Long story short in the interest of the thread:
The MWR kit was missing pieces and/or the hardware they sent was the incorrect size, the adaptor plate and the clutch cover holes didn’t line up and had to be widened, the engine mounts didn’t fit correctly so the trans was hitting the rear subframe, the front mount interfered with the oil cooler lines, one axle was the incorrect length, as well as a bunch of other issues. I tried to work with them (as did my mechanic who is both a Lotus owner himself with an Exige and a 7 and does tons of custom and one off projects). We sent pictures, called, emailed, etc. We’ve got pretty much no help. They basically said that they’ve never heard of problems with the kit and can’t understand the pictures/descriptions. We have decided just to fabricate our own mounts and be done with it. The Driveshaft Shop built another axle at the correct length and will be attempting to get MWR to pay for it (we are shipping the brand new axle MWR shipped to them as the Driveshaft Shop built the axles so they can forward back to MWR). I’m hoping they’ll at least pay for that mistake. So far, the most they’ve said they’d do with the axle is “inspect” it. No mention of sending me a good one. Just send them the bad one and wait. Basically their “bolt-in” kit was no where near bolt in and they’re providing extremely bad customer support. It is ridiculous when I state that there is an issue with the kit, send pictures, and they either fail to respond and/or send a reply that completely ignores the issue I’m having and/or say that they’ve never heard of a problem like that, etc.
I’ve saved all the emails and pictures and everything so… yeah. I’m really hoping that they will at least do the right thing and pay for the axle which was a complete screw up on their part. I’m having a hard time holding my breath though since this has been going on since the end of November and I’ve gotten nothing but the run around.
Thanks for starting this up as a new post.
Yes, I am being really fucking patient… I just want the car to run. It just pisses me off that it is supposed to bolt in and I end up having to do things like remachine the adaptor plate and source the correct dowels and bolts and fabricate engine mounts. It just shouldn’t be that way for the price it costs. Basically I paid for a bunch of useless stuff that I had to pay again to have done right. The axles are pretty damn expensive, so like I said, I’m just hoping they cover the one that was the incorrect length. Telling me they don’t understand and that no one else had a problem doesn’t solve my problems with the kit. The pictures don’t lie. Oh, they also suggested things didn’t fit properly because the mechanic tightened screws down before lining up the parts… Seriously? I don’t take my cars to shady fly-by-night operations. I take them to the best place on the island, which just so happens is ultra small two man operation. Anybody that can turn out 500 hp Volvos is ok in my book.
but but but they have the worlds highest HP 2ZZ …on their dyno!
Sucks big time.
If you know a bit of mechanic work and find a flaw on what they sell… the fence goes right up. I’ve had a couple of “they don’t understand and that no one else had a problem” from them also. Cams not fitting right…. damaged supercharger….wrong piston rings send that never got refunded….crooked valves sent….rod bearings scratched(they where all in the same package! )….
Just a minor update. I got the replacement halfshaft from the Driveshaft Shop and it fit perfectly.
MWR has stated that they will be cutting me a check for the new halfshaft and I’ll be sending the incorrect one back to MWR directly. After much argument about the motor mounts and MWR saying they had no idea what I was talking about, they admitted that they did an install after selling my kit and it had issues with the mounts causing interference with the oil cooler lines “which will be remedied for future kits.” That really doesn’t resolve the expense I had to shell out to fix their mistake though. However, I’m not going to push my luck on this point until after I get the check for the halfshaft. They have assured me that customer satisfaction is a top priority, so we’ll see if they live up to that…
