I tried since Saturday to purchase a set of 1.5 inch drop springs from West Coast Fiero Since I live in Holland I am not able to find others of this drop in Europe.
I called and was told that the front springs were sold out, but that I could buy a set of rears and simply cut the front springs. Since I never cut springs before, I told them I would think about it and contact him on Monday.
Today I contacted him and he imediatly wanted my credit card details. I told him I needed an invoice before I would send him those and he replied with 220 for the springs,150 for shipping
When I reminded him of the agreement we made on Saturday, price went up to 230 dollar..
When I told him that I felt it was unfair cause we spoke on saturday and minutes before he named another price, he replied that he just sold the last pair! ( Saturday he had plenty of those in stock he said on the phone)
Am I crazy or is this a weird way of dealing with people who are ready to buy things from you?
As of mow I am demotivated to help little companies like this that sell Fieroparts and I am back to searching lowering springs for my highboy
Thank you for describing this for us. Customer service is crucial in today's business atmosphere, and customer experiences, good or bad, should be related on forums like this, for others to consider when making their own purchasing decisions. I always read customer reviews before buying. Some companies have poor customer relations as core principles, but some companies find even good policies are butchered by poorly trained personnel, especially in phone inquiries and transactions. I never hesitate to ask a phone rep to hand me off to their supervisor. If good policy is in place, a manager will usually provide correct info, and regain a customer's trust. Any other response will cancel whatever I called about. If the phone rep is professional, and presents themselves and their company well, I will often ask to be transferred to their supervisor so I can pass along a compliment, and often this is shocking to them, one rep even started crying when I told her why I wanted her to transfer my call.
Just cut your existing springs. It is very easy to do with a die grinder and a cutoff wheel. It takes under 5 minutes per spring, and does no damage to the spring.
Just cut your existing springs. It is very easy to do with a die grinder and a cutoff wheel. It takes under 5 minutes per spring, and does no damage to the spring.
I can't on the rear, that is why i was excited to find these offered.
the shape of the rear one will not pass savety regulations in Holland once cut
I can't say much for the rears but I cut my fronts and love the look/ride quality.
I was literally just eyeing west coast rear coilover kits but decided to go with fieroguru's new offering, sure glad I did. He has been excellent in communication. Might be a dumb question but is a coilover an option for you?
I can't say much for the rears but I cut my fronts and love the look/ride quality.
I was literally just eyeing west coast rear coilover kits but decided to go with fieroguru's new offering, sure glad I did. He has been excellent in communication. Might be a dumb question but is a coilover an option for you?
it could be, I never tried that before and I would prefer to go with springs, these wil be on the car under a year and then ill try to switch to a slalom conversion and in the rear the bumpsteer kit all with coilovers and a brakeupgrade in the front.
At the moment money is a bit tight (just did a manual conversion) and the car sits high due to the removed weight (airco and such all removed)
So all I wanted was springs, the fronts ill find a company to cut them for me and adjust the bumpstops, I can not weld ;-)
At the moment money is a bit tight (just did a manual conversion) and the car sits high due to the removed weight (airco and such all removed)
Unless you went crazy, I doubt the weight removed is the cause. These (old) cars like to sit up high whenever they get jacked up off the ground. It will settle back down after a bit of driving.
Originally posted by Stubby79: Unless you went crazy, I doubt the weight removed is the cause. These (old) cars like to sit up high whenever they get jacked up off the ground. It will settle back down after a bit of driving.
I removed the complete airco including compressor,pipes,radiator,replaced the heaterbox, removed cruise control and all the lines and, removed electric windows and all the wires as well as the electric mirrors, removed the old insulation from the back (will replace with a low weight insulation inside the cabine, replaced the old wire harnas from the fastback and replaced it with a notchback harnas, removed the blower in the trunk and wires and pipes and removed all the dirt. And did the swap to manual so I would not call it crazy but that was worth 50 kilo's if not more right there
Originally posted by Patrick: How do you plan to keep the ICM, ignition coil, and alternator from frying now?
It never needed the blower before, it didn't work
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Originally posted by hoddy: Can you not get someone over there to compress your existing springs therefore keeping them original and lowering at the same time.
Thanks for the idea but that sounds like a bad idea to me,they will be preasurised all the time and if one snaps back to original heigt while driving, I have no idea what that would do to the handling! I just go with lower springs in the rear and cut the ones in front.
Patrick, the fan on my 85 SE V6 never ran as far as I could tell; I do not have AC, and I believe the basic requirements for the trunk fan to actuate are A) Radiator fan ON, and B) AC is on......I actually found spider webs and stuff in the tubes....on a couple of occasions......I removed mine and have been driving it that way for the last 6 years....on long trips in hot(90*) weather....
I believe the basic requirements for the trunk fan to actuate are A) Radiator fan ON, and B) AC is on...
The rear blower is supposed to run anytime the rad fan is running.
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Originally posted by cvxjet:
I removed mine and have been driving it that way for the last 6 years...
Pontiac didn't put the rear blower in for nothing. Perhaps you've been fortunate up to this point, but heat is the enemy of electronic components. They're not going to last as long when being baked.
Yes, I know about heat/Electronics; After I got out of the Navy, I worked for Atari(1982) for 6 months...I worked where they tested the Atari 400 home computer in an oven for 10 hours at 150 degrees for quality control.
That fan would NOT run if you don't have AC......Mine had never run......I am going to use it tho; I have the open IMSA scoops on both sides- I am going to install the blower behind the right scoop and pipe it along the firewall so it blows on the distributor.....It will run as soon as the car warms up, all the time, but with a switch so if a fuel leak/fire, I can shut it off. And I have my coil mounted to the trunk wall below where the Cruise control usually goes, with a heat shield to block heat from the cross-over and EGR....Used a laser temp sensor in the morning after my 30 mile commute.......150* in the stock location vs 120* in the new location...Tested it 5-6 times in each location.
Compressed springs cannot snap back to original height they are retempered and end up working the same just lower. We used to do it all the time to various vehicles that carried weight on one side more than the other to make them sit level. Some people used to just heat up the lower coils and let the vehicle settle until they had the height they wanted but this would affect the spring rate.
Compressed springs cannot snap back to original height they are retempered and end up working the same just lower. We used to do it all the time to various vehicles that carried weight on one side more than the other to make them sit level. Some people used to just heat up the lower coils and let the vehicle settle until they had the height they wanted but this would affect the spring rate.
That is not a very good way to do it at all. Heat does funny things to metal, like weaken it. Springs rates are certainly going to be affected and there is no way to really determine what is going on with each spring. I wouldn't do that with my car but to each their own.
I am sure a forum member could help you out with some springs and shipping. Stateside companies tend to shy away from shipping overseas.
Yes, I know about heat/Electronics; After I got out of the Navy, I worked for Atari(1982) for 6 months...I worked where they tested the Atari 400 home computer in an oven for 10 hours at 150 degrees for quality control.
That fan would NOT run if you don't have AC......Mine had never run......I am going to use it tho; I have the open IMSA scoops on both sides- I am going to install the blower behind the right scoop and pipe it along the firewall so it blows on the distributor.....It will run as soon as the car warms up, all the time, but with a switch so if a fuel leak/fire, I can shut it off. And I have my coil mounted to the trunk wall below where the Cruise control usually goes, with a heat shield to block heat from the cross-over and EGR....Used a laser temp sensor in the morning after my 30 mile commute.......150* in the stock location vs 120* in the new location...Tested it 5-6 times in each location.
I picked up my 87 from Tucson, AZ that the blower cleary was not working. The car was driving just fine. Granted I know it is not ideal because the fan was there for a reason I know but it still worked. Mine car does have open side scoops on each side so maybe that helped airflow.
I just looked at the wiring diagram...It seems to show that it should have been running....But the fan never showed any signs of having run.....I will say that the 237* fan switch meant the radiator fan only ran maybe 2-4 hours in the first 25 years and 150,000 miles I drove it...usually when I had already pulled over due to overheating.
Switching to the 220-225* fan switch has made the car work very well.....It NEVER suggests overheating, even coming back from a Fiero club memorial run towards the coast...It was one of the new super-heatwave days (We had approx' 20 +90* heatwaves last summer), and there was bunch of people coming back from the beach on 92/San Mateo bridge...Stop-&-Go for at least 2 x 10 mile stretches......
Heating the coils while under load, letting it settle to the point you want, is easy to do and harms the metal not one bit, as long as you let the spring steel cool on it's own. I've done it a ton on various vehicles from trucks to horse buggies & never have had an issue.
Heating the coils while under load, letting it settle to the point you want, is easy to do and harms the metal not one bit, as long as you let the spring steel cool on it's own. I've done it a ton on various vehicles from trucks to horse buggies & never have had an issue.
I am on be other end of the spectrum.. heating a metal coil, meant to hold up significant weight, and let it cool down is a no no.. the spring will continue to sag and possibly break. Think about it, it’s heated to a precise temp and coiled, cool down properly, quenching (something like that). How are you gonna get it all right? I have seen many a “ricer” lowered that way and then OMG. Broken stuff everywhere. On the other hand, cutting, that is an accepteable method in my world of car stuff. Been doing that for quite some time now. - BTW, YMMV.. each to his own. I simply go by what I have seen all around me in all the years im wrenching away. But, I am open to learning something new , heck, my wife says I’m wrong all the time so no hurt feelings LOL
I am on be other end of the spectrum.. heating a metal coil, meant to hold up significant weight, and let it cool down is a no no...
I tend to agree. This is an old picture I had taken years ago of one of the springs in an '94 Elantra I had bought from a young guy... who had used a torch on all the springs to lower the car. What a disaster!
Patrick....I originally bought a 195* switch and the radiator fan was on basically any time the engine was running- Stupid! I had seen the ones from Rodney, but checked at the local O'Reilly's and found one.....Installed it that day and it has worked great since. It only runs when it's hot outside and I slow down causing low airflow- Perfect! I'll check and see if I can find the PN/ Manufacturer......
And the "Heating the spring" thing....NO! I have seen that done before, and they keep sagging lower for a while- even if you don't get that mess above. Springs are specially tempered....Not allowed to cool nor suddenly quenched....And heating it while wrapped around a strut....well......So much for the strut!
Ant on Wheeler Dealers did a segment on why it’s bad to heat springs to lower them. It does change the tensile strength of the spring and over time leads to failure.
Patrick....I originally bought a 195* switch and the radiator fan was on basically any time the engine was running- Stupid!
I bet you still had the factory 195° thermostat installed. The 195° fan switches were supposed to be paired with 180° thermostats.... neither of which I'd be interested in.
Erwin03 to you and the forum I apologize My beaver it was uncalled for again I apologize. This whole thing was over twenty dollars I"m in barest. I let my emotions get the best of me. To Erwin03 I can't make up the mistake I made. If you want we will send you the rear spring kit free of charge for a small repayment to you.
[This message has been edited by Fast Red (edited 04-27-2018).]
Read from the bottom to the top of these E Mails He's Just venting
NO SIR I AM NOT!
Thank you for posting this, I kept it out of this post, but since you don't think that is neccecary neighter will I.
You came back on an agreed price AND, raised the price twice in each following E-mail and was rude to boot.
I asked for springs and we agreed on a price on the phone as stated in the email conversation you provided. You did raise the price 2 times within mails just minutes from each other. later after I replied to you you mention that I want coil-overs (witch I do not at the moment) Witch I never even mentionned in my e-mails OR on the phone.
If you want to save face, a simple sorry would suffice, and possibly not even to only me.. Judging by the responces I have gotten from fellow Fiero people on here I am not the only one you have treated this way.
The reason I was polite at the end of the conversation is that I do not believe in staying angry, that is a waste of energy. Do not mistake that as "me just venting" cause that is me telling you I wil NEVER buy anything from you AND telling people I care about to take a wide birth when it comes to your shop and website.
If I was just venting I would have stated that as headline, What I am trying to say is that you have a bad way of dealing with people who want to spend money on you and your shop.
And I am NOT amused you share my E-mail AND personal adress this way.. that is a violation of privacy. I am so GLAD i did not send you my credit card details.. they would now be all over the web!!!
I can NOT believe you!
I did take screenshots and WILL talk with my lawyer what to do with this, This is un heard of!
[This message has been edited by Erwin03 (edited 04-25-2018).]
You're absolutely known to have poor customer service and follow through. It's pretty evident reading the emails that you did attempt to hike up the price, AND it is against forum etiquette to post other member's info like that, not that you guys care about etiquette. Oh, and this is coming from someone who has spent money with you guys in the past, but wouldn't again, regardless of the need.
For the record, you gave ME permission to share our email-conversation, I never gave you the right to do this. Especially within regard to my personal adres and email-adress
[This message has been edited by Erwin03 (edited 04-25-2018).]
On the topic of heating up springs, I recommend watching HotRod Garage's s10 episode if you have Motor Trend on Demand or should be free to view on motortrend. Really shows results of heating springs for lowering purposes, how it handles and how bridle they become.
Originally posted by mptighe: You're absolutely known to have poor customer service and follow through. It's pretty evident reading the emails that you did attempt to hike up the price, AND it is against forum etiquette to post other member's info like that, not that you guys care about etiquette. Oh, and this is coming from someone who has spent money with you guys in the past, but wouldn't again, regardless of the need.
Yeah, it's pretty douchey of him to do that. I also spent a fair amount on WCF products, but those purchases left a bad taste in my mouth. So in the future, I think I'll look for other alternatives.
The 195° fan switches were supposed to be paired with 180° thermostats.... neither of which I'd be interested in. 
