On the forum i've gotten the impression that there is alot of tuning involved with installing the supercharger and stillen has done a poor job with providing a good product for it's price. What type of "tuning" needs to be done exactly? A couple of people have said negative things about this and have ended up selling their systems after months of use. What made this kit bad? I am looking for any insight on this since I may be purchasing the kit soon (1-2months). I know many positive things have been said about the mod, i just want to know about the probs people have had.
some have said their idler pulley is weak (but it can be fixed by purchasing a stronger one? or not messing with the pulley sizes?)
Also stillen is selling their kit for MUCHO $$$. I know there are companies and people who can give me a much better price then 'Stealins'. Any insight would be appreciated

 

Technically the basic kit is a bolt-on mod. But the poor design, construction and customer service make it a real headache.

The heavy tuning comes in to play when people start upping the boost levels, then the basic kit isn't sufficient.

But, I don't have one, so don't ask me...

 

Stillen is a pain.

Unless you buy direct from them, they won't help you if
problems arise. Their standard line is "If you bought our
parts from a vendor, then you have to go through that vendor
for help." (All I wanted were a couple of bolts!)

While I can see the motivation of forcing vendors to deal with
customer complaints, it seems to me that they want to make
customers buy direct from them (at the cost of customer
satisfaction with Stillen). You would think that after losing
a direct sale, they'd be happy to obtain profits from selling
spare parts while removing the middle man. So that said, you
may want to buy direct from them.

I'm still happy with my supercharger. But it was "the only game in
town" when the time for purchase came.

Yes, there are post-install tuning issues.
My sc belt likes to walk after 6 months or so.
My friends and I (and some mechanics) have tried to see what was
misaligned, but to no avail. We first suspected an offset issue,
but now, my feeling is that the sc pulley is slightly misaligned.

When you get the kit, do yourself a favor and get a hold of DanNY
of the org. Buy his Aluminum tensioner pulley. The plastic pulley
stillen uses melts. I saw it happen to a few folks here, but
my stupid hard-headedness said "Oh it can't happen to ME."
....let's just say that just Last week, I was driving my wife's car
to work

Oh and one last thing...replacing the stock sc pulley with something
smaller MAY cause the belt to rub on the sc bracket. Having a dremel
handy is good insurance.

 

hey thanx guys for ur info. If i don't get the supercharger i know i will regret it later. What do you think i can get the supercharger for if i do not buy it direct from stillen?? If i save enough money i can get better, belts/pulleys along with it in 1 shot.

I was thinking about a turbokit as well if the stillen is really that much trouble, but then again it probably requires alot more tuning and i'd probably need to have a mechaninc friend which i don't

99.9% of people on the .org are real helpful and would give me advice if i had probs with the supercharger so the hell with stillen's overpriced products!!

 

Still over 3 grand usually. It really is not a huge discount through the vendor on this product.

SuDZ

 

and last but not least if you guys have priced kits for other vehicles the vortech kits go for about $3400 and up and the civic si kit goes for $4000.00 why are we complaining about the price, if you call and harass stillen they will let the kit go for about $3300, $3340 price range I did I harassed them every other day over the phone and when I got the right price I got a PM stating do I want this kit that I have now, so I bought it the next day. Call and or email Paul@avalonracing.net and he can give you a good deal on the kit and his honest as well.

The stillen supercharger kit is an all bolt on, you just have to relocate the coolant bottle, power steering lines, and the fuse box on the passengerside under the hood, all that you need will come in the box.

 

I'd hardly call Paul honest. When I started shopping, I contacted everyone I could think of that sells this kit. I told them I was shopping around so their absolute best price was appreciated. Paul gave me a 'deal' of $3750 with the list on his site being $3900. Gee, thanks. I continued shopping. I got a $3600, and then a $3500, and then a $3400.... Then I spoke to someone who said they got it from Paul for $3300! I was ****ed. I contacted him, told him, and he said, yeah, I'll give you the $3300 price. Then, the day I was about to order, one of my prior e-mails quote requests came back - now $3200!!! I contacted Paul again and we eventually settled on $3250. Then when I had missing parts and questions, he was of no help. I had to deal with Adam at Stillen directly. Avalon is overrated around here. Anyway, yes it's a bolt on, you can do it yourself and e-mail me if you have any questions at all.

 

I find your comments rather humorous. We have our advertised prices and that is what you get when you make a blind call for a proce. We get hundreds of e-mails and /or calls a day. We have some customers from this forum that spend a lot of money with us and they will get special discounts. We have one forum member is is essentailly sponsored and gets a different price as well.

I do not remember a situation with missing parts. That does not mean you are in correct. We work hard at solving our customers problems. We have spent hours on the phone with Vortech to help a customer with the warranty claim and get some added compensation.

Again - we control our prices and value all customers. We also bundle package deals for people which will lower prices across the board.

An example is a customer who just bought $11,000 woth of upgrades and services. This is above the $6000.00 he did last year. He got a huge discount in the install labor rates for work.

Your comment about "honest" is clearly off track. It is called business. Even the larger OEM's have differnent prices depending on who you talk to and the amount of business you have done with them. Try going to a car dealership and buy a new car. You can get different prices from just about every sales person.

Regards

 

Paul, I didn't mean to offend you in any way. I only wanted to express my 2 bad experiences in dealing with you: 1.) I really didn't appreciate the price of $3750 after I sent you an e-mail stating I was a return customer, you had given me a great deal on ground effects before, I want to order from a reputable shop like Avalon, could you please give me the best price you can on a Stillen SC? I even told you I was shopping around so you know I would find a better price than $3750. But I went to you first, because I had a good experience with you in the past, the .org seems to love you and Adam at Stillen recommended you. So what I meant by 'dishonest' was I asked for your best price. You told me $3750. It obviously wasn't. 2.) When I was missing many parts (not your fault I know), I sent you e-mails and not one single responce. I eventually just started dealing with Adam directly.

That's my only beef. But please understand where I am coming from. I am purchasing a $3000+ piece of equipment and I am going to one of the most reputable shops on the .org. I didn't expect the above 2 items to happen.

I have no hard feelings toward you, I don't regret my purchase, I'd buy it again - from you, and I'll buy items from you in the future.

I'm sorry if I offended you.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Next time you need a quote, make sure I remember you.

We are so very busy and I have senior moments occasionally.

Regards

 

"I smell, I smell, I smell Bull sh$T"

Ancient rule(s) of customer service when you are a sales organization.....
1)" The customer is always right"
2) Never argue with your rational customers, you lose and look like an a$$hole.
3) Competition always levels the playing field.

Someday someone else will develop a supercharger for the Maxima. Provided that they price it competitively and provide follow up service, they will do extremely well.

4) The customer is the reason why a company is in business.

5) Treat your customer like you would like to be treated. Do not let the anonymity of the internet dehumanize the way you treat the people who help to pay your salary, expenses etc.

Whatever happened to courtesy respect and follow through when dealing with a buyer or prospect?

I see so much of this sh&t on here because there are one or two companies that sell a certain product. It is unfortunate and disheartening and creates a poor image for respective companies.

Being able to sell through this website is a great opportunity.

If this post offends anyone it may be due to the fact that they may find some truth in it!

DL

 

Wow, i guess it's all about connections then. Business is business, as usual, those people are out to make a buck (or in this case over 3000 of them). I do want to get a good deal on the supercharger, of course, but most importantly good customer service. Those $3000+ were hard earned though working while going to college and as of 4/8/02 supporting a child. I just hope I don't get screwed or taken advantage of, that is my only fear. If i'm spending a large chunk of money, + or - a hundred bucks isn't that big of a deal. As long as I get good support from the dealer or manufacturer, I'm a happy man. I want companies to follow though on their warranties and their product not to be defective and NOT missing pieces, which seems to be a common problem from what people are saying. I haven't looked at you guys at Avalon yet. I tried looking for the website but it said it was down. I will do some shopping around and see what will land me the better deal. As I said, business is business. When I do purchase the kit I will tell you guys about my experience. I hope it will be a good one.

Ro

 

www.avalonracing.net

The site is almost never down except we my web guy is doing maintenance.

Shop around then call or e-mail us with your quotes.

Regards