SergntMac
08-21-2003, 07:20 PM
I know I'm talking to myself here, and I don't really want any replies posted here anyway. Y'all get goofy over this stuff, which is foolish to begin with. But, it bugs me big time when y'all get dishonest, and underhanded about it all too. Deleting posts and closing threads is not the way to find out what's happening. But, it is a way to cover up, a way to hide from the truth.
Y'all have been real unkind and real unfair towards me lately, y'all been twisting my words to say what you want them to say, but not what I said. So, this is what I can do, without being unkind and unfair to Logan and LML. This is MY post, please do not reply.
That said, let's look at some well known facts here, get a taste of reality on this stuff, maybe take a stab at telling the truth? Truth about what's out here for us MM owners?
Got b*alls?
The trilogy kit is one kick azz mod. An Eaton supercharger, intercooler, and all the necessary hardware to install that, all in one box, and for just 5 large? WhoWhee baby! This is a real steal, one great start up in one box (actually several boxes, but you get my point, eh?) Soon to be on Ford Racing shelves, this is a hot beginning for the novice street racer. This kit will add gobs of power and torque to any bone stock MM, and you'll have one very quick stop light champ. If I had it to do all over again, I'd start here. But, I should warn you, you won't stop here.
This kit is enticing, but it will require other upgrades down the road. For some, that road could be a lot shorter than you think. Producing the HP and TQ it does, you will wear and tear your MM apart in short order.
I think you'll get maybe 25K miles of spirited driving before you'll be replacing, or, rebuilding a lot of hardware affected by the sudden boost in power and torque delivered by this kit.
Remember now, it's a 10:1 compression engine underneath all that add-on hardware. There are physical limits, donchano. Eight pounds of boost is the ceiling, any more than that is suicidal. That ceiling limits your power to well under the 400 RWHP line. The only way to see more power here, is to change pulleys and overdrive the Eaton blower. With 10:1 compression on the stock block, you'll fry something, and soo too.
What is good news, is also bad news. Every positive has it's negative, yes? This kit will perform better than trilogy promises, but you must be prepared to build more, or suffer the consequences.
Ratings...1 car on the street, kits waiting at the door for certain parts to arrive before shipping. Check the trilogy thread for performance stats.
No rating of customer support at this time, for lack of data. This kit could be a sure thing, could easily not show. Roll the dice?
Next up, is the Reinhart custom built MM, or, his "Vortex in a box" kit.
Dennis has one hot MM on the street. With 12.3x time slips posted, this is the fastest MM in the world right now, okay?
Dennis can build your whole car tailored for the kind of driving/racing you want to get into, or, he can sell you each mod individually, in kit form, and let you build your own.
Reinhart's Vortex supercharger kit includes all the real goodies, like a twin Cobra fuel pumps, necessary in S/C applications. (Well, maybe not all applications, a lot depends on the final power and I don't think the trilogy kit requires a fuel pump upgrade at the present time. I could be wrong on this, best check it out?)
Reinhart's background is mostly in the 1/4 mile contest, and he's done remarkably well. "Stupidfast" Mark VIIIs and Mustangs, this guy know his Fords. Dennis has designed a few of the many mods we enjoy today, and he's a true professional in his trade.
"Super sportsman" in my book as well. Despite the fact that I own the only other MM he should consider competitive to his interests, he's helping me tune and maintain my MM. as I seen here, only a true gentleman can set his ego aside for the love of racing.
Rating...1 car on the street, two in construction, 1 waiting, and supercharger kits are in the shipping channels as you read this.
With regards to customer service, the man answers his own phone, just call and ask him about the performance stats hell, ask him anything! He'll steer you right and not always to his products. No stacked auto answer here.
Next, of course, is the Kenny Brown Marauder S. This is a whole car rebuild that's NOT available in kit form. It's almost unfair to compare this car to others mentioned here. But, I suppose I should, or, others will cry foul (and not that I care either).
Vortex supercharger, intercooler, Stallion torque converter, Dynatech drive shaft, FMSP 4:10s, stud kit, girdle, custom suspension and exhaust systems sans headers, and a whole lot more. It's a package that starts at 17K and could run to 25K over the cost of the donor car, but it's a turn key race car too.
Call Kenny for performance stats, or, read the April edition of Car and Driver, watch Autoweek on the Speed Channel, or, write to Top Fuel driver Brendan Bernstein for his impressions. This car just plain kicks azz, in a straight line, or, in the twisties.
Kenny's love is closed course road racing and he's been a champion there for many years now. He designed and built the Marauder S with that focus in mind. It's quick in the quarter, yes. And it's astounding in the turns of any off road course. Why do you think the ONLY builder to come up with a dead pedal, came up with a dead pedal? DOH? Does including skidpad numbers with the dyno reports tell you anything about Kenny Brown, or, the focus of his Marauder S? I think it says a lot.
Guess you could say it's just one plain slick MM, because I haven't had anyone catch me yet, and I am more than willing to take the challenge of any worthy opponent. This car goes very fast, and stops even faster. And it does it all safely, safe for the car and safe for the driver. Kenny's designs are focused on off road road racing, and he's been a champion for over two decades now. He knows the Ford platforms inside out, and has been supplying race cars to the professionals for years. Anyone care to meet me at Gingerman?
BTW, there is a bunch of SOHC Crown Vics with roots blowers out there, not to mention a horde of Mustangs this builder has on the race track. Like Dennis, Kenny knows his stock in trade, inside out. He's not just a marketing specialist, he's a real race car owner, driver and builder.
Ratings...There are 11, yes E L E V E N "signature" Marauder S builds on the street with another five non-signature builds backing them. I am sure there are more on order. I'm always surprised to see what's in the KB shop when I visit. I've seen cop cars, real cop cars, Crown Vics, Marauders, Mustangs, Cobras, something wrapped in tape on the dyno, lots of real stuff, with the smell of real in the air to boot.
Customer service impressions are high. There is an auto answer system, but once you get hooked up with an advisor, you're home free. My guy is David Frey, (Hey Dave!) and I'm never disappointed in the quality of advice, or, the speed of delivery on my requests. BTW, this guy knows how to drive the Marauder S!
Racing costs money, I know that. I've got some racing money set aside and Kenny knows that. Yet, we have never exchanged money for racing that was not in my best interests. I've never been put off, or, felt put off. I've never been hacked at on-line, and I've never had to defend myself to anyone in Kenny's employ. All of them are true sportsman too, it's about man vs. machine here, nothing more.
This is pure and simple business, and Kenny's got an "A Team" at work. They're all real race car guys themselves, not desktop racers with imaginations. No geeks here, no CAD/CAM images to chump from. Just smart people who love the sport and know their jobs. If you drive down to Indy to visit Kenny on Gasoline Alley, you'll find a full service race car company involved in some serious professional race car work. Sorry, no free hot dogs.
Last, but not the least, is the Marauder VT from VT Competition Engineering. This MM conversion is a one-of-a-kind car. It's got everything Kenny Brown installs, only bigger. Custom exhaust (no headers again) A brake upgrade that required larger and custom made sport wheels, and a stroked 302 CID engine. VT does a lot of Kenny Brown's engine work, and they gave me the impression that this build was a "poke in the ribs" to a true friend. Maybe, maybe not, but the VT is for sale, give them a call. I'm not sure there will be another Marauder VT available soon.
I'm not delighted by the published "bang for the buck" performance from the VT, but I know too, that there is less than 1 K on the engine, and this MM will surely get faster down the road. No sense in flogging the investment now, it will be a serious contender once it's owed.
Ratings...Customer service is very high with VT, just ask Mad-3R. These guys know engines, and have a spotless back shop stocked with all the cutting edge machines one would expect from a professional engine builder. They know how to use those machines too. If you're looking for steel forged internals, look no further. These guys know how to build a block crank up, and their track record is proven.
Well, that's my IMHO...Now y'all need to ask yourselves a few simple questions.
How much can I afford?
How long do I want my MM to last?
By mileage?
In years?
Who will be answering my questions and supplying my parts one year from today?
Simple questions, with obvious answers.
So...Do y'all want to run the roads with the big dogs?
Or, stay on the porch where you live?
Just wondering...
Y'all have been real unkind and real unfair towards me lately, y'all been twisting my words to say what you want them to say, but not what I said. So, this is what I can do, without being unkind and unfair to Logan and LML. This is MY post, please do not reply.
That said, let's look at some well known facts here, get a taste of reality on this stuff, maybe take a stab at telling the truth? Truth about what's out here for us MM owners?
Got b*alls?
The trilogy kit is one kick azz mod. An Eaton supercharger, intercooler, and all the necessary hardware to install that, all in one box, and for just 5 large? WhoWhee baby! This is a real steal, one great start up in one box (actually several boxes, but you get my point, eh?) Soon to be on Ford Racing shelves, this is a hot beginning for the novice street racer. This kit will add gobs of power and torque to any bone stock MM, and you'll have one very quick stop light champ. If I had it to do all over again, I'd start here. But, I should warn you, you won't stop here.
This kit is enticing, but it will require other upgrades down the road. For some, that road could be a lot shorter than you think. Producing the HP and TQ it does, you will wear and tear your MM apart in short order.
I think you'll get maybe 25K miles of spirited driving before you'll be replacing, or, rebuilding a lot of hardware affected by the sudden boost in power and torque delivered by this kit.
Remember now, it's a 10:1 compression engine underneath all that add-on hardware. There are physical limits, donchano. Eight pounds of boost is the ceiling, any more than that is suicidal. That ceiling limits your power to well under the 400 RWHP line. The only way to see more power here, is to change pulleys and overdrive the Eaton blower. With 10:1 compression on the stock block, you'll fry something, and soo too.
What is good news, is also bad news. Every positive has it's negative, yes? This kit will perform better than trilogy promises, but you must be prepared to build more, or suffer the consequences.
Ratings...1 car on the street, kits waiting at the door for certain parts to arrive before shipping. Check the trilogy thread for performance stats.
No rating of customer support at this time, for lack of data. This kit could be a sure thing, could easily not show. Roll the dice?
Next up, is the Reinhart custom built MM, or, his "Vortex in a box" kit.
Dennis has one hot MM on the street. With 12.3x time slips posted, this is the fastest MM in the world right now, okay?
Dennis can build your whole car tailored for the kind of driving/racing you want to get into, or, he can sell you each mod individually, in kit form, and let you build your own.
Reinhart's Vortex supercharger kit includes all the real goodies, like a twin Cobra fuel pumps, necessary in S/C applications. (Well, maybe not all applications, a lot depends on the final power and I don't think the trilogy kit requires a fuel pump upgrade at the present time. I could be wrong on this, best check it out?)
Reinhart's background is mostly in the 1/4 mile contest, and he's done remarkably well. "Stupidfast" Mark VIIIs and Mustangs, this guy know his Fords. Dennis has designed a few of the many mods we enjoy today, and he's a true professional in his trade.
"Super sportsman" in my book as well. Despite the fact that I own the only other MM he should consider competitive to his interests, he's helping me tune and maintain my MM. as I seen here, only a true gentleman can set his ego aside for the love of racing.
Rating...1 car on the street, two in construction, 1 waiting, and supercharger kits are in the shipping channels as you read this.
With regards to customer service, the man answers his own phone, just call and ask him about the performance stats hell, ask him anything! He'll steer you right and not always to his products. No stacked auto answer here.
Next, of course, is the Kenny Brown Marauder S. This is a whole car rebuild that's NOT available in kit form. It's almost unfair to compare this car to others mentioned here. But, I suppose I should, or, others will cry foul (and not that I care either).
Vortex supercharger, intercooler, Stallion torque converter, Dynatech drive shaft, FMSP 4:10s, stud kit, girdle, custom suspension and exhaust systems sans headers, and a whole lot more. It's a package that starts at 17K and could run to 25K over the cost of the donor car, but it's a turn key race car too.
Call Kenny for performance stats, or, read the April edition of Car and Driver, watch Autoweek on the Speed Channel, or, write to Top Fuel driver Brendan Bernstein for his impressions. This car just plain kicks azz, in a straight line, or, in the twisties.
Kenny's love is closed course road racing and he's been a champion there for many years now. He designed and built the Marauder S with that focus in mind. It's quick in the quarter, yes. And it's astounding in the turns of any off road course. Why do you think the ONLY builder to come up with a dead pedal, came up with a dead pedal? DOH? Does including skidpad numbers with the dyno reports tell you anything about Kenny Brown, or, the focus of his Marauder S? I think it says a lot.
Guess you could say it's just one plain slick MM, because I haven't had anyone catch me yet, and I am more than willing to take the challenge of any worthy opponent. This car goes very fast, and stops even faster. And it does it all safely, safe for the car and safe for the driver. Kenny's designs are focused on off road road racing, and he's been a champion for over two decades now. He knows the Ford platforms inside out, and has been supplying race cars to the professionals for years. Anyone care to meet me at Gingerman?
BTW, there is a bunch of SOHC Crown Vics with roots blowers out there, not to mention a horde of Mustangs this builder has on the race track. Like Dennis, Kenny knows his stock in trade, inside out. He's not just a marketing specialist, he's a real race car owner, driver and builder.
Ratings...There are 11, yes E L E V E N "signature" Marauder S builds on the street with another five non-signature builds backing them. I am sure there are more on order. I'm always surprised to see what's in the KB shop when I visit. I've seen cop cars, real cop cars, Crown Vics, Marauders, Mustangs, Cobras, something wrapped in tape on the dyno, lots of real stuff, with the smell of real in the air to boot.
Customer service impressions are high. There is an auto answer system, but once you get hooked up with an advisor, you're home free. My guy is David Frey, (Hey Dave!) and I'm never disappointed in the quality of advice, or, the speed of delivery on my requests. BTW, this guy knows how to drive the Marauder S!
Racing costs money, I know that. I've got some racing money set aside and Kenny knows that. Yet, we have never exchanged money for racing that was not in my best interests. I've never been put off, or, felt put off. I've never been hacked at on-line, and I've never had to defend myself to anyone in Kenny's employ. All of them are true sportsman too, it's about man vs. machine here, nothing more.
This is pure and simple business, and Kenny's got an "A Team" at work. They're all real race car guys themselves, not desktop racers with imaginations. No geeks here, no CAD/CAM images to chump from. Just smart people who love the sport and know their jobs. If you drive down to Indy to visit Kenny on Gasoline Alley, you'll find a full service race car company involved in some serious professional race car work. Sorry, no free hot dogs.
Last, but not the least, is the Marauder VT from VT Competition Engineering. This MM conversion is a one-of-a-kind car. It's got everything Kenny Brown installs, only bigger. Custom exhaust (no headers again) A brake upgrade that required larger and custom made sport wheels, and a stroked 302 CID engine. VT does a lot of Kenny Brown's engine work, and they gave me the impression that this build was a "poke in the ribs" to a true friend. Maybe, maybe not, but the VT is for sale, give them a call. I'm not sure there will be another Marauder VT available soon.
I'm not delighted by the published "bang for the buck" performance from the VT, but I know too, that there is less than 1 K on the engine, and this MM will surely get faster down the road. No sense in flogging the investment now, it will be a serious contender once it's owed.
Ratings...Customer service is very high with VT, just ask Mad-3R. These guys know engines, and have a spotless back shop stocked with all the cutting edge machines one would expect from a professional engine builder. They know how to use those machines too. If you're looking for steel forged internals, look no further. These guys know how to build a block crank up, and their track record is proven.
Well, that's my IMHO...Now y'all need to ask yourselves a few simple questions.
How much can I afford?
How long do I want my MM to last?
By mileage?
In years?
Who will be answering my questions and supplying my parts one year from today?
Simple questions, with obvious answers.
So...Do y'all want to run the roads with the big dogs?
Or, stay on the porch where you live?
Just wondering...