Stooge Tin Pin Connector Kit

Ernie.. you are an a*shole.. Plain and simple.. Do us all a favor and bring your car back to the waters it came from..

R

 

Dave, Don't worry about it. If someone wants to install the same cheap crap, seal it with saran wrap, let them have at it!
I know and understand the time and effort put forward to engineer a solution, not a band aid.
You give someone time and counsel. They reward you with a stab in the back. Sad!
Somehow I think this post crossed the line.

 

Ernie,

You are not doing anyone a service; instead you are trying your hardest to tear someone down based on flimsy (at best) research and exactly ZERO testing. In addition, FYI, you are destroying your own reputation and the goodwill you've built up amongst many in the 348/355 Brotherhood which you so proudly claim to have "founded".

Brotherhood, there is an ironic word for you. What about anything you are doing here is in the spirit of "Brotherhood" or fraternity? All I see is someone just being downright nasty, spiteful and hateful.

This whole episode is just despicable. Please stop.

Rick

 

Ernie,

Your treatment of Dave and all the work he has done for our community is absolutely shameful. I share Rick's sentiments above - please stop this nonsense right now.

Eric

 

It's on your head: I can google too.



and just like you I didn't think before I posted, just typed away...

 

Why is it you suspect Ferrari, Lamborghini, Masterati and just about every other manufacturer worldwide mixed Tin and Gold in the engine harness once they learned? Even as early as the 2.7 355 the throttle switch sported the female contacts in Gold. Internet experts...... do their cars run for more than a week at a time?

You never answered what brought about the attacks? Actually a number of them from your area recently and from folks I have helped but asked nothing of. Lesson learned as I stated earlier.... follow the money, I suspect this is the setup.

FINALLY, a thread that makes Tony Weiner look like a civilized moral leader.

 

I think it's possible that Ernie simply did not think about the full impact of what he was posting. You gotta remember, he's always had the hardcore DIY attitude for owners on a budget - he believes in it religiously. I just don't think he thought it out all the way. What a crappy situation.

 

Respectfully Troy,

BULL$HIT !!!!! [I understand you're trying to be a 'Peacemaker']

But, No One is gunna buy THAT !!!!!!!


Ernie "went AFTER" Dave, "Lock, Stock and Barrel." His LAST post verifies that.

Frankly, I hope it is his VERY LAST POST on F-Chat.


And I routed for him too. Over all his trials and tribulations. I WANTED HIM to "beat his beast." NO longer.

F-K Ernie.

Damn, it hurts to say that. So be it.


Other Ferrari sites will "welcome" him. Good for them.

 

Ernie has consistantly displayed the same attitude towards anyone here who is in the automotive business.

He's a shortsighted ******* who cannot concieve of the possibility that there is and always will be a segment of society that requires or chooses to use professional service providers. As a consequence he ****s all over those that do provide it and try to be of service, free or otherwise to the detriment of the very people he claims to help.

He has done far more harm than good to this place.

And his title of consultant has been a running joke to professional Ferrari people all over the country. His name comes up often in those circles as I am sure it will in Savannah. If he was so knowledgeable you would naturally assume he would have better luck keeping his own running.

 

Ernie, seriously, when you hit rock bottom (and you have) STOP DIGGING!

Please.

 

good night.

 

Ernie,

Nope, none of this makes you the 'bad guy'. When you disparage another man's work, his integrity and his livelihood - that makes you a 'bad guy'.

I've never read or heard of 1 single complaint from anyone using Dave's gold kit. In fact, I think the feedback has been universally a smash success. I'm sure there are folks out there but they are quiet minority.

Dave isn't selling *parts*, he's selling a *solution*. You want cheaper parts, sure, we all have Internet access and a phone - we can all find them. However, that's not what most folks are interested in. People want a solution; something that works as a system and delivers results.

I installed the kit on my F355 (BTW, as Dave mentions, the pins on my throttle sensors were Gold from the factory!). I know for a fact that my car runs better. I know that I no longer have CELs or SD lights. I'm no longer chasing ghosts. The solution was worth every penny. Why are you begrudging the man a return on his investment when nobody I know is complaining about the price nor the results?

 

I can answer that.. BECAUSE HE IS AN A*SHOLE.. Plain and simple.. He is a prick.. and more importantly he knows it..

R

 

Ernie,

You have a LOT (!) more reading to do, a LOT! Start with the Periodic Table and work backwards into 'Dry Circuit Connections Theory'.... that will give you something productive to keep busy with for a month or two or 10. You dont have half a clue why the connectors need replacing, you are just trying to follow what you read... not a clue.

You still have not answered my questions. I know full well why you are doing it, your a cheap $sit by your own admission. Why the direct attacks on someone that has asked nothing of you? I now have my own theory but would like to hear it first hand, in public, from the source.

""As for all this "help", what help???"" BITE! That is one of the most arrogant, self centered over the top statements you have made to this point and regardless of it I will try to continue to help those in need but will be far more selective. Were all your calls just to quiz me? Over the last 40 years doing this I have come across less than a handful of owners...... this takes the prize! Congratulations.

 

Interesting thread.

As in the old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times."

My read (and I am still a newbie, unfamiliar with the history of posters one with another) is this: Ernie is giving out another alternative, for the DIY owner.

No doubt there are some who will follow up on it, and theoretically that would cost SRI a sale or two.

But I won't go the cheap way, nor do I think that most of those seeking a solution will, either.

Our cars aren't K-cars, they're F-cars; if you can't afford quality, if you have to go down the cheapskate highway, you'd best be prepared to pay the price.

Alas, it seems Ernie didn't reckon just how high HIS price would be ...

 

Ernie- You and your research are like a dog watching TV. Something is going on, but you really have no idea what it is.

I had some respect for you based on your helping others, but I have lost all of it now. If karma is real, you are in for a rough time..

We had a term in the military for the one type none of us could stomach and the one person you did not want on your wing, and that is a "Buddy F*ucker". Welcome to a very undistinguished club.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I guess I don't understand the issue.

I strongly doubt anyone is cross-shopping SRI's solution vs. a roll-your-own setup.

There's obviously something else going on behind the scenes to generate so much anger over a listing of part numbers and suppliers.

 

+1, I haven't heard that term in a few years, but spot on.

This thread is completely disrespecting a true friend to the Ferrari Community. Dave Helms, I am ashamed you have to see this...

 

Scott,
You forgot integrity.

The post above deserves re-quoting. I really can't add much but agree with all of it from personal experience with Dave last year doing the Main Circuit board retro fit and the Gold Connector kit.
One result was a flawless kick-ass 200 mile trip through the mountains last Sunday.
My TR never ran so good.

 

My 2¢ (I've no dog in this fight)
My qualifications - early 60s pioneering work on avionics quality military connections for a major mil-communications manufacturer.

Final military electronics conclusions - only way to pass environmental and vibration tests is to use Gold on Gold. Even so, gold was plated incorrectly much of the time if not monitored closely. Gold too thin means porous with the under metal bleeding through in humidity and/or salt tests. Too thick and the gold will flake off in vibration.

Wet contacts will break a surface coating (oxide) and surface material doesn't much matter. Dry contacts are critical and must meet the gold/gold rule. Only the introduction of glass fibers has improved the reliability physics of contacts by completely eliminating them.

Retrofitting, if you can't replace both sides of a dry connection with gold (or with glass fiber), you can't win the longevity fight.

 

I am not here to defend Ernie. He is a big boy, and he can defend himself.

Many on Fchat come to post about our cars, come to read about others, come to share BS, come to ask for advise on how to spend $1M on cars, and then many are DIY.

I am making a comment on the DIY mentality. Many of us on this boards are here to find information on how to do things ourselves when it comes to working on our vehicles. Saving a few bucks is one reason, but the satisfaction of doing it ourselves is a huge reason for DIY. It could be how to do something without the official $1,000 tool. How to make a $10 4 prong socket that Baum sells for $104. When one DIY figures out how to do something, he posts it so other DIY can consider that method. There is not anything wrong with that.

As far as finding alternative sources of official parts/materials. There is a sticky threat for every 308/328/348 car category that gives a very long list of part numbers from sources other than the official sources. Nobody seems to indicate that practice to be hitting below the belt regarding the official sources.

If you are a DIY, and want to use alternative sources of products, great.
If you are a DIY and want to buy from official sources of products, great.
If you are not a DIY and want to buy official products and have your mechanic work on your car, great.
If you want to take your car to the dealerships and let them worry about it, great too.

Once again, this is about a DIY mentality and not about the personalities on this thread.

 

I haven't had the time, nor the inclination to read all the posts in this thread, but let me say the following.

This "issue" is NOT about DIY or simply posting a cross-referenced Bosch part number for a part Ferrari, Spa/FNA are charging $700.00 that can be had from a Volkswagen dealer for 1/10 the cost. This is about intentionally usurping an individual's hard work (i.e., their Intellectual Property), producing an inferior "copy", and then directly disseminating information which will do nothing but harm that individual. Ernie, stop and actually think about what you did and to what end did it serve. All I can say is that I hope some day you put thousands of uncompensated hours and dollars into a project, provide information and assistance to numerous individuals (again with no compensation), and then have those aforementioned individuals do to YOU exactly what you have done to Dave. Karma can be a real B!tch and I sincerely hope it comes your way, soon.

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Let this post put people on notice. If anyone bothered to actually look at SRI's Internet Site you would see "Patent Pending" on most of the products sold thereon. I am the Intellectual Property attorney who drafted and filed these patents. And make no mistake, to say that I will zealously protect Dave's right, title, and interest in his Intellectual Property is a major understatement. Patent infringement (either literal or under the Doctrine of Equivalents) is a very, very expensive and time-consuming game. As Dave is aware, this protection will cost him nothing. Being able to call him my friend is more than sufficient compensation. While I am hesitant to blow my own horn, this is a game I play very well - coming from Lyon & Lyon; Mintz, Leven, Cohen, Glovsky and Popeo; and Fish & Richardson.


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I sincerely encourage individuals to use their ingenuity and intellect to endeavour to solve the numerous problems that plague Ferraris; which unfortunately there is a long felt, but as yet, unmet need. However, make sure that the problem you solve is done so in a novel and inventive manner. Not by usurping another's (namely Dave's) hard work.

 

What took so long to design in this concept was making it DIY capable Mitchell, the very thing you speak of. A very astute tech can do the job fairly easily (though not quickly) and for many owners this is the wisest approach. I wanted the owners to have the option and is why it took so long. For the professional in this industry........ I don't have to dot the I's, that is what they get paid to do and many do very well. For a DIY owner I have to cover every possible base, send it to Beta testing and then have the installers define how many different ways something can be done wrong.... and then redesign for those. From the very onset of this it was designed as a DIY project.

Over the 6 years of testing I found where I could cut corners and where upgraded components and tools were required. Think there is ANY profit in making tools ourselves? No Chance, we lost margin once we went down that path! That was done because of the feedback from the DIY owners/installers stating better quality was required and where it did not exist, I had to have it made myself. The future upgrades to these initial kits will be endless (I have spent endless hours researching other systems in the Ferrari's and many will in time require upgrades) so.... hard anodizing was yet another requirement for longevity of a given tool and why tools are provided with all kits except those going to shops where they can be reused for years.... there is NO fluff built in. If it was done it is because it was demanded by those doing the installs. Cutting corners on the cheap is what got us to this point, fixing that is taking some effort but there are rewards for doing so.

 

Out of curiosity: does this publication on a public forum legally satisfy the Notice requirement, or must you e-mail or mail a copy of the US Patent Application to Ernie in order to set him up for litigation / sanctions for infringement once the patent is issued?