Let the mudslinging begin! [Getting the popcorn out.]

 

Another great debate brought to you by 6speed

 

OMFG. Nice!

 

I have used products from AWE, Fabspeed, and GHL, and I have met both Todd and Joe,( though not sure either of them would remember since it was over 7 years ago) and GHL used my 360 to make their first Ferrari exhaust. I now have a mixture of AWE and Fabspeed products on my 997S SC, and Fabspeeds products on my Gallardo. I have to say I have been nothing but pleased with their products, both in performance and in build quality. In my opinion, you can not go wrong with either one.

 

Like I've said in many posts I have had Fabspeed Maxflo mufflers and they were awesome in build quality and sound. If you want that true Porsche Cup car wail at 5000 and up RPM, then the Fabspeed Max Flo mufflers are what you need.

I have never seen 1 thread on any Porsche forum about Fabspeed products falling apart. Joe builds some serious quality products! I have seen a few threads in the last year about AWE mufflers and/or cats having lose welds and rattling and I read about this happening a lot back in 2005/2006.

To be totally honest and open that really concerned me back in 2006 when I was looking for mufflers for a 2006 997S I had. I chose Fabspeed Maxflo mufflers due to those issues I read about and from recommendations from some local Porsche shops I spoke with.

We all can see the direction Fabspeed is taking with the new 2009 997. Fabspeed will also be supplying these parts to Porsche race teams as well. I am still anxiously waiting to see what AWE and Sharkwerks comes out with. Then we all can make our choices.

 

Wow, this simple thread got juicy in a hurry!

 

LOL...

You crack me up...

 

[/quote]Hi Joe,

I'm going to pop into this thread real quick. Someone pointed this out to me via e-mail.

Is this the same "Ken McNeil" you referred to in this post:
[/quote]

Yea Todd possibly the same "Ken McNeil." Funny you would post one of the very few negative posts ever stated on a forum regarding him. And that was posted over 1.5 years after he was no longer a 50% equity owner of AWE/McNeil Competition. (Think maybe that work was done by people working for you at that time??)

You may remember "Ken McNeil" better as the guy that took your business from it's minor installation shop in Chestnut Hill, PA, and created your Audi S4 product line (drivetrain stabilizer, downpipes, exhaust systems, header systems, intercooler packages, turbocharged packages, etc. etc. and ALSO brought you into the Porsche world). You may also remember "Ken McNeil" as the guy who let you use his Porsche VIN#'s from his a couple of his Porsches to obtain PCA Club memberships for AWE Tuning employees. You know the guy that actually built the Silverbullet car (world's fastest Audi S4) in his shop in New Jersey, for Mark Quigley, that AWE Tuning calls "AWE Silverbullet," not only to their peers but in video games as well.

I also thought I'd refresh your memory and send a few "quotes" from you via AudiWorld forum and a few articles from publications about accomplishments that you capitalized on during the time he was still 50% equity owner of AWE/McNeil Competition.

Here's something you posted on the AudiWorld forum in 2002 regarding the Silverbullt:
Kenny McNeil was generally responsible for the SlvrbulletS4, and he is our chief fabricator.


Posted by: Todd/A.W.E. on 2002-01-07 15:42:33
Account #: 1150 Advertiser
In Reply to: Speedtech did the fab stuff for AWE, is what I heard. posted by George on 2002-01-07 14:25:41

He was a partner at Speedtech, but left for obvious reasons.





Thus, the person who built that car works at AWE Tuning.

• The AWE SilverBullet!

Here's another post on the AudiWorld forum later in 2002 year which you again you stated that this "Ken McNeil" designed the Silverbullet:

Mark Quigley and our fabricator Kenny McNeil deserve a lot of recognition for this.


Posted by: Todd/A.W.E. on 2002-04-19 10:29:04
Account #: 1150 Advertiser
In Reply to: Yo! Step back, Todd/A.W.E. is in the house! INSANE! posted by Shredster on 2002-04-19 10:09:25


And here in 2001 you praise this "Ken McNeil" for his rich history and fabrication fame:
The technology we are using is extremely proven.


Posted by: Todd/A.W.E. on 2001-08-30 12:00:01
Account #: 1150 Advertiser
In Reply to: I agree with you, it was as if they chose not to bend the pipe... posted by ryans4 on 2001-08-30 11:02:40

The multiple weld system we are using has been used on so many different applications, from street to Formula 1, that it is more than a proven design. Check out a McLaren F1 header. Cost no object there.

Our in-house fabricator, Kenny McNeil, has a resume in custom design and fabrication that is beyond reproach. His accomplishments include contract work for Ferrari (F40 header design), AMG, Brabus (full turbo kit manufacturing), Granatelli, among other "famous" names.

We wanted a system that not only removed the warm-up cat, but also improved cylinder scavenging with enhanced exhaust velocity. We believe the transitions from turbine flange to cat/test pipe exit is not matched by any of the other systems currently offered. The multiple weld technique allows us to offer smoother transitions from the differing diameters (3" at the turbine outlet to 2.5" for the main tubing). Turbine exit turbulence is *greatly* reduced with this system.

The Porsche-style flex joints are proven to be more reliable than the standard stainless wrapped bellows found commonly on other systems, and offer a convenient way to swap in our included test pipes. Our included test pipes in the price of $1595 is another benefit our system has over some of the competitors.

Our testing of this downpipe system in conjuction with an off-the-shelf Borla exhaust has shown us the need for chip tweaking. The improved flow allowed us to increase upper rpm boost, while requiring us to adjust fueling a bit higher. We believe that a properly tuned downpipe system *requires* the use of a specific downpipe chip if the downpipes are doing their job of improving exhaust scavenging. Our design requires a change to the O2 sensor coding, too, as we opted to place the O2 sensors close to the OEM position to maintain proper tension on the wiring.


Anything done or said by Eric Fletcher is absolute CRAP!Posted by: SlvrBulletS4 on 2002-06-14 04:00:18
Account #: 2711
In Reply to: SlvrBullet: a response to your Intercooler Test "Expose" post... posted by Josh@Achtuning.com on 2002-06-13 23:59:45

I have spent alot of $ and tested alot of different things on this platform with AWE--it should be obvious by the performance of my car that we have a pretty good grasp on what does and doesn't work on this car- we have tested both a FMIC/stock/Air water setups and AWE will be selling the best and most efficient system to the public, irregardless of what eric says or thinks! i put my faith in Kenny Mcneil a man with nearly 3 decades of world class racing fabrication experience in intercooler as well as exhaust design and degrees in mechanical engineering as well as applied science, he has done the research for decades on this subject and his expertise has been good enough for porsche/ferrari/mazda factory racing projects as well as world championships and world land speed records...the fact that he built by hand the fastest S4 on record notwithstanding, with parts that eric says don't work..funny how we are soooo much faster than anything coming out of his little circle!

Hey Todd, here are the Press Releases from various products in which you credit this "Ken McNeil":
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...8120614210.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...8120614220.jpg

....and the many publication in European Car with "Kenny's" Silverbullet, exhaust buildups, etc. etc.:
European Car: Turbo Titans 2004
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...nyS4Exaust.jpg
European Car: King of the Rings 2004
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...lverbullet.jpg
European Car: Grand Prix 2004
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...TTExhaust2.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...yTTExhaust.jpg
European Car: The King 2002
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...nnyAUDIS4s.jpg

Kenny McNeil has been published in over 150 articles, many of which you have seen, and you are invited to come over to Fabspeed Motorsports and check out some of the educating materials and quality fabrication.

Kenny is about to finish the prototype secondary muffler cans for the 997.2 Carrera vehicles. Stay tuned as I will update with a Product Development thread on the state of the art design and "Kenny McNeil" trademark.

 

Joey,

The "one of the very few negative posts" I pointed out about Kenny McNeil was made by the owner of Fabspeed Motorsports, Joe Fabiani, who now is singing the praises of the same Kenny McNeil.

I'm not going to get into the saga my company had with Ken McNeil. It is a very bad and painful distant memory that nobody in my company really wants to relive.

If Joe Fabiani does not want to try to reconcile the statements he made about Kenny now that Kenny is an employee of Fabspeed vs when he worked for Fabspeed's competition, I guess that is up to Joe.

However, it seems that quite a few forum members are as curious as I am how suddenly Kenny McNeil's rep is totally redeemed just because he now works for Fabspeed.

Seems extremely odd to me, that's all.

Have a great weekend.

 

Imo, fabspeed needs to put their product where their mouth is. I'm not real impressed by the aggessive waste of bandwidth. My money is on AWE, based on my past experiences w both companies. Were it my '09 I would ignore all the frenzied hype and wait for the dust to settle. Cheers, Gerry

 

IMO I don't think that "we" as forum members need to be subjected to this name smearing banter. Correct me if I am wrong, but is this necessary?

 

Honestly, if I were you Joey, I'd be more concerned about the CEL thread on the 997tt board. It's pointless to go back and forth about some guy who bounces around the different shops. Nobody, besides awe and fs, gives a crap. FS has an interesting 997.2 system, that is the point of the thread.

 

I got the CEL thread covered! Thanx for your input though...

 

Good

 

I suggest both/ALL vendors read post #41
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post2162405