Originally posted by David:
Sort of. They sub-contracted to some really smart people who do this sort of thing for a living. But then, the best managers know when to hire the best people, right?
Allow me to clarify a few things for the group, but first let me say that I too am disgusted at how these discussions degenerate into personal attacks. MO is that Ken is totally justified in believing that 65gu4s6+rjh is not just being curious, he has a history of being antagonistic towards me and my project and IMO anyone who disagrees is not being totally honest. Ken is a good friend of mine, I am PROUD to note,
but sometimes goes too far in trying to defend me because of the amount of work that I do for the community as a whole, sometimes without any compensation. That said, I totally agree with David and others who think that this thread is totally legit and now actually supporting some good comments and info. Can we please, PLEASE leave the personal shit out of this.
Anytime, and David (who I am also proud to call a good friend) both have true info at their disposal, however one of them is more correct than the other. The reason for my silence so far, and convoluted talk this morning, is as Jimbo speculated. Legal stuff.
We are still negotiating the IP issues and the other NDA and Marketing agreements. The lawyers involved will already turn red when read even this small post, but that's okay.
After our (hopefully) last meeting on the subject this coming Monday, I hope to be free to declare all to the world without holdback. In the meantime, let me expound on David's comment- it is the most accurate to date- I DID hire an outside company to assist in the final stages of the fuel system. I have absolutely no problem telling you all, that I am not the *Best* person in the world to have done the fuel system. I did my own for the beta cars and it is STRONG. I have developed and installed MANY complete systems for forced and normally aspirated cars including NSX's, Integra's, etc. THIS kit however required something more. I wanted it to be totally electronically controlled. I wanted to be the first person to COMPLETELY re-write the factory chip to perform EXACTLY what I wanted it to do. We needed to crack all 5 tables on the chip, all the code, and start from scratch. Is there anybody out there qualified to do that? I am not. Factor X is not. No ONE technician who has spent the last THIRTY years building race motors and fixing the finest cars made, has also been able to learn THAT MUCH about computer programming. So as David said, the best people pick the best people for every specialized part of a complicated project, and I picked the best. Factor X is an awesome tuning company. My good friend Ken Nami has started this company as admin and is hooked up with two outstanding tuners- one who works for an Acura dealer as an NSXTech, and one who is an old associate of mine who used to work with me here in Phoenix. (small world) Ken and Co. hired who we all believe to be the best in the biz to do the computer work which INCLUDED dyno testing at all stages of code writing. Over 60 pulls were done on one car alone in three nights while the chip was being written.
This other company is one that you have all heard of, and will agree is the finest in the field, but until all contracts are signed and IP and security issues resolved, this is still not for public discussion. I would REALLY appreciate anybody here who has this info to keep it to themselves. As far as I am concerned, Factor X was asked to do the job for me, and they pulled off a real wonderful job for me. I can not say enough about how professional Ken and Co have been during this first phase of development. He could have sub contracted to minutelube for all I care- they co-designed and supervised the chip development and injector selections and are therefore the heroes of the fuel system as far as I am concerned. I look forward to many years of association with this group) (WARNING- while we are on this subject, this chip is so critically tuned to my SC, that if anybody tries to copy this chip an put it in their NSX, they better be prepared to buy a motor. This chip ONLY works with a BBSC)
As to the rest of the questions, rumors, and innuendo-
Absolutely NO MOTORS have been blown up by a faulty fuel system, early design or otherwise. Of the beta testers so far, one engine was destroyed- MINE, during the "how much boost can an NSX take" experiments. The answer to this question cost me about 5k$ and is therefore not available for free, or money for that matter. (g) One engine developed a bit of excess blow by in one cylinder only, and we do not yet know why. It is currently out of the car and awaiting JE to build some more low compression pistons. Ask Marc W, or Greg H, or Bryan Z about the reliability and other aspects of THEIR beta units. My beta unit was sent to Factor X and installed on one of their NSX's for the fuel system development, and that is the ONLY reason my car lost it's SC. Ten more kits are being assembled this week, and my car is the first customer for one. It will be available for test drives at NSteXpo on 4/11 and 4/12.
As to my two wonderful BBSC dealers, they have been left out of the fuel development issues because the lawyers said they just didn't need to know YET, and until all agreements are signed, that's just how it needs to be. Chris and Mark have taken allot of BS from people who are tired of waiting for kits and info about kits, because they could not update people completely. Well, this is just plain wrong, and very upsetting to me. This whole thing with rumors, and people thinking that I have not been entirely
honest, is also very upsetting. For those who don't remember, the only reason I even came out so early when we really didn't have enough info to share, was because some people found out just enough info about my SC for rumors to really get out of hand, so I came out with what we had to date thinking that facts, even incomplete facts, were better than all the rumors. I'm not sure that
was the thing to do or not, but it is done, and I will live with the results- ALL the results of that early info-letting.
As to all the other questions and rumors about reliability and such, the only part of the kit that is not yet *perfect* in my eyes, is the oil cap access. VERY observant of Hrant to notice- the oil cap is partly obstructed by the drive unit, but is still usable. We did an oil change on Greg Hardees beta car last Saturday, and I honestly believe it took no longer to fill the crankcase (once we removed the styrofoam peanut from the funnel) that it would have had the car not been BBSC equipped. It is a bit of a pain in the a--, but how often is THAT an issue. If you change the oil three times a year, my kit *may* have added a total of 5 minutes a year to your maintenance time. Nick is working on a remote oil filling neck or system to make this easier, but it is not a priority. I only even mention the issue because it would otherwise be dishonest to say there are NO issues remaining but that is really it. The rest is all production stuff, and it is not a
problem, it just has not yet been completely decided how many of which parts which CNC machine is going to grind out for me. I would also at this time send out a REALLY warm thank you to Curtiss at Max Rev for all his hard work programming the cnc that makes our parts. He is an artist in metal, and when you see the BBSC up close, you will understand why I say that.
As to install dates and shipping dates, we are about two weeks or less away from contacting those who have expressed interest in getting a BBSC. Those who have contacted Mark, Chris, or Jane about obtaing an install will be listed by the date they first contacted us. The first thirty to step up to the batters box will get the promised free install, and the rest of this initial order group will get a heavily discounted install price. Everybody who has ordered during this intro period- and ordered means sending a deposit- will be guaranteed the 5600. price. After that, the kit is going up approx 600. to cover the cost of the fuel system updates. The high boost kit is being tested on two cars starting in about ten days, and should be available in about 60 days if all works well. The after cooler is being built this week and will be tested on two beta cars during April. Its availability will depend on several variables- we won't go there yet. (g)
I would REALLY like to say thank you to David Bernett, Ken Sax, Jim Anders, Marc Weinberg, and everyone else in this forum who has patiently but continually given answers to people, even "he doesn't have to answer that" answers, on my behalf because you have faith and trust in what I do, and friends- I will NEVER let you down, if I can help it. And to Mark J and Chris W for representing me in such a professional manner and taking the heat for me for kits not yet shipped. And a special thanx to Lud, for- well its pretty obvious that without Lud's hard work on this site, we would not have such a cool place to hang out and share with each other!!(BG) I just wish we still had spell check so I don't look so egnorint.
(I seem to be suffering from Oscar fever)
Cheers,
Mark "Boosted" Basch