Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

On wednesday i went to API with two of my mates,one to get his car mapped AGAIN!!

Met David, seems like a nice chap showed us round the workshop a little.

When i say AGAIN, well here goes the story......

My mate who has a STI ra classic took his car there less than 3 weeks ago to have it mapped and fitted with new injectors. Having been in his car several times i can honestly say it "used to" put you in the back of your seat.

The first time he arranged a appointment he turned up on time at API only to be told that Pat ( who was mapping the car that day ) had forgotten his machine that maps to the daughter board. When i heard this i thought ok we all make mistakes, benefit of the doubt and all that but surely there would be some sort of sorry or monetary value off the map when he had it..... NO.

The next time he turned up Pat had remembered to bring the machine

So all was connected up and off David and Pat went!!!! My personal experience with Bob Rawle was that i drove the car and he mapped it how i wanted it.... which he did and i'm still smiling now.

However they were away for about 30 mins came back and gave the car to my mate saying all done all sorted etc... He paid his money and off he went. That day on the way home it was raining so he didnt give it any beans!! The following day he did and was TOTALLY dissapointed by the map given. A call to API again was met with a bring it back saturday and we'll sort it out for you. Again fair play to David etc...

My mate turns up saturday waits for 45 mins no one there...... GUTTED OR WHAT!!!! Whats going on???

Rings back Monday and gives David a round of fcks etc.... Car booked back in for this Wednesday gone..... So........

Again we get there David as i said earlier nice guy no probs......After waiting 45 mins for them to finish lunch out walks Pat chocolate bar in hand and opens bonnet has a look closes bonnet.... Out go my mate and Pat in car..... they come back..Out goes David with my mate in car.....comes back

Mechanic takes off FMIC seals a couple of pipes puts new clips on ... car goes back out again...... its quicker but not as quick

David calls my mate over to Pats laptop in car after spending 15mins talking to Pat... He then shows him 2 maps that are exactly the same!! Cut and paste perhaps?????????

They then agree to take the lambda out of the exhaust and replace it..... Meantime Pat and David go out in another car to map

Lambda changed David goes out with my mate and comes back... again its quicker but not as quick......

My mate by now has been there 4 hours in that time Pat has only taken his hands out his pocket to eat!!! David hasn't apologised once for the fact this is the 4th time my mates been there and its not sorted...

In the end we drove off in disgust...So...Had enough car was still not as it was before work was done

Pat continually said it wasnt a mapping issue!!!

Car was fine when it went in so why did it need new lambda etc??? Bad mapping ? Can you map a car in 30 mins

Bob Rawle took 2 and a half hours on mine and was such a nice guy answering anything i asked

So in conclusion....... having spent 22 years in a retail environment....

Super poor customer service from David despite being a nice bloke so much so as he never said sorry or goodbye

I feel he should diss accociate himself from Pat who personally i thought was arrogant and didnt really know what he was doing......

I've had to hold my other mate back from kicking off as he was livid

On the plus side i couldnt fault Nathan who really is a top guy

I'm posting this for my mate because his internet is down currently and who will never be going back to API because of this experience

renny

iTrader: (2)

Can of worms here methinks!!

Get ya flame suit on fella

These things have to be said though-could save someone else the misfortune of feeling like your mate does right now.

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Just a poor poor experience all round, posting for him gutted for him!!!

20withascooby

is that pat lean????

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Lean? nah mate lol

jay knowles

If you feel you were unfairly treated or got a bad service then i can see no problem in posting about it. Im sure David will be along to put his side of the story over.JAY

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

I'm sure he will its not a problem

simon57

iTrader: (2)

Well ive got my popcorn ready..

20withascooby

is a nikname for a mapper called pat that ive heard about that likes to map thinks a bit lean sumtimes

scoobyboy

how long before this thread gets deleted!

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

It's already been moved not as many views in here

bob r

iTrader: (46)

Just to clarify a few points before we all start slating tuning co's.

So....your mate took his car to API, had injectors fitted then mapped.

What power figures did the car produce prior to the work and what figures afterwards.

Surely an explanation was given as to why the car appeared to underperforming.

When I had a R/R map at Powerstation, it took around 1hr on the rollers - job done.When I had a road map it took 2.5 hrs. Are you saying it took half an hour to complete the initial remap?

There is no excuse for poor customer service though....it leaves a sour taste.

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Not slating just pointing out our experience im sure he does alot of good work but on this occasion he didnt

No explanation as to why down on power

Yes 30 mins for the map

as355f1

sounds a tad unprofessional

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

I take it Pat works for David??

as355f1

have not got a clue bud i am just commenting on your post, but i do know if a member of my staff was going on like that they would be on the receiving end of the biggest bollocking of there lives, big pet hate of mine is speaking to customers while eating, and the rest of the service sounds ****e also. fair play to you leaving the post but i kind of think David is looked upon as the son of god in here and any bad words against him or his company is severely frowned upon, to be fair i have only ever dealt with david via phone and email and he has been mint, maybe just having a bad day
Best of luck

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

well il be honest on this one. ive only ever had one dealing with a.p.i. and that was early this year when my gearbox went in the old scoob.

i called david up and spoke about my options and what money i had. honestly the guy was spot on in both customer service, relaibilty, and a thorough explanation of what was to be carried out.

i personally chose to have the gearbox fitted elsewhere simply for distance related issues, again david was fine with this and shipped the 'box on a pallet to my chosen garage.

genuinely havent a bad word to say about david and the guys at api. i have heard stories and tales about pat being lethargic in his approach, but again, having never used his services im going off what others have said.

that said however, if i was treated poorly or the customer service was lacking, from any company what so ever, i would generally approach them with regards to my concerns instead of commenting on a "lynch mob" forum such as this.

frayz

iTrader: (7)

Never had any problems with David myself. He seems to be very helpful on the phone.

However i have heard enough horror stories regarding Pats mapping... enough to say i wouldnt let him near my car.

However, there are 2 sides to every story so im not going to judge one way or the other at the moment but im glad things like this are posted. Its always to easy to sing praise of the "holy" mappers even when youre not 100% happy.

Hope you get it resolved

M535I

i think with a company that deals with so many peopke thru the year they cant get it 100% right (not saying its right to do so ) i phoned api to talk about engines and i found them a waste of time but thats just anoutha convo lol , personaly mate i would get your mate to get his money back , as he asked them to do a job to his standard and they didnt do it !!!! so i do believe he is within his rights to a full refund if not just involve trading standards .and its regardless on how may people think there the best company for subarus in the world they wasnt for your friend and thats not right.

bonzee

iTrader: (2)

well guy's i've been up to api over the last 3 months spent in excess of £5000 on various engine upgrades and the service was outstanding as for pat he has mapped my car 3 times now and every time it has got better and better tbh the last map tweek i needed for the fmic and 3" exhaust dave took me in my car with pat to show me what they did excellent experiance must have been in the car for a good hour.As for after sales service another top job, had external oil cooler fitted and timing belt service ,oil pump finished my car about 6pm anyway when i finally got home bear in mind i live in south wales had a look under the car little drizzle of oil running down the unions from oil sandwich plate phoned the next day told dave about prob told me to bring it back we will sort this out straight away hhhmmmm travel back up again ,cut a long story short
couldn't do enough for me,stopped working on some body's car to get mine done plus gave me the petrol money for the round trip which was well over for what i needed.
The only bad thing that needs sorting from what i can see is they need a settee to relax on when waiting many hours for the work to be finished on customers cars
cheers
marc

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Like i said in original post Pat refused to map the car again strange

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Thats fair comment but theyve had the chance to sort on 4 occasions once they weren't there once Pat forgot a piece of equipment

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

But ive since found out that Pat works for David re mapping so who's fault is it???

Wmscooby

iTrader: (24)

Fair comment as i said im sure he does alot of good work but in this instance he didnt

Shame he wasnt forthcoming with refund on petrol for when

1. They failed to turn up on a saturday
2. Pat forgot essential equipment

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

The person concerned really needs to give David a call: one thing everyone is not disputing on here is that he is a genuinely nice guy and will be most upset if someone isn't happy with their car. He will endeavor to put it right!

There isn't much he can do via SN if the person concerned isn't on here.

I have had no dealings with Pat, so can't comment; Bob Rawle maps my car. However, I can say without a shadow of doubt that APi are A1 on the basis of numerous dealings with them.

Ns04

p1doc

i have only bought a clutch from api but david was spot on-get your friend to give him a ring to sort it out-amicably if possible
martin

pat

Just to clarify the situation :

On the first visit I was told I was mapping a PowerFC not a Scooby ECU. I had the kit to do the PowerFC, but since I no longer offer Scooby ECU mapping for new customers, I don't carry that kit any more. Had I been told that it was a Scooby ECU, I would have had the kit with me.

On the second visit I did have the kit with me, and we proceeded to ADJUST THE EXISTING MAP for the larger injectors. The only change was from 380cc to 440cc injectors. This does not require a new ignition map. It does not require a new boost control map. It does not require a new fuel correction map.

What it does do, however, is alter the perceived engine load, so whereas previously atmospheric pressure might read 38 load, after the change, it would read 33, and hence run too much ignition. It was necessary to import the existing map data, scaled accordingly to fit the new load function.The maps that the OWNER of the car were shown illustrated that AT THE SAME OPERATING POINT, the fuelling, ignition and boost control were THE SAME, but the maps themselves were NOT.

I therefore concluded that since the engine control HAS NOT CHANGED, it is not a mapping issue, but that it is most likely a mechanical problem. That lies beyond my remit, I adjust ECUs, I don't build engines, fit clutches etc, I MAP ECUs... mechanical issues are the responsibility of the Specialist I am subcontracted to, in this case API Engines. I do, however, provide an opinion on where I believe any problems to lie, so that such Specialists may more quickly resolve the problem.

Regards,

Pat.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

There you go .
A well thought out and measured response to the OP which gives both sides to the story. This is how issues like this should be sorted

APIDavid

iTrader: (4)

Not a happy situation this, we have not performed well here and as always there are 2 sides to every story. l'll add my answers & comments and then that will be that. I will not get into a ' he said - you said ' situation.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

So basically, the only real culpable mistakes APi have made was David mis-remembering the type of ECU being mapped in the first instance, and a subsequent staff shortage (which can happen to any company, but call it a mistake if you will) for which he apologized and the owner has got a free fuel pressure regulator and a free 02 sensor for his troubles??

Not too shabby if you ask me!!

Ns04

PS 350bhp on 380 injectors: pull the other one, it plays Jingle Bells!