Piston Slapper Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Not to take a side, but why did these people decide to stay in the woodwork? This is an enthusiast forum, if you found something good or particularly terrible, say so and help out the community. They did, just not here. I think it has something to do with VS acting like Lucky was the messiah and could do no wrong up until recently. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Two reasons why I know people have stayed quiet: 1. No one wants to beat up on one of our own if it just appears he is trying to pull things together and may be struggling due to the business scaling faster than perhaps he anticipated. 2. Because when issues are raised fans of the tuner in question jump all over the person who raises the issue if they dare to publicly point at the tune or Lucky's work as being at fault. There are threads here in VS and also on SS where issues are raised about how the car is having boost spikes or doesn't seem to be running right but the whole discussion gets pushed toward issues with the configuration of the car or certain components are failing. Sometimes that is actually the case but in the three cases I know of personally, one out of three actually had issues with the car and the other two were related to the tune. So, as Alden encouraged, I think the best approach for each member who has had great experiences or challenges with a tune from Lucky to point to their thread or write-up their experience and post it here: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/164748-ard-tuning/ I'm surprised that no one has started a thread in the Aftermarket Vendors forum for reviews of ARD work. That way we get around all the bullshit and focus only on experiences and results. My guess here is that Lucky had great work happening when he physically had access to the cars he tuned but that as the effort has expanded beyond Portland or his road trips within the US or elsewhere the challenges have surfaced for all the reasons others have mentioned. I care because I'm looking to put a tune in the coupe next year and I'm looking for the best option to support the direction I'm taking the car. I want Lucky to succeed because we need more people focused on performance for our cars but I also want to ensure honest feedback is provided. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT5M Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Honestly I like lucky hes a good guy. But after having a local check my tune I was kinda unnerved but I stoll run it unmolested because even though it has very obvious hiccups that ive expressed to no avail (like suddenly running 8-11s while idling) it does run better under boost then the stock tune did. One day ill get it retuned but honestly as it sits now with current budget thatll be closer to 2020. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsk8 Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Just for the record, I want to reiterate that I'm not here to slander anyone. I kind of got thrown into this because I had to get the tune done to my ECM do to a transmission failure. I planned on doing this eventually anyhow, but I like to research the crap out of everything before I pull the trigger and I didn't have a chance to do that this time. All that said, my 2 issues w/ ARD are the way I was treated after I had my issues, and I just don't think I feel a big performance difference. Bear in mind too that my car also isn't the same car it was because I went from an auto to a manual, so it isn't apples to apples. But I really don't like being treated like someone's doing me a favor by taking my money, then all the games I had to play just to get some action taken, that's what left the bad taste in my mouth. Lucky was actually great once I finally got a chance to talk to him, and aside from the hoops I had to go through just to get to the point where it was considered that maybe it was the tune and not do to me being a retard. Thank God, my car seems to be going again and I haven't had issues again (although its only been a day and a half). I'm still a little nervous because the last thing I was told by ARD is that my ECM could still be bad and I drive a LOT. I'm not going to jump in my car and drive out of state right away and that really sucks, its kind of the whole reason I wanted this car. I can haul stuff, it gets respectable mileage, and its fun to drive (when it isn't broke). This leaves me w/ depending on a 1/2 ton 4x4 Chevy truck that gets 14-15 mpg for these long trips. IMO, I think a lot of what's going on are related to growth as well; that can get frustrating from a supplier stand point. While I realize growth can be frustrating, as a supplier people should remember that the customers are the livelihood of the business, rather than getting annoyed when someone expects some results. So Lucky, I would say thanks for the legwork on getting my issues resolved (ish). But, I still have no idea what it means when you tell me my ECM might still be bad. Does this mean its a ticking time bomb?? That I shouldn't drive it? Will I be somewhere and have the thing just puke on me?? I have no idea and that kind of kills the joy of doing any of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted December 11, 2013 Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 Not to take a side, but why did these people decide to stay in the woodwork? This is an enthusiast forum, if you found something good or particularly terrible, say so and help out the community. As has already been mentioned, too many here believe that Lucky is some kind of GOD to believe it ... I've been saying for a while that something is fishy with the guy, no one has believed me yet. Hell, just lost an argument on the VS Facebook page over the weekend, was attacked because I DARE tarnish Lucky's name. Not sure if anyone here saw the conversation, but it's very ironic that this thread materialized after all of the criticism I took because I had no "proof". I don't have an ARD tune, but have read too many horror stories to believe that it's all a coincidence or faulty hardware. Even when he was with Ipd, he refused to admit when one of his designs was at fault... Joe 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Riker Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 As has already been mentioned, too many here believe that Lucky is some kind of GOD to believe it ... I've been saying for a while that something is fishy with the guy, no one has believed me yet. Hell, just lost an argument on the VS Facebook page over the weekend, was attacked because I DARE tarnish Lucky's name. Not sure if anyone here saw the conversation, but it's very ironic that this thread materialized after all of the criticism I took because I had no "proof". I don't have an ARD tune, but have read too many horror stories to believe that it's all a coincidence or faulty hardware. Even when he was with Ipd, he refused to admit when one of his designs was at fault... Joe I'm not attacking you because you're trying to tarnish Lucky's name... whatever that's about... However... are you giving a negative review of something you admittedly never purchased?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z31jaime Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) <<<<<<<<<<<< I bitched about my tune a while back and ended up with Whiner above my name............. Thats why people don't talk about it on here. Again, Like mattsk8, i'm not looking to slander Lucky, I'm simply expressing why I won't do buisness with him ever again. He never said anything to me that made me feel like I was being talked down to. Hell if we were all hanging out I'd probably buy him a beer. he was that cool when talking to me............ I just really don't like his buisness practace is all. He was a "cheap" option for me when I got it and I got exactly what I paid for. #1 I SUSPECT HE HAS CHANGED THE CAM TIMING DIRECTIONS ON HIS SITE AND DIDN'T TELL ANYONE. he said he changed the wording but not the numbers... then i pointed out that VIVA had differnt numbers than him for some reason, Now VIVA matches his site.... I guess he fixed that. #2 NO PLACE ON THE ARD SITE dose it say "green tune may not work with your OEM BCS, or CBV." And yet the first suggestion he makes once I paid for the tune and couldn't boost was.... your BCS is failing.... #3 Per his site.... Warranty: Modifying your vehicle means you are taking it outside the normal operating parameters it was designed to withstand. This means components begin to wear and break sooner and easier as the vehicle power increases. ARD does not provide a warranty for the customers vehicles or any of the associated components on that vehicle in any way expressed or implied. It is your responsibility to ensure your vehicle is in good operational condition and properly equipped for the level of tuning and power you are seeking. When in doubt, ask! NO PLACE ON THE SITE ARE THE warrenty policy for the tunes stated. meaning if in 3 months my ECU stops working what will ARD do, and how much would it cost me. He is just making this $75 per hour testing thing up on the Fly. I don't know what state he is in but in FL.... 672.316 Exclusion or modification of warranties.— (1) Words or conduct relevant to the creation of an express warranty and words or conduct tending to negate or limit warranty shall be construed wherever reasonable as consistent with each other; but, subject to the provisions of this chapter on parol or extrinsic evidence (s. 672.202), negation or limitation is inoperative to the extent that such construction is unreasonable. (2) Subject to subsection (3), to exclude or modify the implied warranty of merchantability or any part of it, the language must mention merchantability and in case of a writing must be conspicuous; and, to exclude or modify any implied warranty of fitness, the exclusion must be by a writing and conspicuous. Language to exclude all implied warranties of fitness is sufficient if it states, for example, that “There are no warranties which extend beyond the description on the face hereof.” (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2): (a) Unless the circumstances indicate otherwise, all implied warranties are excluded by expressions like “as is” or “with all faults” or other language which in common understanding calls the buyer’s attention to the exclusion of warranties and makes plain that there is no implied warranty; and ( When the buyer before entering into the contract has examined the goods or the sample or model as fully as he or she desired or has refused to examine the goods, there is no implied warranty with regard to defects which an examination ought in the circumstances to have revealed to him or her; and © An implied warranty can also be excluded or modified by a course of dealing or course of performance or usage of trade. I would think that if I'm getting a CUSTOM tune like he says........ we are establashing an Emplied warranty of some sort.....because I have no way to test and inspect prior to buying it. I would LOVE to see how he would fight this one off in Court.... " Judge Judy: SO your selling Custom tunes from across the country, for cars you've never seen, based on a build sheet. Lucky: yes your honor... JJ: And what happens if you get the tune wrong? Lucky: My tunes are never wrong. JJ: Realy, and how do you know that? Lucky: because all i do is change the Boost curve. JJ: SO lets say you send me a Tune and Fed ex drops it off a truck and somehow something gets wonky in the "code" you put in... what then? Lucky: well....................... I'd charge you $75 an hour to test the tune, if I find something wrong its free, but if not then you have to pay me to get your tune back. JJ: Is this "policy" stated any place, sales recipt? web site? Lucky: No..... JJ: FAIL! Give the person back his tune. I took everyones word that Lucky is a cool guy and he will make things right if something is wrong... and clearly he isn't doing that. We had the same issue with Stylin motors when they started to go bad........ people defended them, and defended them, until finally they understood it was crap. EDIT: I still don't even know if my problem is the tune or not.... 2 of my cars won't boost past 12psi. and 1 of my friends cars did get the 17psi as stated by Lucky. so 2 out of 3 cars tested failed with his tune........ I will do more testing on various cars and see what results I get. I Can't and WONT say his tune is crap, because I havn't gotten the damn thing to work in my car yet. Edited December 12, 2013 by z31jaime 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) However... are you giving a negative review of something you admittedly never purchased?? I'm not trying to tarnish his name, just tired of everyone here sticking up for him because "he's a cool guy". That may be, but if the product is bad, why should we act like it's impossible just because he's the almighty Lucky? As far as what I've purchased, I fell for the original "HD TCV" when it debuted in 2008. We all know how well they worked . He was still with Ipd (obviously), but he gave me the runaround then. Told me that the new TCV was "faster and more precise" and that's why my LPT went from 6 psi with the stock Peirburg valve to only 4 psi max with the HD TCV. Insisted it couldn't be the valve, had me on a goose chase for months ... He also repeatedly told me that the stock boost level for the ME7 LPT cars was 8 psi, which is what made me purchase his valve to begin with. Even after showing him that the Volvo literature stated 5.5-6.5 psi max, he was STILL quoting 8 psi target to others after that... May sound petty to hold a grudge for all these years, but he's doing the same thing to these people. Selling something that doesn't deliver as promised, then telling them that it HAS to be something else wrong with their car because his product couldn't possibly be to blame. Sorry, but I have no time for people like that. He could be the coolest guy on the planet and it still wouldn't justify not admitting to taking someone's money for a faulty product . Joe Edited December 12, 2013 by jschaefer7406 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Riker Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 I'm not trying to tarnish his name, just tired of everyone here sticking up for him because "he's a cool guy". That may be, but if the product is bad, why should we act like it's impossible just because he's the almighty Lucky? As far as what I've purchased, I fell for the original "HD TCV" when it debuted in 2008. We all know how well they worked. He was still with Ipd (obviously), but was given the runaround then. Told me that the new TCV was "faster and more precise" and that's why my LPT went from 6 psi with the stock Peirburg valve to only 4 psi max with the HD TCV. Insisted it couldn't be the valve, had me on a goose chase for months ... He also repeatedly told me that the stock boost level for the ME7 LPT cars was 8 psi, which is what made me purchase his valve to begin with. Even after showing him that the Volvo literature stated 5.5-6.5 psi max, he was STILL quoting 8 psi target to others after that... May sound petty to hold a grudge for all these years, but he's doing the same thing to these people. Selling something that doesn't deliver as promised, then telling them that it HAS to be something else wrong with their car because his product couldn't possibly be to blame. Sorry, but I have no time for people like that. He could be the coolest guy on the planet and it still wouldn't justify not admitting to talking someone's money for a faulty product . Joe That's a strong accusation that Lucky is knowingly selling a faulty product. Especially when you're talking about TCV failures from years ago? You say it may sound petty to hold a grudge after all these years... but I don't see how he's doing the same to other people. You know... when it does come to the reviews of products on the internet... generally, most of the time you find more negative reviews then positive ones. This is greatly due to the fact that when something doesn't work, people want to make it known for multiple reasons... but when a product does well... people are just happy with it, enjoy it, and rarely share the positive experience. We're talking about a very fine line here that I personally thing Lucky is walking on. When you get into modifying cars, there are a TON of unknowns. You might be great at wrenching on your own car... or you might be super fucking terrible at it. No one knows. And if you throw a hotter tune in it, and it doesn't work well because you immediately develop a boost leak or other problem... you immediately blame a tune?? Granted, some of the arguments regarding poor tunes may have some validity, but as far as I know... he's worked to make it right. People are bitching about this 75 dollar diagnosis fee. However, you mean to tell me that if you took your car to a performance shop, and you had them do X amount of work, you think they're going to warranty their dyno tuning?? You do realize if you put your car on a dyno... and are tuning it... and it explodes... the tuner is not going to "warranty" your pieces of a car. That brings me to the other side of the thing line he walks, IMO. If he makes tunes so aggressive that they just pop your motor, and basically achieve the aforementioned exploded car result, he's going to have a gang of people here on the internet raising hell about "he's a bad tuner... his tunes are dangerous... I was going to get an ARD tune for my modified car, but now I'm scared." Speaking from personal experience, I'm running a 15psi tune specifically because I'm running a larger turbo on a LTP motor. He explained to me his reasoning behind this, and in the interest I have of keeping my car reliable (not exploded), I had to agree with him. At some point I am considering sending it back to move the goal post to 18psi once I add water/meth... and fully expect him to charge me 75 dollars to do it. Lucky isn't godly in my view. He isn't a thief either. For those who have had problems... I think it's important to hear them... and he should work to resolve the issues. Hell... we should all work together to resolve them, because that's what this is, isn't it? An enthusiast forum for modified cars? 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jschaefer7406 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) but I don't see how he's doing the same to other people. How is he NOT doing the same thing here? Whenever someone has a problem with one of his tunes, he seems to point at wastegate adjustment, failing TCV/BCS, failing CBV, etc...anything he can without admitting it may be a software issue. I do agree that some don't do a proper "stage 0", but what irks me is that he (and everyone else) act like it CAN'T be a tuning issue because he's infallible. Again, same thing he has done to me... And let's get one thing straight, if I was TRYING to give Lucky a bad name, I'd be creating thread after thread about my opinion of him. I have yet to start a conversation or thread about an issue I've had, just adding to other threads when its relevant. I'm not trying to slander him or deface him in any way, but I'm also not about to cover for him either. Truth is what it is . I'm also not implying he's a thief or knowingly taking money for a bad product. Just think his opinion of himself and his knowledge is such that he can't see (or admit) when something he's engineered may be at fault ... Joe Edited December 12, 2013 by jschaefer7406 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsk8 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 (edited) This all went south for me because he couldn't just own up to it being a bad tune right in the beginning; would've save both of us a lot of time. Now I'm still curious what he meant by telling me my ECM could still be bad, makes me nervous to drive this thing. Still waiting to hear back on that, but I guess it hasn't been 48 hours since I asked him what he meant yet. I still also have a weird hesitation between about 1500 and 3500 Rs. Its not terrible, but it wasn't there before I did any of this. I actually said something about it when I first started asking why my car wouldn't rev beyond 4k Rs, but after I got the re-tune it got a lot better (but its still there, and I didn't have it before the tune). Edited December 12, 2013 by mattsk8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black98t5 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Anyone else notice that the tunes are no longer available on snabb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilber33 Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 Anyone else notice that the tunes are no longer available on snabb? They haven't been for quite some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaskMule Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 I notice Lucky didn't address the bit about Forge valves from the SS thread in his post here. I really want to believe in this guy, but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiPSI Posted December 12, 2013 Report Share Posted December 12, 2013 I notice Lucky didn't address the bit about Forge valves from the SS thread in his post here. I really want to believe in this guy, but... Is there a thread on the Forge CBV issue? Trying not to jump to any conclusions yet and read as much about what's going on. ARD really needs to address these accusations sooner than later as quite a few people are coming forward w/ ARD issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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