A - no apology necessary B - you are NOT a spazz... you are passionate about Ferrari and the Ferrari community and that is a good thing. Rick
Occasionally? Please, the master of understatement and a good friend indeed. Rick did a masterful job of summing things up in his last two sentences. What I am doing is not for everyone, never was intended to be. Frankly it was intended for use at my shop only and I am rather shocked at how well it has been received in the market. Near everything we can buy today has a pre planned failure mode and life expectancy, it is how business operates in today's world. From manufacturing to sales, service to after sales and on to salvage, everything is now designed to fail, businesses plan and survive on this. It would be quite arrogant to think one little shop or family could make any impact on how business works, that is unrealistic with entire industries surviving on designed failures.... Follow the money! I think as time passes and standard product quality drops to the point where it causes untold frustration to the owners of any given product, a Supreme Quality product line is a welcome change. It offers an option we have not seen in a generation but also opens it up for irrational attacks... once again, follow the money. The reason this type of situation has manageable effect on me is I can pull everything out of This market, sell it only to manufacturers and exclusive use at my own shop and in doing so see a far sooner payback point. Greed is something I try to teach my kids to steer clear of and it is not the reason we are doing what we are with the products we are making. Attacks are predictable when one is setting out to change how things are done in any industry. Attacks of this nature are just FUBAR with no justifiable rational. Some should consider limiting their ownership to Honda's, Corolla's or perhaps an Omni. Lets practice damage control and make sure friends stay friends while debating a view point. There is more than enough irritation caused by this nonsense already and we can not allow it to drive a wedge between folks that share a common interest. There will always be the Cluge Crowd and no amount of debate will change that. There is also the group that is searching to perfect the very reason they bought a Ferrari, nothing will change that either.
I don't know Ernie, nor do I know anything about him, but IMO, this is the bottom line. You want the best, go to Dave. If not, try another solution, but don't denigrate someone because they are offering what they determine, through lots of research and thorough investigation, to be the best possible solution. Heck I'm a cheap a** too but when the cheap solution doesn't work I often come to the conclusion that another solution is probably in order. And regarding Dave's house, lifestyle and such, I know first hand, he ain't getting rich off this. Believe me. Nut swinging? Nah, how about just some back slapping, that's all. -F
I have met a handful of "rich" mechanics... But, they made their money the old fashioned way... They inherited it....
Since Ernie and Dave have been collaborating on projects in the past, perhaps an apologetic man to man phone call from Ernie to Dave will settle things. I am sure that if the two of them also have a one-to-one discussion on the merits/disadvantages of each system, a better understanding will develop. Then an intelligent, informed discussion could take place here..
I know a couple of them who started out rich, and then worked the rest of their lives to get back to where they started. Mechanics WORK for their money. There's no pot of gold at the end of a torque wrench. DM
The simple truth of the matter is that some like to do things cheap and some like to do it right. If Im looking to buy a Ferrari then I might buy the cheap guys car but if im looking to buy a very good example then I will buy it from the guy who did it right. What we all must remember is, the guy who always looks for the cheap way to repair or make better his car is usually cutting corners everywhere and usually that means a fuel cell out 30k service once a decade. The only place I see a cheap DIY being ahead is when changing the tensioner bearings and thats because the Hill bearings are cheaper than OEM. I have done many upgrades to my car and those that know me and the car know it was done right. My headers are tubi and nothing else simply because there is a reason to have them insulated and I know that Dave also knows that and has been working on a solution to that problem that includes insulation on the headers. I installed the gold connector kit 2 years ago and my car has never run better. Ernie says that he was never taught anything by Dave Helms.....then how did he know that the connectors where a big problem in the Ferraris to begin with? Dave has a passion for doing things right and Ernie has a passion for doing things on the cheap. If im looking for a used Ferrari, I would buy the one thats been serviced without cutting corners and believe me its easy to tell them apart.
I dunno about that. I've never seen Ernie's car but I betcha you'd have a tough time telling that it's been done on the Ernie "cheap." Frankly, I bet you'd find that some "mechanic serviced" cars are less well maintained than Ernie's. This example certainly would apply. Without taking the car apart, how would you ever know that he'd used tin pins? You wouldn't. And since the car would run at least as well as a factory car, you're not gonna know the difference. Plus, without an original car for reference, would you even know what the repair would look like" I'm certain Dave's kit is excellent, he doesn't make crap stuff, but Ernie's solution would be hard to spot in a PPI. Sure, if a guy doesn't care for the car cosmetically, you'll see that, but a guy who has cut corners mechanically? You might not see the effect of that for years after you buy the car, and much of that work wouldn't show up on a PPI. D
I love guys who do things the cheap way, I eventually get some good used parts from their former cars.
I'm surprised no one has brought up the issue of smog laws here. You can re-do connectors cheaply, but sooner or later (probably sooner) the connections will crap out again. This has been my problem with CA smog laws. My car (98 355F1) will only pass smog checks after a thorough cleaning of all emissions connectors by my mechanic. Once clean, the car runs well, and passes smog check easily. That's with metal catalysts and Fabspeed headers, by the way. Sure enough, though, two years later, the contacts will have gone bad again, and the car will fail smog 1st attempt again. Back the car goes to the shop for a fix-up just to pass smog. I've been in this cycle two times around now. So when Dave offered up this gold kit, I realized this is the answer to my problems. I'm getting this kit before my next round of smog checks. No way anyone can convince me to try another tin setup. I'm gonna do the gold kit once and not have to worry about this issue again. Heck, the gold kit will pay for itself in my not having to go to the shop every two years for several shop hours of connection cleaning! And Dave, I think you have probably figured this out by now, but no way anyone would confuse your "do it once and you never have to re-do it again" type of kit and any stop-gap measure like the tin kit (if you can call it a kit, which I wouldn't). So, anyone can make an allegation that your stuff is no better than theirs, but no discerning owner (or shopper of these cars) would be fooled by that; we know that your products are the real deal. As has been pointed out before, I think cars will soon be seen as "sorted" only once they have had your gold kit on them, as well as model-specific fixes such as headers/cats for 355's. THAT says it all. You and your products are the gold standard for our cars. Thank you for what you have done for the Ferrari community. It does not go unnoticed! Near-future gold kit customer, John
Interesting comment on cleaning connectors to pass emissions. I'm due next month, and have sporadic CEL's for emissions, several codes. Maybe I should try cleaning first (also a 355F1, '99). Any tips on how best to clean? Next step, gold connectors...
Get the gold connectors. Cleaning the terminals is a pain, trust me and the only way to do it right is to pop them out of their holders anyway. I have the tools if you want to use them Jay. --Mike
Cleaning and re tensioning the female contacts is a virtual impossibility, plain and simple, tried and failed. As was discussed earlier, contact pressure is as important as how clean it is.
Dave Helms: I am literally salivating to get my hands on some of the parts you sell...I've got to wait 'til this fall because they're expensive, but I know it will be worth it. Keep up the great work. I see the value in what you do, and your family have been very nice about responding to my questions, either by email or phone. Much success to you!! Ernie: You are "The Man" in so many ways. You've got to stay with it, because you really add value to this community! Just...PLEASE...PRETTY PLEASE...please don't turn your revelations into anything personal...all of us here are pretty good at figuring out what we want. We all want something different at different times...and we have that choice thanks to you AND Dave. When you find something new...and I know you'll do that a lot...just put it out there...we'll figure it out. No need to disparage the other guy. Nobody ever heard Stevie Ray Vaughan insult Jimi Hendrix...there was no need. Just say "sorry" to Dave...really...don't worry about what anyone else on here says. Do it ASAP. You do owe him that. Don't screw around...just do it.
It's been months now since my last post, and I have yet to see any real verifiable proof, done scientifically, the way AMP/Tyco did, that over the long run gold mated to tin is worse than tin mated to tin. I'm not talking about the aeicdotal evidence that many proclaim, like "my car has never run better". I'm talking real numbers, measured with electronic instruments, like the ones I presented from the manufacture. Prove the claims, other than "because everyone says so". Prove the gold pins are better than tin, or silver, over the long run. Present the verifiable proof. Put the gold pins through the same tests that AMP did and prove the claims that the gold pins are better than tin/silver pins.
Disappointing return post Ernie. Do I understand correctly that you've spent months seeking proof that gold mated to tin is worse than tin mated to tin and that you have come up empty handed? Should that not be end of matter for you?
Quick Question: Dave, I checked your site and noticed that there is no kit for the 360... Is this because the 360 doesn't need the upgrade or because a 360 kit is on the way? I've read almost every thread I could find and I see your kits have done wonders, so as I shop for a 360, I want a kit put in right away if I need it or if you make it!
There are upgrades done and being tested currently for the 360's but I have learned a valuable lesson from this thread ......... They damn sure will not be discussed here. The upside for the 360's.... many important connections are ALREADY Gold and a great many are Gold against Tin BY DESIGN.....! If a 360 isnt your flavor, try a 355 or 550......... Gold against Tin on all the throttle switches BY DESIGN. The 360 has different problems and they too have been addressed with very positive results. Ferrari knew they had to raise the bar with the new Micro Mini technology used on the 360's, and they did. I could make a GCK for this model but it doesn't need it and I am not a fan of developing anything not needed or offering questionable value to the owners.
I try to find a suitable summation for a thread where a once trusted 'friend' takes data, shared with him in confidence, as an attempt to help him out and get his car running for long enough to drive it around the block without having to walk back or have it burn to the ground...... and does this! The box of parts I packed up for him to build the engine of his dreams still sits taped up in the back corner of the shop, spares from my IMSA 348 Race Car. I keep that box there as a reminder to me of what happens when one tries to help out a stranger, mind you, there was no invoice ever made for that box, never intended to. Someone needs to crawl back under a rock, maybe its me, maybe someone else. If owners only knew how much damage this thread has done in the way of completely halting shared knowledge from those that have a clue as to what they speak about....... the Pro's in this market.... how many do you see here these days sharing data? The return of this thread with such a flat out stupid post only reinforces decisions made by myself. FUBAR is the best I can come up with, and that falling far short of expressing my opinion accurately....Gawd what a DS.
Ok thanks, I looked at your site and I like the hoses too! Basically when I purchase a 360 I want to get the thing correct from the start so that I have a chance of preventing problems, so whatever you've got for 360's will be on my list. Thanks again and by the way, this thread is crap and I think you got the short end of the stick here.
This thread would be best closed at this point. It is not helping the people that need the connector kits and it will just continue to be a place to quibble. I like both people directly involved here, lets just move on, what said is said. Just my .02 --Mike
