Hi, Guest
06-19-2004, 06:30 AM
not to bash FC, or anything, but I agree with Rob.. there are far too many companies that are just out there to sell things. It's like all these speed shops out there. It doesn't take knowledge or skill to be successful in this business. People's ignorance and slavery to fashion will sell for you... and I spend far too much time as a consumer trying to find competent shops and manufacturers. And that's sad considering all the 'experts' out there.
you are right.
but it's also the same ignorance that steers people away from buying parts that are of high quality, maybe not up to the standards of everyone, but much higher than the other options out there.
People say that they do the best they can considering they have no engineering budget..and that's just the worst excuse you can come up with. In the bike industry some of the best bikes to come out have come from 'cardboard engineering'. Can't figure out why the rear shock is too soft? take a piece of cardboard, and trace the suspension travel arch on it to see if the leverage ratio rises too quickly. Seems to work in other industries as well for most simple design tweeks.
you're right this is no excuse.
but there is a difference there.
having no budget for engineering and trying to keep final costs down by limiting R&D time are 2 different things.
everything can be made better, EVERYTHING.
that's why i make most of the parts on my car myself. i take the time to test everything out myself so i am happy with it and feel it's something i can be proud of.
but simple design tweeks are not always as simple as they seem or end up being.
Simple things like that and a bit of common sense goes a long way to make an affordable product that is both useful and reliable.
true
but at the same time a part can only be tested for so long and in so many conditions.
it's hard to test most varriables in every condition let alone all of them.
once again it comes back to a cost issue.
People speak of tip-in issues with the FC throttlebody all the time, and after how many revisions, it's still the same cam on there? is that really listening to customer suggestions? I'll give them credit for standing behind the exhausts and cracked welds, but you have to believe there's a better way than waiting for people to return their stuff to you... to me, as a customer, it would infuriate me. It gives the impression that they'll only fix parts if they stand to lose enough money from it. People can't return their throttlebodies because they hurt driveability, can they. And a refund short of covering shipping and handling doesn't count in my books.
i have had the TB on my car for almost 3 years now with no problems.
i'm not saying that the problem doesn't exsist but if drivability was your concern why are you putting parts on the car that are designed for performance? why are you adding a part that really only shows gains and better drivability after you have a fair amount of work done?
to be fair, alot of those people with tip-in problems were putting the TB on as one of thier first few mods. that's not unlike sticking a 3" exhaust on a stock focus.
I will always be willing to spend a little extra on a part that is properly engineered and accepted to work... I won't buy on company's claims alone, and with the hit-or-miss impression I get from lots of people out there, I just can't make myself cough up the money to even try FC components (even though I would love to).
Fair enough.
there is not much i can do in this case.
i have prices that have made alot of other people change their mind, if that doesn't work for you, what else can be done?
sooner or later you are going to either have to get around this stigma or stop modifying your car or be happy with other foci being alot faster than you.
you are right.
but it's also the same ignorance that steers people away from buying parts that are of high quality, maybe not up to the standards of everyone, but much higher than the other options out there.
People say that they do the best they can considering they have no engineering budget..and that's just the worst excuse you can come up with. In the bike industry some of the best bikes to come out have come from 'cardboard engineering'. Can't figure out why the rear shock is too soft? take a piece of cardboard, and trace the suspension travel arch on it to see if the leverage ratio rises too quickly. Seems to work in other industries as well for most simple design tweeks.
you're right this is no excuse.
but there is a difference there.
having no budget for engineering and trying to keep final costs down by limiting R&D time are 2 different things.
everything can be made better, EVERYTHING.
that's why i make most of the parts on my car myself. i take the time to test everything out myself so i am happy with it and feel it's something i can be proud of.
but simple design tweeks are not always as simple as they seem or end up being.
Simple things like that and a bit of common sense goes a long way to make an affordable product that is both useful and reliable.
true
but at the same time a part can only be tested for so long and in so many conditions.
it's hard to test most varriables in every condition let alone all of them.
once again it comes back to a cost issue.
People speak of tip-in issues with the FC throttlebody all the time, and after how many revisions, it's still the same cam on there? is that really listening to customer suggestions? I'll give them credit for standing behind the exhausts and cracked welds, but you have to believe there's a better way than waiting for people to return their stuff to you... to me, as a customer, it would infuriate me. It gives the impression that they'll only fix parts if they stand to lose enough money from it. People can't return their throttlebodies because they hurt driveability, can they. And a refund short of covering shipping and handling doesn't count in my books.
i have had the TB on my car for almost 3 years now with no problems.
i'm not saying that the problem doesn't exsist but if drivability was your concern why are you putting parts on the car that are designed for performance? why are you adding a part that really only shows gains and better drivability after you have a fair amount of work done?
to be fair, alot of those people with tip-in problems were putting the TB on as one of thier first few mods. that's not unlike sticking a 3" exhaust on a stock focus.
I will always be willing to spend a little extra on a part that is properly engineered and accepted to work... I won't buy on company's claims alone, and with the hit-or-miss impression I get from lots of people out there, I just can't make myself cough up the money to even try FC components (even though I would love to).
Fair enough.
there is not much i can do in this case.
i have prices that have made alot of other people change their mind, if that doesn't work for you, what else can be done?
sooner or later you are going to either have to get around this stigma or stop modifying your car or be happy with other foci being alot faster than you.