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YOUR RESEARCHWhat ya think of this imsb oil fed kit..?
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Install thousands of these kits and never had 1 failure
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Supposedly they sold/installed thousands of these kits and never had 1 failure...
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I have been in Dealerships since 1974 as Top Trouble Shooter for FoMoCo for 2 decades ...The Dealer I was stationed at was a high volume dealer selling 300 new cars a month.every month, Trust me, any problem of the severity of an IMSB failure that potentially occurred in 3 cars a month ( 1% of 300 cars) is considered a catastrophe/overwhelming/ unheard of, and yet this is what happened on the 996 IMSB issue...I remember a 2004 very nice Blue Targa that I replaced the engine in twice for IMSB failure.
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Many 13-16 991 GT3 engines replaced under warranty.
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Porsche has written to owners urging them to bring their 911 GT3s in to their local dealership to have the engine replaced—for the second time.
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I have seen the components that were used for forced failure testing, and I have even seen pieces from an IMS Solution that ran for more than 2 hours with no oil being fed into it, seeing as much as 7,000 RPM on the dyno and 50 miles of road use.
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I have been in Dealerships since 1974 as Top Trouble Shooter for FoMoCo for 2 decades ...The Dealer I was stationed at was a high volume dealer selling 300 new cars a month.every month, Trust me, any problem of the severity of an IMSB failure that potentially occurred in 3 cars a month ( 1% of 300 cars) is considered a catastrophe/overwhelming/ unheard of, and yet this is what happened on the 996 IMSB issue...I remember a 2004 very nice Blue Targa that I replaced the engine in twice for IMSB failure.
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Suggestion
In the time I have been working back and forth at FSI I have already seen changes made to the insurance that hasn't just made a huge increase in cost, but required changes made to how things are sold.
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If they wanna get all lawyery with verbiage and not stand by what's right (replacing their product due to failure that likely would have failed under normal conditions), the consumer should be able to as well.
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Think this kit is any good..? Oil feed comes off head to constantly supply open bearing with a few cc of oil to keep it lubed and cooled. A USA company with US patent on this kit. Supposedly they sold/installed thousands of these kits and never had 1 failure...
Are SKF ok for the ims..?
If I was going to put an oil fed bearing in mine it's what I would use. I also believe it's popular with the spec boxster guys.
And just because someone charges more than $50 for a bearing doesn't mean it's a better bearing.
Labor for the Solution or what is posted here will be the same. As will the "while I'm in there" RMS, AOS, Clutch, Flywheel. For less than a 20% cost differential, (the IMS solution is $1100 more than this), I opted for the solution.
When I did mine in 2018, I was not aware of this one. I did review the EPS option. It really came down to the bearing cost differences. Although I have no plans on selling my car, I think I will get back the $1100 difference for the Solution vs. any other bearing options.
Just my thoughts.
You're right about the labor costs, it's a wash. But the peace of mind with the Solution? Worth the money and peace of mind, especially for a single row IMSB.
In this application, a plain bearing is the best solution. If the best is what you are looking for(won�t wear out unless oil feed is interrupted, no moving parts etc) then get the IMS Solution. Any other bearing will work but will need attention in the future.
To set the record straight, this product is marketed to be confusingly similar to the IMS Solution. This is because the technology differences between the two stops with "oil fed".
Educated purchasers will take the time to understand the difference between an oil pressure fed "plain bearing" (IMS Solution) and the factory style ball bearing that is being sprayed with oil against the outer dynamic surface only.
Uneducated buyers just see an oil line and modified flange, and they think that the two are the same, one being roughly 1/2 price of the other. Generally speaking, they learn the difference after the purchase of what they thought was a lesser priced IMS Solution.
No substitute for being an educated purchaser that reaches further than the surface when making purchasing decisions in regard to anything for these cars and engines. Taking days, weeks or even months to study, research and understand the different technologies is ok, and what leads to happy purchasers.
Wow, I just looked at the current IMS Solution warranty and it's even more egregious than before. The long list of exclusions now include no autocross, track or DE, no racing or competition. Immagine having so little confidence in your product that you exclude autocross events. On top of that it now must be professionally installed, even specifing that you must return the old bearing and the flange "uncleaned" (crazy). So much for the DIY'r using the LN tool, you're out of luck. I also see the bearing by name has been isolated to it's own LLC, this to protect other company assets when things go wrong but also not showing a great deal of confidence in the product. The 5 year warranty doesn't exactly match up with "once and done" either but at least it's better than the poor 2 year warranty of their other products. I noticed a first report of a Solution failure up in the IMSB sub-forum too, but not a lot of detail reported.
For overall cost relative to not having any failures and being able to self install without all the rediculous exclusions it still looks like the roller bearing products are the best option. Mr Navarro reported no failures of his RND roller bearing nor have I seen other brand failures.
https://imssolution.com/12799-2/#:~:...C%2015%20U.S.C
.
To be fair, the exclusion implies some burden of proof that the activity specifically cause the problem: "
Failures
due to
off-road or severe service applications, including but not limited to autocross, drivers education, track days, or any race or competition or applications other than intended by the manufacturer use will void warranty."
But I bet failure during an event, would be presumed to be because of the event.
On the other hand doesn't any damage from participating in AutoX, HPDE or track...racing or competition fall back on the owner regardless of what equipment is installed on the vehicle? Example: I AutoX my 2019 Honda Type R. If the engine blows up while I'm AutoXing I do not plan on trying to blame Honda... I'm just sayin'
Here is the kicker. Porsche made it very clear that they would void the manufactures warranty back in the day if you tracked your car. Same was said for changing your software. Then it came down to your service manager at each dealership to how they handled the warranty claim.
I found it humorous that every Porsche advertisement revolved around performance and/or tracking your car in some way, but yet the warranty said no.
Nevertheless, it didnt stop us.
Enjoy the car. I can speak for the LN retro having used it on the track for alot of laps. Never failed me and looked brand new after I had it replaced this spring with another after 10 years.
Methinks you are being too hard on LN. I'm not aware of any new car manufacturer covering race track use under their new car warranties. Those folks have full control of the assembly process, unlike an aftermarket vendor. A 5 year warranty is kind of remarkable in that realm, especially for an internal engine part.
Ford replaced blown engines in the 2016-2020 Shelby GT-350 Mustang no questions asked under warranty. Some track guys I know got 3 or 4 warranty engines.
I agree that situation is pretty unusual.
Yeah but...Known factory defects...
CarandDriver 2015
"Remember last year when Porsche
had to recall every new 911 GT3
to replace the engines? Well, it’s happening to 911 GT3 owners again. Porsche has written to owners urging them to bring their 911 GT3s in to their local dealership to have the engine replaced—for the second time.
But whereas the original engine-replacement program affected every one of the 3.8-liter GT3 engines, the latest issue involves only about a dozen cars, according to Porsche. We know of five of the affected 911s, four of which are in use as ’Ring taxis on the N�rburgring Nordschleife.
The March 2014 recall encompassed 785 911 GT3s and was spurred after two cars suffered engine fires. The original engines were found to have an issue with a loosened screw joint on the piston connecting rod. The latest problem is in the valvetrain of the flat-six engine, and Porsche says that rather than fix them, it was easier to simply remove the entire engine and replace it with a new one."
Go long the 996, short the 991 and 992.
Can't argue with the performance and speed of the newer models, but the issues with these engines after the warranties end will provide enough silly content for an entire season of Hoovie.
I'll take my m96 and keep running a good imsb.
If your car blows up at an event or race, that's on you for being an idiot and telling them you were at an event. Why wouldn't you just say you were "driving along" when it happened?
I get it, being in the bicycle industry, I sell $20k bikes (yes, twenty thousand dollars for a single bicycle) and if you race them, the warranty is void. We had a customer about 15 years ago who's frame cracked during an event, not during an accident, we went to warranty it and the first question they asked was is he races. We mistakenly said he does the occasional race, yeah...expecting that when you buy an uber-lightweight RACING BIKE that you would race on it.. Nope, they didn't want to originally honor the warranty until I called back and said "hey, we noticed a crack on this frame when it was in for service." Similar scenario here where you buy essentially a car meant to be on a track and the warranty is void if it's brought to one. But the burden of proof is on them to prove you were actually racing versus just merging onto the highway at full throttle.
Nate... I'm surprised you'd even suggest such a thing being in the retail business. Next thing you're going to do is suggest that our daughters not trash the tags on the prom dress so they can return them after wearing them to the dance.
Well, as far as warranties.....from personal experience, when one reaches that level of abject failure, you have reached the Unified Rational Social Oversight for Collective Knowledge Database
(URSOFCKD)
Porsche definitely pushes the design and engineering envelope......but ya gotta love em...
I remember the time I was sitting in Porsche Training class for new models and the Instructor was showing us the new vario-cam actuator, and was saying how they had saved x amount of grams by lightening it in various places and had switched to aluminum bolts to hold it all together,,..... as I held it I felt a knot in stomach and as thinking uht-oh..this looks like trouble.....sure nuff ...GT3's Panamera and Cayenne started having vario-cam actuators coming apart sometimes taking the whole engine with it, sometimes not, if the car was at a redlight when it let go.... we would just have to find all the pieces to make sure no bolt heads were left in there..lol
To me that's where Porsche's arrogance comes in. Instead of running changes by the people, like you, who knows what works and what doesn't because of being out there fixing broken stuff. Instead Porsche depends on engineers who may never have had their head under the hood figuring out why the engine blew up. I learned during my management career that the people who do the work know a lot more than we gave them credit for. I have been criticized on RL for allegedly not knowing that Porsche is run primarily by engineers and I say engineers are good but you also need people who knows what doesn't work from up close and personal hands on experience. Example: The Porsche engineers designed the crappy AOS that fails way to often then buried it deep inside the engine compartment because... well engineers.
EOR
Porschetech3, this is especially true in the military. Many years ago, as I remember, one particular afternoon, a few engineers and other military observers who were outspoken about the direction and concept ( the grunts ) were previewing the latest missile technology. The purpose of the missile was to hone in on the rotating motions, especially that of the helicopter. With everyone present, standing outside of the head facilities ( toilets, for those not familiar with Marine terms ), they fired the missile. And sure enough, the rocket flew into the air, circled, and returned in the direction from where it was fired. Now with everyone fearing for their very lives, running in all directions, the missile had honed in on the whirling exhaust fan blades of the men's head. It was a case of "I told you so" by people of experience which was ignored.
I often wonder if some of these people, who oversee or are involved, are the results of the Peter Principle...which in MHO will be overtaken by ESG....God help us!
Right, the accountants love to save a few nickles in materials......and making something lighter is the easiest way for Engineers to increase performance ( at a risk of less durability)..
3 more pounds of aluminum in the head casting of the 3.4 would have eliminated the head cracking and "Y2K Syndrome" ,, and 6 more pounds of aluminum around the cylinder bores would have been welcomed also...
^^^ True. Again because of engineers and accountants. "Let's put this cheaper single row bearing in there. We can say with a modicum of certainty it will be ok..."
sigh
Yep. In the "go-no-go" era. Looks like the 991 and 992 have their own issues. Pity the folks that are about out of warranty. Nice to own a 996. We know all the issues, and every preventative step and solutions. It will be years before we can fully define for the 991 and 992. But they will eventually be defined.
I think every manufactured product should last their intended use. That depends on the particular product of course. As we are car enthusiasts let's concentrate on the cars. Let's take two brands "Kia" and "Porsche" - think about the technical implementation and the perceived image of those two brands.
In short - Kias are not meant for track use - any kind. Their components are only good for casual driving because of the structural materials etc. If somebody takes Kia to the track and the engine breaks then it's basically drivers fault.
Let's then take Porsche - brand image says it's a "sports" car and in real life it's being used in track use, racing etc - if I'm not mistaken Porsche themselves drive their stock cars around
N�rburgring - if that is not track use then what is.
So I think we need to separate track use and racing. Every single solution - doesn't matter if it's from Porsche or any other manufacturer should last some casual, common sense track use because that's how Porsches are meant to be used.
If for example any IMS product fails after two laps on some track then that product is inferior and faulty in its intended use.
If I buy a Porsche I should not be thinking when I go to some car enthusiast club event that I can't drive my Porsche here because it might break - I should be able the enjoy the event.
Racing is of course totally different thing. When you attach a number sign the game changes and so does its intended usage. There's no limits on much you can modify the engine and car for racing purposes and of course it's the a complete package where every part plays a role. Also if some part puts an extra stress on some other part which otherwise would be just fine nobody can control that world and the responsibility transfers naturally to the party that has build that combination - usually a group of persons or a team as it's up to their knowledge to choose parts that are fit for the purpose.
As much as I agree and understand that track driving does have its risks and pushes the car and various components to their limits, certain parts should be able to take the abuse it they have been tested properly, seen correct service intervals and have no known failures. If you abuse the car, have **** service intervals and never change the oil I bet you could damage the IMS solution. Same with Nickasil cylinders. If the owner can prove proper service records and a product fails, warranty should be honored. Otherwise, what's the point of even offering one. BTW, doesn't the FSI Track Performer use the IMS Solution product? Seems kind of silly that you can purchase a purpose built motor named Track Performer Stage 2 for an intended use on the track but have a well engineered product like the IMS Solution warranty voided when using it in that environment.....for which the engine was designed.
You should say all the truth, otherwise, we all know that half the truth is just a lie; that product was marketed way before than the IMS solution and is covered by two US patent, one of each is previous to the IMS solution patent, although they are for different designs. However, that demonstrate that not everybody is looking at LN like the path to follow...from your comments in this forum, it would look like you pretend LN to be the only engineering in the world capable to design a solution for a problem
The TuneRS DOF has been intensively tested in competition for years, in M96/97 engines in sprint and endurance races (Spec Boxsters and 911s) with not know failure in the track or the street, and is used by many Porsche dealers around the country too.
I have this solution (you see?, the word solution can be used in the English dictionary) in my car, and they use the larger bearing and shaft used in the late M97 designs. And yes, I will trust a 50$ bearing manufactured by SKF more than bearings that nobody knows where/how are manufactured, the same way that I trust more in a 5-40 Liqui/Mobil/Castrol oil than one coming from a brand called "Driven", whatever are the prices.
We are fighting now because it seems every discussion about products that compete directly with LN you have this poster coming in telling us how dumb we are for considering anything else. It's really insulting.
The word solution was not even mentioned in this thread until they brought it up.
Is there any data that we can see where the other systems are better or worse then the solution
please let know I haven’t seen anything to show the solution is inferior
By this same logic you haven't seen anything that shows LN's product is superior.
I think all of the IMSB products have merit. To be honest if I had a single row bearing I think the LN solution would be a serious consideration for me.
I don't know how many different imsb products there are on the street. Don't know the difference between them.
All I know is that the IMS Retro I had in my car for 10 years and lots of laps around the track came out of my car looking brand new (see post #11 for picture). So I put another one in the car in April.
Here's my OEM unit replaced in January with 41,xxx miles. Still looks pretty good but was a bit stiff in turning. But we didn't disassemble it due to LN's desire they be sent in to them as is. I'm not sure how much we could discern on the internal condition without disassembly. Scoring on the races is a bit suspicious but could be tool marks from the original manufacturing
FWIW
The FSI Track Performer Stage II has never been sold with a warranty. Purchasers understand this up front, and the Gauntlet package includes a very clear warranty disclaimer with no fine print. In fact, Stage I, Stage II and Stage III engines do not have a warranty, which is clearly stated on the FSI page.
Those who are trying to compare warranties need to understand that commercial insurance drives a lot of what can and can't be covered for track duty/ off highway service.
For most shops to even gain a "garage keeper's policy" they must agree that the cars they are modifying are not being used for "racing". These commercial insurance policies do not have a sub- category for "DE" activities, to them everything is "racing" if it doesn't happen on the street.
In my previous position I worked with a shop that found it absolutely impossible to bind insurance. Over the years company after company would explore their website, write a letter and cancel the policy because they provided components for "race cars".
Before you waste a bunch of time trying to gather "confidence" in a product you need to understand the outliers that are making an impact. In the time I have been working back and forth at FSI I have already seen changes made to the insurance that hasn't just made a huge increase in cost, but required changes made to how things are sold. I deal with wholesale accounts all day long, and most every shop today has some sort of insurance story to share about these things. A friend of mine that had a shop in Florida recently closed because he could not operate without insurance, but no company would insure him due to the work he did with race cars and components. Lots of shops that deal with track cars just take the risks and don't even have insurance. Businesses that have a lot to lose can't do this.
This is one of the biggest reasons that the decision at FSI was made not to collect vehicles any further, and only work through the group of Certified Installers to carry out installations once the current backlog is completed.
This discussion just won't go away. When new people come in and buy a 996 the discussion starts all over again...I never commented much on it before because people get so twisted out of shape over it..but since it just won't go away I guess I'll put my .02 cent in..
For one the problem is real, there are still deniers of the problem and even a whole Facebook group/page aimed at denying the issue, but the more they deny the more people show up with failed IMS bearings,,, so theres that...
The people who say the problem exists but is "overblown" kills me... saying ONLY 8% or ONLY 3% or even ONLY 1% are just not being realistic. I have been in Dealerships since 1974 as Top Trouble Shooter for FoMoCo for 2 decades ...The Dealer I was stationed at was a high volume dealer selling 300 new cars a month.every month, Trust me, any problem of the severity of an IMSB failure that potentially occurred in 3 cars a month ( 1% of 300 cars) is considered a catastrophe/overwhelming/ unheard of, and yet this is what happened on the 996 IMSB issue...I remember a 2004 very nice Blue Targa that I replaced the engine in twice for IMSB failure. He was on his third engine before it had 10k miles...and I saw countless failures even the dual row in one of my personal 99 996 was failing when I proactively replaced it at 70k miles..
There is a big difference in a 1% failure of a production engine when there are dealers selling 300 a month every month ,( which is unheard of) and a 1% failure of a LeMans or Talladega 500 engine ( which is expected) ...but the M96 is a production engine and the IMS bearing failure is not prejudice to where/how it fails. It can happen just as easy with a grandmaw going to church as it is with being on the track, makes no difference....
Since failure analysis has been my forte since 1974 and when I look at IMS bearing types, and see why/how they fail ...I differentiate the WHY and the HOW and there are some important differences in the various types of replacements..
WHY ::
This has been the cause of debate for 20 years. Some say not enough lubrication , some say not enough load carrying capacity, some say vibration , some say bearing/shaft alignment , some say all the above are "contributors". So the debate rages on and the different "fixes" all are debated, never ending...
What I think is more important than the why, is the "how" the original bearing fails, and also to look at the "how" of the different "Fixes" that are available fail... because the failure can have collateral damage , and this collateral damage can be small or large ... so if you want piece of mind I think the risk of how much collateral damage mite occur should be a big factor in choosing the replacement type...
HOW ;;;
When the factory bearing starts to fail it sends ferrous metal particles in the engine oil...They can be small to big.. They can do damage to cylinder bores and even lay in the engine before they even reach the oil filter where the big ones will be caught...This is bad.
ANY ball bearing or roller bearing will do this as it fails.
Whats even worse with ball or roller bearings is that when the ***** or rollers wear down they "fall out" of the races !! This will lead to the IMS flopping around and jumping time. With the timing jumped the valves will hit the pistons and break off the valve heads which will stab through the pistons or break the rod...
So a failed ball or roller bearing can cause a collateral damage of a complete destruction of the engine..
Now lets look at a Plain Bearing as the replacement...( IMS Solution ) ... IF the plain bearing were to wear, it would first be "soft white metal" particles of tin/lead ( babbit) that is the bearing surface... It would have to wear and wear for a long time before any appreciative clearance would be between the metal plain bearing surfaces.. There are no ***** or rollers to "fall out" making the IMS shaft flop around violently and jump time.... so the chances of collateral damage and complete engine failure with a Plain bearing is just about 0....
So from a design and engineering standpoint, the plain bearing is absolutely most definitely a superior replacement ... there can be no real debate......the debate can be between all the ball bearing/roller bearing replacements...lol
The topic and arguments will go on for decades.
There is always a group of folks that believe there is a conspiracy of some sort. Another that resent the business success of someone or a product. Another that just don't believe their is a problem. Yadadayada....
So strap yourself in and enjoy the popcorn. The show is about to begin.
If you just sit back and
these threads are much more enjoyable. Driving too fast and RL 996 forum make the day more enjoyable, everything else is just boring life. I learn so much and get some good laughs. Now on with the show�
What people don't realize is how many pieces are eliminated by going to the plain bearing. In the case of the single row 11 parts are removed, and in the dual row 18 parts are removed from the equation. *****, cages and races are numerous and each is a point of wear. The plain bearing is supported via a film of pressurized oil, so oil is carrying the load. The DLC coated flange provides superior wear resistance for the bushing and journal during a dry start up.
If an IMS Solution does see wear it is in the form of increased clearance, which at most would pick up a small noise as the engine loads and unloads and the forces on the IMS change. I have seen the components that were used for forced failure testing, and I have even seen pieces from an IMS Solution that ran for more than 2 hours with no oil being fed into it, seeing as much as 7,000 RPM on the dyno and 50 miles of road use. It still did not completely fail, but it did see significant wear- which would be expected.
The IMS Solution was used in FSI engines for years before it made the debut to the public in 2011. You won't find a product more understood by its developers than the IMS Solution. Mr. Raby can answer every question you throw at him before you even get the words out out your mouth.
The novel concept of the IMS Solution that is often overlooked is the plain bearing concept that no other IMS product has. You will see others try to compare what they have based on the fact that it may also utilize an oil feed hose. These people target those that are not well educated on the differences and just see an oil feed hose and a cheaper price for what is a confusingly similar product. The fact is the two really could not be more different, since the oil feed hose between the two serves two completely different purposes for two completely different styles of bearing to support the driven end of the intermediate shaft.
My engine builder offers a 1 year warranty. He said if I take the car to the track, change the oil and use half a tank of race gas. Never said my warranty would be voided if I used it on track. Just another data point to add to some of this nonsense.
Thanks for all the response to this thread, find it very interesting.
Well, I've got this DOF bearing installed for almost a year now in my 2001 6speed cab at 33,000 miles, installed by the company that made the kit, as they are 5 miles down the road from me and was quoted $2600 installed with a rms and a second oil change in 6mo. They dropped the oil sump cover and took apart the filter. Engine was very clean, no debris or sludge, just clean oil. The manager Tyler said this is diffidently a 30,000 mile car in great shape. They also did a oem clutch/throw out bearing for 500 as it did look glazed. Got to love how a new clutch feels... .
I was there the whole time they did this work and was impressed by the shop and techs, I'd be hard pressed to find another local indy with as much Porsche racing/tech knowledge as TuneRs has.. While the DOF kit might not be the very best kit out, or the kit that will outlast every other bearing in the engine
, The DOF kit does solve the main problem most say causes the imsb failure, lack of lubrication.
Checked out the kit in detail and it looks good high quality to me. It is race proven.
Mike the owner has a long history of racing/wrenching, with a great rep. Mike and his shop manager Tyler, and his son, and all the techs I've met there, are also very knowledgeable techs... This comes from me, a M E, a long time wrenche/racer/and podium engine builder...
Just wanted to know what others thought of this DOF kit, or if any problems had been reported about it. As just got another project 996 cabo tip 2002 with 37000 miles and need to do the imsb very soon.
jmo
If you feel like wrenching yourself, drop me a message. It looks like we are neighbors 😁.
I�m about to drop the engine on my car for a new clutch (clutch fork broke) and while I�m in there I�m going to install a new IMS bearing (LN IMS solution) among bunch of other parts as preventive maintenance.
You're not lying...you were infact "driving along", you just happened to be on a track or closed course, which you omitted. There's a difference, that's why the word "omission" doesn't have the same definition as "lying". If they wanna get all lawyery with verbiage and not stand by what's right (replacing their product due to failure that likely would have failed under normal conditions), the consumer should be able to as well. That's not being "dishonest", that's giving them the same treatment they're giving you.
Haha. Touche. That's why everything I do is bespoke and special order with almost no inventory on hand.....and bespoke/special orders are non-refundable.
In fairness, as somebody who was an engineer, a lot of the times their design is a result of revision due to cost cutting. Ever notice how the more expensive model with different engines seem to have no issues and better design? It's because corporate was far less stringent on budget for said model and the engineers had a bit more room to play.
That said, why I'm no longer an engineer was in part due to that. Most of my peers never saw under a hood and couldn't grasp the importance of downstream design. Many of them cyclists, and much smarter than I was, couldn't fix a bicycle to save their life and would always **** things up on ther bike even with the correct tools and I would come up behind them and get it running properly. Why? While they may have mechanical aptitude on paper, they're ****ing clueless in practice and simply don't have any hands on experience. I'm a firm beleiver that the engineering field should be much like the medical field is. You go to school, you do YEARS of fellowship and internship, THEN you get to practice. If you want to specialize in something like suspension, you have to do additional fellowship and school in that specialization IN ADDITION to the engineering degree, just like the heart surgeon has to have additional pulmonary and surgery training. If every engineer had to be a mechanic for X number of years before being able to be an engineer, things would be designed SOOOOOO much better...
On a side note, if you look at F1 teams, their engineers are the mechanics...and imagine that, they can rebuild an entire totalled car in a matter of hours. Funny how that works when you have to live with it and take responsibility for it if it fails.
This is why the documents with the FSI program are always agreed to up front. If someone signs those documents too fast, they get a phone call that asks them if they read and understand what they are buying fully.
In my previous jobs in this industry everything was done backward from what I see at FSI. Everywhere else the documents were as clear as mud, and buyers were basically tricked or leveraged after the company had their money. I think this is the modern way of doing business, de-sensitize issues and pass the buck when something does happen.
If someone is on the fence, or not fully understanding they don't meet the FSI standards, and the engine goes to someone else. No victims allowed. There's only one way around trouble, and according to Mr. Raby, that is straight through the damn middle of it. No games. No drama. No BS. Everything is straight up and point blank.
Of course we see the guys that have to give someone a spectacular warranty to just make the sale. In the couple of corporate jobs I've had in the automotive aftermarket the warranty department fell under the marketing department. That should tell you everything you need to hear.
If purchasers were able to spend a few days behind the scenes and see the inner workings of most of this, they would not have the opinions that they have. What may work in other businesses doesn't work here.
You definitely have to review your professional career choices
I'm sorry for your previous work experiences but... Again, your current company is not the only one which has the secrets to do engineering. There are a lot of companies out there, small and big, national and multinational that of course are also able, not only to do engineering, but also do it with very high quality standards, honesty values and, profitability.
So I would totally recommend you to talk and defend your products/services, of course, highlighting what you think are their competitive advantages and benefits. But please, without "teaching us" every time, pretending that everything else out there is inferior or not up to the same level... because...reality is some of us have been lucky enough to work in or know companies that can produce bearings of 50$, but their R&D budget is probably several times the worth of your actual shop, and also some others which can be smaller, but can also have the skills and talent (that is not exclusive to anyone) to produce good solutions to a problem.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
