Big thanks to Ultima after engine blow-up
Discussion
A friend and I finished our GTR in April this year. It was a high spec car with the 535 Bhp American Speed engine. Initially we had a cam shaft failure in April which was repaired by Ultima on behalf of American Speed.
2000 miles later the crank snapped in France on the way to Spain. We were absolutely gutted and the car was sent back to Hinckley for Ultima to look at. Almost immediately they had the engine out and had sent us photos of the broken crank. They then sorted everything out for us even temporarily paying for the shipping of the engine back to the states. I should add that on the way back to the states something fell on the engine crate and smashed the carb and distributor (as if we hadn’t had enough bad luck). Again Ultima rang the freight company and sorted the insurance out for us.
Thanks to Ultima’s support, American speed and their crank supplier have agreed to pay all costs including shipping. This simply would have not been the case without Ultima standing by us. I can not express my thanks enough for the high level of service the Ultima factory provides. There have been other examples as well, however, the problems with the engine have really been helped through their reassurance and support. I have never been involved with such an expert, enthusiastic bunch of people working on any of my cars, and would recommend the level of factory support as a reason to own an Ultima.
Before anyone asks the engine had had three changes of oil in 2000 plus miles and had never been on a track. It had experienced “fast road use”
but there is no real excuse for a crank failure. Everyone should know that American Speed have honoured their warranty on the engine in two fairly significant failures and we are thankful for their professional attitude regarding their engines.
Oliver & Jeroen
2000 miles later the crank snapped in France on the way to Spain. We were absolutely gutted and the car was sent back to Hinckley for Ultima to look at. Almost immediately they had the engine out and had sent us photos of the broken crank. They then sorted everything out for us even temporarily paying for the shipping of the engine back to the states. I should add that on the way back to the states something fell on the engine crate and smashed the carb and distributor (as if we hadn’t had enough bad luck). Again Ultima rang the freight company and sorted the insurance out for us.
Thanks to Ultima’s support, American speed and their crank supplier have agreed to pay all costs including shipping. This simply would have not been the case without Ultima standing by us. I can not express my thanks enough for the high level of service the Ultima factory provides. There have been other examples as well, however, the problems with the engine have really been helped through their reassurance and support. I have never been involved with such an expert, enthusiastic bunch of people working on any of my cars, and would recommend the level of factory support as a reason to own an Ultima.
Before anyone asks the engine had had three changes of oil in 2000 plus miles and had never been on a track. It had experienced “fast road use”
but there is no real excuse for a crank failure. Everyone should know that American Speed have honoured their warranty on the engine in two fairly significant failures and we are thankful for their professional attitude regarding their engines. Oliver & Jeroen
Its good to see that someone has a good word to say for a change. 
Ultima and American speed have shown what true customer after sales support is in this issue. What price is your cheap engine, wheels etc... If it goes wrong yoy would not get that support from the cheapo suppliers, they couldn't afford it.
Ultima and American speed have shown what true customer after sales support is in this issue. What price is your cheap engine, wheels etc... If it goes wrong yoy would not get that support from the cheapo suppliers, they couldn't afford it.Sorry boy's You Get's What You Pay For.
If it's cheaper than English companies can do it then there's got to be a reason.
Remember that nearly all of the F1, Indy, Cart Engines and chassis are made in England.
Not saying that where perfect but we tend to be more picky about what we put together.
If it's cheaper than English companies can do it then there's got to be a reason.
Remember that nearly all of the F1, Indy, Cart Engines and chassis are made in England.
Not saying that where perfect but we tend to be more picky about what we put together.
Yeh, but then again, look at the poor engines that a well known blackpool performance car maker is turning out...... I would have thought the Americans were better at building engines based around a 'local' design.... but then again who knows.
Best of luck with your Ultima Builds, one day I will be joining you.
Best of luck with your Ultima Builds, one day I will be joining you.
GTRCLIVE said: Sorry boy's You Get's What You Pay For.
If it's cheaper than English companies can do it then there's got to be a reason.
Remember that nearly all of the F1, Indy, Cart Engines and chassis are made in England.
Not saying that where perfect but we tend to be more picky about what we put together.
But funny how American speed offer a 27month warranty on sub 550bhp engines (sorry STIG), and this case proves they are prepared to honour it!!!
GTRCLIVE said: Sorry boy's You Get's What You Pay For.
If it's cheaper than English companies can do it then there's got to be a reason.
Remember that nearly all of the F1, Indy, Cart Engines and chassis are made in England.
Not saying that where perfect but we tend to be more picky about what we put together.
It's interesting to compare USA vs. UK race car industries. Clearly the UK is higher tech with carbon chasis for F1, CART, etc. as well engine technology DOHC and a wide variety of auxcileries.
But in the US we have a huge pushrod V8 market that is much bigger than in the UK. Pushrods are inherintly low tech mechanically and that is what most of US race car equimpment is like. With regard to pushrod V8's I think the US is the place to go. Having said that, some of the coolest ignition systems and stacks for an American V8 come from the UK. I'm not sure but aren't there quite a few UK operated race teams and sports car makers that would endourse the good ol pushrod V8 from America.
I know about the warranty thing on 550+hp engines, but I'd suggest that getting things 'sorted out' if you have problems, depends as much on your relationship with the supplier.
If you post stuff on here, that does them no favours, they're hardly likely to run around for you when you've got a problem.
Some Ultima forum contributors should take note.
Personally, I've had nothing but excellent service from Ultima and American Speed - long may it continue!
I agree, my engine looks great, was delivered on time, and has proved to perform in the car.
Also worth remembering there are (I am told) over 50 Ultimas in the UK with American speed engines in, including a few that are... ahem...well used.
A large number of these are of the 500bhp+ spec as well.
Also I have had my car on the road for 3 months and am still getting after sales service from the factory.
Also worth remembering there are (I am told) over 50 Ultimas in the UK with American speed engines in, including a few that are... ahem
...well used. A large number of these are of the 500bhp+ spec as well.
Also I have had my car on the road for 3 months and am still getting after sales service from the factory.
PiB said:
GTRCLIVE said: Sorry boy's You Get's What You Pay For.
If it's cheaper than English companies can do it then there's got to be a reason.
Remember that nearly all of the F1, Indy, Cart Engines and chassis are made in England.
Not saying that where perfect but we tend to be more picky about what we put together.
It's interesting to compare USA vs. UK race car industries. Clearly the UK is higher tech with carbon chasis for F1, CART, etc. as well engine technology DOHC and a wide variety of auxcileries.
But in the US we have a huge pushrod V8 market that is much bigger than in the UK. Pushrods are inherintly low tech mechanically and that is what most of US race car equimpment is like. With regard to pushrod V8's I think the US is the place to go. Having said that, some of the coolest ignition systems and stacks for an American V8 come from the UK. I'm not sure but aren't there quite a few UK operated race teams and sports car makers that would endourse the good ol pushrod V8 from America.
PIB I was not referring to the Pushrod V8 as being old and out of date, knor was a I slagging American engine building. The point was an Expensive well built
Engine (Pushrod) with Named Parts in it ie. with a Luneti Crank, Childs and Albert rods etc. Will cost more.
Ask Gareth he Quoted all the parts he wanted in his engine From American Speed. They obliged but charged him about $16,000.
You get what you pays for !
On the same line, Ultima prices are high but so is the quality. So well worth that little extra. Get what I mean now.
GTRClive, so is what your saying, you can build an identical American Speed engine with the same components (Made in USA) but assembled in the U.K. for less than american speed? If this is true then by all means build it in the U.K. if it's cheaper and the guys putting it together have experience. I wonder why more UK Ultima owners don't use who ever provides such engine services?
Actually, your probably right, the more I think about what you are saying. I don't think American Speed is geared towards custom engines. And..well..I suppose some Brit engineer might have a better idea of what type of a pushrod components to use for their purposes than a pre spec engine like American Speed. So anyway my post was triggered by the comparison of the UK racing industry vs. US's cottage racing industry. There may be more Autoclavs (sp) in the UK than all of USA. I still may not get what you mean, oh well.
>> Edited by PiB on Wednesday 13th November 18:37
Actually, your probably right, the more I think about what you are saying. I don't think American Speed is geared towards custom engines. And..well..I suppose some Brit engineer might have a better idea of what type of a pushrod components to use for their purposes than a pre spec engine like American Speed. So anyway my post was triggered by the comparison of the UK racing industry vs. US's cottage racing industry. There may be more Autoclavs (sp) in the UK than all of USA. I still may not get what you mean, oh well.
>> Edited by PiB on Wednesday 13th November 18:37
US engine parts are cheaper in the US than the UK by a large margin.
Usually you can save considerable money by importing the parts into the UK yourself instead of buying then from a UK suppier.
So why is it so hard to understand that a US company buys in bulk, assembles the engine, then passes the savings onto the customer.
It's called business!
Using this 'more is better' means we would all own a Ferrari as they are much more expensive.... Are they Faster? less expensive to run? More reliable?
Usually you can save considerable money by importing the parts into the UK yourself instead of buying then from a UK suppier.
So why is it so hard to understand that a US company buys in bulk, assembles the engine, then passes the savings onto the customer.
It's called business!
Using this 'more is better' means we would all own a Ferrari as they are much more expensive.... Are they Faster? less expensive to run? More reliable?
Some of this also depends on the intended application. In the Chevy world, you can buy everything from a $1200 U.S. turnkey engine, to a $65,000.00 race motor that will rev to 8 grand all day long. In fact, I really can't think of any other engine out there with more aftermarket available. Sorry Ford guys
To make matters worse...some of it is designed for the strip, some for circle track, road courses, and you've also got your general run of the mill upgrade. I don't know anything about the Amerispeed motors. I don't know what they're putting into their engines or the level of machine work and assembly skill. However, I also don't know of too many US engine builders that will be as pleasant in honoring their warranty on a high performance motor. They all know your going to wrap out the thing and push it to its limits. The big problem here is when you get up over 500hp. Well, even 450hp had better be done correctly. Once you get to 500hp, though, carefull attention to details needs to be made. This is when you start to see rods thrown through blocks and cylinder heads used as paper weights. Component selection becomes critical at this point. Especially, if your going to be twisting the engine to 7+ grand!
Of course we could all build our own engines for a far cheaper price than what Amerispeed offers. A significant part of what we pay for is the labor and expertise to properly select the components and assemble and setup the engine. Its not the type of deal I would do, but for someone who just wants to drop the engine in and go, I'd say its not too bad of a deal. Especially considering the warranty. Just my 2 cents worth.
Cheers!
-Mack
To make matters worse...some of it is designed for the strip, some for circle track, road courses, and you've also got your general run of the mill upgrade. I don't know anything about the Amerispeed motors. I don't know what they're putting into their engines or the level of machine work and assembly skill. However, I also don't know of too many US engine builders that will be as pleasant in honoring their warranty on a high performance motor. They all know your going to wrap out the thing and push it to its limits. The big problem here is when you get up over 500hp. Well, even 450hp had better be done correctly. Once you get to 500hp, though, carefull attention to details needs to be made. This is when you start to see rods thrown through blocks and cylinder heads used as paper weights. Component selection becomes critical at this point. Especially, if your going to be twisting the engine to 7+ grand!
Of course we could all build our own engines for a far cheaper price than what Amerispeed offers. A significant part of what we pay for is the labor and expertise to properly select the components and assemble and setup the engine. Its not the type of deal I would do, but for someone who just wants to drop the engine in and go, I'd say its not too bad of a deal. Especially considering the warranty. Just my 2 cents worth.
Cheers!
-Mack
No I'm just offering my engine building services!!
Not.
Perhaps where getting a little to serious, what the hell I'm happy with my GTR hope everbody else is just happy with theres. If so how cares how much we payed.
Ps Blow away a 22B today, Lifes great but it's better when you meat something worth of a tow down experiance!!! Lookout here I come Tommy.....
Not.
Perhaps where getting a little to serious, what the hell I'm happy with my GTR hope everbody else is just happy with theres. If so how cares how much we payed.
Ps Blow away a 22B today, Lifes great but it's better when you meat something worth of a tow down experiance!!! Lookout here I come Tommy.....
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