[Z-Hauler]

Demanding for underdrive pulleys-UPDATE 7-9

Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know I am working on getting Unorthodox Racing to finaly start production on an underdrive pulley for the TITAN and have been for almost 2 years now. At first it seemed that Unorthodox Racing "UR" was enthusiastic about the idea but as time passed, it seemed like their interest faded and they had higher demands for other things.
I just recently sent yet another e-mail to them regarding this potential product in an attempt to get some info, good or bad, so we wont be left in the dark. The letter that I had sent reads as follows...

Hello. My name is Jake Wagg. I have been contacting UR every so often regarding the production of an underdrive pulley system for the Nissan TITAN and Armada and it seems that it has been put on the back burner for a while. I'm a member of a large Nissan TITAN online forum group and there are a lot of members who have been waiting patiently for the release of an underdrive for the TITAN, but the demand has been growing and our patience is fading. What will it take for the underdrive to hit production? Please reply with all the details since your reply will be posted on the forum "www.titantalk.com" so all the members can be informed straight from the source. Thank you for your time.
- Jake Wagg

Lets hope that now we can see where this is going.

 

[WhiteNite]

Should have told him their are nearly 23,500 members here.

 

[Z-Hauler]

Should have told him their are nearly 23,500 members here.

You know, I thought about that after I had already sent the letter.
:bang: D'oh!

 

[baseballfanz]

I though UR has a prototype already, at least that's what they say over a year ago.

 

[Z-Hauler]

Just got the reply. It reads as follows...

Jake,
We would be glad to make a pulley for the Titan, we would have
preferred to make it with a damper because of the uphill education battle of
making it a solid pulley. It seems that everyone wants the part right away
and as such solid is the only option for this group. We would need 40 owners
to place a $40 deposit (non-refundable) and we would need an owner in our
local area to come into our Headquarters with their vehicle so we can start
development work. The vehicle would not need to be left here, we only need
to see it 3 times, once for initial measurement, second for initial
dyno/prototype fitment and third the after dyno. The pulleys final price
would probably similar to the 350Z/G35.

Thanks for your request,
Shawn Baumgartner
President
Unorthodox Racing Inc
631.586.9525 x.16
631.586.2599
unorthodoxracing.com

...uummm.... this sounds like they haven't even started with the project. I guess in the 2 years + that they have been saying that they have a prototype and they are tweaking with the final details they have been blowing smoke up my ( I ), or maybe this guy doesnt know his own company has a prototype. And whats up with the $40 crap? In my years dealing with companies like Richmond Gear and others to make new aftermarket parts, no one has ever asked for non-refundable payments, only a certain number of orders from people who will be deffinately willing to purchase before R&D and production was to start.
If anyone would like to contact them, go ahead and take down the info above. Im so frustrated with them right now I would probably say something that would make matters worse :soap: .

 

[HudsonValleyTitan]

Underdrive pulleys turn accesories slower and don't add very my HP. Why go through all that trouble for a few HP?

 

[Z-Hauler]

Underdrive pulleys turn accesories slower and don't add very my HP. Why go through all that trouble for a few HP?

I have used underdrive pulleys for years on several different vehicles. I have never been dissapointed with the results. The estimated power gains would be around 12-15 HP for a stock titan and the underdriven accessories would not cause problems with overheating and power drains like some people think.

 

[titan814]

im in.....

 

[Leadsled124]

would not cause problems with overheating and power drains like some people think.

Usually you can get a different sized alternator pully with it to speed up the alt charge to the stock rate as well

 

[ablexus]

Underdrive pulleys turn accesories slower and don't add very my HP. Why go through all that trouble for a few HP?

How much trouble is it to get to the crank pulley? Even on my little 4-banger the AF/X pulley (one of the smaller ones) is good for 6 peak hp... on a car that pushes about 130 stock that's a significant increase.

On our trucks 10 hp isn't asking much at all. Many people pay more for less (read: TBS)

Andrew

 

[TripleC]

40 ppl to place deposits... non refundable? so if only 30 of us place a deposit.. that means it never happens. and we dont get anything for our cash. i call B.S.

 

[Leadsled124]

40 ppl to place deposits... non refundable? so if only 30 of us place a deposit.. that means it never happens. and we dont get anything for our cash. i call B.S.

Well hope their reading this... i'll never buy from Unorthadox Racing. Hmmmmm, clever name now i get it

 

[ablexus]

40 ppl to place deposits... non refundable? so if only 30 of us place a deposit.. that means it never happens. and we dont get anything for our cash. i call B.S.

Dude you get one person to collect the cash, then forward to the company when they hit 40. If there is only 30, the person gives everyone their cash back.

Andrew

 

[TitanBlue]

Safer to make deposit to the company direct. Legally more binding, known legal entity. We don't know each other as well, though some do. You're looking at a $1600.00 deposit, I wouldn't want to be responsible for holding that in this type of transaction. Greyhound buses drive by everyday! Though I understand avoiding the nonrefundable aspect, which is a bit ridiculaous on their part. Nice to have a no-risk business plan. They get vehicle free, 3 X's, produce pulley design (a simple object), offer no promises of gain and no results until design is dyno'd and deposits already made by 40 people, with all cost covered. Beautiful plan! Time to negotiate. Make it a Win-Win situation instead. It isn't now.

 

[ablexus]

It's 40 bucks. If a mod or admin or even supporting vendor says they'll hold the money, I'll send it. I'd volunteer to hold the money myself if I thought people would trust me, I still have to build a rep on this forum, I don't have 10000 posts and 40 sales like I do on others, lol.

Andrew

 

[TitanBlue]

Yeah, that is a good idea, abelxus. An Admin or Mod, cause lots of people know them personally and could help out if they had any persoanl problems with Greyhounds. LOL. J/K. That is a good win/win for the users here. No need to give up to $1600 for nothing promised.

I don't doubt UR is a decent bunch of guys, but they need to earn our business, not have it handed to them on a silver (or greenback colored) platter.

 

[TripleC]

Yeah, that is a good idea, abelxus. An Admin or Mod, cause lots of people know them personally and could help out if they had any persoanl problems with Greyhounds. LOL. J/K. That is a good win/win for the users here. No need to give up to $1600 for nothing promised.

I don't doubt UR is a decent bunch of guys, but they need to earn our business, not have it handed to them on a silver (or greenback colored) platter.

i concour. they arnt takin any kind of risks. there makin the consumer take the risks.

 

[Z-Hauler]

Here is what's been going on and whats been said through e-mail.

From me to Unorthodox Racing:

"So if only 30 people send $40, the product won't be produced and they will not be refunded? I was told by a representative quite a while ago that there was one already in development.
Though I know there will be a large demand for the product, but I believe that a lot of those who are waiting for the release of this product aren't
willing to send $40 non-refundable to a company they are unfamiliar with
especially without promise of a product and stats. Would we have a better
chance if we were to have a company like STILLEN contact you about such a
request? Please let me know. Thanx -Jake Wagg"

They replied:

"The deposit would be non-refundable once the pre-requisite 40 people was
met. Interest in the initial development as few years back turned out to be
fairly weak so development was stopped early before any parts were made. The amount of work involved in collecting the deposits, the time of our engineer and technical personnel in initial measuring, the dyno cost and time our staff must invest, the actual CAD design time, machine programming, tooling and fixture manufacturing is very expensive. The $1600 would not even cover the initial measurement session. The point of the $40 is to show us a tangible commitment from the owners of this vehicle. The first few hundred
pieces, if the part became viable, might cover the costs of developing this
crank pulley. We are far from expecting the owners to foot the bill but
we've herd the promises of big sales before and we will not sit on dead
parts based on verbal promises. If owners don't trust a highly respected
high end manufacturer there is nothing we can do. I highly doubt Stillen
would lift a finger without a significant commitment well beyond our
required amounts.

Respectfully,
Shawn Baumgartner
President
Unorthodox Racing Inc
631.586.9525 x.16
631.586.2599
unorthodoxracing.com"

From me to Stillen:

"Hello. My name is Jake Wagg and I am a member of an online forum known as
TitanTalk.com. We Titan owners have been waiting and searching for an
underdrive pulley for the Titan to no avail. We were wondering if Stillen
was interested in the production or possibly contracting through a company like Unorthodox Racing to produce an underdrive pulley for the VK engine. Please let me know in detail if there is any development in progress of there is anything we could do to start such a project because I will be posting your
reply on the online forum to inform all the members who are waiting for info
on such a product. Thank you for your time. -Jake Wagg"

Stillen replied:

"Mr. Wagg,

Thank you for your inquiry. Today was actually a perfect time for you
product inquiry. Steve Millen came around and asked everyone to fill out a
new product request form. I have gone ahead and submitted this product
request and will hear back within a couple of days. In the past we have
talked about building under drive pulleys for the Titan but nothing has ever
been developed. I will keep you informed on the progress of this and let
you know when we receive the green light.

Thank you,

Kyle Millen"

I replied:

"Awesome! Thanx"

So lets just talk to Stillen and forget about Unorthodox Racing for now, huh?

 

[baseballfanz]

ASP Racing actually had in their hands a prototype. Just had a hard time taking the stock pulley off, they just didn't want to try anymore so that one is a goner.
http://aspracing.com/frame.htm

 

[Z-Hauler]

ASP Racing actually had in their hands a prototype. Just had a hard time taking the stock pulley off, they just didn't want to try anymore so that one is a goner.
http://aspracing.com/frame.htm

Yeah, I heard about that. It p!ssed me off because a crank bolt isn't that hard to take off especially with pnumatic tools. Sounds to me like they lost interest.