Dave helms upgrades... question on value/cost?

This is a good post, on behalf of Dave...thanks!

His real job is fixing Ferraris.
He stays plenty busy at that.

ANY of his products, now handled retail by our sponsor Ricambi, is the result of a frustration in shortfalls in Ferraris own engineering, for long life.

He turned the retail over to Ricambi mainly for time management.
But as other chatters can vouch, when helping a problem of a real owner, he is a giving and open person.

I called yesterday to wish him a "Merry Christmas" and he was off down the building, machining something or other.

Those of us that follow the "Barn find - Today" thread know he has been thru a lot with the Colorado Flood disaster.

The decision as to "value" is a highly subjective one.
Buy cheap stuff when it's easy to change...something that takes five or six labor hours, just to GET to it, I personally would spend a little more.

 

Not only that but it happens with every vendor and shop ever mentioned. Ricambi is a great supplier and is given kudos every single day. Does anyone think he is buying people off to sing his praises?


It is not only a strong accusation, it is as stupid a thing said as I have ever heard.

 

If I were shopping for a car and found one that had Dave's and Paul Hill's products on it, I'd have a lot more confidence in it vs one which had OEM parts, everything else being equal.....

 

The corollary to that is when I see the crooked ragged edge of a hand cut SAE sized hose on a metric fitting, clamped so tight the worm gear is cutting into the blunderbust hose fabric I seriously question the knowledge of the person doing the repairs. This one isn't bad but there are cleaner ways to do it.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

CONCUR.

Not Cool.

 

CONCUR.

Not Cool.

 

I couldn't agree with you more, John.

On the flip side, there's nothing quite like seeing XXXX-branded fuel hose weeping through the rubber after just a year or two in use. Or that Gates Vulcoflex "coolant" hose used to connect the fuel tanks together. Or the junk hose that Ferrari used under the 456/550 plenums. Yep, lots of cheaper alternatives, but no one wants to pay the labor twice for that job. In non-critical or labor intensive jobs, I suspect there might be lesser expensive alternatives...

Great product, great company and good people; a true asset to the Ferrari community. I guess that's why we use his products on a regular basis.

 

Prior to D.H. hoses Ricambi was selling an inexpensive silicone hose set out of the UK..... which I purchased from Ricambi.
At that time Daniel stated that these were high quality hoses (possible called SFS??not sure....will have to look at the invoice) & that he had NEVER had any issues or failures with these hoses and they were better than the OEM hoses.
The complete silicone hose set cost a little over $350.00
I purchased that hose set 8 years ago.
When D.H. brought out his coolant hose set Ricambi ceased to carry the UK hose set.

Well I still have that set of hoses on my car 8 years later and they still look brand new.
So you don't have to spend $1500.00 on coolant hoses.
Or is anyone suggesting that Daniel, at Ricambi misled me 8 years ago?
Experience has taught me not to buy into the hype or agendas of others.... .

 

Well said.

 

My read of your post is support the implication of enzo52's post. I do not think there is any evidence to support his position. I also think that your support of enzo52's position also casts doubt on the integrity of Fchat supporters of SRI products like myself. I have beta tested and used and installed for others several SRI products and that forms my opinion as to their high quality and value as several pros have atested. That said the only SRI product in my 550 is the gold kit despite my high praise of SRI products in general. I got no freebies yet I freely praise SRI products. I can produce the invoice for my gold kit supplies and creditcard receipt to back up my claim.

 

and here is the link for SFS hoses:

SFS Performance - Silicone Hoses

 

never mind

 

A little double entendre for you.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

that's certainly true. IF you bust a radiator hose, the contents will not spill onto a hot exhaust and ignite, that's for sure.

And, if you see steam pouring out from under the hood, you simply shut the car off before you overheat, you don't have to run for your life while you watch your car self immolate.

D

 

Wrong.

?Antifreeze ?It doesn?t seem logical for a water based chemical to be flammable.

 

+1 Dave Helms is the best. Replaced fuel lines and he reworked my TR fuse box. I have peace of mind now and it's worth every penny.


Sent by incredibly fast electrons

 

100% CRAP

Furthermore, the vast majority of Dave's existing clientele was built before F-Chat even existed --- and, most of his current referral business takes place outside of F-Chat as well.

Over the years, I've helped Dave quite a bit with advice / development for several of his products ---- and, I've never received one dime or one "freebie" from him. Nor have I run around shilling for him either. He does not operate that way...... and neither do I. Has he returned the favors to me ? Yes. But, only with assistance and support for my own car projects and repair.


.

 

Yes, the Wall of Hoses... been there many times. In fact, when I repaired the radiator on my 3.2 Mondial I got all of the hoses needed from just one piece, curves and angles included. Had my trusty caliper with me for good measure.

But for my 348, it needs six 90-degree angle hoses, one S hose, one slightly curved and 3 straights (each of different length and OD). Plus all of the clamps needed (22). There's no way I'd get all of that from one store anywhere near where I live.

 

John,

Good info! I did not know antifreeze especially 50% water antifreeze would burn. I would have bet you on that and lost. That is just one more reason we should not use antifreeze in track cars. I will pass that on to our track forum.

 

FBB,

Have you EVER seen a fire caused by antifreeze? I suppose it's possible, but I've had SEVERAL cars overheat or bust a hose in my life, and NEVER had one ignite.

My guess is that the volume of coolant has an effect on the end result as well. If you have a gusher, the coolant moves fast, helps to cool the external heat source below the flashpoint for the coolant itself, and no ignition occurs.

If you get a trickle, or set a puddle of coolant on fire, well, that's maybe a different story.

 

I have no clue.