RD Headers getting installed! - Page 17

BKH · 17th December 2004, 04:47

Wow, I went away for two days and all heck broke loose. That said, I feel very positive about EVERYONE'S contribution to this thread and want to thank all who stopped by to share a thought. Nothing but good for M5ers in particular and the enthusiast community in general can come from this healthy discussion.

Travis - you da man!

M5Kid · 17th December 2004, 06:50

BKH,

Thanks! But I must ask, what did I do that was so special?

Happy Holidays!

Travis

m5am · 17th December 2004, 07:24

Derek and Daniel, I believe I have first rights in starting a business with Travis before anyone can call dibs. Haha seeing as how he owes he ungodly factual knowledge and love towards the M5 to me. It used to be that I had to convince him that a 4 door sedan with 340hp was amazing and awesome on too many levels but in his common arugement " Whats the point of having that much power in a 4 door sedan, its stupid."

Oh how the times have changed.

M5Kid · 17th December 2004, 08:18

Sam,

Yes, I remember vividly, 7th grade is when it all started. But, you haved to admit, I had a valid argument with the S55, sorta, kinda....

Travis

ard · 17th December 2004, 09:19

Holy crap.

I've decided to buy a few things from Daniel... for doing an outstanding job of conducting himself in a situation that was a non-winner.

Stuff happens- happens to everyone- it what you do to address it that matters.

my 2 cents.

Now- a question:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCoupelover

Hi Everyone...

I have been reading this post for a while now, and i have had ONE question bumping around in my head for a while...

Sorry if this sounds dumb BUT,

If RDS have sold apx 35 sets of these Headers and workshops have installed them without any problems, HOW can it BE that 2 or 3 persons(Workshops) suddenly are having fitment problems with these items??? And the Headers itselves are rubbing towards the Steering Column or likewise??? What i mean is, that there are d e f i n e t e l y some problems with the shaping/manufacturing of the Headers. If RDS make a Header design, that are going to fit a Bmw M5, then it shall be obvious that the Headers MUST fit 100% of the M5:s that are out in the field... Not just 98-99% of the cars.

Therefor my opinion is that, sumthin MUST be wrong here. Something must have happened, because these folks are having installation problems with these headers. Is the RDS welding Jig changed in someway??? I dont know... Maybe someone employed at RDS(Welder) have been enjoying a couple of too many beers in the weekend, or so... No, i dont think so, but HOW is it possible that these fitment problems suddenly just appear??? I cant really get it...

If you are gonna make and sell a aftermarket product to such a great car as Bmw, ur gonna haft to make sure that the products are so great that there will NOT be these kinds of problems, because they really disturbe peoples minds, regarding surtain things/companies.

These words are just my thinking, i can not get how the installation/fitment problems suddenly just can appear with a product like this, something obviously has changed in the production of these Headers, otherwise 2-3 customers/workshops are really bad installers, BUT that i have very hard to belive... Especially when the problems occur each after another...

At last... Im very glad i have decided to go for the SS Headers, and not for the RDS...

Hope im not disturbing this thread too much with my thoughts...

So everybody, Take care now... Kimmen/Sweden

near as I can tell (and frederico has this in a post) there was an issue where SOME of the parts MIGHT have 'drifted' in their configutation due to heating or not being properly fixtured... so some sets didn't fit right.

(In my world (medical devices) if ONE product in a batch of 500 MIGHT be bad... you toss 500. The LOT is considered defective.)

Whole different story here, but as a DIYer, I was particularly struck by Shadowmans scenario (hypothetical to be sure) but man I would have been pissed off.

A

PS I did learn alot from this thread, eh?

17th December 2004, 10:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCoupelover

If RDS have sold apx 35 sets of these Headers and workshops have installed them without any problems, HOW can it BE that 2 or 3 persons(Workshops) suddenly are having fitment problems with these items???

You have made a good observation, but I think that the answer can be garnered from the following post from Federico:

Quote:

Originally Posted by flpavoncelli

Our initial specs for these headers were developed on the Tornado motor, which is heavily modified S62 and requires a specified length and diameter of the primary pipes. Packaging this lengthy primary between the head and the OE flange that joins the manifold to the catalytic converter (as we do on our Sport Headers) was out of the question, so we had to opt for a cut and weld solution to move the 4-1 collector farther from the head.

However, please note that we are not RDSport, and that we have sold no more than the 5 sets of RDSport Tubular headers. 2 sets had shown installation problems, and have been discussed at length within this thread. 2 sets are being returned prior to them being installed, and the fifth set is in Sweden. We will not be selling any more RDSport Tubular headers until the installation issues have been fully resolved.

Cheers, Daniel.

17th December 2004, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suretyagent

Sorry Daniel - I've got first right of refusal to hire Travis into the surety bond business once he's out of college.

Derek

Quote:

Originally Posted by m5am

Derek and Daniel, I believe I have first rights in starting a business with Travis before anyone can call dibs. Haha seeing as how he owes he ungodly factual knowledge and love towards the M5 to me. It used to be that I had to convince him that a 4 door sedan with 340hp was amazing and awesome on too many levels but in his common arugement " Whats the point of having that much power in a 4 door sedan, its stupid."

Oh how the times have changed.

Well, when the time comes, I am sure that Travis will make the best buisness decision, hopefully one that will provide the greatest ROI for his efforts.

Cheers, Daniel

17th December 2004, 10:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by ard

Holy crap.

I've decided to buy a few things from Daniel... for doing an outstanding job of conducting himself in a situation that was a non-winner.

Stuff happens- happens to everyone- it what you do to address it that matters.

my 2 cents.

Thank you for your support.

Cheers, Daniel.

17th December 2004, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip

One dealer experiences a problem with a part sold to 2 customers, and two competing dealers jump in to muddy the water and stir the pot. Lets get back to the orriginal header fitment problem and the outcome so I can decide which header design to buy.

Agreed!

Cheers, Daniel.

17th December 2004, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1badm5

I have spent the entire morning reading this (long) thread. I will "chime-in" only to say that I have had the great fortune to work with Bill (shadowman) as well as Daniel (Beastpower) and have found both to be MORE than willing to help, even when I was not sending $$ their way. Each has a different business and those practices sometimes overlap. I'm EXTREMELY pleased to know they can have civilized exchanges of idea's...even when they don't agree. I feel very fortunate that boht these guys are M5 enthusist. I believe it should be obvious to all readers that these guys have a PASSION for the M5 and the people that want to improve their M5. If they didn't, they wouldn't spend the time it takes to engage in such discussion and they wouldn't have such strong idea's! I know this because I have not only had private e-mail conversations with both these guys, I have spoken to both via phone several times. They are both the best...period!

I must say I am disappointed with Federico's post's here. Frankly, I would have expected more from the President of RDSport Headers. Daniel DID stick his neck waaay out there. What I heard from Federico (initially) was not an apology to Daniel and the customers with the problems. No. What I heard was an attack aimed at Bill (shadowman). Of course Bill is well armed, eliquient, knowledeable, and MORE than capable of handling ANY attack aimed his direction. But, that is not the issue. ANYBODY that has any type of contact with Bill will soon realize that he is not only knowledgeable & credible, but also very generous with his time and his knowledge!

Federico would be VERY wise to embrace Bill and his crew at discovery-automotive. Bill even extended an invitation....awesome Bill! I have not yet bought my headers, but I can tell you without hesitation, I would not consider RDSport Headers after reading Federico's post's without first talking to Bill to see if they would be a good match for my car! If you read this Federico and you spend some time searching this site, you will soon find out that MANY of the people on this board feel the same way. JMO, but Bill is establishing himself as the ULTIMATE authority when it comes to many of the performance mods for the E39 M5. JMO Federico, but you don't want to walk-up and punch-a-gorilla. He might decide to snap you in half!

I'm not going to speak about the EVO stuff. I have had no dealings with that group. I will say I understand some of their frustrations with the internet business. I own a "brick-n-mortar" store myself and I get quite frustrated with the internet "undercutting" my prices, but guess what....it AIN'T GOING AWAY! Attacks aimed at Daniel are seen for what they are and do nothing more than diminish respect for the person making those accusations. On a personal level I am just having to learn to deal with the internet sellers, and adjust the way I operate my business. People want to buy their audio equipment off the internet...I'll charge them to install it. Hopefully they see the type of operation I am running and I gain the opportunity to earn their business the next time they want to buy. I get no where by "bashing". It makes me look bad.

Anyway, I got that off my chest. Thanks again to Daniel & Bill for their contributions to the M5 community and to me! I sincerely hope to hear that Federico has taken Bill up on his offer to work with RDSport Headers in inproving the product to make it the best it can be!

Robert

Robert,

Thank you for your support. I understand where you are coming from with regard to online vendors encroaching on the retail "brick and mortar" businesses, but this is the way of the future, just as shopping malls have virtually eliminated the mom-and-pop stores.

The changes we are seeing are an opportunity for both types of businesses to work together in providing customer's with the best of all worlds. In my opinion, specialization is the name of the game, and each type of business can focus on being an expert where it has the greatest set of core advantages.

I look forward to continuing our discussions regarding our pending collaboration.

Cheers, Daniel.