspot.dk/2014/11/rsied.html

4. Mr. Richards RSI 1000 Build Thread (Posted June 30, 2013 still unresolved):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/anything-goes/118161-my-rsi-1000-build.html

5. Max Boost RSI TT Gen III Viper purchase through RSI (Posted March 28, 2014 and still unresolved):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/anything-goes/157698-rsi-twin-turbo.html

6. Viperguy239 RSI 1500 GTS (Posted October 26th, 2013):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-discussions-gen-i/135194-another-rsi-1500-gts.html

7. Crazy DMD posting about his experience with RSI over a $2800 exhaust (posted December 3, 2013):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-discussions-gen-iii/140242-need-recommendation-speed-shop.html

8. Disturbed 01 (posted December 10, 2013 unresolved in thread as of October 6, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-discussions-gen-i/141234-my-rsi-troubles.html

9. Drlee50 AEM Infinity 10 from RSI (Posted March 29, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-discussions-gen-i/157946-any-twin-turbo-cars.html

10. Mxz900 stock motor rebuild (posted June 19, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-vendors-tuners/169417-rsi-racing-solutions-will.html#post2658985

11. daaam’s post about paying for a build in 2012 and no resolution as of June 19, 2014 (full thread not found):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/2659265-post12.html

12. SeanPegasusAuto (posted September 22, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-vendors-tuners/182745-yet-another-will-racing.html

13. DavisAutoSports experience with RSI (posted December 1st, 2014):
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/viper-discussions-gen-i/193738-rsi-racing-solutions-review.html

14. Demand letter for Russian owner’s 2008 ACR build (not completed after 3 years):
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57702043/2011-06-01-Demand-Letter

15. Bad68GTO goes to assist Will@RSI Turn around the shop on March 13, 2014. Finds out what RSI is about and discontinues his “consulting” services as of March 31, 2014:
http://www.viperalley.com/forum/anything-goes/155586-going-texas-assist-will.html

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