Best and Worst tuner shops in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky

[ZL-Auto]

Pafferv, that's some good info. BTW, how many 240sx engine swaps has your shop accomplished?

It is at least in the 400 range. Figure 4 yrs +/- avg. of 1-2 per week. When you need some help swing on down and check our place out. We still have at least 5 240 swap cars at the shop right now, get some idea of what kind of work we do.Thanks.

[Slipstream]

pafferv: You're working for Zerolift? How much is it to get my engine installed? I'll have it finished up by mid June and would rather have someone install it. Also, I know it's been awhile, but did you still have that turbo for sale? Would it support 350whp?

[ZL-Auto]

email sent

[Shaefer Thomas]

Hey guys, anyone heard anything about HybridDynamics? I was going to take my 240 to get tuned, and they want like 500 bucks... You guys know of any other shops with dynos that can tune a power FC? Paff, does your shop have any experience with tuning?

[ZL-Auto]

Yes we do alot of tuning. Power FC, AEM, Krom, Hondata, Uberdata, ROM tuning for Nissan-Honda-Subaru-Mitsu.Does your power Fc have any tuning done on it at all... or is it a ground up tune... $500 is a good 5-6 hrs of street + dyno tuning.

[Shaefer Thomas]

ground up tune with your basic upgrades, t28, 550cc injs, z32 maf... i guess 500 is fair then?

Also, I have things like an adjustable FPR, and wideband o2 sensor. Will these shorten tuning time, and decrease the price of the tune?

[Rex]

Let be carefull about crossing the line between sharing information about shops and unapproved "advertising".

Thanks

[ZL-Auto]

Rex, vendor advertising is in the works. Schaefer, i will work on a $ for that type of tune.Thanks.

[Not_a_sr]

Just a Update,

Forcedfab.com is nolonger owned by myself, we are now using the website ForcedFabllc.com that will be the new online store for ForcedFab from now on.

To update our contact information

ForcedFab LLC1121 East Second ST Suite 1206Dayton, OH 45403937-242-6392

At the moment we have 4 Sr swapped cars, 1 Ca18det swap, and two KA-T cars. and we do work on pretty much every 240 in the city that doesnt do their own work.

Jon

I'll call greg this week to setup our vendor account now that our new site is about to launch.

[ZL-Auto]

Zerolift Autolab Vendor Account Coming Online this week. I will be posting alot of new part acquisitions this week as well as a current inventory of engines and accessories.

Currently we have 4 - SR cars, 2 - RB25 swap jobs, S13 Vert Formula D company car, RB26 engine assembly (modify oil pan also), EVO Stroker job,a couple honda Turbo jobs, 2 - 2JZ supra swaps, Supercharge Audi A4 2.8, And a handfull of other things going on. Please feel free to call with questions or parts requests, Mike, Andy, and Rob are in the officeready to help. Or drop on by and check our place out. Thanks,Robert

http://www.Zerolift.com 3195 Homeward Way Fairfield, OH 45014 513-874-2508

[Rex]

Zerolift Autolab Vendor Account Coming Online this week. I will be posting alot of new part acquisitions this week as well as a current inventory of engines and accessories.

Very nice to ehar, I hope to get over that way in the next couple weeks.

[gtrperformance]

Forced Fab

Prices- Expect approx $3500 for basic SR swap- Expect approx $2000 - 2500 for KA turbo install

That's expensive as hell. What does $3500 for the SR swap get you? Is that engine included?

I think JGY Customs down in Atkins, VA does SR swaps for $1200 and they fab up some great parts. They are also starting to fab up RB parts which is good for me because I have a RB.

[ZL-Auto]

Forced Fab

Prices- Expect approx $3500 for basic SR swap- Expect approx $2000 - 2500 for KA turbo install

That's expensive as hell. What does $3500 for the SR swap get you? Is that engine included?

I think JGY Customs down in Atkins, VA does SR swaps for $1200 and they fab up some great parts. They are also starting to fab up RB parts which is good for me because I have a RB.

$1200 for what ? LABOR ? Right now we are running this Package >

Zerolift Basic Motor Swap : includes: SR20DET complete motor set, Walbro 255 fuel pump, 3in Downpipe, Zerolift 3in. exhaust N1 style muffler, testpipe, front mount intercooler kit, Zerolift hotpipe, HKS or Greddy BOV, Exedy stage 1 clutch, boost gauge and pod and all fluids, Spark plugs, battery relocation kit, air filter kit, power steering, and installation of motor and all parts. (NO A/C included, power steering line $400 for 89-90). S13 REDTOP 4.600 S13 BLACKTOP 4,800 Parts and Labor

[gtrperformance]

That's what I'm talking about. DETAILS. +1 for you.

And yes, that's for labor. Installs on SR's are easy as hell. Wiring too. Same as the RB20.

[wide opn]

I saw someone asked about Hybridynamics, and I had an excellent experience with them. They installed a Painless harness to clean up my chassis harness, did some troubleshooting (bad coilpack) and then did a full tune on my AEM EMS. Labor was fair. They were very upfront with how long it would take, and worked hard to stick to it. Also, my alternator took a crap later on, and the mechanic met me and the AAA hauler at the shop at 11:00pm on a Sunday so that we could push the car into the garage.

I'm in Columbus, OH now. I spent some serious change at IPS in Columbus a couple years ago. Average reviews for that shop. The guys there seem pretty cool, i just left there with a feeling of them have plenty of other stuff going on to really worry about my needs. They do some serious cars there though, so I would probably go there again if needed.

Unhappy with Slick Motorsports in Cleveland. The guy there matt was an awesome guy, but he cost me alot of downtime on my car because he was too busy with other projects. If I knew for a fact that he had time to take a car, I would without a doubt deal with him again, but if he seems really backed up, don't expect any significant amount of work to be done quickly.

My $0.02,Bret

[iMurphy]

My buddy has had some work done to his Evo at IPS and all I hear is good things there. They tuned his after having work done for free if I remember correctly. Also, Slow Motion in Columbus is a real good place I hear. Another friend of mine is having his K20 hatch tuned and dynoed there right now.

[karmakaze]

Almost every story I have heard about MSL(Modern Speed Labs) in Indy has been bad. I have been told several times to stay away, I have not dealt with them because if this.

This is true and I have experience it first hand. It has been over a year now since I made a very large purchase from them including Stance Coilovers, a 98 Kouki shell, a carbon fiber hood, an aluminum driveshaft, a racing seat, and a few other misc pieces. They came through with everything except for the Seibon Carbon Fiber hood. It the process Marc Beuler (the owner of Modern Speed Labs) made up elaborate stories to stall getting me any parts and has now resorted to not responding to my emails or answering my phone calls. I highly recommend not doing any business with this company or with Marc Beuler personally. There workmanship is crap, as there are sooo many things that they did wrong with the shell that I had to repair. Indianapolis is a long way from where I live, however I am going to make the drive up there in the near future as I am interested to see what they have to say to my face as I am a little f*cking pissed about it. I am going to start a thread to call MSL out on being shady soon. Marc Beuler is a thief, not a business man.

[omg240]

i had a bad experience with forced fab. my boyfriend and i spent 6 hours total of driving time to pick up an automatic ka transmission from smokey on the fourth of july. we paid 100 dollars and he said it came out of a car that drove fine and was swapped to a 5 speed. once we pulled the pan when we got back we found a lot of metal chunks in the fluid. also, when it was removed from the donor car, the wires were entirely too short to be spliced. smokey didn't respond to our private messages on ohio drifting or cell and shop phone calls. after a couple weeks we just scrapped it and got $10. not only does my car still need a transmission, I am out $90.

if he had taken 10 minutes to pull the pan off, it could have saved us 6 hours, a holiday, and $90 plus gas money! whether the buyer asked or not, if i was selling a transmission i would do it before even offering it for sale.

[Slipstream]

I have an auto trans that needs a new shaft. If you need it, let me know. If you have some car speakers (10" or 12" - nothing spectacular) I'll consider it a fair trade.

[pcarp]

Sorry it's been a while. But to answer your question, gtrperformance, the $3500 had the sr included. At least, that was the quote given to me several months ago.

I will try to go check out Zerolift this weekend. Hopefully I can get there before the close. Now that they're a sponsor on NICO, maybe they'll have some good deals for us NICOnauts.

More to follow...

[ZL-Auto]

I hate to Post this so late, But the shop will not be open this saturday. Please email us for any help we may offer or feel free to call anytime. Once again, sorry for the inconvenience.

[pcarp]

Oh, that's cool. Going down to NOPI?

Maybe visit you next weekend then.

[ZL-Auto]

Too Much work to get out of town for NOPI. In the middle of 2 RB swaps and finishing some Tuning on a few other 240's, and working on our Company Car every once in a while (S13 Vert Formula Drift car).Give us a call for our saturday availability. 513-874-2508 10-7 Mon - Fri.

[Ohio_S13]

Matt at Slick Motorsports in Cleveland is by far one of the best mechnics/fabricators in Ohio and that is why he is always backed up. if you want the best quality and don't mind a little bit of down time he is your guy.

[LingeringSuicide]

2 in my area.

1. Wedan Street and Preformance Vermont Ave. Columbus, IN 812-379-1134

Small show room with limited selection of parts but they can order out of catalogs (their "show room" is about 10x10) Only 1 person was working there at the time. NO lift, was working out of a 1 1/2 car garage.

2. Black Wolf Preformance http://www.blackwolfperformance.com/ 7270 e. State road 7 Columbus, IN 812-579-9653

Big show room, 5 car bays. Nice setup over all. BUT THEY WONT WORK ON IMPORTS!!!!!!!

[Not_a_sr]

In my defense that was not a shop transaction, that was a transaction a employee of mine made on his off time with a transmission from his friends car. I had no involvement with that other then the transmission being at the shop and Mike having you meet him there. I would not sell used parts with out making the buyer fully aware of the condition and that its a as is policy. Smokey's login on ohiodrifting was removed or lost, he now goes by the dayton240sx.com screen name. I know this is a old post, but i just wanted to set the record straight, i wasn't even aware there was a problem until i came across this post.

Jon @ ForcedFab

i had a bad experience with forced fab. my boyfriend and i spent 6 hours total of driving time to pick up an automatic ka transmission from smokey on the fourth of july. we paid 100 dollars and he said it came out of a car that drove fine and was swapped to a 5 speed. once we pulled the pan when we got back we found a lot of metal chunks in the fluid. also, when it was removed from the donor car, the wires were entirely too short to be spliced. smokey didn't respond to our private messages on ohio drifting or cell and shop phone calls. after a couple weeks we just scrapped it and got $10. not only does my car still need a transmission, I am out $90.

if he had taken 10 minutes to pull the pan off, it could have saved us 6 hours, a holiday, and $90 plus gas money! whether the buyer asked or not, if i was selling a transmission i would do it before even offering it for sale.

[l0nestar]

I think JGY Customs down in Atkins, VA does SR swaps for $1200 and they fab up some great parts. They are also starting to fab up RB parts which is good for me because I have a RB.

I would not trust _anything_ from JGY after seeing the 'quality' of their products. Their RB mount kit is a joke. As are the quality of their welds.

USD$ 1200.00 is merely for labor. Does not include motor + transmission + FMIC and plumbing, maintenance items,etc. Nor does it include the price of having someone else having to go through and fix all of their 'shortcuts'.

Almost every story I have heard about MSL(Modern Speed Labs) in Indy has been bad. I have been told several times to stay away, I have not dealt with them because if this.

MSL is another shyster to be avoided at all cost. I don't even know if they are still in 'business' anymore. Hopefully not.

[OhioGearHead]

I had no idea we had so many tuner shops in dayton and close to it. I know there is Colleti racing in West carrolton. And warrior racing in West Milton. I think they only do hot rod orianted stuff though.

I offered my services very cheap at colletis. I told him I'd work for free I just love working on cars, I just don't have much experience. He said he'd call me. I think he probably forgot they seemed busy.

The offer still stands if anyone wants an apprentice, I work cheap like I said.

[mott6904]

MSL is a joke i dealt with them a couple of summers back and order 1500 dollars in parts and recieved some fmic pipes that were horrible. needless to say i took them to court and got back my money.

[Not_a_sr]

We are right in down town only a mile or so from Sinclair. over off second street. We are pretty much a nissan only shop as of late, we have pretty much every 240sx owner in the city as customers. I have been working on them since 00-01 when i bought my first 240 and motor swap.

I think you will find most of us shop owners are not really looking to hire on any new help. Also when you ask to work and offer it for free, you gotta think how many times a week a shop owner will hear this, i have kids coming in all the time wanting to apprentice or train to be techs or fabricators. The problem is that it cost almost as much to hire an inexperienced person as it does a experienced person. and alot of us cant afford to have a new guy damage or do something incorrectly.

Your welcome to come by and check out our shop, I do alot of fabrication work and its one of things i enjoy more then anything.

I had no idea we had so many tuner shops in dayton and close to it. I know there is Colleti racing in West carrolton. And warrior racing in West Milton. I think they only do hot rod orianted stuff though.

I offered my services very cheap at colletis. I told him I'd work for free I just love working on cars, I just don't have much experience. He said he'd call me. I think he probably forgot they seemed busy.

The offer still stands if anyone wants an apprentice, I work cheap like I said.