My experience with ets and michael
Jun 13, 2012, 02:42 PM
#1
My experience with ets and michael
ok, before i start i want everyone to know at this point in time i have not installed the parts i ordered onto the car just yet. so as i go into the install when the time comes i will conitnue to update the first post.
customer service and ordering:
my initial contact with ets was through pm's while i was still stationed in germany. i expressed interest in a fmic kit. i was going to go overboard in the piping size and michael told me that i was better off going with 2 1/2" piping. i saw this as his aim was more towards customer satisfaction than making a buck and that really got my attention. i also explained to him that i got ripped off when i bought my evo and he even offered me a discount on the fmic. definitely didnt have to do that for me but that was really cool of him to do.
he also offered me a very generous military discount, which i highly appreciated as im sure most military members do as well. nothing makes us happier to know we are appreciated. another thing he also does is ship to apo. for those who dont know, when your stationed in another country, you are assigned a apo address for your mail. a lot of companies and businesses wont ship to apo becuase it involves having to fill out a customs form and taking the goods to the post office themselves. also, only usps can be used (not ups).
my situation changed a bit while still overseas, and would not have the money to buy the fmic kit until after i got out of the army. michael still honored the discount, which i greatly appreciated.
when i finally recieved my last check i was excited. i called ets and spoke with michael and got down to business. i ordered the fmic kit with the 3.5" intercooler and decided to spend a lil extra and got it black anodized. i also had the piping done in flat black with black couplers. i ordered the speed denisty 4" intake, and there was a slight problem. the reducer coupler would not work on my set up because i had to keep the stock turbo. michael explained that they did not have the coupler in stock, but gave me the website that did stock it and exactly which part i needed. he also discounted the intakes price a bit, of course to make up for the coupler. i ordered the mini-battery kit as well, also in flat black. the last thing on the list was a blue tial bov. michael was very helpful in answering some other questions i had about other parts for the car as well. he took the time to run to the back (or wherever they stock their parts) to look and make sure if they had certain items in stock that i was asking about.
he didnt make me feel pressured to get anything and really felt valued as a customer. to be honest, im not surprised. everywhere you look on this forum theres members stating that ets has excellent customer service.
when the parts arrived i did have a question about the licp. it didnt seem to me that it would fit properly with the stock turbo. i called michael and he explained to me how it would, and once again i was treated like a valued customer. when you spend a lot of money on a part(s) you want to make sure its going to work, and he made me feel confident that everything was right.
the parts:
on monday (june 11, 2012) my parts came in. damn. just looking at the quality of the piping, welds, powder coating and anodizing i knew that i had spent my money on some high end quality parts. i was seriously impressed, and i even liked the way the logo looks on the intercooler. the box was packed with peanuts and all the piping was wrapped, the intercooler had cardboard taped to both sides to make sure no fins would get bent and it was braced in the box so it wouldnt move around if that were even possible.
in the pic the white specs are some of the material from the peanuts, they are only on the intercooler due to static. later on when i get the parts unwrapped for installation, i will post a pic of them unwrapped.
once i finish installing the parts i will comment on fitment and provide a few shots as well. so far im very pleased and am really looking forward to getting these parts into the car and then taking it to evolution dynamics for kevin to tune.
customer service and ordering:
my initial contact with ets was through pm's while i was still stationed in germany. i expressed interest in a fmic kit. i was going to go overboard in the piping size and michael told me that i was better off going with 2 1/2" piping. i saw this as his aim was more towards customer satisfaction than making a buck and that really got my attention. i also explained to him that i got ripped off when i bought my evo and he even offered me a discount on the fmic. definitely didnt have to do that for me but that was really cool of him to do.
he also offered me a very generous military discount, which i highly appreciated as im sure most military members do as well. nothing makes us happier to know we are appreciated. another thing he also does is ship to apo. for those who dont know, when your stationed in another country, you are assigned a apo address for your mail. a lot of companies and businesses wont ship to apo becuase it involves having to fill out a customs form and taking the goods to the post office themselves. also, only usps can be used (not ups).
my situation changed a bit while still overseas, and would not have the money to buy the fmic kit until after i got out of the army. michael still honored the discount, which i greatly appreciated.
when i finally recieved my last check i was excited. i called ets and spoke with michael and got down to business. i ordered the fmic kit with the 3.5" intercooler and decided to spend a lil extra and got it black anodized. i also had the piping done in flat black with black couplers. i ordered the speed denisty 4" intake, and there was a slight problem. the reducer coupler would not work on my set up because i had to keep the stock turbo. michael explained that they did not have the coupler in stock, but gave me the website that did stock it and exactly which part i needed. he also discounted the intakes price a bit, of course to make up for the coupler. i ordered the mini-battery kit as well, also in flat black. the last thing on the list was a blue tial bov. michael was very helpful in answering some other questions i had about other parts for the car as well. he took the time to run to the back (or wherever they stock their parts) to look and make sure if they had certain items in stock that i was asking about.
he didnt make me feel pressured to get anything and really felt valued as a customer. to be honest, im not surprised. everywhere you look on this forum theres members stating that ets has excellent customer service.
when the parts arrived i did have a question about the licp. it didnt seem to me that it would fit properly with the stock turbo. i called michael and he explained to me how it would, and once again i was treated like a valued customer. when you spend a lot of money on a part(s) you want to make sure its going to work, and he made me feel confident that everything was right.
the parts:
on monday (june 11, 2012) my parts came in. damn. just looking at the quality of the piping, welds, powder coating and anodizing i knew that i had spent my money on some high end quality parts. i was seriously impressed, and i even liked the way the logo looks on the intercooler. the box was packed with peanuts and all the piping was wrapped, the intercooler had cardboard taped to both sides to make sure no fins would get bent and it was braced in the box so it wouldnt move around if that were even possible.
in the pic the white specs are some of the material from the peanuts, they are only on the intercooler due to static. later on when i get the parts unwrapped for installation, i will post a pic of them unwrapped.
once i finish installing the parts i will comment on fitment and provide a few shots as well. so far im very pleased and am really looking forward to getting these parts into the car and then taking it to evolution dynamics for kevin to tune.
Jun 13, 2012, 02:50 PM
#2
I have had very similar experience with Michael at ETS. He has beed by far the best person I have dealt with and always makes me feel important! He is never too busy to talk on the phone and never once has he rushed me off the phone!! He is one hell of a guy!! Any issue I have had have promptly been corrected and handled in only the best of ways!!
I highly reccomend ETS, Michael makes it all worth it
Such amazing customer service and parts
I highly reccomend ETS, Michael makes it all worth it
Such amazing customer service and parts
Jun 13, 2012, 03:04 PM
#3
My list of parts from ETS over the last 6 months has included CAI, UICP, LICP, v2 quiet exhaust and i'm expecting an FMIC tomorrow. I cannot say enough about the quality of their products or customer service. +1 billion to OP.
Jun 13, 2012, 03:17 PM
#4
the fitment on this kit is going to tell me a lot. i may want to do bigger things with the evo in the future, or maybe not, and this kit is going to tell me a lot. im looking forward to it as im htinking from their strong rep everything will go in with no issues.
Jun 13, 2012, 07:10 PM
#7
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I have similar setup! !! Fitment was awesome!!! I know wat u ment about the licp I thought it wasn't gonna fit either but wen I got down their it fit perfect!! Turbo spools up so fast now!! ETS is awesome!!
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Jun 14, 2012, 12:34 PM
#9
Thanks guys! It's our pleasure to spend the time to get you what you need. We don't try to sell parts that are not needed or get you into crazy upgrades that have no place in your build. If anyone has questions don't hesitate to ask. We try our best to get a response within 24 hours. If you don't get a response from us give us a call. 360-896-3000 we are more than happy to talk!
Thanks,
Michael
Thanks,
Michael
Jun 14, 2012, 12:50 PM
#10
ETS has been great to work with, i bug Michael all the time since i order most my parts from them or through them (TP, FMIC, LICP, UICP, AEM gauges, Intakes). Funny coz i just got my 3.5" black anodized intercooler kit yesterday just like yours but mines for the X. Im posting pics soon! ETS
Aug 13, 2012, 02:28 PM
#15
here are some pics from my install
now for the installation experience.
unfortunately it wasnt what i expected. judging from a lot of reviews i have read here, i was expected a smooth as butter install. it wasnt. there was a lot of tight fitting, pushing things out of the way, shoving things to the side, some pipes are all the way into the couplers and almost touching the other pipe inside the coupler, some didnt line up quite right.
the worst part of the install was re-installing the front bumper, and the bumper cover. from what i read on the ets site, there was no trimming needed. unfortunately, when i installed the bumper i took that literally and ended up gouging and scratching my intercooler on the sides. i didnt see that the tabs for the bumper where in the way. i ended up having to bend the **** out of them to get it to fit. also the bumper cover did not fit on properly. there are areas that you can see its not aligned properly. im sure it requires some mild trimming.
one issue that came up when i told michael about this was on the link he provided me there was mention of necessary trimming.
this is the link he provided me
http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/E...tercooler.html
however, the link i used to purchase the kit wasnt the same and made no mention of the tabs needing trimming
http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/E...ooler-Kit.html
other than the issues with installation, which took 4 hours (i have never needed 4 hours to install an intercooler. dfw heat was an issue though) the kit is great. the parts came in showing they were made in a no non-sense fashion. i think you can beat an elephant to death with the pipes and not bend them. i did scratch several areas of the pipes installing them, unfortunately. also, the speed density intake is a bit too long, as kevin d from evolution dynamics had to do some considerable shoving to get it to fit.
other issues -
it took a while for the tial bov to work properly. this however i do not suspect is ets's fault. i think the spring simply needed to wear a lil bit. before it didnt seem to be opening. now it functions properly.
conclusion- to tell you the truth, even with the issues in installing the kit, i think i would do business with ets again. i think it could be chalked up more to a communication issue, and maybe ets should post the pics of the tabs needing trimming onto all the links pertaining to the intercooler kits for the evo.
i really appreciated that michael took care of me as a customer and helped me when i did call him. they took care of any issues right away.
p.s. whatever battery they use for the mini-battery kit is a ****ing champ. it deals with the a/c, stereo, lights (at night, including foglights) and a 1600 watt subwoofer amp like a champ. i seriously thought the amp was gonna cause it to implode but its still going like a boss.
now for the installation experience.
unfortunately it wasnt what i expected. judging from a lot of reviews i have read here, i was expected a smooth as butter install. it wasnt. there was a lot of tight fitting, pushing things out of the way, shoving things to the side, some pipes are all the way into the couplers and almost touching the other pipe inside the coupler, some didnt line up quite right.
the worst part of the install was re-installing the front bumper, and the bumper cover. from what i read on the ets site, there was no trimming needed. unfortunately, when i installed the bumper i took that literally and ended up gouging and scratching my intercooler on the sides. i didnt see that the tabs for the bumper where in the way. i ended up having to bend the **** out of them to get it to fit. also the bumper cover did not fit on properly. there are areas that you can see its not aligned properly. im sure it requires some mild trimming.
one issue that came up when i told michael about this was on the link he provided me there was mention of necessary trimming.
this is the link he provided me
http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/E...tercooler.html
however, the link i used to purchase the kit wasnt the same and made no mention of the tabs needing trimming
http://www.extremeturbosystems.com/E...ooler-Kit.html
other than the issues with installation, which took 4 hours (i have never needed 4 hours to install an intercooler. dfw heat was an issue though) the kit is great. the parts came in showing they were made in a no non-sense fashion. i think you can beat an elephant to death with the pipes and not bend them. i did scratch several areas of the pipes installing them, unfortunately. also, the speed density intake is a bit too long, as kevin d from evolution dynamics had to do some considerable shoving to get it to fit.
other issues -
it took a while for the tial bov to work properly. this however i do not suspect is ets's fault. i think the spring simply needed to wear a lil bit. before it didnt seem to be opening. now it functions properly.
conclusion- to tell you the truth, even with the issues in installing the kit, i think i would do business with ets again. i think it could be chalked up more to a communication issue, and maybe ets should post the pics of the tabs needing trimming onto all the links pertaining to the intercooler kits for the evo.
i really appreciated that michael took care of me as a customer and helped me when i did call him. they took care of any issues right away.
p.s. whatever battery they use for the mini-battery kit is a ****ing champ. it deals with the a/c, stereo, lights (at night, including foglights) and a 1600 watt subwoofer amp like a champ. i seriously thought the amp was gonna cause it to implode but its still going like a boss.