15 Who are the VW (performance) tuners?
Description
This article is from the Watercooled VWs General FAQ, by Jan Vandenbrande with numerous contributions by others.
15 Who are the VW (performance) tuners?
A: This is surprisingly harder to answer than it may seem because it
depends on what you mean by a "tuner".
For example, Neuspeed is a VW performance brand sold by APS &
other retail outlets. APS can give you advice on their parts,
but will not install them or do custom work on your car.
However, AMS, ND, VWSpecialties, Velocity Tuning and others are "tuners"
because they will customize your car using their own products
(ND Turbo systems) or other "tuner/manufacturer" products (AT, Neuspeed).
This list is mostly geared to USA & Canada. Some German addresses
are also mentioned. In the UK & D, see EU_VW_Tuners in the VW archives.
To be added to this list, you must be an established bonafide business,
tuner or mail order house. Brief user feedback as posted publically
may also be added.
[Still Under Construction...it's a tad confusing]
T U N E R S // P E R F O R M A N C E
====================================
Advanced Motorsport Solutions [AMS]:
Advanced Motorsport Solutions
3040 S Robertson Blvd (right off the 10 FWY & National), LA, CA 90034
(310) 559 7764, (310) 838 68 81
Profile:
CEO = Marc Kalaydjian (pretty much a car and computer wiz)
Sells performance VW products, similar to other tuner's.
e-mail: marck@netcom.com
Makes custom chips for cars (concentrates on the whole program
range). Supposedly initially trained APS on how to make chips.
Used to work for Andy King of R&A Applied Arts.
Automotive Performance Systems [APS]:
3300 Corte Malpaso, Camarillo, CA 93012
(101 & Dowson, 100 miles N of their old place :-< )
(805) 388 71 71, (800) 423-3623 (orders only)
(805) 388 00 30 (fax)
Profile:
Primary retailer of Neuspeed products and a few OEM parts (brakes,
lights, etc).
Parts usually fit in stock positions and are usually CA smog legal.
Their performance philosophy is: Make it breathe (exhaust)
stiffen and lowered suspension (usualy Bilstein).
They also sell chips, but some claim that they concentrate mostly
on the top end, not the low.
Owned by Bill Neuman (who "ruthlessly" runs the place) and aided
by his two sons: Aaron and Gary Neuman (who are both very technically
capable and nicer then some of the people occasionally answering
the phone). Unlike a regular "PARTS" place they can provide advice
on how to customize your car with their products, but they will
not do any custom work anymore.
Pretty much all the parts you buy from them are good quality.
Note: Neuspeed products can be bought elsewhere for less (e.g., ND,
Plain Wrap, VW Specialties).
AutoBahn Designs [ABD]:
2900 Adams Str, Suite B27, Riverside, CA, 92504
(909) 351-9566
Body parts & other
AutoTech [AT]:
32240 E Paseo Adelanto, San Juan Capistrano, CA
(714) 240-4000 (tech), (800) 553-1055 (Order)
Owner: Ron Mozer
Talk to Dana Clarck for Corrados.
Large variety of VW products. Sells APE chips at a
slight discount. They are predominantly a PARTS place, but they
can also provide you with some assistance on customizing your car.
Like many others they also develop and test some of their own
products.
AutoThority Performance Engineering [APE]:
3769-B Pickett Rd, Fairfax, VA 22031
(703) 323-0919, (703) 323 73 25 (fax)
Profile:
Makers of Power Chips for many cars.
Claims to work on the whole power band rather than the top end only.
See the "Wired" article in the archives.
Engineer for Corrado: Mike Kisko (sp?) ext 404
Not all their chips and power upgrades are CA smog legal.
Bellevue Motor Sports:
13500 Bel-Red Rd., Bellevue, WA 98005
(206) 747-FAST
Drake:
Yuma, AZ.
Do they still exist?
European Inc.
Jacksonville, FL
Rebuilds G60. Some complaints on the net for incomplete
warrantee coverage (eg, G60 rebuilds are not covered for oil leaks).
European Import Performance Tuning, Inc. [EIP]
"Maryland's VW Connection"
Rich Chiavacci (owner)
1532-B LIBERTY RD.
ELDERSBURG, MD 21784
"EIP TUNING@aol.com" (email)
Info (800) 784-8100, TECH (410) 549-1748
Neuspeed, Autotech, Zender, Eurospec, etc.
4 & 6 Cyl VW Performance Engine builder, custom work, etc.
11 miles outside of the Baltimore beltway (I-695 Exit 18b, on rt 26
near the intersection with 32)
They offer their own innovative performance mods in addition to the
German-imported ABT/Oettinger/Schrick stuff, plus their prices and
service compare quite favourably with most of the competition
[comments from UniqueVR6 who had a 3.1l engine built for his C]
EuroRace:
190th near Hawthorne Blvd, Redondo Bch, CA
(800) 722-8678; (310) 376-0247.
NOTE: Occasional troublesome (parts don't fit right, slow responce,
mostly geared towards aircooled VWs).
EuroSpec:
6205 Engle way Unit H
Gilroy California 95020
408-848-4203, FAX 848-2145
See also European Car, May 1995, they sell new taller 2.0l 8V blocks.
EuroSport:
Moved to APS's former location:
1464 North Hundley Street, Anaheim, CA 92806
(714) 630 1555, (800) 783-3876, (714) 693-0864 (fax)
Profile:
Owner = Raffi Kazanjian, who has been auto-xing for many years.
Currently still does in his modified yellow Rabbit.
Sells VW performance mods, some of which parallel APS's line for a
lower price. Ask for Raffi Kazanjian.
Evolution Tuning (Mexico)
Imports Nothelle parts
Extrudehone:
Corp HQ = Irwin, PA, fax (412) 863 87 59
8800 Somerset Blvd, Paramount, CA 90723
(310) 531 29 76, fax (310) 531 84 03
Abrasive flow machining (porting).
Example price: Intake manifold = 700-1000US$
GTA
Quebec, Canada
Did some work on VR6 and G60 Corrados!
Dont bother asking for their Catalog or fax in a request
on details as advertised. They rarely respond.
Halsey Import Parts:
7721 N.E. Halsey Portland, OR
(800) 792-0081
H&H Specialties, Inc.
20 Reid Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824, (508) 256-9465
Fabricators of stabilizer bars since the '70's
Andy King prefers these to the Neuspeed.
[Jan: See the archive pictures, the may not mount in stock
locations]
JT Automotive:
350 East St, Building 3, Simi Valley, CA 93065
805-579-9123 or 9124
Sells ABT parts (one of the major VW tuners in Germany. Note
ABT parts are also available else where, e.g., ND if demand is high,
and make sure you compare prices!).
I don't know if they do any custom work.
Motor Technik:
Maryland
Owner: Francis Stepneck, a former partner of EIP, goal: to make his
G60 reach 180+ mph.
He is also responsible for the bigger valves and thermal barrier coating
on the VR6 head.
410-549-0441
New Dimensions [ND]:
2240 De La Cruz Blvd, Santa Clara, CA, 95050
(800) 637-2781, (408)980-1691, (408) 980-1697 (fax)
Computer Bulletin Board (408) 980-8830
Specializes in turbo charging VWs. Full service facility,
Shop & Parts (Chris Lagatuta = VP, Tim Hildabrand aka Turbo Tim = owner)
Also sells performance parts such as Neuspeed, K&N, etc.
turbotim@newdimensions.com (old address: turbotim@aol.com)
Web Page (still under construction, but real cool :->):
http://www.newdimensions.com/
Nothelle
Cacilientstrasse 10-12
4330 Mulheim / Ruhr 1
Germany
011-49-208-42-20-789
011-49-208-42-08-48
Tuner.
US Contacts: (800)453-HADE or (310)715-2448 or fax (310)715-2911
Northern Imports:
Any experiences with these guys as yet?
Oettinger Technik GmbH
Max Planck Strasse 36
D-61381 Friedrichsdorf
Germany,
+ (06172) 7053-55, Fax: + (06172) 7056
Newer #s?: 06172-7102-0, fax 06172-710240
OilScan:
Kit to perform oil analysis for about US$20.
PRECISION Motorsports Limited
31 Elaky Drive
Chester NY 10918
phone 914-469-8549
fax 914-469-4855
email Motorsprt1@aol.com
Reseller of Autotech, Neuspeed, MOMO, Tire Rack, Discount Tire Direct,
PIAA, Eibach, Remus
Offers 10% Discount to Corrado club members.
Rally Motorsports Inc.
533 Broadway, Westwood, NJ 07675
(201) 666-4443
VW, Audi and BMW specialists
RALLYMSRPT@aol.com
R&A APPLIED ARTS, INC.
555 GUTHEIL PLACE, LYNDHURST, NJ 07071
CONTACT ANDY KING AT (201) 933-8833
Performance Tuner
Racing Wheel Services
140 Bordentown Road, Tullytown, PA 19007
(215) 945-3834 [ Also ref. European Car 10/94 p.50 for write-up ]
excellent place for custom wheels, street/rally/race wheels
RD Enterprises:
Sells shocks. (800) 683-2890, In CA
Ron's Parts Inc:
#6-#7 1610 Langan Ave, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 1K6
(604) 944-0494, (604) 944-1797 (fax)
Parts & shop. Drops VR6's into Golfs.
Dr. Schrick GmbH
Dreherstrasse 3-5
D-42899 Remscheid, Germany
Makers of Cams. Write for catalog & prices. Buy direct for lower prices.
SuperChips Inc:
1958 N. County Rd 427, Longwood FL, 32750,
(407) 260-0838, (407) 260-9106 (fax)
Sells Power Chips (8V, 16V, VR6).
Note: Some claims of less than reputable practices...
Tec Auto & Sport
(00 49) 72 31-106014 fax (00 49) 72 31-3 26 67
This company specializes in rebuilding G-laders. They
offer several mods to increase the G-laders performance and life. If you
can't wait for EIP, you may want to give them a call (they are VW factory
authorized). [comments from Hulda Jowett]
TechTonics (TT):
P.O.Box 295, 19592 Southwest TV Tower Road, Sheridan, OR 97378,
(503) 843-2700, (503) 843-3933 (fax)
Maker of performance parts. Make sure they get the order right.
Daryl Vitone.
Velocity Sport Tuning:
4613 B Manhatten Beach Bl., Lawndale, CA 90260.
(310)643-0005, FAX:(310)643-0006
Ask for Jeremy Wolf: VELOJER@aol.com or MONSTER16V@aol.com
or Jeff Moss: VELOJEFF@aol.com; velocitysp@aol.com
Initial feedback seem positive.
See also their web page: http://www.velocitysport.com/
VW Motorsport (D): (sister co of VW who makes aftermarket parts for VW).
Ikarusallee 7A, D-30179 Hannover, Germany
(From the US, dial 011 49 and then delete the first 0 from the
number below).
0 511 / 674 94 22
0 511 / 674 94 88 (fax)
VW Specialties (Ron Wood):
Car service, performance alterations
Owner: Ron Wood, pretty much a VW Guru/VW Racer/VW Tuner
Sells and installs a variety of parts from different tuners (AST, NS)
and has plenty of experience.
Last I heard he flipped his Scirocco, end over end.
Build a Audi Quatro Coupe with a 300 BHp 16V water cooled intercooler
turbo VW Engine.
17682 Gothard Str, Huntington Beach, CA 92647,
(714) 848 37 66, (714) 848 43 36 (fax) (714) 848 37 66 (fax?)
VW Sport:
4838 Leafdale
Royal Oak, MI 48073
(313) 288 51 58
(313) 288 44 12
(Sell VW accessories (BBS, Bosch, VW), TShirts, etc)
Zender:
700 Pressley Rd., Charlotte, NC 28217
(704) 525-0539, (800) 832-2411
Body parts & performance parts
See also the archive: EU_VW_Tuners for European addresses.
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