Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

mr_sk · 09-11-2011, 11:12 AM

Vinny Tens Review

Background:

So, there's a lot of chatter on the forums about both Vinny Tens and Performance Motorsport. As I mentioned in previous threads, I decided to use Vinny Tens for the following reasons:

1) Relationship w/my dealer (Westburry Nissan recommended)
2) The prompt responses from Brandon @ VTR (Email/Phone)
3) Reviews (Both positive and negative)

I had decided if things didn't goto my liking at VTR, I would try PM.

I was getting a 19Row setrab oil cooler install, and a break in oil change w/5w30 Nissan Ester and a Fram filter.

Experience:

I showed up about 10m late (again, heh it's a drive from Brooklyn). I had a 9AM appointment. I arrived and was brought into the facility and met a few guys. One was there for an 02 sensor install + oil change, the rest were mechanics or friends that had stopped by.

Shop:

The shop is great. It's very large, had 3 enormous bays with multiple lifts and can fit many cars. The area was very clean, which is important to me. Tools and materials were in the right place for the most part - In other words, things are not strewn around everywhere. Being an engineer myself, organization is important - it typically means more effective work can be done when you have a clean + organized working environment. There are chairs that you can setup wherever to kill time. There isn't really a designated "waiting room", you can basically setup anywhere.

Wait Time:

VTR took care of the first client, which was fine as his work only took 20-30m to accomplish. While waiting I talked with the client and looked around the shop. They were very cool about me sitting down anywhere and watching the mechanic (Steve) work. I'll get to that more later.

If I was in a rush (needed to be in and out) I'm sure VTR would have facilitated. However, I ended up staying most of the day. Mostly because I was having a great time chatting with everyone, including Vinny and other's that dropped by throughout the day.

As far as my install time, I don't recall, but everything went pretty quickly. I literally sat next to Steve as he did my entire install (Setrab 19 row oil cooler & ester oil change)

Mechanics:

Steve did all the work to my car, and I have to say honestly, best mechanic I've worked with to date [1]. He seriously took excellent care of the car, pulled it in the bay slowly, carefully placed it on the lift, took his time taking my bumper and under car shroud off, had everything organized, it was very reassuring.

Also, the coolest part was that I was literally sitting next to him during a lot of the install, watching him work, talking about cars and just shooting the ****. Sure, some people won't be terribly interested in that, but for most us, being car enthusiasts, getting to chat w/the mechanic is a great bonus, especially when they aren't an *******.

When done, he ran the car, checked for leaks and overall just did a great job.

Results:

Oil temps are down, the entire 1 hour ride back in the hot sun on the traffic filled highway my oil temps stayed at least 20 degrees cooler than they had been previous.

Car was returned clean, with only a few finger prints on the bumper. No scratches on the exterior or dirt on the interior.

I was provided some extra oil as well as instructions on when to check and under what conditions to add the remaining oil (if necessary).

Misc:

Vinny and Steve are both stand up guys, doing excellent work [3]. I was completely surprised by the experience because the forum is filled with a lot of negative chatter about VTR.

During the day I met a real cool GTR owner (putting down a nice even 600whp - tuned by Vinny) and another GTR on the dyno (can't remember the #'s though). He's also got assorted turbo cars (350z, sti, 240sx, etc) along with some real race chassis and cars. I was literally smiling ear-2-ear when the GTR was doing pulls on the dyno. The sound of that car was amazing ... so mean.

It's a great place to walk around the just checkout the cars.

Also, I was offered both Breakfast and Lunch options, along with access to the fridge that contained soda and water. I took them up on the breakfast option, but passed on the lunch. None-the less, we all say around at the table and chatted during lunch, laughing and having a great time. It felt like a real family affair - not your typical in and out mechanic.

Price:

Price was on par w/others - I didn't shop around too much, but the oil cooler price and install was all fair. No complaints there.

Final:

VTR is the place where you can be in and out in 30m to get simple work done[2], or spend the entire day chatting, getting work done and watching the cars come in and out. My experience was excellent - I plan on giving them my LTH/CBE install when it arrives (I was going to do myself, but I'd prefer to just do it right, do it once). I'lll also be doing a CO install w/them come spring, and probably whatever other non-warranty nissan works pops up between.

I'm sure PM is a solid place too, but VTR did such an exceptional job they've won my business going forward, and I would highly recommend others to try them out as well.

Because of all the negative VTR chatter I felt compelled to tell my side of the story, because it was very different than even I had expected.

Errata:
[1] I say this because while tuning and maintaining my 04 S4 (b6) I went through 3 different mechanics. First issue was that they couldn't seem to get to the bottom of the issues I was having. Granted this is apples to oranges, but the experience I had at these 3x mechanics always left me feeling dirty. Like I was being fed BS. You know in your gut if someone is full of **** or not.

Regardless, this was the best tuning experience I have had (next to TDC tuning doing my 04 STi back in 05 in NH).

[2] The client before me was in and out in a hour.

[3] This is sort of a blanket statement but I say it because of the following; It's vinny's shop, so you know it's top down attitude. He runs the place a certain way and expects that of his mechanics. That's what came across to me. And I know first hand that Steve did excellent work. Also, when people are just dropping by to say hello and are happy to chat about their experience, well you know he has happy customers. And the results speak for themselves; 2x GTRs in one day (doing something right - it's not like VTR has some huge marketing budget), plenty of track/race cars and a long personal history of racing.

09-11-2011, 11:12 AM	#53 (permalink)
mr_sk Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 393 Drives: 2011 Z Sport MT Rep Power: 14	Vinny Tens Review Background: So, there's a lot of chatter on the forums about both Vinny Tens and Performance Motorsport. As I mentioned in previous threads, I decided to use Vinny Tens for the following reasons: 1) Relationship w/my dealer (Westburry Nissan recommended) 2) The prompt responses from Brandon @ VTR (Email/Phone) 3) Reviews (Both positive and negative) I had decided if things didn't goto my liking at VTR, I would try PM. I was getting a 19Row setrab oil cooler install, and a break in oil change w/5w30 Nissan Ester and a Fram filter. Experience: I showed up about 10m late (again, heh it's a drive from Brooklyn). I had a 9AM appointment. I arrived and was brought into the facility and met a few guys. One was there for an 02 sensor install + oil change, the rest were mechanics or friends that had stopped by. Shop: The shop is great. It's very large, had 3 enormous bays with multiple lifts and can fit many cars. The area was very clean, which is important to me. Tools and materials were in the right place for the most part - In other words, things are not strewn around everywhere. Being an engineer myself, organization is important - it typically means more effective work can be done when you have a clean + organized working environment. There are chairs that you can setup wherever to kill time. There isn't really a designated "waiting room", you can basically setup anywhere. Wait Time: VTR took care of the first client, which was fine as his work only took 20-30m to accomplish. While waiting I talked with the client and looked around the shop. They were very cool about me sitting down anywhere and watching the mechanic (Steve) work. I'll get to that more later. If I was in a rush (needed to be in and out) I'm sure VTR would have facilitated. However, I ended up staying most of the day. Mostly because I was having a great time chatting with everyone, including Vinny and other's that dropped by throughout the day. As far as my install time, I don't recall, but everything went pretty quickly. I literally sat next to Steve as he did my entire install (Setrab 19 row oil cooler & ester oil change) Mechanics: Steve did all the work to my car, and I have to say honestly, best mechanic I've worked with to date [1]. He seriously took excellent care of the car, pulled it in the bay slowly, carefully placed it on the lift, took his time taking my bumper and under car shroud off, had everything organized, it was very reassuring. Also, the coolest part was that I was literally sitting next to him during a lot of the install, watching him work, talking about cars and just shooting the **. Sure, some people won't be terribly interested in that, but for most us, being car enthusiasts, getting to chat w/the mechanic is a great bonus, especially when they aren't an ***. When done, he ran the car, checked for leaks and overall just did a great job. Results: Oil temps are down, the entire 1 hour ride back in the hot sun on the traffic filled highway my oil temps stayed at least 20 degrees cooler than they had been previous. Car was returned clean, with only a few finger prints on the bumper. No scratches on the exterior or dirt on the interior. I was provided some extra oil as well as instructions on when to check and under what conditions to add the remaining oil (if necessary). Misc: Vinny and Steve are both stand up guys, doing excellent work [3]. I was completely surprised by the experience because the forum is filled with a lot of negative chatter about VTR. During the day I met a real cool GTR owner (putting down a nice even 600whp - tuned by Vinny) and another GTR on the dyno (can't remember the #'s though). He's also got assorted turbo cars (350z, sti, 240sx, etc) along with some real race chassis and cars. I was literally smiling ear-2-ear when the GTR was doing pulls on the dyno. The sound of that car was amazing ... so mean. It's a great place to walk around the just checkout the cars. Also, I was offered both Breakfast and Lunch options, along with access to the fridge that contained soda and water. I took them up on the breakfast option, but passed on the lunch. None-the less, we all say around at the table and chatted during lunch, laughing and having a great time. It felt like a real family affair - not your typical in and out mechanic. Price: Price was on par w/others - I didn't shop around too much, but the oil cooler price and install was all fair. No complaints there. Final: VTR is the place where you can be in and out in 30m to get simple work done[2], or spend the entire day chatting, getting work done and watching the cars come in and out. My experience was excellent - I plan on giving them my LTH/CBE install when it arrives (I was going to do myself, but I'd prefer to just do it right, do it once). I'lll also be doing a CO install w/them come spring, and probably whatever other non-warranty nissan works pops up between. I'm sure PM is a solid place too, but VTR did such an exceptional job they've won my business going forward, and I would highly recommend others to try them out as well. Because of all the negative VTR chatter I felt compelled to tell my side of the story, because it was very different than even I had expected. Errata: [1] I say this because while tuning and maintaining my 04 S4 (b6) I went through 3 different mechanics. First issue was that they couldn't seem to get to the bottom of the issues I was having. Granted this is apples to oranges, but the experience I had at these 3x mechanics always left me feeling dirty. Like I was being fed BS. You know in your gut if someone is full of ** or not. Regardless, this was the best tuning experience I have had (next to TDC tuning doing my 04 STi back in 05 in NH). [2] The client before me was in and out in a hour. [3] This is sort of a blanket statement but I say it because of the following; It's vinny's shop, so you know it's top down attitude. He runs the place a certain way and expects that of his mechanics. That's what came across to me. And I know first hand that Steve did excellent work. Also, when people are just dropping by to say hello and are happy to chat about their experience, well you know he has happy customers. And the results speak for themselves; 2x GTRs in one day (doing something right - it's not like VTR has some huge marketing budget), plenty of track/race cars and a long personal history of racing. __________________ Part out thread: http://www.the370z.com/parts-sale-pr...-dynodash.html Last edited by mr_sk; 09-12-2011 at 10:48 AM.