My experience working with Rob at RBturbos - N54Tech.com

135iam · 05:30 AM

A month ago my 135i with stock turbos went from rattling alot to a stuck open wastegate. (Car would only make 4psi).

After alot of research I chose RB next gen plus turbos. (I had a couple emails and phone calls with Rob to determine what setup best fit my goals. Rob offered me a package deal for multiple items)
I contacted the best reputation Euro/import shop (K&M) near me for an install quote. They told me 15 hrs at $89 an hr. I told them I know the turbos I want and I am ready to order. The shop told me due to issues with customer supplied parts in the past, I needed to tell them what I wanted and they would handle the order. They said they dont mark up the prices, the owner just has a rule that they wont install customer parts . I thought this was odd, but I sent an email to Rob and let him know that K&M would be calling to complete my order. Rob said OK.

The next day I got a call from Rob. He told me that K&M called and tried to beat him down on price. Rob stated that his price is the same for everyone (shop or the diy installer) the quote he gave me is the best he could do. He told me to expect a call from K&M stating they didnt want my business, which I recieved via email later that day.

Overall Rob is the kind of honest vender I look for to do business with.

135iam · 09-13-2017, 05:10 PM

Here is the email I recieved from the shop in Peoria, IL that contradicted everything they told me over the phone. They didnt even have enough class to call me.

Brian,

Unfortunately your vendor has discounted your personal parts request down to basic wholesale levels. He stated that your quoted price (which was not announced to us) did not allow for him to sell it to us (as your shop) at any wholesale discount. Rendering our ability to utilize the shop space for the installation to zero.

Fortunately we have an abundance of cars on the lot currently that are producing both labor & parts revenue streams. Those revenue streams are of the utmost importance as every employee here depends on being able to continue to pay our expenses religiously just as we always try to do. When we have a vehicle in our bays that only supports one side of the revenue stream (in your case the labor side) we are then working well below our minimum capacity.

If this were a mid-winter project perhaps we could have an opening that could be less productive for us, but we would have difficulty doing so as of today.

K&M team

PLF · 09-13-2017, 05:38 PM

''Best importe shop'' might now be a good BMW shop. Just saying..

For having done this job 3 times I would say just find a shop that already done these a few times and you should be good. and 15hr is way too much. I dropped both turbos in around 3 hours last time

N54QC · 09-13-2017, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PLF

''Best importe shop'' might now be a good BMW shop. Just saying..

For having done this job 3 times I would say just find a shop that already done these a few times and you should be good. and 15hr is way too much. I dropped both turbos in around 3 hours last time

You did 3 times on the same car?

zaw · 09-13-2017, 11:22 PM

I dont see a problem . I ve bought turbos directly from rob and In russiya it costs 200 $ total for all installation .

135iam · 09-14-2017, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PLF

''Best importe shop'' might now be a good BMW shop. Just saying..

For having done this job 3 times I would say just find a shop that already done these a few times and you should be good. and 15hr is way too much. I dropped both turbos in around 3 hours last time

yeah, I should have said Euro/import/race shop, but regardless I found a recommended a mechanic who is going to do the install as soon as I get all the parts in.

135iam · 09-14-2017, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaw

I dont see a problem . I ve bought turbos directly from rob and In russiya it costs 200 $ total for all installation .

No problem with Rob at all, my only problem is the dishonest shop I was trying to do business with for the install. I appreciated Robs honesty and quick responses

Rob@RBTurbo · 09-14-2017, 06:02 AM

Appreciate the kind words and sorry things didn't work out with this specific shop. We can't necessarily blame them as many shops/dealers/etc will push the products of whose sales will put money in their pocket, they have to do what is best for their business. This is very well noted on the forums as you'll find dealers who push those products that only yield profits while undermining the others that do not, very extremely common practice.

As we deal direct most often we tend to give the consumers fair discounts for packages and/or for utilizing payment methods that do not incur us merchanting fees, meaning if afterward we are approached about further discounts the ability just isn't there.

Glad you were able to find another shop feel free to shoot us an email if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
Rob

PLF · 09-14-2017, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N54QC

You did 3 times on the same car?

Made the mistake of buying Hexons...

135iam · 10-21-2017, 04:37 PM

Today I completed the install of....
1. Rb next gen + turbos, heat shield and boost solnoid mount
2. Rb inlets and outlets
3. Rb pcv and cover
4. Pulled the tranny and installed the M factory flywheel and spec stage 2.5 clutch

I an very impressed with the fitment of the RB inlets and outlet tubes. I was nervous about getting inlets (from any brand) after reading various reviews, but these didnt go in bad at all and clearances everywhere look pretty good!

Looking forward to putting the tranny back in tomorrow and getting it all buttoned up and back on the road!!! Gonna suck keeping my foot out of it while the clutch breaks in!

Alpine1 · 10-21-2017, 05:43 PM

Agreed rob is the man. He sold me next Gens a month also for my135i. I love the way they sound.

135iam · 10-22-2017, 12:32 PM

I should be done installing my rb's tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing and feeling the difference

Clutch/Trans back in
Cdv removal and slave cylinder bled
Subframe reinstalled
********* back in
Drilled and tapped intake for larger BOV hose

I think all that remains is....
Midpipe, heat shields and undertray
Add oil
Prime turbos
Reinstall coolant tank and vacumn canisters
Add coolant and bleed the system
Reinstall fan
Check over everything
And fire it up

Rob@RBTurbo · 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 135iam

I an very impressed with the fitment of the RB inlets and outlet tubes. I was nervous about getting inlets (from any brand) after reading various reviews, but these didnt go in bad at all and clearances everywhere look pretty good!

It is no secret that the N54 leaves little to be desired when it comes to space and can be a complete hell to work on in general. But from what has been reported to us our plumbing options are second to none when it comes to design and fitment. Literally countless amounts of consumers (and installers) have ordered from us after replacing other aftermarket offerings citing substantial improvements of the RB lineup. Glad you are happy with the fitment as well.

Rob

LessIsMore · 10-23-2017, 10:34 AM

there are still plenty of indy shops that will install customer parts - just need to find a better one that isn't dependent on part markups.

135iam · 11:05 AM

Install and clutch break in complete. Time for some feedback on this setup. logs can be seen here: http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50087

I contacted Rob at Rbturbo and told him my goals.
1. Make 500whp on 93 pump gas
2. I don't mind a little lag, I want turbos that pull to redline
3. upgraded wastegates

Rob recommended RB Next Gen + turbos (17T TD04L 9-Blade) with inlets/outlets/PCV and wastegate upgrades.

I have driven my car for 4 years with just an intake/tune/FMIC/**/E30. Regularly making 18-19 PSI and overall enjoying the car. I didn't have plans to upgrade the turbos until my wastegate rattle turned to stuck open wastegates.

Driving the car easy for 500 miles on Map 1 after the install was hard. I am very happy with the SPEC Stage 2+ clutch and BMS modified clutch delay valve. Clutch feel is stock like, driving without the CDV is a nice improvement, and the additional clamping force can be felt while driving around town. The chatter from the MFactory SMLW flywheel honestly sucks. To this point, I have not adjusted idle over stock or made any other attempt yet to reduce the chatter.

The logs of Map 1 really show that these turbos are doing exactly what I was looking for. 15 PSI+ from just before 29XX rpm until 7000. The car drives OEM smooth in stop and go driving, but when you get on it....it pulls much harder than oem turbos! I am very pleased by minimal increase in lag when compared to stock.

I went out with a friend in his 2016 manual M3 (stock tuning) and then we went out in my car. After the quick back to back comparison, He was convinced my car was quicker, and I thought they were pretty even. I am sure a future trip to Mexico will tell us the truth!

Last night I tried Map 2 for the first time and posted a few logs. The car pulls stronger, and I was surprised to see that the stock LPFP is hanging in there. Overall, I am very happy with the RB's and Robs help meeting my goals.

Next steps include a LPFP upgrade and Trebila tune with E30 mix. Then maybe Meth....are we ever satisfied?

Shwnalan · 11-01-2017, 05:07 AM

I have a similar experience working with him. He was cordial and very generous with his time as a business owner. I couldn't imagine doing business with a better guy. Btw, I have the RB Ones on mine. Mhd stage 1+ with all supporting mods minus my lpfp upgrade that's going to get installed. Car pulls hard. No complaints