Car acting funny - Tuner-Junction

ozrednsx · #1 (**permalink**) June 7th, 2006, 12:39 PM

Well guys i stopped by the shop i got my engine swapped at and asked if they had anything for my car and he said he had a spoon ecu. So i got it and they installed it and it ran fine. A day later my car starts and does not budge, it idles a little bit below 1000 and as soon as i press the gas pedal it almost dies. And its like this for 2 minutes and it finally turns back to normal. I should get my money back huh?

XLR8 · #2 (**permalink**) June 7th, 2006, 12:55 PM

Find out what motor that ECU is for, maybe it's setup very aggressively for race and your car is not setup for it?

ozrednsx · #3 (**permalink**) June 7th, 2006, 02:30 PM

im pretty upset right now...this whole b16 swap has been a major money pit. I called the guy who did my swap and his shop is pretty well known. I told him my situation and told him i would like to return the ecu and get my stock one back and he says no which makes me pretty mad. So i asked him what is going on with the car then because i am hardly able to drive it which is pretty upsetting since ive spent $$$$ on it. He told me i had to get it TUNED! which is 150 per hour and ive really pissed off at. The reason why is because i asked for a hondata s300 and he says its overkill and too much money and suggested a mugen ecu but turns out to be a spoon one. I asked him "will it be running fine" he says yup and i asked how long would instalation and he said 2 seconds and he bolts it on. Me being a newbie i relied on him to tell me information before it being installed. Now he only suggests i get it tuned no refund full price for tuning. He then starts talking about the nsx and how whatever we did we would have to tune it and i reply well of course the thing is all these people ive worked with informed me fully before selling me anything. And he then gets upset at the fact i said that i said bolts were falling off when we first got the swap (which they were the header bolts were not the right ones, how do i know i went to a muffler shop and both of them were gone when i went to put a resonator on).

Long story and i needed to vent. Is there any way i can bring this to court

XLR8 · #4 (**permalink**) June 7th, 2006, 08:37 PM

I don't think you can bring this to court, or would you want to. First of all, it should be obvious that cars and swaps are money pits. You are complaining about that, but you wanna spend money on lawyers? I don't think so. Also, I've dumped thousands into my car. Fuck ask John how much he spent on Rio man. Now, I will agree with the guy that sold you the ECU that you NEED to get it tuned. You can't just throw on an ECU and expect it to do wonders. Tuning is the most important part of modding cars. Without proper tuning, all the mods you put on will not work 100% the way they should. Do you think guys with boosted Hondas only spent an hour on the dyno? Hell no they've been there countless times, tuning, then data logging, then tuning again. Also, an S300 is very much so overkill. S200 might even be still.

I think the guy who sold you it probably should have explained what he was selling you more, but if you didn't ask, he can assume you know. The only thing I can think of that he said that is a little strange, is telling you the car will run fine. Maybe he thought you meant until it gets tuned, but I don't know.

This is just my opinion and should not be taken to heart. I just don't think you should just jump to conclusions right away and threaten to take someone to court.

ozrednsx · #5 (**permalink**) June 8th, 2006, 02:57 AM

no doubt, i understand i was just venting and its pretty pointless to file anything since everything ive put into the car is pretty much illegal.

In no way did i go the cheap way out by sourciing my own stuff and having them install it i strickly purchased everything through them and had installed by the one shop. As a consumer for any product and service i at least expect good customer service whether or not i am knowledged about swaps, hondas, and tuning. Now tell me if its just me thats upset but this is what happened I paid a down for a swap on the 3rd of january and quoted a 2 1/2 week waiting list, didnt get a single call from them once and every time icalled they said next week, i waited more than 4 months for this swap. I asked for money back after a month so i can get a swap somewhere else without such a long wait such as hmotors and they said no way would they refund my money they never told me when and what spot i was in and i was already charged for my down. Finally they took the car got the car back within 3 days of swapping it and promised that it would be running perfect which he said "turn key out the shop running perfect condition" the first day of purchase. They sold me a "used but good condition" valve cover for $20 bucks less compared to brand new over the phone and i find out when i pick up the car its a piece of shit, they suggested a few parts which were "oem itr parts" such as Intake manifold, cam shafts, cam gears picked it up they were all different parts, again false information. Went to pick up car and final payment and they calculated $2,000 OVER! They charged me twice for certain parts until i sat down and calculated everything. within 24 hours drove it home and i swore i heard bolts falling off, car died later that night on the freeway due to bad altenator and had to pay a $150 towing fee that night, got embarassed because they thought i was insulting their service by saying "i think bolts are falling off", paid for new altenator plus service day after i got the car, got it back and oil is dripping all over the block wiped it off and it still leaked, got a resonator installed from a local muffler shop and found out there were no bolts where the header and exhaust connect (the sound i heard "bolts falling off"), and now they are upset because i asked for a refund for my ecu and my old one back.

I have had prior experiences with my nsx and spent thousands on just clutch jobs/transmission and never regretted it due to good customer service, i paid and never had to come back.

Sorry for such a long post and the anger just upset how everything is turning out.

XLR8 · #6 (**permalink**) June 8th, 2006, 03:38 AM

After reading that I'd have to say that shop is a shithole. I understand why you would be so upset. I am beginning to wonder if they sold you an actual Spoon ECU now...

88 rex · #7 (**permalink**) June 8th, 2006, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XLR8

After reading that I'd have to say that shop is a shithole. I understand why you would be so upset. I am beginning to wonder if they sold you an actual Spoon ECU now...

x2

AND I don't know why anyone would even recommend a Mugen chip on a stock motor. They have horrible maps. I'm sure the Spoon maps are no better. Stock motor needs stock maps and then you can adjust from there. You don't get very aggressive fuel maps and THEN tune your car.

ozrednsx · #8 (**permalink**) June 8th, 2006, 11:13 AM

im probably thinking its not "spoon" also...this is one thing i feel really upset about is that they would actually take advantage of a costumer and sell me a product that may be faulty, fake, not compatable, and not warn me about cautions. All i remember is i asked about a hondata and he told me overkill and said "i happened to come by a mugen ecu" for 150 core exchange and i thought it was a good deal, bad decision since i know nothing about ecus, he comes back 5 mins later with a ecu that looks oem but he opens up the cover and theres a tiny chip that says "spoon".

its most likely not real cause i soon i get home i did some research and no spoon ecu cost 150. Me wanting to avoid any futher problems with map sensors and all that i wanted to turn back to stock. He tells me well thats pretty pointless becuase I might as well get it tuned with the so called spoon ecu because i got my stock one back i would have to get it tuned also.

Now im pretty much stuck

88 rex · #9 (**permalink**) June 8th, 2006, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozrednsx

im probably thinking its not "spoon" also...this is one thing i feel really upset about is that they would actually take advantage of a costumer and sell me a product that may be faulty, fake, not compatable, and not warn me about cautions. All i remember is i asked about a hondata and he told me overkill and said "i happened to come by a mugen ecu" for 150 core exchange and i thought it was a good deal, bad decision since i know nothing about ecus, he comes back 5 mins later with a ecu that looks oem but he opens up the cover and theres a tiny chip that says "spoon".

its most likely not real cause i soon i get home i did some research and no spoon ecu cost 150. Me wanting to avoid any futher problems with map sensors and all that i wanted to turn back to stock. He tells me well thats pretty pointless becuase I might as well get it tuned with the so called spoon ecu because i got my stock one back i would have to get it tuned also.

Now im pretty much stuck

It's not a Spoon ecu, it's a Spoon chip, or at least one that runs the Spoon fuel maps and whatever else that Spoon likes. It would be smart of you to get a good stock ecu, or something with a stock fuel/timing/blah programs. If your motor is stock then you have no need for it. It's a horrible program/chip anyway. The guy is SOMEWHAT right in the hondata s300 being a little overkill, but there are s100's, s200's, and to be honest having the ability to tune your car properly is not overkill imo....it's insurance. And leaves plenty of future possibilities. If you are running OBD1, I would consider clicking on the phearable.net link at the top of the page. Tell him exactly what you have and he can tell you exactly what you need. If you have a p28 you can send it to him and he can switch out the chips and make it Hondata compatible. He can give you a base map that should run fine. I run one of his base maps for my car. If you feel comfortable soldering then you can do it yourself.

BTW, is your check engine light on?

The ecu may not be your problem, BUT it is a problem in general. Where is the oil leak coming from? Major causes for oil leaks are the cams seals on the driver side and the cam seal on the passenger side. All 3 are fairly cheap and easy to change.

ozrednsx · #10 (**permalink**) June 10th, 2006, 03:34 AM

O well im running obd0 so i dont think i can go with the link above. The sad thing is we did a core exchange with my stock one and he is not willing to refund me it or anything. So now im trying to source a stock one for now. I was wondering if it is bad to drive the car around while it is acting like this. Weird thing is it seems like whenever i start it up in the morning it only acts up but throughout the day the only thing i notice is that it idles low 800-900 which makes my car vibrate and rattle like crazy compared to before where it idled at 1200 and it was nice and smooth and didnt vibrate no where near how it is now. Is it bad if i drive it around like this? will i ruin the engine some how or anything?

Well when i took my car back for a 500 mile checkup which is pretty much cheaking everything bolts/leaks plus oil change, transmission oil change, and radiator flush. They checked out the leak and it was a bolt that was tightened enough on the dizzy.

thanks for all the help guys

mad-ass · #11 (**permalink**) June 10th, 2006, 08:54 AM

I don't have time to read all that long responses, but why did you have to give them your stock ECU? was it a trade off + $$ thing or what?

that shop just sounds pretty much bullshit to me right now.

i hate shady people, so I do my own work.

good luck.

88crxSi · #12 (**permalink**) June 10th, 2006, 12:19 PM

definitely shows (IMO) that its worth the work and troubles to do your own swaps, or any work.
at least even if you're not sure about something, you can find Good info and make sure its done the right way.

ozrednsx · #13 (**permalink**) June 10th, 2006, 02:44 PM

yea it was a core exchange

wish i never did it he probably chipped it and sold it to another poor costumer.

i agree with you guys on doing the swaps on your own. I just had more worries about screwing up everything haha. Well as for the shop im pissed off at them with how shady they are. They claim to be one of the best (rather not say the name of the shop) because of their head guy who tunes and everything. I have to give it to them they did a good job on the engine and everything but it seems like they can care less for the problems that i come across and just looking for the money. Once everything was done theyve become shady and reluctant to help. O well life lesson learned

thanks guys!