Turbo oil drain problems w/AAM kit

Elmo370z

I’m a CJM whore

solidus

Damn!! Seems like AAM just dropped the ball. There's a DannyZ video of an AAM twin Nismo here in Fla. and on decel it was kicking up huge smoke. I kinda chuckled at the video because the owners son said it was because there was no catch can but I knew right away it was oil drain.

Spooler

I saw that too. Poor folks don't even know they are dumb.

Elmo370z

AAm are suspect, reminds of me another shady company.

URBiN~HURMiT

If that company was Altered Atmosphere Motorsports - they are one in the same.
Altered Atmosphere was run out of Dodge as a result of shady dealings and re-started as AAM Competition.
This sums it up ... as I would find out too late.
***Note*** I didn't have any issues with the actual hands on employees at all ... but I should have suspected that some shady things were going on behind the scenes much sooner than I did.
My car was not running when it was transported down from NJ to them.
The new build motor was in on the motor mounts but only finger tight.
The exhaust was just hung on the holders and the Stillen SC'r was completely off with the exception of the Intake Manifold which was held in with finger tight bolts to protect the motor - the hard one to get to was not in.
It would have been a 15 minute job to remove everything and should have been inlcuded in the installation price for the turbo kit...
But then again we are talking AAM here.
A week later they charged me over $800 to remove the Stillen kit - and $300 to take the exhaust off the hangars.
Further more I was present early in the morning having driven 3+ hours from NJ to visit and check on my car - it wasat the end of the month crunch and I witnessed the entire management staff going over the open invoices of all the cars in the shop and adding new charges (legitimate? and/or bogus?) to them and calling the customers for money.
This would be a fairly common occurrence with them. I started looking at my invoice(s) more closely and discovered at least a dozen double billings and other 'errors' - All NOT IN MY FAVOR.
When I would bring up these errors it was always a fight. They don't give credits easily - they will however, reword the existing charge (real or trumped up) and change the dollar amount in hopes that it gets overlooked.
This specific scenario played itself out on quite a few occasions over the 2 years my car was there.
There was also one occasion where I paid over $5000 by check to close out one invoice and start another as the build progressed. It was easier for me at that time to stop trying to figure out the madness and their purposely? complex invoicing system and start from scratch - this time not being so trusting.
3 months later and there was still no work being done on my car ... seems they put a work stoppage on me because they said I was that $5000 dollars in arrears. Funny ? NO They did cash the check (it was a bank check) but failed to enter it in to their system...so instead of contacting me they held up the project once again.
Don't let me tell you about the time they took the dashboard out and left it scattered on the floor for 6 months.

Here is one of about a dozen warnings I found doing a google search on AAM Competition, Altered Atmosphere, and Mike and Randall Mahafee


Default on loans, sued by customers, etc.........just change the name and move from the property being garnished........

Apr 28, 2015
"Please Read This Before Deciding To Work For Mike Mahaffee and AAM Competition!"
StarStarStarStarStar
Former Employee - Upper Management in Annapolis Junction, MD
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
I worked at AAM Competition full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Zero! Other than a paycheck, this company has ZERO going for it. Trust ALL OF US. Almost (100 Employees) who have left, not been fired or laid off!
Cons
Very poor working conditions. Constant Up-Charging of customers. The owner literally STEALS from customers. Deadlines are never met! I repeat. NEVER! If it were not for the amazing talent the company has hired, AAM Competition would have already buried itself. This company used to be called "Altered Atmosphere". The company is under the same management and doing the same things to the now Nissan GT-R and Z Community.… Show More
Advice to Management
My advice to management would be to sell the business as quick as possible. Let someone who cares about the industry wants to run an honest business, make this company what it could be. If it were not for the blood, sweat and tears of the good people that work for AAM, the company would have faltered long ago. Its truly only a matter of time. And when it does happen, there will be many of us there to laugh in your face!

__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________

If you are thinking of going to AAM or Altered Atmosphere Motorsports in Gaithersburg Maryland, think again. I used to work for Mr. mike and randall mahaffey. I saw what goes on behind the scenes. This company is EXTREMELY untrustworthy. They take on customers cars and Mike, the "master tuner" doesn't even touch them. In fact, he doesn't even know how to tune half these cars. He merely buys the base maps from overseas, and then changes settings here or there in a hope to make it run better. He has blown up many cars, and ripped off EVERY customer that he has ever dealt with. Mike Mahaffey has taken money from customers like Jarrod Norman of NC, the owner of a Stealth VR4, he has paid over $50k and the car hasn't been touched. The car has been sitting for over a year, and mike jokes casually about never intending to touch it. He was discussing filing a mechanics lien on the car so he doesn't have to do the work. There are HUNDREDS of customers just like this gentleman that have been taken advantage of, and have paid through the nose, but have gotten no results. Mr. Mahaffey is not a capable tuner, nor is he a trustworthy person. Please re-think your equation and seek a more capable alternative such as GT Motorsports.

Gaithersburg, Maryland

__________________
- -Z&I ~~~~

Rusty

WoW! That sounds like the other company not to be talked about. (GTM)

__________________

浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

solidus

Damn shame too because they had good concepts, just like the company that shall not be named. This community is too small to be pooping on people and thinking it's not gonna float and stink up your name.

Rusty

__________________

浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...o-journal.html

Spooler

What is crazy is MA-motorsports just sits quietly in the background fixing other peoples mistakes. Not saying anything or bashing a sole. That has to get old.

solidus

A guy I listen to all the time made a fantastic statement one time and it's relevant. "Bently's are never on sale!!" When I first heard it it stuck with me. Because I'm a watch guy it dawned on me. You can't get a discount on a Rolex from a dealer. You've never saw a Ferrari or Lamborghini sales commercial. They don't need it because the product speaks for itself. F.I. does'nt hawk customers down , Soho does'nt chase people for sales, MA does'nt call people and beg to do their builds. They put together good product and persuade people to part with their money based on what they produce. You can fake it a couple times and nab a few people not on point. but as soon as the product is on the market , nothing you put on the internet can protect you from your product $hitting it's pants at a car meet. And because of the internet nothing can stop it from making it from the east coast to the west coast in 10 minutes. You either fix it or make as much money as you can before the party is over. And I think right now there's some dollar stacking going on.

Elmo370z

Could of sworn I told somebody to get there motor installed by a company or shop that was really familiar with the VHR platform.

solidus

Probation plus ankle bracelet.

Spooler

Sounds like you haven't learned your lesson yet via other thread.

Spooler

That is nothing new. It has been going on for years. That is why you have to be extremely careful. I got out of the letting other people work on my car years ago because of it. I would be doing this build myself but my body is in pieces.

Elmo370z

They just don’t call nobody out