Evo Dyno Day Incident
06-14-2010, 02:27 AM
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Evo Dyno Day Incident
Thought you guys might want to know the fun I had last week. A bit of a long read, but hey, never a dull moment! This was also posted on several other boards.
Just a side note: Steven's evo made 499awhp and was the leader on the dyno day until I showed up in my stock "looking" vette to go on the dyno.
On to the craziness...
On Sunday, June 6th , there was the dyno shootout held by Reese Tuning in Santee (San Diego, CA) which was posted on SocalEvo. I’m the guy with the Z06. Please allow me to explain what happened.
For starters, I thought long and hard about whether I should call the police for threatening people with an automatic rifle, but I took into consideration that he’s only 25 years old and he has a wife and kids to look out for. Nevertheless,
I am going to post about the events of that day.
On Sunday, I got a call from some friends about a dyno competition shoot-out. I asked if it was open to cars other than EVO’s for the competition. My friends said that they talked to James Reese and since there weren’t a lot of cars in the shootout, I can compete. When I arrived, I also asked James myself if I can compete in the dyno shootout for the $500. He asked me if I thought I was going to win and I told him I’d like the chance to try. A LOT of people witnessed this.
I parked the car directly in front of the garage and opened the hood to let it cool (there’s even a pic showing this).
James had no problem with me entering the $500 contest because he was convinced that it wouldn’t make that much power. Not only were they talking smack about the car, but James even joked that Steven’s Evo would make more power than my car and the Evo X parked next to it combined.
Knowing how much power his own car made (shop car), I specifically asked if he was going to enter his own shop car for the contest. He said no.
Reese also posted that I am the one that got angry. There’s no way he could accurately know this since he was smoking out and drinking during the shoot out.
Finally, my car came up for its’ turn to be dyno’d. At no point, I never ‘tricked’ anyone into not saying/showing what my car had. You can look at the pics in the other post, you can see the red Z06 with the hood open for all to see.
But when James drove the car up onto the dyno, he asked me what it had and I told him (twin turbo kit). This information, apparently, seemed to change his attitude on the car.
He also kept trying to screw with the dyno numbers as well, like trying to dyno it in the wrong gear and keeping the traction control on. Regardless, he dyno’s the car, and it puts down a best of 609 rwhp on his Mustang Dyno.
At this point, James looked pretty upset. He spent the next 30 minutes calling a bunch of people. My guess? Trying to find someone that would make a higher hp number than the (gasp) Corvette. He even put Ozzy’s car on the dyno and railed it while it was still cold to get the most power out of it. He put down a very respectable 523 whp, but when it wasn’t enough, he got out of the car and continued to call people. I think Ozzy and Steven had to unstrap the car themselves (Btw, if this is a Evo only contest, James Reese now owes Ozzy the $500).
(Remember, James told everyone that his personal shop car is not part of the contest)
Frustrated, after a while pacing around the shop, he finally goes and straps his own shop car to the dyno. Boom, the EVO does around 680 awhp with 35 lbs of boost on Q16, but it’s still the shop car.
Then he comes up to me and starts bragging about how he’s only got 1 turbo and just 2.0l. That’s fine, I’m happy for him. So I tell him “that’s nice, so, um, how about that $500?”
At this point, he flips. He starts deflecting the conversation telling me “let’s race, right now! Race Steven’s car for $2,000……right now!” So I reply “Ok, we can talk about racing, after you pay me my money”. He continues to demand a race with him for cash, and I keep replying that basically I’ll be open to talk about it, AFTER HE PAYS ME THE $500 he owes me.
This goes on for about 5 minutes of him trying to get me to race another car to get off the subject that James himself said that it was okay for me to enter the contest, but now that I had the highest hp number, he’s backing out.
So we’re arguing, and he’s trying to tell me it’s an EVO only contest. For the next 30 minutes plus, we go back and forth that James SAID it was ok for me to enter the contest, that’s what I paid $70 for, not for a dyno run.
At one point, someone showed on his cell phone that it did, in fact, say something to the tune of $500 for the highest horsepower EVO. However, like I said above, it was a small showing at this event, and James gave me (and a bunch of other people) the okay to enter the contest since there weren’t that many cars there (maybe 10 or 11?). Even as my brother looked at the rules, it still a little unclear…..
Prize will be $500 to the highest horsepower, highest tq EVO.
However, it also says…..
All cars are welcome to enter the shootout.(Does this mean we’re eligible for the prize money)
Still, even though my brother saw this, it was STILL overrided by the FACT that James, told me, and in front of other people, and to the other people at the shop, that it was okay for me to ENTER THE CONTEST .
Alright, I just went by the man’s own words.
But now, he was going back on his word, changing his mind. Had I known that I could not enter the contest, but only dyno my Vette to see what it could do, I wouldn’t have dyno’d it. I already know what my car makes.
But this isn’t the worst of it.
James is starting to lose his mind, almost out of desperation. Before I know it, and in front of a LOT of people, he’s cussing back and forth, calling me on many occasions “a g*d damn Jew*, a ni**er (!), a mf’er and just about everything you can possibly come up with. We have multiple witnesses that heard James say it was okay for my Vette to compete (meaning, eligible for the prize money).
James accuses me of trying to trick him and the evo community. I was invited here by my friends with Evo’s! I even know a couple of Evo’s that make more power than my car thinking that they might be there. James keeps trying to come up with stuff to say I’m a import hating Vette owner, but being a former manager of an import tuning shop myself, not only do I have a bunch of friends with imports, I’ve also owned many modded imports.
Now he’s getting more and more pissed off, pacing back and forth, and starts threatening to ‘kick my ***’ if I don’t get out of his shop. To be honest with you, I lost count how many times he threatened me, threatened to hit me with a wrench, or kick both my brother’s, and mine, asses. He’s sweating now and getting real desperate, and finally he goes into his shop, pulls out an HK UMP 40 or 45 (fully automatic gun) and starts waving it around so all around the shop can see how badass he is with his gun. A few people ran for cover but I happen to be standing with not only his wife, but a bunch of his own customers so I knew he wasn’t going to do anything.
Towards the end of this, his wife comes out, and she talks to us about what happened. I realize that James was going to recant on my prize money and I ask for my money back. She goes inside, grabs $70 cash, and hands it to me. At that point, I bail.
I’ve been modding cars for years now and I’ve never seen such a pathetic, cowardly and embarrassingly display for a shop owner. Not only did he let down his family and kids, but the entire Evo community in San Diego for being extremely unprofessional.
So if you guys have any friends with Evo's, send them to LA!
Just a side note: Steven's evo made 499awhp and was the leader on the dyno day until I showed up in my stock "looking" vette to go on the dyno.
On to the craziness...
On Sunday, June 6th , there was the dyno shootout held by Reese Tuning in Santee (San Diego, CA) which was posted on SocalEvo. I’m the guy with the Z06. Please allow me to explain what happened.
For starters, I thought long and hard about whether I should call the police for threatening people with an automatic rifle, but I took into consideration that he’s only 25 years old and he has a wife and kids to look out for. Nevertheless,
I am going to post about the events of that day.
On Sunday, I got a call from some friends about a dyno competition shoot-out. I asked if it was open to cars other than EVO’s for the competition. My friends said that they talked to James Reese and since there weren’t a lot of cars in the shootout, I can compete. When I arrived, I also asked James myself if I can compete in the dyno shootout for the $500. He asked me if I thought I was going to win and I told him I’d like the chance to try. A LOT of people witnessed this.
I parked the car directly in front of the garage and opened the hood to let it cool (there’s even a pic showing this).
James had no problem with me entering the $500 contest because he was convinced that it wouldn’t make that much power. Not only were they talking smack about the car, but James even joked that Steven’s Evo would make more power than my car and the Evo X parked next to it combined.
Knowing how much power his own car made (shop car), I specifically asked if he was going to enter his own shop car for the contest. He said no.
Reese also posted that I am the one that got angry. There’s no way he could accurately know this since he was smoking out and drinking during the shoot out.
Finally, my car came up for its’ turn to be dyno’d. At no point, I never ‘tricked’ anyone into not saying/showing what my car had. You can look at the pics in the other post, you can see the red Z06 with the hood open for all to see.
But when James drove the car up onto the dyno, he asked me what it had and I told him (twin turbo kit). This information, apparently, seemed to change his attitude on the car.
He also kept trying to screw with the dyno numbers as well, like trying to dyno it in the wrong gear and keeping the traction control on. Regardless, he dyno’s the car, and it puts down a best of 609 rwhp on his Mustang Dyno.
At this point, James looked pretty upset. He spent the next 30 minutes calling a bunch of people. My guess? Trying to find someone that would make a higher hp number than the (gasp) Corvette. He even put Ozzy’s car on the dyno and railed it while it was still cold to get the most power out of it. He put down a very respectable 523 whp, but when it wasn’t enough, he got out of the car and continued to call people. I think Ozzy and Steven had to unstrap the car themselves (Btw, if this is a Evo only contest, James Reese now owes Ozzy the $500).
(Remember, James told everyone that his personal shop car is not part of the contest)
Frustrated, after a while pacing around the shop, he finally goes and straps his own shop car to the dyno. Boom, the EVO does around 680 awhp with 35 lbs of boost on Q16, but it’s still the shop car.
Then he comes up to me and starts bragging about how he’s only got 1 turbo and just 2.0l. That’s fine, I’m happy for him. So I tell him “that’s nice, so, um, how about that $500?”
At this point, he flips. He starts deflecting the conversation telling me “let’s race, right now! Race Steven’s car for $2,000……right now!” So I reply “Ok, we can talk about racing, after you pay me my money”. He continues to demand a race with him for cash, and I keep replying that basically I’ll be open to talk about it, AFTER HE PAYS ME THE $500 he owes me.
This goes on for about 5 minutes of him trying to get me to race another car to get off the subject that James himself said that it was okay for me to enter the contest, but now that I had the highest hp number, he’s backing out.
So we’re arguing, and he’s trying to tell me it’s an EVO only contest. For the next 30 minutes plus, we go back and forth that James SAID it was ok for me to enter the contest, that’s what I paid $70 for, not for a dyno run.
At one point, someone showed on his cell phone that it did, in fact, say something to the tune of $500 for the highest horsepower EVO. However, like I said above, it was a small showing at this event, and James gave me (and a bunch of other people) the okay to enter the contest since there weren’t that many cars there (maybe 10 or 11?). Even as my brother looked at the rules, it still a little unclear…..
Prize will be $500 to the highest horsepower, highest tq EVO.
However, it also says…..
All cars are welcome to enter the shootout.(Does this mean we’re eligible for the prize money)
Still, even though my brother saw this, it was STILL overrided by the FACT that James, told me, and in front of other people, and to the other people at the shop, that it was okay for me to ENTER THE CONTEST .
Alright, I just went by the man’s own words.
But now, he was going back on his word, changing his mind. Had I known that I could not enter the contest, but only dyno my Vette to see what it could do, I wouldn’t have dyno’d it. I already know what my car makes.
But this isn’t the worst of it.
James is starting to lose his mind, almost out of desperation. Before I know it, and in front of a LOT of people, he’s cussing back and forth, calling me on many occasions “a g*d damn Jew*, a ni**er (!), a mf’er and just about everything you can possibly come up with. We have multiple witnesses that heard James say it was okay for my Vette to compete (meaning, eligible for the prize money).
James accuses me of trying to trick him and the evo community. I was invited here by my friends with Evo’s! I even know a couple of Evo’s that make more power than my car thinking that they might be there. James keeps trying to come up with stuff to say I’m a import hating Vette owner, but being a former manager of an import tuning shop myself, not only do I have a bunch of friends with imports, I’ve also owned many modded imports.
Now he’s getting more and more pissed off, pacing back and forth, and starts threatening to ‘kick my ***’ if I don’t get out of his shop. To be honest with you, I lost count how many times he threatened me, threatened to hit me with a wrench, or kick both my brother’s, and mine, asses. He’s sweating now and getting real desperate, and finally he goes into his shop, pulls out an HK UMP 40 or 45 (fully automatic gun) and starts waving it around so all around the shop can see how badass he is with his gun. A few people ran for cover but I happen to be standing with not only his wife, but a bunch of his own customers so I knew he wasn’t going to do anything.
Towards the end of this, his wife comes out, and she talks to us about what happened. I realize that James was going to recant on my prize money and I ask for my money back. She goes inside, grabs $70 cash, and hands it to me. At that point, I bail.
I’ve been modding cars for years now and I’ve never seen such a pathetic, cowardly and embarrassingly display for a shop owner. Not only did he let down his family and kids, but the entire Evo community in San Diego for being extremely unprofessional.
So if you guys have any friends with Evo's, send them to LA!
06-14-2010, 03:28 AM
#6
CFOT Attention Whore
i want to say 9/10, because i seriously hope this is a parrot. 
if it's not, my good will would have ended when he pulls out a piece. although i have to question your assessment of the Hk in particular. be that as it may, the minute dude pulls a piece on me, he better use it before 911 picks up.
if it's not, my good will would have ended when he pulls out a piece. although i have to question your assessment of the Hk in particular. be that as it may, the minute dude pulls a piece on me, he better use it before 911 picks up.
06-14-2010, 04:11 AM
#8
Melting Slicks
Uh, yeah. You shoulda called 5-0 on that one.
Also being an "former import guy", you should've known that import and muscle crowds don't generally gel on small scales.
Sounds like a d-bag whacked out on buzz and booze....not the kind of guy I'd want to drop 4 or 5 figures with.
Also being an "former import guy", you should've known that import and muscle crowds don't generally gel on small scales.
Sounds like a d-bag whacked out on buzz and booze....not the kind of guy I'd want to drop 4 or 5 figures with.
06-14-2010, 05:04 AM
#10
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Police should have been called once he pulled the weapon. See how he enjoys being arrested. Pretty pathetic display by the owner.
06-14-2010, 08:52 AM
#11
Team Owner
06-14-2010, 11:28 AM
#12
Racer
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Looking back, I should've called the police. This has been posted in several forums to let people know. James Reese has been just saying this is a outright lie, he was sober and doesn't do drugs and that the gun he pulled out (yes, he admits this) was an airsoft gun. Although, he has a post he puts up himself showing the actual gun and bragging about the mods he did to make it fully automatic.
Also, I was there with several a bunch of friends and a few of them were Evo owners. I didn't think having a Vette was an issue. There were other 'non-evo' cars there as well.
Also, I was there with several a bunch of friends and a few of them were Evo owners. I didn't think having a Vette was an issue. There were other 'non-evo' cars there as well.
06-14-2010, 12:15 PM
#13
Burning Brakes
definitely sounds like a shop and an idiot to stay away from. I would still call the police, even displaying a fake gun in a threatening manner can still get you put behind bars. Maybe he can use some time behind bars to think about his stupidity.
06-14-2010, 12:29 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
i want to say 9/10, because i seriously hope this is a parrot.
if it's not, my good will would have ended when he pulls out a piece. although i have to question your assessment of the Hk in particular. be that as it may, the minute dude pulls a piece on me, he better use it before 911 picks up.
if it's not, my good will would have ended when he pulls out a piece. although i have to question your assessment of the Hk in particular. be that as it may, the minute dude pulls a piece on me, he better use it before 911 picks up.
06-14-2010, 12:33 PM
#15
Melting Slicks
But I think it also depends how the presentation of the weapon was. If it was brought out to show people, or if it was actually used as intimidation and/or pointed at the OP or other people. If the later, I would have called 911 while standing next to his (behind) his wife. That's absolutely unacceptable gun ownership behavior. If it is indeed a full auto and not modified to be "CA legal", he also better have a valid class 3 license to own it or he's really ****ed
06-14-2010, 12:40 PM
#16
Race Director
plus file a small claims suit against him for $430.00. Family man or not it is unacceptable. He can use his "shop car" to pay for issues he will have.
06-14-2010, 01:00 PM
#17
CFOT Attention Whore
yes, however, an FA version, especially one that's been converted in the peoples republic of kalifornia? forgive my skepticism. it's not your average, every day home defense gun (would be cool though) to begin with. then converted? if the OP confirms, then fine. i still say it's just very uncommon firearm.
06-14-2010, 02:53 PM
#18
Melting Slicks
yes, however, an FA version, especially one that's been converted in the peoples republic of kalifornia? forgive my skepticism. it's not your average, every day home defense gun (would be cool though) to begin with. then converted? if the OP confirms, then fine. i still say it's just very uncommon firearm.
06-14-2010, 03:26 PM
#19
2nd Gear
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First off thanks for all the really informative posts on this forum and help from the members here. I got my C5 a little over a month ago and LOVE the car. Bought it from Mike L and he posts once in a while on this site and was a great guy to deal with.
I saw this post and thought that it would be a good excuse to finally write something.
That’s really ****ed up and I hope you’re doing ok n2osage.
I had something similar happen to me once. I’m not originally from SD and ended up getting stationed out here back in 2006. I’m originally from Junction City Kansas and I once had it out with a shop owner who was doing some work on my truck. He had done a complete transmission rebuild after I cracked the housing from hitting a rock off roading near Turtle Creek. 200 miles after the rebuild I came back to the shop leaking tranny fluid, the truck was not shifting into gear and it seemed like the torque converter was blown and the install was just done poorly. I felt royally screwed and got into a heated argument with the shop owner to cover his work. I kept telling him that I was not leaving until we came to an agreement on how and when my truck was going to be repaired and the guy lost it and just went berserk. I thought we was going to take a swing at me and guy starts screaming and spitting, just generally looking crazy. Next thing I know he’s walking over to his tool box and comes back with a sawed off shotgun pointing it at me telling me to get the **** out blah, blah. It was pretty obvious at that point that he was not willing to talk with me like a grown up and him pulling a gun was just making me pissed off. I told him to go **** himself and walked out. So your story sounds familiar – I know what it’s like. The best thing to do is let everyone and anyone know not to go back to that shop for work.
I was really pissed off when I got home and considered calling the police for pointing a gun at me. Man I was so angry and I just wanted to get back at the ******* but after I cooled off a bit I reconsidered. A buddy of mine had an acquaintance pull a gun on him at a bar and got the police involved. It was a major pain in his ***, meetings with police, court appearances, drama, etc, etc and afterwards this guy ended up in county for 6 months. I guess he had a girlfriend and a kid and lost them and his house and pretty much royally screwed up his life. Alma/Junction City is a small town and after something like that happens you cant find work, it’s pretty much game over.
Anyway, I was pissed off for weeks afterwards and made sure to let everyone know that the shop owner was a scum bag. Life went on. Surprisingly, after a few months I ran into the guy at a restaurant and he came up to me and asked if I could go outside to talk to him. I was really hesitant as you can imagine and told him no but then immediately the guy starts telling me that he was sorry for what happened, he got a little hot and it was something he has been working on. I was pretty shocked as he ran through what seemed like his life story. He was a Gulf War I vet and after that incident he started to seek out professional help.
Anyway, long story short, he ended up being a decent friend and bailed me out of a couple situations later on down the road.
I don’t know what things are like out here in San Diego but your story reminded me of mine so I thought I would share. My advice would definitely be to let others know of this guys unacceptable behavior. I doubt he will be in business much longer with service like that, maybe with some luck he will get his **** together.
You mentioned his wife? Damn, my wife would kill me if I pulled some crazy **** like that, not to mention the risk of losing everything you have – kids, business, freedom. It’s just not worth it. You’re the better man for not playing into his **** in the shop. Thanks for letting us all know about that guy.
What work have you had done to your vette? What turbo kit and how long have you been driving it? Is it a DD? I bet she is a monster.
Semper Fi
Jim
I saw this post and thought that it would be a good excuse to finally write something.
That’s really ****ed up and I hope you’re doing ok n2osage.
I had something similar happen to me once. I’m not originally from SD and ended up getting stationed out here back in 2006. I’m originally from Junction City Kansas and I once had it out with a shop owner who was doing some work on my truck. He had done a complete transmission rebuild after I cracked the housing from hitting a rock off roading near Turtle Creek. 200 miles after the rebuild I came back to the shop leaking tranny fluid, the truck was not shifting into gear and it seemed like the torque converter was blown and the install was just done poorly. I felt royally screwed and got into a heated argument with the shop owner to cover his work. I kept telling him that I was not leaving until we came to an agreement on how and when my truck was going to be repaired and the guy lost it and just went berserk. I thought we was going to take a swing at me and guy starts screaming and spitting, just generally looking crazy. Next thing I know he’s walking over to his tool box and comes back with a sawed off shotgun pointing it at me telling me to get the **** out blah, blah. It was pretty obvious at that point that he was not willing to talk with me like a grown up and him pulling a gun was just making me pissed off. I told him to go **** himself and walked out. So your story sounds familiar – I know what it’s like. The best thing to do is let everyone and anyone know not to go back to that shop for work.
I was really pissed off when I got home and considered calling the police for pointing a gun at me. Man I was so angry and I just wanted to get back at the ******* but after I cooled off a bit I reconsidered. A buddy of mine had an acquaintance pull a gun on him at a bar and got the police involved. It was a major pain in his ***, meetings with police, court appearances, drama, etc, etc and afterwards this guy ended up in county for 6 months. I guess he had a girlfriend and a kid and lost them and his house and pretty much royally screwed up his life. Alma/Junction City is a small town and after something like that happens you cant find work, it’s pretty much game over.
Anyway, I was pissed off for weeks afterwards and made sure to let everyone know that the shop owner was a scum bag. Life went on. Surprisingly, after a few months I ran into the guy at a restaurant and he came up to me and asked if I could go outside to talk to him. I was really hesitant as you can imagine and told him no but then immediately the guy starts telling me that he was sorry for what happened, he got a little hot and it was something he has been working on. I was pretty shocked as he ran through what seemed like his life story. He was a Gulf War I vet and after that incident he started to seek out professional help.
Anyway, long story short, he ended up being a decent friend and bailed me out of a couple situations later on down the road.
I don’t know what things are like out here in San Diego but your story reminded me of mine so I thought I would share. My advice would definitely be to let others know of this guys unacceptable behavior. I doubt he will be in business much longer with service like that, maybe with some luck he will get his **** together.
You mentioned his wife? Damn, my wife would kill me if I pulled some crazy **** like that, not to mention the risk of losing everything you have – kids, business, freedom. It’s just not worth it. You’re the better man for not playing into his **** in the shop. Thanks for letting us all know about that guy.
What work have you had done to your vette? What turbo kit and how long have you been driving it? Is it a DD? I bet she is a monster.
Semper Fi
Jim
06-14-2010, 04:00 PM
#20
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It just seemed he was trying to do whatever it takes to get me to leave, or at least, throw the first punch. Even when he was waiving the guy around, I just seemed like a rather pathetic attempt to scare me (or the guys I was with). We just stood there thinking the guys an idiot.
But, I also know that a lot of military guys go there and that bothers me. So, at a minimum, I figured I'd put the word out and put him on the Navy's restricted list of businesses here in San Diego.
My friend's friend (yeah, I know) said he was there when he 'modded' it to make it automatic. Here is a link on SCE where he has posted an image of his gun and talks about it a little. This is the same gun he pulled out.
http://www.socalevo.net/index.php?op...osts;start=620
Here's the post on my car if you're curious to see it....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/perf...h-fighter.html
But, I also know that a lot of military guys go there and that bothers me. So, at a minimum, I figured I'd put the word out and put him on the Navy's restricted list of businesses here in San Diego.
My friend's friend (yeah, I know) said he was there when he 'modded' it to make it automatic. Here is a link on SCE where he has posted an image of his gun and talks about it a little. This is the same gun he pulled out.
http://www.socalevo.net/index.php?op...osts;start=620
Here's the post on my car if you're curious to see it....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/perf...h-fighter.html
