Not to stir the pot, but I have something that I would like to add. This should be a pretty unique perspective on things.
I had the unique experience of actually walking in and physically visiting the GTM facility last week. I was on spring break vacation in California, and I spent a morning in Rancho Cucamonga and visited the GTM shop itself. I went in with a few thoughts:
-What information can I get on the status of the kit?
-Would it be possible to get a refund on the spot?
I am going to try to be impartial as possible. I feel like I hold no regards to any particular company as my go to, and at the end of the day, I am a 370z owner who is simply in the market for a turbo kit.
Up to this point, I'm going to divulge that I have paid for the kit, in full, since the first day they accepted payment. I went to my bank, did a transfer, and got an invoice the same day, with a signed payment, and bank receipt. I have patiently waited since then. I do understand the difficulties of undertaking such a large scale operation such as this, and as a person who understands the prototyping/manufacturing side of industries, I have been patient. I was however, near my wits end waiting for the kit. I was beginning to think about getting a refund.
Anyways, let's talk about my visit. I went in around noon or so, and to be honest, I was pretty excited. Always wanted to visit a big name shop like this, and it was cool being able to. I walked in, and met Pedro, explained who I was (customer for the MHI kit), and asked him to see Sam if possible. I was told he was on the way in and would be there in an hour or so.
I debated waiting, but told him if it was possible to leave a message. I went into the main shop area with the cars and parts and such. I was then introduced to Matt@GTM, and spoke with him. I voiced my concerns with the kit delays and was asking if there was any more information regarding ship dates or anything.
I was told that in all honesty, the cast parts have begun trickling in. There currently are many orders from many companies from this foundry (I'm assuming both automotive and non automotive), and they are slowly fulfilling all the orders for whatever companies have ordered from the foundry. At this point, Matt was giving me a walk around the place, showing me various projects they have been working on, such as the GT-R manifold conversion (I was able to take a peek at the rapid prototype piece they have), various shop cars, such as the 1000hp car and a twin supercharged car, and I did see a couple forum member's cars there (can't remember whos exactly, sorry!) I also saw many other projects that I found were simply awesome, ranging from small to large - but I'll let GTM chime in on such projects and parts when they are ready to do so.
Also, the pipe bender is fully operational. Matt mentioned that the bender, running full tilt, could bend pipe for several kits within hours. Therefore, they decided to withhold bending all the pipe and would rather bend it as needed - most likely to save warehouse space and costs of holding onto inventory. I also noticed that another employee there, and Matt mentioned this as well, that there was test fitting of the pipes on an MHI car going on. He was testing all the pipes to see if they are lining up perfectly and clearing everything. Moral being, that even though they are waiting for the cast parts, they are still refining and making everything perfect.
I did also see the prototype first run manifolds. Man those things are sweet. They are indeed as awesome to look at in person as they are in the pictures. Simply beautiful. They have taken note of how the older design on the older Garrett kits have had some cracking issues, and these have been designed to be stronger and withstand the weight of the turbos better.
Matt spent the better part of an hour walking me around and chit-chatting car talk - a pleasant experience. He mentioned that he did a master cylinder conversion for his car, of which I mentioned how I had done one as well and did my writeup. He recognized me as my forum handle, which I suppose lended some credibility to who I was. Not saying I'm cool or nothin.
In that hour, from Matt, I was given an honest perspective on how things were. He told me that he would not give me a timeframe, because he did not want to lie to me and give me an expectation that may or may not be met. The cast parts have begun trickling in, and I'd much rather hear that they want to not announce anything else until they have a "for sure" time frame.
Also, not to stir the pot, but I did also learn that out of the 100+ people on the list, you could probably count on two hands who has actually paid for the kit. And that is from G37 and 370z people. I did not ask Matt for exact numbers, as I did not feel like that was any of my business, but let that put something in perspective - I personally feel like many members have posted their concerns, but are not financially committed. And I did not mean this in a "step-on-your-toes" kind of way.
All in all, I felt satisfied. Personally speaking, if I was able to get a refund on the spot, I would have nowhere to go for a turbo kit that I found satisfactory. The only three kits I have considered at this point are GTM, FI, and BP. Even though I left with no ship date, I honestly could say that I left with a better perspective of how things are going.
From here, it will be a more personal perspective. I really did appreciate the visit and the information I received from Matt. At the end of the day, I honestly felt like I spoke to an individual who was very interested and passionate about his work, and that's the thing - GTM is more than just a company. There are people who show up day to day, and are working towards getting products out and new ones created.
Also, without offending anyone, especially Tony@FI, I would like to point out that the Fast Intentions kits took a while to get out, and Tony was doing a pre-order for (originally) 10 kits, versus GTM having to attempt to fulfill a much larger quantity of orders.
I do personally think there has been many issues with communication, but then again, that's on your perspective. I've gotten much more done with phone calls and emails, than messages on a forum, and that goes for all companies, not just GTM. Time will tell to see what happens. GTM has no reasons to slow down getting this kit out. Matt told me that he can't wait to see the day that they finally ship all the kits out, and this is all behind them. I hope it works out. ^^
Sorry for such a long post!