F1 Performance

[blackvyssute]

Has anyone here used these guys for a LS1 290KW + Kit upgrade? What was your verdict?

[large]

They are no longer a forum sponsor but regardless are still used by many forum members.
I can only say good things about them. You won't be disappointed.

[VZSS250]

Workmanship is fantastic but customer service is a little poor. But as for trusting them to build a high hp engine, wouldn't hesitate.

[Warthog19]

hey blackvyssute,
I get Steve to do all my work down there at F1 Performance and couldnt be more than happy with them, ive got nothing but good things to say about F1 and the worksmanship is excellent from the little things ie:- exhausts, lowering etc to the bigger mods such as strokers & turbo kits :headbang: etc.
Ive known them for about 1yr now and they have been doing all my work since i have started with my LS1 and they are definatly the best to do the rest of what im planning. Very Happy with them.

Cheers :cheers:
Chris

[HRT 8]

Workmanship is fantastic but customer service is a little poor.

Id have to agree with that first sentance whole heartedly. My dealings albeit brief, wasnt one of much joy!
Nor was I much impressed with some little kid continually jumping onto the bonnet of a car as the dog chased him around.

[phunky_monkey]

Workmanship is fantastic but customer service is a little poor. But as for trusting them to build a high hp engine, wouldn't hesitate.

I agree. Can't fault the work, wasn't a big fan of the service...

[blackvyssute]

thanks for all your reply's guys. i just came back from there and was rather impressed. although i did see the rotty in the office and hesitated a bit to walk in. (couldnt see anyone in the factory)
Steve seemed to be fine and knew what he was talking about which was good. I'll let you all know how it goes when i get the work done. should be by next week or so.

[Warthog19]

What are you getting done?

[blackvyssute]

Air box Cold Air Modification
Modified Mass Air Flow (MAF) Meter
High Flow Air Filter (K&N)
MAF to Throttle Air Tube
Modified Throttle Body and Hot Water Bypass
Pacemaker Extractors
Catalytic Converter Modification
2.5" Custom Twin Exhaust System
Custom Dyno and Tune plus a full dyno report

[phunky_monkey]

Seems like a good price for what you get, let us know how you go!

[RED R8]

My mates SV8 is getting re-tuned as we speak it has a big cam fitted by F1 but would not idle ,pinged and had average performance apparently F1 had wiped their hands of it.

[vyssbeast]

any reason your not going mafless??

[Scud]

My mates SV8 is getting re-tuned as we speak it has a big cam fitted by F1 but would not idle ,pinged and had average performance apparently F1 had wiped their hands of it.

Mate, you are talking absolute shit and I'm really disappointed :mad: that you you would even make such a comment.

Apart from the slight idle problem that car runs sweet and always has. It NEVER pinged on Victorian fuel and it has always been top of it's class performance wise (highest Cam only rwkw at a number of dyno days).

I suggest you retract your statements damn fast as Steve has always done right by me and I won't have you use my car against him. That car is a testament to Steve's hard work. How many 290rwkw 232/232 Cam Only cars are getting 14 - 16l / 100kms mixed (city & country)!!

Pull your head in and use your brain before you make half arsed statements like that.

:flamin:

[RED R8]

Mate, you are talking absolute shit and I'm really disappointed :mad: that you you would even make such a comment.

Apart from the slight idle problem that car runs sweet and always has. It NEVER pinged on Victorian fuel and it has always been top of it's class performance wise (highest Cam only rwkw at a number of dyno days).

I suggest you retract your statements damn fast as Steve has always done right by me and I won't have you use my car against him. That car is a testament to Steve's hard work. How many 290rwkw 232/232 Cam Only cars are getting 14 - 16l / 100kms mixed (city & country)!!

Pull your head in and use your brain before you make half arsed statements like that.

:flamin:
The pinging and stalling must be a figment of his imagination.And it was one of your mates who PMed me to say the tune was average so get of your high horse and pull your head in.Jason is wrapped with the car apart from pinging badly at low and mid range rpm's the car does stall regularly and is hard to drive down low if this is not a bad tune what is it Einstein.

[Speedy Gonzales]

I was introduced to Steve by a forumer not long ago, workmanship seems of a high standard but the customer service could be improved.

Needs more staff given the amount of stuff to do.

Scud - Anyone can tune for peak hp, the difference between a good tune and shit tune is like chalk and cheese.

[vyssbeast]

so i take it F1 hasnt washed there hands of it and are doing what they can to rectify the minor idle issue??

[RED R8]

so i take it F1 hasnt washed there hands of it and are doing what they can to rectify the minor idle issue??
Car is now in Perth and at a Perth Tuners (today) the tuner has nearly finished re tune .

[mooks]

I had a similar issue with my ute, would stall frequently after first getting the cam put in. Steve was more than happy to retune it until I was happy.

Even when I get just a service there, Steve makes sure to get the most out of my car, often waits around after hours so I can watch it on the dyno.

Not sure where you guys say they are lacking in customer service, they have always been fine with me.:burnout:

[Marcus]

I would highly recommed using F1 performance, steve and james both produce some very tough cars, i get all my work done there and have nothing bad to say about them. Steve's got some very good power out of mine for wats been done. Definitly use them

As for the staffy in the office, shes harmless.
And why would u not b impressed with a kid jumping on the bonnet of a car, do u seriously think he would jump on a customers car???

[Scud]

The pinging and stalling must be a figment of his imagination.And it was one of your mates who PMed me to say the tune was average so get of your high horse and pull your head in.Jason is wrapped with the car apart from pinging badly at low and mid range rpm's the car does stall regularly and is hard to drive down low if this is not a bad tune what is it Einstein.

Neither Jason or yourself have driven a car with a large cam before Jason bought mine so how can you comment as to the drive ability of a large cam vs a poor tune.

If you had a clue you would realize that the heavy duty clutch makes the car hard to drive down low nothing at all to do with the tune. As far as the pinging goes, it has never pinged so I guess this is in issue with the quality of fuel you are using, keep in mind that the car has been tuned specifically for a fuel type. If the WA fuel quality differs greatly then perhaps you would get some pinging, again nothing to do with the tuners ability.

As far as a mate of mine PM'ing you regarding the tune, well I would like to know who that was because I can tell you that there was nothing wrong with it and I don't know anyone who would have any good reason to contact you regarding it (unless they had an ulterior motive).

It's comments like this that make we wish I had of thought of myself and pocketed the extra $1,500 I was offered to cancel the sale to your mate and sell it to someone else. But no, I did the right thing and went through with the original deal.

For the price Jason paid, he should have been happy no matter what!!! But to make statements as you have done with no foundation well thats not right, you have no idea what you are talking about - I had the work done on that car so really only I am in a position to comment on it. How do you know that I didn't have a go at tuning it myself?

Maybe you should put up the dyno sheets once it's been re-tuned so we can compare? I have every dyno sheet every done so I can back my claims.


so i take it F1 hasnt washed there hands of it and are doing what they can to rectify the minor idle issue??

I sold the car a month or so ago and it's now in WA. F1 Performance never washed their hands of it. Steve has looked after both my LS1's since 2002. My first VX SS was one of the quickest bolt on LS1's around at the time. My SV8 was up there with the best and many people commented on it's performance.

If vindictive comments have been made privately to a friend of the purchaser - well I guess it's hard to prove the claims. Suffice to say this is the first I have heard of any issues with the car since I sold it at the beginning of September.

Steve is a top bloke and has gone out of his way to help a lot of members of this forum. He is not just in it for the money, he really enjoys putting big fat smiles of peoples faces when they pick up their cars after he has worked on them.

[Tre-Cool]

If there is any issue's with the car having problems idling, stalling, pinging etc. I reakon it probably comes down to 2 or 3 things.

1) It was tuned for melbourne weathor
2) & Melbourne Fuel
3) new owner not using bp ultimate

probably nothing wrong with the tune, but there would be a big difference between melbourne weathor and Perth.

Why do you think good tuners will tell you, that if you can only get access to premium 95, that its not worth tuning it with ultimate 98.

(That's the exact reason why my brothers car is only tuned for 95)

[KiWi]

For the BARGAIN!! he payed for the car, with the list of mods and suspension on Scuds car, i think the less than 5% u payed for it on a tune is a drop of a penny in a pond to what some ppl buy LS1's for :)

[COOKIE!]

Steve is a top bloke and has gone out of his way to help a lot of members of this forum. He is not just in it for the money, he really enjoys putting big fat smiles of peoples faces when they pick up their cars after he has worked on them.

I am one of them, Steve has worked on my two LS1's first my bolt on statesman ( quickest bolt on till just recently ) and my VY SS now which is heads and cam, i have never had a issue with ANY of steves work in the last threee years i have been using him and F1. I hav had small things from zaust to diffs done there with my old car and then to this one which is the Burger with the lot, If there was a issue or something that i was concerned about it would be fixed, My car was being worked on till 11pm the days before the nats this year to make sure that it was ready, how many other shops would do that when dealing with a late and lazy customer like myself. most would say sorry mate no time it will be done next week, not them....

Im sure that some people wont be happy no matter what, :moon:

[Marcus]

I am one of them, Steve has worked on my two LS1's first my bolt on statesman ( quickest bolt on till just recently ) and my VY SS now which is heads and cam, i have never had a issue with ANY of steves work in the last threee years i have been using him and F1. I hav had small things from zaust to diffs done there with my old car and then to this one which is the Burger with the lot, If there was a issue or something that i was concerned about it would be fixed, My car was being worked on till 11pm the days before the nats this year to make sure that it was ready, how many other shops would do that when dealing with a late and lazy customer like myself. most would say sorry mate no time it will be done next week, not them....

Im sure that some people wont be happy no matter what, :moon:

I kno for a fact he was working till 1 - 2 am in the morning last friday to finish a customers car....now thats customer service

[RED R8]

At no point did I say Jason is not happy with the car he knows it was cheap that's why he flew all the way to Melbourne to buy it and Yes I have driven and been in a good mates ute (tuned by Tuna) with the exact same cam as yours that does not stall and is better all round than yours it is part of the reason Jason is getting his re tuned as the other car (with same cam) in noticeably better in performance and fuel economy than yours no it is not the TEX causing the car to stall and ping.Maybe our Caltex Vortex fuel in Perth is worse than yours who knows.The fact is your old car is very good value for money including a re tune but it did need a re tune as you couldn't keep driving it as it was and I assure you I did receive a PM from someone who knew you or the car who stated they had tried to tune the car to idle or run better but couldnt.If this is not true I apologize but the fact is the cars tune was not as good as it could of been.

[Marcus]

Might b an idea t get an experts opinion on this, to me it sounds more like a fuel issue, cars r tuned to suit certaint fuels, so
Scud wat fuel did u use?
Dazvyss wat fuel does it get now?
If n e 1 knows the car its Scud considering he got the cam done, i dont think u guys woulda bought if it stalled and pinged...

[KiWi]

cars should be tuned to suit the fuel it has been tuned on ie 98 octane, if u get a bad batch, or not so 98, well your car shouldnt be on the edge where it causes it to ping, its called leeway, and room for error :)

[Scud]

*** Snip ***

I think Steve's reputation speaks for itself and I'm sure the OP will be more than satisfied with the results of the work he has carried out at F1.

The only person who has touched the tune on my car was Grant (MNRO) so I'm hoping he will see this thread and possibly clarify his comments (and also why he decided to contact you regarding my car).

I am genuinely interested in the results of the tune so keep us updated.


BTW - was the other car Cam only or Head & Cam? Manual? Tex? 3.7s? OTRCAI? The number of variables between cars are often overlooked when comparing supposedly identical cars. The bottom line is that no two cars are the same.

Also, Jason told me how he drives, so unless the other driver is equally as lead footed then you can't compare fuel economy.

I guess what I am trying to say is not one of your original statements relating to the cars tune can be fully attributed to the workshop that tuned the car. Therefore you comments were inappropriate and unfairly cast a negative light on the workshop mentioned.

The only issue that was related to the tune was the stalling, and I think you have overstated the issue. The stalling occurred occasionally and was considerably better than when the cam first went in after many hours spent fine tuning it (at no cost to myself). If this symptom has become more regular then it's more likely to be a climate issue than a tune issue.

[RED R8]

cars should be tuned to suit the fuel it has been tuned on ie 98 octane, if u get a bad batch, or not so 98, well your car shouldnt be on the edge where it causes it to ping, its called leeway, and room for error :)
The car pings at lower rpm's using Vortex or BP ultimate it can be worse sometimes than others but will ping if pushed.


I think Steve's reputation speaks for itself and I'm sure the OP will be more than satisfied with the results of the work he has carried out at F1.

The only person who has touched the tune on my car was Grant (MNRO) so I'm hoping he will see this thread and possibly clarify his comments (and also why he decided to contact you regarding my car).

I am genuinely interested in the results of the tune so keep us updated.


BTW - was the other car Cam only or Head & Cam? Manual? Tex? 3.7s? OTRCAI? The number of variables between cars are often overlooked when comparing supposedly identical cars. The bottom line is that no two cars are the same.

Also, Jason told me how he drives, so unless the other driver is equally as lead footed then you can't compare fuel economy.

I guess what I am trying to say is not one of your original statements relating to the cars tune can be fully attributed to the workshop that tuned the car. Therefore you comments were inappropriate and unfairly cast a negative light on the workshop mentioned.

The only issue that was related to the tune was the stalling, and I think you have overstated the issue. The stalling occurred occasionally and was considerably better than when the cam first went in after many hours spent fine tuning it (at no cost to myself). If this symptom has become more regular then it's more likely to be a climate issue than a tune issue.

I myself would not accept a car that stalled (full stop) as you have pointed out you had the same issue it is a minor issue but it is not one you want.I am not trying to disrespect your beloved F1 boys as many have testified to their good workmanship, I asked (tuna) when he re tuned my mates ute with the same cam when it was stalling on its original tune why it stalled and a very simple definitive answer came back...TUNE. after the retune it drove ,idled and performed HEAPS better so the difference was in the tunes.:eek:

[RIDE:42]

I have had a few dealings with F1 and all i can say is they are a top notch crew and will go out of there way to help if they can :yup:
My ute was tuned in vic (not by f1) and run verry well :nyuk: but as soon as i moved to sydney i have had nothing but idle issues that so far can not be sorted :mad:
so i too think it could well be a shit fuel thing

[HRT 8]

And why would u not b impressed with a kid jumping on the bonnet of a car, do u seriously think he would jump on a customers car???

Ok so you were there when I was and know which cars he was jumping all over???
Do you think it a good idea to have a kid jumping onto the bonnet of a car as it sits outside in the driveway to your shop???
Imagine what a prospective customer would think.
I dont know who owned the car and dont care, as I can promise you it would never be mine.

[MNR-0]

Hey! Don't assume I had anything to do with this... I never knew your car was sold until motomk told me - after the fact - weeks after.

I liked your car - was surprised you sold it.

Whoever it was - it wasn't me...

As far as F1 is concerned:

I love his dog
Didn't see the bonnet bouncer (but hmmmmmm...)
With Jim alongside, do excellent engine work
Modify some very respectable cars that perform well at the track
A more generous person in Steve you will never meet

[RIDE:42]

Grants tunes fall apart if the car leaves victoria :p J/K

P.S i thought you were a cat man not a dog man

[MNR-0]

Grants tunes fall apart if the car leaves victoria :p J/K

P.S i thought you were a cat man not a dog man

Only if you **** with it after...

[traction]

FWIW, Caltex Vortex is only 95oct in WA, 98oct along east coast.

[ratter]

FWIW, Caltex Vortex is only 95oct in WA, 98oct along east coast.

In Vic Vortex is 95 and Vortex98 is 98 octane

[grassy]

Anyone that knows my car will know the quality workmanship that F1 are well known for. I would not hesitate to advise anyone looking for power out of an LS1 to go there.

[nemesis5]

my car has been tuned by Steve a few times now, i bought a large quantity of engine parts for the new combo (the turbo kit is also F1) aswell as my old cammed setup - had minor issues with the cars tune at times, mostly due to it living in city traffic at the time and they were retuned and fixed...and the car will be going back for its new tune as soon as it's ready, so obviously i wouldn't keep returning if i thought they weren't up to the task :) jimmy's brilliant too, gave us plenty of little pointers when we were assembling the engine, and is also genuinely interested in how everything has been progressing, so another F1 vote here :yup:

[8throttlebodies]

Anyone that knows my car will know the quality workmanship that F1 are well known for. I would not hesitate to advise anyone looking for power out of an LS1 to go there.

I couldnt agree more.

Just had my Tex fitted by them, and once again delivered the goods.
8tb

[VX8255]

Anyone that knows my car will know the quality workmanship that F1 are well known for. I would not hesitate to advise anyone looking for power out of an LS1 to go there.

Here, here!

[simon]

I reckon this site should be called www.bitchinwankers.com.au seems to be a lot of them on here !!!!!!

[VXSS346]

Old thread, I know. But just wondering.

Drove past the place the other day, and they are not there anymore.
Do these guys still exist? (F1 performance)

[Drewie]

Woundn't mind knowing what the go is as well, just up the road from me,
was considering using them for servicing.

[HSV249]

They have closed shop.

[blackjack]

Intersting I wonder why? as I heard nothing but praise from these guys

Cheers
Steve

[Panelman]

Hmm, I'm very interested to know what's happened.
They have done all my tune/retunes, through JHP. When holden had to re'flash my BCM, they had my tune on file and rebooted it. I planned to continue to utilise these guys as they did 50-odd runs to get the best out of my mods, and was gonna get a mafless and otr tune done by them.

My best advice would be to perhaps call JHP (just around the corner from F1 in Blackburn, ask to speak to Geoff and find out the go with F1. I will be calling myself as a concerned customer on Monday. JHP utilises(ed) F1 for their services in many faculties I believe.

Cheers,
Panelman.

[hotbox]

huge loss to the ls1 community Steve is an awesome mechanic/tuner. hopefully he continues doing business somewhere.