Lary Ellis (Top)

I will never understand why someone would make a post of this nature BEFORE he contacts the Vendor about his problem. Trash talking someone before they even have a chance to respond to your issues seems rather harsh and unfair.

Usually I see a post like this, then the guy talks with the Vendor, gets things ironed out and loves the new product. In the meantime you have the original post complaining about issues that may or may not be caused by the vendor, or the purchaser himself during install.

People, if you have a problem with a new product, talk to the vendor FIRST!!!! It is the RIGHT thing to do.

Big Bob

Good point Lary! I agree!

WhiteSport600

Whoa, you've got to realize I am not bashing the vendor or their product. It was a weekend install, and I needed some advice. HT didn't mention anything about the wastegate sensor, so I didn't know what to do about it. Also THEY included the wrong V-band clamp and failed to include new T-bolt clamps for the intercooler boot. NOT MY FAULT... After spending this kind of money for turbo/install kit, I shouldn't have to go to a diesel shop to get more parts... That was all I was stating. I love the new turbo and HT was very easy to deal with during the purchase process. I would recommend their products to anyone, and was simply asking a few questions about the install and stating that their install kit wasn't complete. So before anyone goes bashing on me and my post, maybe you should read it a little closer. I never stated that the product was inferior nor did I bash them as a company...

kyle@ftlb

I've been thinking about this post for a couple days and i think everyone who has dealt and is thinking about dealing with High Tech Turbo should know a few things. I know the guys that work there, and i've been in their shop dozens of times, and they are not "Diesel Head" guys. They do not install these turbos themselves, they dont mess with testing and tuning these turbos much before they sell them. You all probably remember the many posts about them shipping out turbos with wastegate actuators that would hit the shock tower, or surging problems on some of their new turbos. There were also many posts about what a pain it was to install their turbo, and on the first ones you had to built your own downpipe. There are easy ways around these install problems such as machining your exhaust housings to clamp to the cummins cast iron elbow so you can run a stock downpipe. Or knowing enough about installing your kit to know that the stock clamps for the new silicone hose wont work. A little research on this board or the TDR and you'll find topics about customers having problems.

Another thing that caught my attention was Don M praising them for working hard on new products, when from everything i have ever read from Don has been nothing but test, test, test, and test some more before releasing a product. Seems strange that he would comment them when their work comes nowhere near the high quality products Don makes. And on the issue of product margins, High Tech has dropped there price on Hybrid turbos to below dealer cost. Granted these turbos aren't in as much demand as they were years ago since the introduction of the Schwitzer based turbos from many companys. So you can't get the premium price that you could have years ago. But dropping the price well below the average price of other vendors such as piers, source automotive, and others isn't helping the shrinking margins. I've heard plenty of talk about the shrinking markins from online forums and from talking to shop owners and parts distributers and I know a lot of manufacturers have begun to make changes to distribution practices to help the situation. I know i am part of the problem and i am willing to admit it, as this month i have a sell on my website to sell Edge and BullyDog modules for below MAP price. I felt i have had to do this because when you hop on E-bay and see them going for another 10% cheaper than what i sell them for. I felt like i had to sell them for a little more of discount to get customers to look my way and give me a chance to provide them with great service that will keep them coming back. It does make you feel a little sick to your stomach when you see posts about checking out ebay for your edge box or whatever brand, and seeing the shops/sellers that have been in business for a lot longer then i have lose customers to these deep discounters. I to have thought about "whoring" products out on ebay, as i'm sure many of the other smaller vendors that advertise on this board have also. It was easy to see that those companies that were doing it were looking for the quick dime and probably not trying to establish a long-term business or brand. It was an easy decision to not go to ebay as thats not in the business plan for my company. I'm not going to tell you who to buy your parts from as its your freedom to choose that makes this country what it is, and not that you'd listen to some rookie with only 148 posts. One thing i am sure of is that when you buy from companies that have great service, fair prices, and who are trying to grow thier business into something great we all win. As any business who becomes successful can afford larger inventories to get you the product fast, and hire help so they can provide the best tech support possible. I know a fair share of the ebay sellers do not have the technical knowledge to answer all the questions the customers will have. And maybe you dont need a lot of diesel knowledge to sell a chip or air intake, but i know that if i was a customer i would rather spend a few more bucks and have someone be able to answer my questions and then know that they will be there to answer the phone a month later when i have a warranty issue. I know my business is not a shining star of the type of company to buy from as i am farely new to the internet market, but i'm not new to diesel performance and over time i hope to grow to be a respected company in the industry. I know this was a long rant about the price of parts, but i hope my opinions made some sense. I think the "Diesel Performance Parts" pricing policy page explains the pricing situation very well. http://www.dieselperformanceparts.com/pricing.html

I do not intend this post to "bash" HTT, as they are great guys and i know they would do everything they could to satisfy a customer. I do, however, think that you should all realize that they are a company trying to make profit in an increasing performance diesel market and recognize that there is a reason they have recieved a lot of negative feedback on the forums. Its obvious to me that they do not put in the hardwork to put out the best possible products or kits. I dont think any customer should settle for low quailty when it comes to a $40K truck. I know they can build a great turbo, but i'm not convinced they can build a great turbo kit.

I know plenty of you can pick this post apart and tell me where i'm wrong or that i dont know what i'm talking about. Which is fine with me i wont take any offense. I'm no expert. I'm just a mechanic thats been working on these trucks in a 12 bay bosch diesel service center, and full service injection pump and turbo shop for a few years and wanted to go out on my own.

PourinDiesel

Anymore reports on the turbo?

sleds

Funny, I've heard nothing but good about the htb2's. Yes, they had a surging problem with their killer b2, but they fixed that problem. With the way these new trucks are being designed, its getting harder and harder to fit aftermarket components. I love my sledpuller and when it lights . Remember rome wasn't built in a day.

Don M

I dont know the results of or the extent of HT turbo testing. I mearly said that most vendors work hard to bring a product to market for less dollars every day.

Yes, your correct- test, test ,test, but testing alone is not enough if the tester does not know what he is testng for or how to look at results and head the right direction with development.



Don~

mooseman

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sleds
I love my sledpuller and when it lights .
I have felt SLEDS, sledpuller light up. All I can say is WOW and that I am sold on all htt products. The htt hybrid I run is sweet. But somewhere I added more fuel so the htb2 is going on next without a question.

mooseman

bearww

My Sled Puller is a very good performer. I really didnt have that much trouble with the install. I also pulled of the exhaust manifold and then mounted the turbo. Had to re-clock the compressor housing a bit to line up with the after cooler, and also so it had a little clearence between shock tower. I had already invested in a new peice of 3'' hose and some 3'' clamps. But compared to the killer B 64 it is a little slower on the bottom end spool up but has alot more top end my opinion. I just compansate the bottom end with the TST box. I absoulutly love the turbo. Hate to the guys at HTT get any bad press. They really went out of their way to make me happy.

kyle@ftlb

Wasn't trying to put them down and tell people not to buy from them. Just got tired of seeing people write posts like this time after time and i just wanted to shed some light on what people should expect. I know they can built a good turbo, like i said above. I just dont think they have put together a quality turbo kit.

WhiteSport600

I agree completely kyle. I think HT should stick with selling turbos as a "Do it Yourself" install. The fact that they are claiming these new turbos are "bolt in" just simply isn't true, and they are charging more for that, probably making up for their decreasing profit margins on the turbo itself.

As far as the turbo itself goes, it's great. I love the new power and lower EGT's. I finally towed for real yesterday, about 8klbs in an inclosed race trailer. Everthing was great, except you had to keep it from frying the tires in 2nd and 3rd gear!... The only problem I saw was that once on the highway, if you went to pass, it would cough or bark on it's way to full boost. Sometimes pretty bad. By the time I got to where I was going I had learned how to drive through it though. It does bark alot, but HT said it was normal. It actually sounds completely different than the factory turbo when it barks. It sounds like a Supra with a big single, pretty cool actually...

sleds

It may be normal, but, its not good on the turbo.

cquestad

What psi was it surging? What RPM? 15 psi? 1800-2000 RPMs?

Seems like some big singles like WOT or babying them. I have had the problem in the past where rolling onto the throttle nicely will do that. You can learn to drive around it. Sometimes a downshift is rewuired to get the RPM's over 2000 to get the turbo spinning before applying the go pedal.

WhiteSport600

cquestad ----
It would get to 15psi and bark a couple of times and then again once WOT was reached it would do it around 30psi... After that it would be fine. I discovered that if you babied it to 20psi then stand on it, it was fine... I think this "bark" or "surge" is due to the intake pressure being greater than the drive pressure at that particular moment. (If you think about it, it makes sense.) But I never found a hill steep enough where I actually needed to stand on it. The Ozark Mountains have some pretty good hills, but none that I couldn't easily accelerate up. The good thing was that I was towing this load with the BDPP on "Performance" the EZ on "high" and the TST on (5/2) and couldn't get the EGT's over 1250 on the steepest, longest hills at WOT... NICE!!!

On another note, large turbos like this simply do "bark" alot due to the the wastegate not slowing down the turbine quick enough. They move ALOT of air and this is just a side effect of this. The shaft and turbine are large enough, that "barking" cannot really do any damage. Have you ever heard a mustang with a 91mm "thumper" after the burnout? It'll bark 15 times or better every time, it's just part of it. If I added a Blow-off-Valve, this would likely be eliminated, but those are really loud and annoying. I've had them on all my race cars, bark is better to listen to.

cquestad

Yes...needs more drive pressure! A different wheel may be needed. Wait till you drive at 11,000 feet...surge city! That will be an eye opener. VGT based on elevation would be real cool.