[Chris_Karl]

I am making this post not to tell you where to go but to ensure you don't make the same mistake I made by choosing the wrong shop, wasting a lot of money, and hurting your vehicle.

I took my ZL1 to the 1st shop in Illinois (Speed Inc) to have it get modified. Ultimately, I took my Camaro to Nickey Performance to have them redo and fix all the problems from Speed Inc.

Nickey Performance took a video of my car to explain what happened and what they had to do to fix it. I will put the link below:



Nickey removed my supercharger, and they noticed that when the 1st shop put it back on, it was crushing wires and not put back on flush. The 1st shop charged me to have the transmission tuned, but Nickey found out they never tuned it but just unlocked it. Nickey also looked inside my engine with a camera and noticed the 1st shop had damaged my pistons because of the 1st shop's tune and the 17 lbs. of boost. I am running on 93 Octane, and Nickey said 17 lbs. of boost was putting too much stress on my Camaro.

When I got my Camaro back from Nickey Performance, it drove a lot better! I am pleased with the work Nickey Performance delivers to customers' vehicles and know my Camaro is now in good hands. If you are looking for a shop to modify your Camaro or Corvette, I highly recommend Nickey Performance and pay once instead of me paying to have the job done twice.

Below I will tell you about my problems with the 1st shop.

Mods I bought through the 1st shop -
American Racing 2-inch headers (Catless) with X pipe
Magnuson 2650
custom grind LT4 cam
CNC ported heads
Big Gulp cold air intake
103 TB
DSX Fuel Pump

The Camaro made 887 RWHP/825 RWTQ with 17 lbs. of boost on 93 octane after leaving the 1st shop, and I immediately had issues with my car after I picked it up.

#1 - (Catch can)
I ordered a Might Mouse catch can, but it wasn't there when I opened my hood. I told the shop about it, and they said they forgot to put it in because there was a problem and had to send it back to the Mighty Mouse company. They ordered another one, and I came back to have it installed. I took the car back home, and on the second start-up, white smoke started coming out and filled up my garage. I drove my car around the block, and smoke was still coming out, but it eventually stopped after 5 minutes. The next day I started my car, and the same problem happened. I called the shop and took my car back in. They remounted the Catch Can differently, and I took it back home. The following day the same problem happened again. I returned it to the shop to have them tell me I don't need a catch can and that they were having trouble with other customers' catch cans and the Catch Can on their ZL1. They took off the Catch Can, but I wanted to have it for the extra protection, but they talked me out of it because I thought it was the Catch Can acting up.

When I took my car to Nickey Performance, I asked them about putting a Catch Can on it, and they recommended I put one on. Nickey Performance noticed that when they put on the Catch Can, the 1st shop installed the wrong valve, causing the smoke from the first time I had it on.

#2 - (Spark plug wires and Spark plug)
A few weeks after my Catch Can problem, my Camaro started to misfire when I started it on a cold start, and it sounded like gunshots. I had to return the Camaro to the 1st shop to replace the spark plugs. At the end of the season, my car started to misfire again. I had to explain my issue to the 1st shop and told them that when I put my car in manual mode, under 2000 RPM, the vehicle started to pop and sound like it was under stress when I gave it a good amount of gas. The 1st shop said the spark plugs needed replacing and were misfiring on one of the banks. I mentioned that my car is in manual mode most of the time, and the 1st shop said to stop driving in manual mode because that was more than likely the problem of the misfiring and putting too much fuel with the spark plugs. I felt terrible because I love driving in manual mode and didn't feel the same driving in automatic. I took the car home, and it started to misfire for the third time, so I took it to my local dealership, and they found the spark plug wires were fried and needed replacing.

#3 - (Dipstick oil leak)
My Camaro kept giving me check oil notifications, even when I had just had my oil changed. I took it to the 1st shop, and they checked it and said everything was OK and probably the last person who changed my oil didn't put the right amount. They put in 4 quarts but didn't think it was strange that I was missing so much oil. They said I would go through a lot of oil because I have a high-horsepower vehicle, so I must fill it more often.

When my car was at the dealership for the spark plug problem, I mentioned the oil problem. Oil was getting on my headers and coming out of my exhaust, causing smoke when I would accelerate, which is a huge fire hazard. The dealership discovered that when the 1st shop installed my headers, they mounted the dipstick incorrectly. The dipstick was crushed, causing oil to leak and giving me a low oil notification. Nickey performance fixed the dipstick problem by relocating it.

As I mentioned, this is not a post to steer you toward Nickey Performance. I just wanted to share my experience proving you get what you pay for. I chose the less expensive shop at first, but they ultimately lacked the knowledge and expertise that Nickey Performance has. Other shops just care about putting out numbers, but Nickey cares about your vehicle's longevity. I saw a few cars in Nickey's garage that the 1st shop initially worked on. They had the same build and boost levels. These cars had blown engines that had to be completely re-built. I'm just happy I came to see Nickey before my Camaro saw the same damage.

1st Dyno sheet is from the 1st shop and 2nd dyno sheet is from Nickey Performance.

[FlukeSS]

Wow.

I'd be EF'ING pissed. Time to get a refund from that other shop.

[HemiDave]

Your car is a BEAST and looks fantastic!

I am glad you got the problems corrected by people who know what they are doing.

[ariZona28]

That 1st shop sounds like a bunch of hacks. It's amazing that shops will just make up drivel to cover their mistakes instead of just owning up to thier buffoonery and incompetence. As a youngster I lived in Chicago just a few miles from the original Nickey Chevrolet on Irving Park Rd. Also lived in the Rockford/Loves Park area as a teen. Glad to see that Nickey is taking good care of the regions hot rodders.

[jamala00]

wow.. Glad it worked out for you in the end, but I sure hope you are able to get your money back from the 1st shop.

[laynlo15]

I know Matt and Stefano very well, they are a top notched shop. I met them since they were a Magnuson dealer and I was a tech/customer service for Magnuson. They've helped me out a few times when I needed parts that I couldn't find. Matt's helped me out a couple times with some tuning also. Great group and glad you had a good experience with them. They really have worked hard on there 2650 Maggie programs and are making great power with there cam and head designs also. They've also become a dealer for Toohighpsi products and have some Zl1 close to a 1000 rwhp. I probably know the shop your talking about but won't mention it since you decided not to name them.

[ZLAV1N]

+1 for Nickey.

I am not surprised to hear this story, a couple of very knowledgeable gear-heads and even better men.

Close to 6 or 7 years ago, they helped me out of a similar situation when I had my 2010 SS.

Lesson learned, don't always buy on price...

[adamjwilson]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

Wow.

I'd be EF'ING pissed. Time to get a refund from that other shop.

agreed! But I am glad it all worked out for you in the end and the second shop did it right. Nice Car!

[LT4Greg]

Glad they helped you out and got your Camaro running much better! Remember you always get what you pay for is what I have always been told and seems to be the case in your situation.

[Chris_Karl]

Originally Posted by FlukeSS

Wow.

I'd be EF'ING pissed. Time to get a refund from that other shop.

Yeah, it sucks. I don't know how I would get my money back. The 1st shop has you sign papers before, and I'm sure there is something in the fine print about no refunds, or if something happens, they are not responsible. I honestly don't remember what the paper said.

[Chris_Karl]

Originally Posted by HemiDave

Your car is a BEAST and looks fantastic!

I am glad you got the problems corrected by people who know what they are doing.

Thank you!

[Chris_Karl]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

That 1st shop sounds like a bunch of hacks. It's amazing that shops will just make up drivel to cover their mistakes instead of just owning up to thier buffoonery and incompetence. As a youngster I lived in Chicago just a few miles from the original Nickey Chevrolet on Irving Park Rd. Also lived in the Rockford/Loves Park area as a teen. Glad to see that Nickey is taking good care of the regions hot rodders.

Yeah, it sucks shops do that instead of being honest.

That's cool you lived by Nickey twice.

[Chris_Karl]

Originally Posted by jamala00

wow.. Glad it worked out for you in the end, but I sure hope you are able to get your money back from the 1st shop.

Thank you!

I don't know how I would get my money back. The 1st shop has you sign papers before, and I'm sure there is something in the fine print about no refunds, or if something happens, they are not responsible. I honestly don't remember what the paper said. I could always try to call them and tell them my problem, but they might say the dealership or Nickey caused my engine problems.

[ShockingZ]

It was either straightline or speed inc. Probably straightline.