[SouthShoreM3]

Good evening all,

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend. I wanted to share what many know is nothing new, but was something I was extremely grateful and happy to be a part of.

I had some major issues back in March through June this year with my 2010 E90 M3.

This thread is to give an excellent letter of recommendation to ESS. in addition i have included factual references and my customer experience between another Supercharger vendor, VF.

I understand one persons experience differs from another. This is just my experience between the two proprietors. Every corporation runs into problems. No company, product nor person is perfect. However, if there is a constant pattern and demeanor that is provided by an organization that has negative consequences and their is no leadership or accountability taken to change and improve. That is concerning no matter who or what it is.

I have spoken to Roman on several occasions over the last three years of ownership of my E90 M3. At one point before being supercharged I bought their tune. Tune was fantastic and loved every minute of it. Really helped the car come alive when I was NA. My car is a 6spd so I have nothing to report in the software for the tranny. Everything else though that is incorporated into this tune was money well spent.

I always dreamed and obsessed about owning their SC kit one day, but financial limitations and health issues were preventing that dream. Until one day where I had overcome some major health problems (cancer) and told myself life was too short. So I pulled the trigger on a VF 540 as the price point of the kit was the max that I could afford at the time.

Anyways my review is about ESS's integrity, service, personalization and quality in their product. thus, is the reason why they are most likely selling the most supercharged kits for the BMW brand.

Roman quickly helped me when I was in a serious bind due to poor product representation by VF and faulty software that was causing multiple issues with my car and most importantly I could not pass readiness when I was clearly told on several occasions prior to purchasing and during the situation that it would pass.

Please note, prior to the issues I had wrote a letter of recommendation for Nik and VF. I was happy about their initial service and the transformation in power to my car. Any troubleshooting or issues that I had were always kept between VF and I. I even recommended several customers to them. Which I now regret and feel terribly embarrassed about.

During this stressful and horrible experience I started reaching out to Roman for recommendations on other options. As well as several other of the top end vendors for car tuning in the world. those conversations were based on, if this were your product and i was your customer what would you do? the same response kept coming up...we would reimburse you for the kit.

anyways, One thing led to another and based on Romans simple, honest, extremely thorough, concise and detailed breakdown on their product I pulled the trigger on a 585 kit.

Everything was ready to go and the kit arrived in one day, well packed and every part needed to assemble the kit (unlike VF where hoses, bolts to connect the bracket, etc..). Please note that when I bought the VF kit last year in September/October it took almost 12 weeks and a little help from McKenna to get the kit. Which was originally quoted between 2-4 weeks.

There was no magic product or special treatment that I got compared to anyone else that has purchased ESSs product. Just a very well run business practice and giving the customer what they are looking for.

I am so impressed by the ESS standards and quality that they deliver through service. During my time of extreme urgency, Roman would connect with me anytime of the day and even though no help or assistance was really required on the install. Himself and AJ were always available.

Now with VF it was a slightly different scenario. At one point with VF, there were 3+ weeks of no communication. When I was able to connect by trying all possible channels I would continue to get the same inconclusive, defensive and least helpful response. To swap all injectors back to stock, run stock software, but make sure not to push the car. well, my BMW dealer had a different outlook on that recommendation and considered it extremely unsafe and would not contribute to that labor.

However, I was assured that this was a "top priority" and they were testing all possible scenarios, which I wanted I believe and buy into. I was told to communicate only through email and when you call into the direct line you get an admin that won't even provide you with a part number for the replacement air filter!!!

I was able to start communicating with the head of VF, but that eventually turned south and was told to not contact him directly on his cell. This progressed once the issue was well down stream and I had made an offer for them to buy the kit back as I will not be able to get rid of it due to all the issues that were occurring.

THE NEW INSTALL OF ESS

Getting back to installing the 585 kit. The process was extremely easy and very detailed for my BMW dealer to install. The directions are fantastic that it comes in a PDF so you can zoom in via the computer and see the detail for certain components.

VF directions were straight forward, but were not as detailed nor had the option like ESS directions did. This is coming from my master technician and Dinan tech at BMW who did the install.

My BMW technician also referenced the materials and fitment were much better from ESS. Just the fact that ESS provides a custom cutout for the air filter in the bumper intake is first class. wit VF, you have to do it manually and just does not look good regardless of how it is done.

That is an opinion and observation and from side by side from my view I could see the differences as well. From how the manifold was designed and produced, the bracket for the SC is a work of art, the velocity stacks and the intercooler were all first grade materials and well worth the cost of the kit.

Most importantly once the kit was installed, I had no issues. No idle control valve problems, no Bank 1/2 faults,
The AFR is constant and never running too lean or rich, no limp mode...most importantly I have my inspection sticker!

It's amazing that its essentially the same blower with more power, but the true quality is in the software. Thus, no issues to date. Everything is running very well and I was sold exactly what ESS told me I was getting. Nothing more. Nothing less...well maybe more because again their service and professionalism are just on another level in comparison to what I experienced.

There are some good employees at VF that I spoke with during my short ownership of their product. One in particular is a Very nice guy and he has alot going for him.

With Roman and ESS, it's a whole different ball game and at this juncture I would consider Roman a friend. They were so responsive and the direction with regards to passing readiness were completely spot on. They stated at exactly 200 miles we would get the proper readiness and that is exactly what happened.

Again, no special coding or treatment. Just exactly what they advertise and provide to the public. And most certainly was I not being told, "it's for off road use only". For a company in CA where the strictest emissions apply. You would think that this would be put in place with the software. Or at a minimum disclose to the customer when they are purchasing a kit and need this readiness to state, our software cannot/may not pass readiness if you are in the following geographic states.

VF or ESS...Their Success and Quality is in their Integrity and Service.

I now know why the best Tuner shops in the world sell only ESS products. It is exceptional.

It all comes down to service, accountability and quality control. This market is flooded with tuners, manufacturers, etc.. There are alot of options for customers. It comes down to how well the product is designed (regardless of cost as there are many parts that are inexpensive and well built), manufactured and service and business process behind the company.

Thank you ESS. You will have a customer for life as long as I have the financial ability to drive cars that you are taking to another level of performance.. I will always buy from you and recommend your services to anyone that is of interest.

For those that have had difficulties with VF or any other vendor it's important to handle it within the company and you. And only when there is factual data and documentation to support poor product, quality and service should you then come to the community. The consumer and vendor need your feedback. Good or bad to make the right decision and help the company improve where they have weaknesses.

The Internet can be a very good thing or a place that can really impact a company because of a consumer before they have a chance to help you.

VF had their opportunity and at the end ESS delivered with a proven and flawless solution.

I will provide an analysis between the two kits performance wise once I have more time on the 585 kit.